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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291.

Caymmi E Seu Violão

Dorival Caymmi

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

15 charts

Rank Score:

120

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

291

Overall Rank:

9,849

Average Rating:

76 (18 votes)

Comments:

292.

N°2

Serge Gainsbourg

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

28 charts

Rank Score:

120

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

292

Overall Rank:

9,858

Average Rating:

71 (29 votes)

Comments:

293.

Chet Atkins In Three Dimensions

Chet Atkins

Year of Release:

1955

Appears in:

32 charts

Rank Score:

120

Rank in 1955:

Rank in 1950s:

293

Overall Rank:

9,895

Average Rating:

69 (25 votes)

Comments:

294.

Moondog And His Friends

Moondog

Year of Release:

1953

Appears in:

29 charts

Rank Score:

119

Rank in 1953:

Rank in 1950s:

294

Overall Rank:

9,920

Average Rating:

73 (25 votes)

Comments:

295.

East Coasting

Charles Mingus

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

32 charts

Rank Score:

119

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

295

Overall Rank:

9,923

Average Rating:

74 (29 votes)

Comments:

296.

Freedom Suite

Sonny Rollins

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

33 charts

Rank Score:

118

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

296

Overall Rank:

9,968

Average Rating:

74 (28 votes)

Comments:

297.

The Fabulous Shirley Bassey

Shirley Bassey

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

12 charts

Rank Score:

118

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

297

Overall Rank:

9,983

Average Rating:

71 (12 votes)

Comments:

298.

At Newport
Live

Dizzy Gillespie

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

33 charts

Rank Score:

117

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

298

Overall Rank:

10,057

Average Rating:

73 (20 votes)

Comments:

299.

Dexter Gordon

Year of Release:

1950

Appears in:

20 charts

Rank Score:

116

Rank in 1950:

Rank in 1950s:

299

Overall Rank:

10,168

Average Rating:

70 (12 votes)

Comments:

300.

Chansons Parisiennes

Édith Piaf

Year of Release:

1950

Appears in:

22 charts

Rank Score:

115

Rank in 1950:

Rank in 1950s:

300

Overall Rank:

10,203

Average Rating:

69 (18 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 30 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