Best Albums of the 1950s

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1.

Kind Of Blue 

 Miles Davis

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"So, this album. I have a bit of a strange relationship with this album, I first listened to it a year or so ago, and it was my first jazz album ever. Needless to say, I was a bit confused. Not because of the music, since that isn't really that abstract or anything, no, I was confused about why th...""So, this album. I have a bit of a strange relationship with this album, I first listened to it a year or so ago, and it was my first jazz album ever. Needless to say, I was a bit confused. Not because of the music, since that isn't really that abstract or anything, no, I was confused about why this album got so much praise as it did, Since it really didn't seem to sound that different to other jazz to me. I remember thinking that I just hadn't heard enough jazz to fully appreciate it (which is probably still the case). So, I rated the album 85/100 thinking that people probably know what their talking about when they say this album's great, and I should just believe them, even though I didn't see the same thing in this album. Okay, cut to a few months later, and I have listened to the thing three times. While it was still not grabbing me like it was grabbing other people, I did appreciate the cool & calm nature of the album. (which made it great for doing homework, but I digress) Well, soon after that, I thought I needed to listen to some more jazz, since it was by far the genre I had heard the least from (aside from maybe country). So, I started with the classics: John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, and even Miles Davis's very own In a Silent Way, and I realised that I really liked these albums, (even going as far as puuting The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady in my top 100), and while listening to these albums, I started liking Kind of Blue less and less. "How could people say this is the best jazz album, when these other ones are clearly better?" I thought to myself. I guess it's good to not have opinions like everyone else, but I would would love to see what so many of you see in this album. Maybe I need to listen to it some more times, or listen to some more jazz before and after this album came out, and I'll appriciate the influence and relavency this album has, or maybe I'm looking to deep into it, and I just don't like an album as much as other people do. The wierdest thing is, I really do expect me doing a complete 180 and loving this album in a couple of months, I mean, it happened before with albums like funeral, which is now in my top 10. I will probably post another comment if I start really liking the album, and I'll say how much of an idiot I was for not seeing the pure genius in this album, but for now, it's a fine album, but not exceptionally great in my opinion."  [+]  Reply

- goeie-oko | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +13 votes (13 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

1,665 charts

Rank Score:

21,484

Rank in 1959:

1

Rank in 1950s:

1

Overall Rank:

37

Average Rating:

 89 (2,292 votes)

Comments:

170

2.

Mingus Ah Um 

 Charles Mingus

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"Charles Mingus is a pretty cool dude, played a mean bass. This album's sweet as candy mangoes, every track is a dang standard as far as this guy is concerned. An entirely different monster than Black Saint, but just as good in its own ways. If "Haitian Fight Song" happened to be tagged onto the e...""Charles Mingus is a pretty cool dude, played a mean bass. This album's sweet as candy mangoes, every track is a dang standard as far as this guy is concerned. An entirely different monster than Black Saint, but just as good in its own ways. If "Haitian Fight Song" happened to be tagged onto the end of the Anniversary edition (whose bonus tracks are all essential, too), then I might not need to listen to anything else. Ever. Again. EVER. SERIOUSLY MAN NEVER ANYTHING EVER. MUSIC IS DEAD AFTER THIS ALBUM I SWEAR GUYS. Ten outta ten. "  [+]  Reply

- weedygonsalez | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +7 votes (8 helpful | 1 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

663 charts

Rank Score:

6,798

Rank in 1959:

2

Rank in 1950s:

2

Overall Rank:

234

Average Rating:

 84 (730 votes)

Comments:

40

3.

Time Out 

 The Dave Brubeck Quartet

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"The music is only part of the package. "Theoretically it is as if Joe Morello's three beats had ceased to be the basic pulse, and had become triplets in a slow 4-beat blues -- though with Eugene Wright's 1-in-a-bar bass as the constant link between piano and drums. The listener who keeps abreast ...""The music is only part of the package. "Theoretically it is as if Joe Morello's three beats had ceased to be the basic pulse, and had become triplets in a slow 4-beat blues -- though with Eugene Wright's 1-in-a-bar bass as the constant link between piano and drums. The listener who keeps abreast of the cross-rhythms here can congratulate themself on sharing with the Brubeck Quartet an enlightened rhythmic sense." That's a quote from the original liner notes, that particular excerpt talking about the tune Kathy's Waltz. But it's the tone--intellectual, technical--that I want to point out. The experience of this album for the original listeners was inseparable from the liner notes, which taught listeners what they should be paying attention to--the time and meter within each song. Each track's metric approach was described, some more precisely than others but all of the descriptions talking about meter, eg for the first track it's "Blue Rondo à la Turk plunges straight into the most jazz-remote time signature, 9/8 - grouped not in the usual form (3-3-3) but in 2-2-2-3." It's inviting the listener to count along and participate in the intellectual side of music, the technical side. In other words, it's not just saying "trust us, this is very technical, and you'd be impressed if you could understand." It's saying, "here's some technical information that you actually can understand and listen along with." And it promises the reward that you'll be able to "congratulate yourself" for your "enlightened" understanding. Jazz liner notes were like this, verbose and intellectual, and sometimes they became hits along with the music on the vinyl. Like Kind Of Blue with its notes by Bill Evans, this album's liner notes were a huge part of the crossover appeal. It's no criticism of the music to point out the plain fact that for both albums, take away the liner notes, and they aren't crossover hits, no way. It's non-jazz listeners being instructed by the liner notes how to listen, and feeling clever and "enlightened" when they do so. To get what this album was understood to be, you really do need to read the original liner notes (they're online) while listening, like 100% of the original listeners did. "  [+]  Reply

- | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

664 charts

Rank Score:

6,350

Rank in 1959:

3

Rank in 1950s:

3

Overall Rank:

250

Average Rating:

 84 (738 votes)

Comments:

39

8.

The Shape Of Jazz To Come 

 Ornette Coleman

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"One of the greatest jazz albums ever. The shape of jazz to come, is quirky, challenging, and still sounds totally fresh after all these years. The album has a musical theme running through it's playing time that gives you a sense of familiarity as the music shifts from one place to another. A bea...""One of the greatest jazz albums ever. The shape of jazz to come, is quirky, challenging, and still sounds totally fresh after all these years. The album has a musical theme running through it's playing time that gives you a sense of familiarity as the music shifts from one place to another. A beautiful and courageous jazz album that is utterly timeless. "  [+]  Reply

- garycottier | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

443 charts

Rank Score:

3,773

Rank in 1959:

4

Rank in 1950s:

8

Overall Rank:

449

Average Rating:

 81 (515 votes)

Comments:

24

9.

Berry Is On Top 

 Chuck Berry

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"Great Album. My only beef with Chuck Berry is he often starts his songs off the same, but other than that, his guitar playing brought the guitar to the forefront more than anyone else. Almost no filler on this album. Key tracks- Carol, Maybellene, Johnny B. Goode, Roll Over Beethoven. I also like...""Great Album. My only beef with Chuck Berry is he often starts his songs off the same, but other than that, his guitar playing brought the guitar to the forefront more than anyone else. Almost no filler on this album. Key tracks- Carol, Maybellene, Johnny B. Goode, Roll Over Beethoven. I also like the irony in Blues for Hawaiians."  [+]  Reply

- RoundTheBend | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (5 helpful | 1 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

384 charts

Rank Score:

3,542

Rank in 1959:

5

Rank in 1950s:

9

Overall Rank:

483

Average Rating:

 80 (342 votes)

Comments:

16

20.

Moanin' In The Moonlight 
Compilation

 Howlin' Wolf

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"Its hard to imagine an album better exemplifying its genre than this album. If you're looking for blues, this is as good as it gets."  Reply

- audiooasis2012 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

310 charts

Rank Score:

2,421

Rank in 1959:

6

Rank in 1950s:

20

Overall Rank:

715

Average Rating:

 79 (311 votes)

Comments:

11

21.

Little Girl Blue 

 Nina Simone

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"The first Nina's record is full of amazing songs, played with her precius talent, and singed with her smooth voice. MUST be on the best 500s."  Reply

- Juneof44 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

250 charts

Rank Score:

2,359

Rank in 1959:

7

Rank in 1950s:

21

Overall Rank:

734

Average Rating:

 81 (230 votes)

Comments:

9

24.

The Genius Of Ray Charles 

 Ray Charles

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"Band arrangements are over the top, but his vocals here are at his best, mixing soul, rock&roll, and jazz all into one. This LP is takes "Big Band" and turns it on its arse."  Reply

- Kingturtle | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

250 charts

Rank Score:

1,747

Rank in 1959:

8

Rank in 1950s:

24

Overall Rank:

994

Average Rating:

 77 (224 votes)

Comments:

14

28.

Gunfighter Ballads And Trail Songs 

 Marty Robbins

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"Ah back when country music had some class. Songs about something other than the pap crap that passes for country today. A classic and classy record in every sense of the word."  Reply

- Coconut | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

225 charts

Rank Score:

1,639

Rank in 1959:

9

Rank in 1950s:

28

Overall Rank:

1,068

Average Rating:

 76 (219 votes)

Comments:

13

35.

Chega De Saudade 

 João Gilberto

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"This is a medicine for anxiety."  Reply

- Fritz | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

161 charts

Rank Score:

1,376

Rank in 1959:

10

Rank in 1950s:

35

Overall Rank:

1,267

Average Rating:

 78 (152 votes)

Comments:

5

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Total albums: 189. Page 1 of 19

Best Albums of the 1950s composition

Top 100

Year	Albums	%
1950	47	5%
1951	42	4%
1952	57	6%
1953	60	6%
1954	73	7%
1955	92	9%
1956	115	12%
1957	153	15%
1958	172	17%
1959	189	19%

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

Country	Albums	%
	789	79%
	34	3%
	33	3%
	23	2%
	16	2%
	12	1%
	10	1%
Show all

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

Live?	Albums	%
No	964	96%
Yes	36	4%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	975	98%
Yes	25	3%