Best Albums of the 1950s
Explore the best albums of the 1950s, based on over 2 million album rankings across 59,000 charts.
Last updated: 3 hours ago.
Last updated: 3 hours ago.
"A damn near perfect record!" Reply
Year of Release:
1959
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,351
Rank in 1959:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"This is really the Mingus chaos record, which works for some but not everyone. I like it, though." Reply
Year of Release:
1956
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,913
Rank in 1956:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"One of the best of early Miles. Good compositions well delivered, especially by the back line." Reply
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Fischman | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 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:
1,861
Rank in 1957:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Early Ray Charles was grittier and more soulful, and therefore better than his late 60s and beyond work. This is an essential album." Reply
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junodog4 | 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:
1959
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,747
Rank in 1959:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Stunner debut album by The Man in Black. A couple dated slow tunes hold it back from being an absolute masterpiece, but the inclusion of tracks like Rock Island Line, Folsom Prison Blues, and I Walk the Line ensure it's place in the country (and rock roll) hall of fame. Look for the reissue with ..." [+] Reply
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Bork | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Year of Release:
1957
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,692
Rank in 1957:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"The highest rated EAN track on BEA is Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue. The best track of EAN, according to Nape, is Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue. Coincidence? I think NOT!" Reply
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Facetious | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Year of Release:
1956
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,656
Rank in 1956:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"I blame playing Fallout Vegas, but somehow this album connected with me when normally I think from a musical standpoint I wouldn't have liked it. I also grew up with a "real" cowboy... his name was Boot Johnson and he used to jump trains and hurdle cattle from Texas to Montana. He owned his own r..." [+] Reply
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RoundTheBend | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Year of Release:
1959
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,652
Rank in 1959:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Bo Diddley at his finest. No-one else in the blues game had as much fun, or as much energy as Bo." Reply
- junodog4 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 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:
1,645
Rank in 1958:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"5 first songs they do omgoddishly. and the ender. the rest is good too. nothing bad here." Reply
Year of Release:
1956
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,634
Rank in 1956:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"An album I believe is better and more important than Kind of Blue (*takes shelter from ensuing Jazz snobs*)" Reply
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jdenny2018 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 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:
1,513
Rank in 1958:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 3 of 100
Best Albums of the 1950s composition
| Year | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 47 | 5% | |
| 1951 | 42 | 4% | |
| 1952 | 57 | 6% | |
| 1953 | 59 | 6% | |
| 1954 | 73 | 7% | |
| 1955 | 92 | 9% | |
| 1956 | 117 | 12% | |
| 1957 | 154 | 15% | |
| 1958 | 170 | 17% | |
| 1959 | 189 | 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 | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
 |
788 | 79% | |
 |
33 | 3% | |
 |
33 | 3% | |
 |
23 | 2% | |
 |
17 | 2% | |
 |
13 | 1% | |
 |
10 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Recognised
Decade Charts (2020s)
