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 55,000 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	128	5,248	Voice Of The Xtabay (2,162nd)by Yma Sumac
1951	142	4,299	Genius Of Modern Music (2,750th)by Thelonious Monk
1952	155	6,519	Bird & Diz (1,968th)by Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie
1953	197	6,704	Black Coffee With Peggy Lee (1,821st)by Peggy Lee
1954	232	11,105	Chet Baker Sings (666th)by Chet Baker
1955	342	15,036	In The Wee Small Hours (377th)by Frank Sinatra
1956	458	32,745	Elvis Presley (350th)by Elvis Presley
1957	586	46,074	Blue Train (292nd)by John Coltrane
1958	603	41,994	Lady In Satin (548th)by Billie Holiday
1959	652	81,826	Kind Of Blue (37th)by Miles Davis
Total	3,495	251,549

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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21.

Little Girl Blue

Nina Simone

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

228 charts

Rank Score:

2,204

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

801

Average Rating:

81 (212 votes)

Comments:

22.

Pithecanthropus Erectus

Charles Mingus

Year of Release:

1956

Appears in:

253 charts

Rank Score:

1,836

Rank in 1956:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

975

Average Rating:

80 (271 votes)

Comments:

23.

'Round About Midnight

Miles Davis

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

238 charts

Rank Score:

1,699

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,035

Average Rating:

82 (314 votes)

Comments:

24.

The Genius Of Ray Charles

Ray Charles

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

230 charts

Rank Score:

1,629

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,078

Average Rating:

77 (213 votes)

Comments:

25.

Johnny Cash With His Hot And Blue Guitar

Johnny Cash

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

229 charts

Rank Score:

1,608

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,095

Average Rating:

77 (221 votes)

Comments:

26.

Ella & Louis

Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong

Year of Release:

1956

Appears in:

219 charts

Rank Score:

1,551

Rank in 1956:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,144

Average Rating:

79 (225 votes)

Comments:

27.

Gunfighter Ballads And Trail Songs

Marty Robbins

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

204 charts

Rank Score:

1,544

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,150

Average Rating:

77 (203 votes)

Comments:

28.

Milestones

Miles Davis

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

207 charts

Rank Score:

1,510

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,172

Average Rating:

81 (235 votes)

Comments:

29.

Bo Diddley

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

198 charts

Rank Score:

1,505

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,173

Average Rating:

77 (150 votes)

Comments:

30.

Ellington At Newport
Live

Duke Ellington And His Orchestra

Year of Release:

1956

Appears in:

210 charts

Rank Score:

1,477

Rank in 1956:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,196

Average Rating:

79 (197 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 3 of 100

Best Albums of the 1950s composition

Year	Albums	%

1950	40	4%
1951	40	4%
1952	57	6%
1953	62	6%
1954	76	8%
1955	82	8%
1956	117	12%
1957	155	16%
1958	172	17%
1959	199	20%

Artist	Albums	%

Billie Holiday	18	2%
Miles Davis	16	2%
Sonny Rollins	15	2%
Frank Sinatra	15	2%
Various Artists	14	1%
Ella Fitzgerald	13	1%
Sarah Vaughan	11	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	781	78%
	34	3%
	33	3%
	27	3%
	18	2%
	13	1%
	11	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	944	94%
Yes	56	6%

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

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	976	98%
Yes	24	2%

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

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