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 55,000 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	131	5,290	Voice Of The Xtabay (2,177th)by Yma Sumac
1951	141	4,291	Genius Of Modern Music (2,762nd)by Thelonious Monk
1952	157	6,563	Bird & Diz (1,964th)by Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie
1953	198	6,693	Black Coffee With Peggy Lee (1,826th)by Peggy Lee
1954	238	11,198	Chet Baker Sings (678th)by Chet Baker
1955	345	15,185	In The Wee Small Hours (378th)by Frank Sinatra
1956	464	32,964	Elvis Presley (348th)by Elvis Presley
1957	590	39,811	Here's Little Richard (424th)by Little Richard
1958	611	48,393	Blue Train (327th)by John Coltrane
1959	658	82,206	Kind Of Blue (37th)by Miles Davis
Total	3,533	252,594

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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41.

Black Coffee With Peggy Lee

Peggy Lee

Year of Release:

1953

Appears in:

138 charts

Rank Score:

925

Rank in 1953:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,826

Average Rating:

74 (114 votes)

Comments:

42.

Come Fly With Me

Frank Sinatra

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

135 charts

Rank Score:

922

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,831

Average Rating:

74 (123 votes)

Comments:

43.

N° 4

Jacques Brel

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

97 charts

Rank Score:

911

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,852

Average Rating:

75 (89 votes)

Comments:

44.

One Dozen Berrys

Chuck Berry

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

148 charts

Rank Score:

903

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,863

Average Rating:

74 (114 votes)

Comments:

45.

The Everly Brothers

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

133 charts

Rank Score:

887

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,888

Average Rating:

74 (95 votes)

Comments:

46.

Basie

Count Basie And His Orchestra & Neal Hefti

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

165 charts

Rank Score:

885

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,892

Average Rating:

77 (157 votes)

Comments:

47.

J.S. Bach: The Goldberg Variations (1956)

Glenn Gould

Year of Release:

1956

Appears in:

103 charts

Rank Score:

870

Rank in 1956:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,914

Average Rating:

80 (115 votes)

Comments:

48.

Jerry Lee Lewis

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

145 charts

Rank Score:

870

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,917

Average Rating:

72 (95 votes)

Comments:

49.

Bird & Diz

Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie

Year of Release:

1952

Appears in:

133 charts

Rank Score:

846

Rank in 1952:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,964

Average Rating:

77 (118 votes)

Comments:

50.

What'd I Say

Ray Charles

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

130 charts

Rank Score:

814

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

2,031

Average Rating:

77 (101 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 5 of 100

Best Albums of the 1950s composition

Year	Albums	%

1950	41	4%
1951	40	4%
1952	56	6%
1953	61	6%
1954	75	8%
1955	83	8%
1956	116	12%
1957	153	15%
1958	177	18%
1959	198	20%

Artist	Albums	%

Billie Holiday	18	2%
Miles Davis	16	2%
Sonny Rollins	15	2%
Frank Sinatra	15	2%
Various Artists	14	1%
Ella Fitzgerald	13	1%
Elvis Presley	11	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	782	78%
	35	4%
	32	3%
	27	3%
	18	2%
	12	1%
	11	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	944	94%
Yes	56	6%

Live?	Albums	%
No	962	96%
Yes	38	4%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	976	98%
Yes	24	2%

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

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