Best Albums of the 1950s

Listed below are the best albums of the 1950s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 50,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade
Decade:
Year:
1950s decade summary
YearAlbums 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.
19501215,211
19511384,206
19521527,399
19531916,088
195422310,999
195531614,981
195642632,381
195755445,500
195855240,898
195960383,624
Total3,276251,286

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, John Coltrane and Billie Holiday.
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Year of Release:
1959
Appears in:
Rank Score:
26,738
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Year of Release:
1959
Appears in:
Rank Score:
7,630
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Year of Release:
1959
Appears in:
Rank Score:
6,617
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Year of Release:
1957
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,981
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Year of Release:
1956
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,085
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Year of Release:
1955
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,827
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Year of Release:
1959
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,064
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Year of Release:
1957
Appears in:
Rank Score:
4,031
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Year of Release:
1959
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,519
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Year of Release:
1959
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,192
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Total albums: 1,000. Page 1 of 100

Best Albums of the 1950s composition

Year Albums %


1950 41 4%
1951 41 4%
1952 61 6%
1953 62 6%
1954 75 8%
1955 87 9%
1956 116 12%
1957 152 15%
1958 175 18%
1959 190 19%
Country Albums %


United States 776 78%
Mixed Nationality 39 4%
France 32 3%
United Kingdom 29 3%
Brazil 20 2%
Canada 13 1%
Austria 10 1%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 944 94%
Yes 56 6%
Live? Albums %
No 964 96%
Yes 36 4%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 978 98%
Yes 22 2%
Popular  Charts
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5. Top 100 Albums by ABC (2006)
6. The Definitive 200 by National Association of Recording Merchandisers (2007)
7. Virgin All-Time Top 1000 Albums by Virgin (2000)
8. The Greatest Rock Albums by uDiscoverMusic (2015)
9. Mojo Readers: The 100 Greatest Albums Ever Made by Mojo (1996)
10. Greatest 100 Albums of All Time by The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums with NME (2006)
11. The 100 Greatest Albums Of All Time by Absolute Radio (2012)
12. 100 Greatest Albums Ever by Q (2006)
13. Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by Melody Maker (2000)
14. Die 20 besten Alben der Geschichte by Musikexpress.de (2011)
15. The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time by Consequence of Sound (2022)
16. 100 Greatest Albums Of All Time by The Sound (2018)
17. The Guardian 100 Best Albums Ever by The Guardian (1997)
18. The 100 All-Time Greatest Albums by Entertainment Weekly (2013)
19. Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by Channel 4 (2005)
20. All Time Top 100 Albums by Sounds (1985)
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