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	122	5,229	Voice Of The Xtabay (2,061st)by Yma Sumac
1951	141	4,247	Genius Of Modern Music (2,763rd)by Thelonious Monk
1952	150	6,937	Bird & Diz (1,987th)by Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie
1953	194	6,692	Black Coffee With Peggy Lee (1,835th)by Peggy Lee
1954	230	11,101	Chet Baker Sings (677th)by Chet Baker
1955	325	14,931	In The Wee Small Hours (380th)by Frank Sinatra
1956	433	32,452	Elvis Presley (364th)by Elvis Presley
1957	565	45,490	Blue Train (301st)by John Coltrane
1958	567	41,489	Lady In Satin (563rd)by Billie Holiday
1959	609	82,013	Kind Of Blue (38th)by Miles Davis
Total	3,336	250,581

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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Blue Train

John Coltrane

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

571 charts

Rank Score:

5,984

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

301

Average Rating:

84 (647 votes)

Comments:

Here's Little Richard

Little Richard

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

411 charts

Rank Score:

3,977

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

450

Average Rating:

79 (480 votes)

Comments:

13.

Brilliant Corners

Thelonious Monk

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

361 charts

Rank Score:

2,917

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

606

Average Rating:

81 (368 votes)

Comments:

15.

Saxophone Colossus

Sonny Rollins

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

355 charts

Rank Score:

2,726

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

658

Average Rating:

81 (371 votes)

Comments:

17.

The "Chirping" Crickets

The Crickets

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

302 charts

Rank Score:

2,649

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

680

Average Rating:

78 (315 votes)

Comments:

19.

Birth Of The Cool
Compilation

Miles Davis

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

352 charts

Rank Score:

2,453

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

729

Average Rating:

80 (453 votes)

Comments:

23.

'Round About Midnight

Miles Davis

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

238 charts

Rank Score:

1,693

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,046

Average Rating:

82 (303 votes)

Comments:

26.

Johnny Cash With His Hot And Blue Guitar

Johnny Cash

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

222 charts

Rank Score:

1,587

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,114

Average Rating:

77 (215 votes)

Comments:

29.

After School Session

Chuck Berry

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

188 charts

Rank Score:

1,491

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,188

Average Rating:

78 (153 votes)

Comments:

38.

Ray Charles

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

133 charts

Rank Score:

1,078

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,592

Average Rating:

76 (102 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 152. Page 1 of 16

Best Albums of the 1950s composition

Year	Albums	%

1950	39	4%
1951	40	4%
1952	58	6%
1953	62	6%
1954	77	8%
1955	87	9%
1956	116	12%
1957	152	15%
1958	173	17%
1959	196	20%

Artist	Albums	%

Various Artists	19	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	%

	781	78%
	39	4%
	30	3%
	26	3%
	20	2%
	12	1%
	11	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	942	94%
Yes	58	6%

Live?	Albums	%
No	963	96%
Yes	37	4%

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

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

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