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 54,000 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 (2,102nd)by Yma Sumac
1951	141	4,196	Genius Of Modern Music (2,798th)by Thelonious Monk
1952	151	7,035	Bird & Diz (1,956th)by Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie
1953	194	6,701	Black Coffee With Peggy Lee (1,805th)by Peggy Lee
1954	229	11,138	Chet Baker Sings (676th)by Chet Baker
1955	333	14,926	In The Wee Small Hours (376th)by Frank Sinatra
1956	444	32,416	Elvis Presley (365th)by Elvis Presley
1957	576	45,380	Blue Train (307th)by John Coltrane
1958	575	41,331	Lady In Satin (561st)by Billie Holiday
1959	619	81,381	Kind Of Blue (37th)by Miles Davis
Total	3,387	249,738

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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101.

Way Out West

Sonny Rollins

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

87 charts

Rank Score:

424

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

101

Overall Rank:

3,451

Average Rating:

78 (74 votes)

Comments:

102.

Songs For Distingué Lovers

Billie Holiday

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

82 charts

Rank Score:

417

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

102

Overall Rank:

3,506

Average Rating:

79 (83 votes)

Comments:

103.

Hank Williams Sings
Compilation

Hank Williams With His Drifting Cowboys

Year of Release:

1951

Appears in:

67 charts

Rank Score:

406

Rank in 1951:

Rank in 1950s:

103

Overall Rank:

3,595

Average Rating:

75 (56 votes)

Comments:

104.

Charlie Parker With Strings

Charlie Parker

Year of Release:

1950

Appears in:

86 charts

Rank Score:

406

Rank in 1950:

Rank in 1950s:

104

Overall Rank:

3,606

Average Rating:

76 (84 votes)

Comments:

105.

Talking Dust Bowl
Compilation

Woody Guthrie

Year of Release:

1950

Appears in:

57 charts

Rank Score:

405

Rank in 1950:

Rank in 1950s:

105

Overall Rank:

3,611

Average Rating:

72 (45 votes)

Comments:

106.

Moondog

Year of Release:

1956

Appears in:

58 charts

Rank Score:

397

Rank in 1956:

Rank in 1950s:

106

Overall Rank:

3,673

Average Rating:

76 (58 votes)

Comments:

107.

Rock And Rollin' With Fats Domino

Fats Domino

Year of Release:

1956

Appears in:

63 charts

Rank Score:

392

Rank in 1956:

Rank in 1950s:

107

Overall Rank:

3,702

Average Rating:

74 (45 votes)

Comments:

108.

Folksongs And Instrumentals With Guitar

Elizabeth Cotten

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

58 charts

Rank Score:

390

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

108

Overall Rank:

3,717

Average Rating:

77 (41 votes)

Comments:

109.

Singin' To My Baby

Eddie Cochran With The Johnny Mann Orchestra And Chorus

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

63 charts

Rank Score:

384

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

109

Overall Rank:

3,773

Average Rating:

72 (44 votes)

Comments:

110.

Mambo!

Yma Sumac

Year of Release:

1954

Appears in:

74 charts

Rank Score:

373

Rank in 1954:

Rank in 1950s:

110

Overall Rank:

3,854

Average Rating:

68 (57 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 11 of 100

Best Albums of the 1950s composition

Year	Albums	%

1950	40	4%
1951	40	4%
1952	59	6%
1953	62	6%
1954	76	8%
1955	82	8%
1956	117	12%
1957	153	15%
1958	173	17%
1959	198	20%

Artist	Albums	%

Billie Holiday	18	2%
Various Artists	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	%

	777	78%
	38	4%
	34	3%
	27	3%
	19	2%
	12	1%
	11	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	942	94%
Yes	58	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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Best Artists of the 1960s
1. The Beatles
2. The Velvet Underground
3. Jimi Hendrix
4. Bob Dylan
5. The Beach Boys
6. The Jimi Hendrix Experience
7. The Velvet Underground & Nico
8. Led Zeppelin
9. The Doors
10. The Rolling Stones
11. King Crimson
12. John Coltrane
13. Frank Zappa
14. The Kinks
15. Love
16. Van Morrison
17. Neil Young
18. Charles Mingus
19. Miles Davis
20. The Zombies