Best Albums of the 1950s

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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	125	5,232	Voice Of The Xtabay (2,089th)by Yma Sumac
1951	141	4,183	Genius Of Modern Music (2,810th)by Thelonious Monk
1952	151	6,973	Bird & Diz (1,991st)by Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie
1953	194	6,679	Black Coffee With Peggy Lee (1,842nd)by Peggy Lee
1954	230	11,125	Chet Baker Sings (682nd)by Chet Baker
1955	331	14,852	In The Wee Small Hours (381st)by Frank Sinatra
1956	442	32,244	Elvis Presley (364th)by Elvis Presley
1957	573	45,292	Blue Train (308th)by John Coltrane
1958	573	41,295	Lady In Satin (560th)by Billie Holiday
1959	616	81,197	Kind Of Blue (38th)by Miles Davis
Total	3,376	249,072

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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11.

Lady In Satin

Billie Holiday

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

349 charts

Rank Score:

3,196

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

560

Average Rating:

80 (362 votes)

Comments:

12.

Songs For Swingin' Lovers!

Frank Sinatra

Year of Release:

1956

Appears in:

307 charts

Rank Score:

2,934

Rank in 1956:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

602

Average Rating:

79 (363 votes)

Comments:

13.

Brilliant Corners

Thelonious Monk

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

359 charts

Rank Score:

2,890

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

615

Average Rating:

81 (368 votes)

Comments:

14.

Somethin' Else

Cannonball Adderley

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

329 charts

Rank Score:

2,831

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

626

Average Rating:

82 (302 votes)

Comments:

15.

Saxophone Colossus

Sonny Rollins

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

356 charts

Rank Score:

2,709

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

659

Average Rating:

82 (371 votes)

Comments:

16.

Chet Baker Sings

Chet Baker

Year of Release:

1954

Appears in:

254 charts

Rank Score:

2,632

Rank in 1954:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

682

Average Rating:

79 (243 votes)

Comments:

17.

The "Chirping" Crickets

The Crickets

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

297 charts

Rank Score:

2,594

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

697

Average Rating:

78 (315 votes)

Comments:

18.

Buddy Holly

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

294 charts

Rank Score:

2,574

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

703

Average Rating:

79 (262 votes)

Comments:

19.

Birth Of The Cool
Compilation

Miles Davis

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

354 charts

Rank Score:

2,438

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

730

Average Rating:

80 (453 votes)

Comments:

20.

Moanin' In The Moonlight
Compilation

Howlin' Wolf

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

296 charts

Rank Score:

2,376

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

752

Average Rating:

80 (289 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 2 of 100

Best Albums of the 1950s composition

Year	Albums	%

1950	40	4%
1951	40	4%
1952	58	6%
1953	62	6%
1954	76	8%
1955	85	9%
1956	117	12%
1957	152	15%
1958	172	17%
1959	198	20%

Artist	Albums	%

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

Country	Albums	%

	779	78%
	39	4%
	32	3%
	26	3%
	21	2%
	12	1%
	11	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	943	94%
Yes	57	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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