Best Albums of the 1950s

« View best albums of the 1940sView best albums of the 1960s »

Listed below are the best albums of the 1950s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 53,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade

Decade:

Year:

1950s decade summary

Year	Albums The number of albums from each year featuring in the greatest album charts.	Score Total rank score for each year (made up of the total rank score from all albums in that year)	Top Ranked Album The top ranked album from each year and where it ranks in the overall chart.
1950	125	5,233	Voice Of The Xtabay (2,089th)by Yma Sumac
1951	141	4,183	Genius Of Modern Music (2,810th)by Thelonious Monk
1952	151	6,933	Bird & Diz (1,991st)by Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie
1953	194	6,679	Black Coffee With Peggy Lee (1,842nd)by Peggy Lee
1954	230	11,129	Chet Baker Sings (682nd)by Chet Baker
1955	330	14,864	In The Wee Small Hours (381st)by Frank Sinatra
1956	442	32,260	Elvis Presley (364th)by Elvis Presley
1957	573	45,326	Blue Train (308th)by John Coltrane
1958	573	41,323	Lady In Satin (560th)by Billie Holiday
1959	616	81,245	Kind Of Blue (38th)by Miles Davis
Total	3,375	249,175

The best artists of the 1950s were Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, Frank Sinatra, Charles Mingus, Elvis Presley, Art Blakey, Thelonious Monk, The Dave Brubeck Quartet, Billie Holiday and John Coltrane.

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45.

Black Coffee With Peggy Lee

Peggy Lee

Year of Release:

1953

Appears in:

136 charts

Rank Score:

914

Rank in 1953:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,842

Average Rating:

74 (112 votes)

Comments:

85.

Ellington Uptown

Duke Ellington And His Orchestra

Year of Release:

1953

Appears in:

105 charts

Rank Score:

529

Rank in 1953:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

2,883

Average Rating:

77 (81 votes)

Comments:

117.

Chante Les Chansons Poétiques no1

Georges Brassens

Year of Release:

1953

Appears in:

30 charts

Rank Score:

351

Rank in 1953:

Rank in 1950s:

117

Overall Rank:

4,071

Average Rating:

72 (41 votes)

Comments:

122.

Sonny Rollins With The Modern Jazz Quartet

Sonny Rollins

Year of Release:

1953

Appears in:

61 charts

Rank Score:

338

Rank in 1953:

Rank in 1950s:

122

Overall Rank:

4,205

Average Rating:

75 (44 votes)

Comments:

170.

Dean Martin Sings

Dean Martin

Year of Release:

1953

Appears in:

33 charts

Rank Score:

225

Rank in 1953:

Rank in 1950s:

170

Overall Rank:

5,853

Average Rating:

70 (30 votes)

Comments:

205.

The Great Artistry Of Django Reinhardt

Django Reinhardt

Year of Release:

1953

Appears in:

43 charts

Rank Score:

178

Rank in 1953:

Rank in 1950s:

205

Overall Rank:

7,159

Average Rating:

73 (30 votes)

Comments:

206.

An Evening With Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday

Year of Release:

1953

Appears in:

29 charts

Rank Score:

177

Rank in 1953:

Rank in 1950s:

206

Overall Rank:

7,167

Average Rating:

71 (21 votes)

Comments:

212.

Songs By Tom Lehrer

Tom Lehrer

Year of Release:

1953

Appears in:

30 charts

Rank Score:

168

Rank in 1953:

Rank in 1950s:

212

Overall Rank:

7,460

Average Rating:

71 (24 votes)

Comments:

237.

Inca Taqui

Yma Sumac

Year of Release:

1953

Appears in:

21 charts

Rank Score:

146

Rank in 1953:

Rank in 1950s:

237

Overall Rank:

8,382

Average Rating:

69 (24 votes)

Comments:

241.

Jazz At Oberlin
Live

The Dave Brubeck Quartet

Year of Release:

1953

Appears in:

33 charts

Rank Score:

145

Rank in 1953:

Rank in 1950s:

241

Overall Rank:

8,442

Average Rating:

73 (48 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 62. Page 1 of 7

Best Albums of the 1950s composition

Year	Albums	%

1950	40	4%
1951	40	4%
1952	58	6%
1953	62	6%
1954	76	8%
1955	85	9%
1956	117	12%
1957	152	15%
1958	172	17%
1959	198	20%

Artist	Albums	%

Various Artists	18	2%
Billie Holiday	18	2%
Miles Davis	16	2%
Sonny Rollins	15	2%
Frank Sinatra	15	2%
Ella Fitzgerald	13	1%
Sarah Vaughan	11	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	779	78%
	39	4%
	32	3%
	26	3%
	21	2%
	12	1%
	11	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	943	94%
Yes	57	6%

Live?	Albums	%
No	962	96%
Yes	38	4%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	977	98%
Yes	23	2%

« View best albums of the 1940sView best albums of the 1960s »

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