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 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	122	5,214	Voice Of The Xtabay (2,056th)by Yma Sumac
1951	140	4,224	Genius Of Modern Music (2,768th)by Thelonious Monk
1952	150	6,851	Bird & Diz (1,986th)by Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie
1953	193	6,468	Black Coffee With Peggy Lee (1,854th)by Peggy Lee
1954	229	11,179	Chet Baker Sings (674th)by Chet Baker
1955	322	14,876	In The Wee Small Hours (381st)by Frank Sinatra
1956	434	32,554	Elvis Presley (364th)by Elvis Presley
1957	564	45,408	Blue Train (300th)by John Coltrane
1958	564	41,280	Lady In Satin (566th)by Billie Holiday
1959	608	82,094	Kind Of Blue (37th)by Miles Davis
Total	3,326	250,146

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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331.

Rock & Roll

Ruth Brown

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

17 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

331

Overall Rank:

11,621

Average Rating:

73 (14 votes)

Comments:

332.

Paul Anka

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

5 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

332

Overall Rank:

11,665

Average Rating:

71 (5 votes)

Comments:

333.

Anita Sings The Most

Anita O'Day

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

24 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

333

Overall Rank:

11,738

Average Rating:

71 (35 votes)

Comments:

334.

Looking Ahead!

Cecil Taylor Quartet

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

27 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

334

Overall Rank:

11,742

Average Rating:

71 (22 votes)

Comments:

335.

His Story
Compilation

Blind Willie Johnson

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

2 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

335

Overall Rank:

11,755

Average Rating:

73 (1 vote)

Comments:

336.

Satchmo At Symphony Hall
Live

Louis Armstrong

Year of Release:

1951

Appears in:

22 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1951:

Rank in 1950s:

336

Overall Rank:

11,800

Average Rating:

74 (18 votes)

Comments:

337.

Lover Man
Compilation

Billie Holiday

Year of Release:

1951

Appears in:

22 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1951:

Rank in 1950s:

337

Overall Rank:

11,803

Average Rating:

74 (19 votes)

Comments:

338.

Poetry For The Beat Generation

Jack Kerouac & Steve Allen

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

17 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

338

Overall Rank:

11,813

Average Rating:

73 (14 votes)

Comments:

339.

Les Paul's New Sound, Vol. 2

Les Paul & Mary Ford

Year of Release:

1951

Appears in:

28 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1951:

Rank in 1950s:

339

Overall Rank:

11,847

Average Rating:

72 (21 votes)

Comments:

340.

Carl Orff: Carmina Burana

Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt / Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra

Year of Release:

1954

Appears in:

9 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1954:

Rank in 1950s:

340

Overall Rank:

11,869

Average Rating:

72 (13 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 34 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	86	9%
1956	118	12%
1957	152	15%
1958	174	17%
1959	194	19%

Artist	Albums	%

Various Artists	19	2%
Billie Holiday	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	%

	779	78%
	40	4%
	31	3%
	26	3%
	21	2%
	12	1%
	10	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	943	94%
Yes	57	6%

Live?	Albums	%
No	963	96%
Yes	37	4%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	977	98%
Yes	23	2%

« View best albums of the 1940sView best albums of the 1960s »

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