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	5,240	Voice Of The Xtabay (2,109th)by Yma Sumac
1951	141	4,209	Genius Of Modern Music (2,803rd)by Thelonious Monk
1952	152	7,051	Bird & Diz (1,958th)by Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie
1953	194	6,712	Black Coffee With Peggy Lee (1,809th)by Peggy Lee
1954	231	11,142	Chet Baker Sings (681st)by Chet Baker
1955	334	14,955	In The Wee Small Hours (374th)by Frank Sinatra
1956	444	32,498	Elvis Presley (363rd)by Elvis Presley
1957	576	45,449	Blue Train (307th)by John Coltrane
1958	576	41,405	Lady In Satin (559th)by Billie Holiday
1959	620	81,294	Kind Of Blue (37th)by Miles Davis
Total	3,393	249,955

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:

225 charts

Rank Score:

2,143

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

831

Average Rating:

81 (207 votes)

Comments:

22.

Pithecanthropus Erectus

Charles Mingus

Year of Release:

1956

Appears in:

252 charts

Rank Score:

1,861

Rank in 1956:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

965

Average Rating:

80 (263 votes)

Comments:

23.

'Round About Midnight

Miles Davis

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

237 charts

Rank Score:

1,686

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,043

Average Rating:

82 (306 votes)

Comments:

24.

Johnny Cash With His Hot And Blue Guitar

Johnny Cash

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

225 charts

Rank Score:

1,593

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,110

Average Rating:

77 (217 votes)

Comments:

25.

Ella & Louis

Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong

Year of Release:

1956

Appears in:

212 charts

Rank Score:

1,558

Rank in 1956:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,129

Average Rating:

79 (221 votes)

Comments:

26.

The Genius Of Ray Charles

Ray Charles

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

223 charts

Rank Score:

1,549

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,138

Average Rating:

77 (209 votes)

Comments:

27.

Gunfighter Ballads And Trail Songs

Marty Robbins

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

199 charts

Rank Score:

1,538

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,150

Average Rating:

77 (197 votes)

Comments:

28.

Bo Diddley

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

192 charts

Rank Score:

1,488

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,193

Average Rating:

77 (143 votes)

Comments:

29.

Milestones

Miles Davis

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

205 charts

Rank Score:

1,476

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,203

Average Rating:

81 (231 votes)

Comments:

30.

Ellington At Newport
Live

Duke Ellington And His Orchestra

Year of Release:

1956

Appears in:

208 charts

Rank Score:

1,456

Rank in 1956:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,213

Average Rating:

79 (195 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	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	%

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