Best Albums of the 1950s
Explore the best albums of the 1950s, based on over 2 million album rankings across 60,000 charts
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Last updated: 5 hours ago
"Her voice is heartbreaking and very very touching and strong... an album to listen to in a melancholic afternoon." Reply
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patriciatoledo | 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:
1958
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3,235
Rank in 1958:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"The core melodies of each song are great, but the solos go a little too much off track, in my opinion, to the point where you just want the solo to stop so the main melody can play again. That being said, it was still a fun listen and Monk is definitely a very talented musician." Reply
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Space-Dementia | 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:
1957
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,931
Rank in 1957:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"You gotta check out this chill-ass motherfucking album over here." Reply
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Amirkhosro | 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:
1958
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,926
Rank in 1958:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"The conjunction of Sinatra and Nelson Riddle in swing mood is miraculous. The perfection of sound, arrangements, musicians and singer is really incredible. A moment for eternity: a magical "I've Got Your Under My Skin", with Sinatra singing like never and an extraordinary solo by Milt Bernhart at..." Reply
Year of Release:
1956
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,874
Rank in 1956:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Buddy Holly and the Crickets were not the genesis of modern rock and guitar pop, but they certainly sat at the threshold of rock n' roll hitting the mainstream. After all, I believe The Beatles, who were massively influenced by the Crickets, were discouraged to continue with guitar music, as it w..." Reply
Year of Release:
1957
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,743
Rank in 1957:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Rollins is an exceptional blower and this is his most outstanding outing. Challenging yet melodic in composition, full of excellent improvisation, and while Sonny is the star, all members of the ensemble contribute to make this whole greater than the sum of its parts and cement this as one of the..." Reply
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Fischman | 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:
1957
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,701
Rank in 1957:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"I enjoy the soft sounds of his voice and trumpet. Would be nice to spin during the evening and just contemplate life." Reply
Year of Release:
1954
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,625
Rank in 1954:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"'Peggy Sue', 'Rave On', 'Words of Love' and 'Everyday' are some fantastic highlights here. Overall, this album has some peaks and valleys, but ends up as a pretty good record overall." Reply
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2nd-Impressions | 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:
1958
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,623
Rank in 1958:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Miles changed the face of music many times, the first of which was Birth of the Cool. This album is cool as can be, featuring unusual arrangements for jazz music at the time. The album didn't come out for many years after it was recorded, but the music from these recordings had already spread thr..." Reply
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souplipton | 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:
1957
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,515
Rank in 1957:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"In my opinion the baddest, dirtiest blues album there is." Reply
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tgarritsen | 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:
Rank Score:
2,436
Rank in 1959:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 2 of 100
Best Albums of the 1950s composition
| Year | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 48 | 5% | |
| 1951 | 44 | 4% | |
| 1952 | 57 | 6% | |
| 1953 | 60 | 6% | |
| 1954 | 71 | 7% | |
| 1955 | 92 | 9% | |
| 1956 | 117 | 12% | |
| 1957 | 152 | 15% | |
| 1958 | 169 | 17% | |
| 1959 | 190 | 19% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Miles Davis | 22 | 2% | |
| Billie Holiday | 18 | 2% | |
| Frank Sinatra | 16 | 2% | |
| Sonny Rollins | 16 | 2% | |
| Various Artists | 15 | 2% | |
| Thelonious Monk | 14 | 1% | |
| Ella Fitzgerald | 13 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
 |
789 | 79% | |
 |
33 | 3% | |
 |
33 | 3% | |
 |
24 | 2% | |
 |
16 | 2% | |
 |
13 | 1% | |
 |
10 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Best Albums of the 1950s chart changes
| Biggest climbers Biggest climbers in top 100 since last month |
|---|
Up 8 from 80th to 72nd |
Up 6 from 67th to 61st |
Up 3 from 61st to 58th |
| Biggest fallers Biggest fallers in top 100 since last month |
|---|
Down 5 from 59th to 64th |
Down 4 from 62nd to 66th |
Down 3 from 78th to 81st |
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