Best Albums of the 1950s

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Listed below are the best albums of the 1950s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 47,000 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	121	5,090	Voice Of The Xtabay (2,005th)by Yma Sumac
1951	136	3,911	Genius Of Modern Music: Volume 1 (2,730th)by Thelonious Monk
1952	153	7,216	Bird & Diz (1,942nd)by Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie
1953	186	5,741	Black Coffee With Peggy Lee (1,898th)by Peggy Lee
1954	221	10,157	Chet Baker Sings (775th)by Chet Baker
1955	310	14,588	In The Wee Small Hours (391st)by Frank Sinatra
1956	417	30,710	Elvis Presley (374th)by Elvis Presley
1957	540	45,522	Blue Train (327th)by John Coltrane
1958	536	38,763	Lady In Satin (585th)by Billie Holiday
1959	579	84,280	Kind Of Blue (40th)by Miles Davis
Total	3,199	245,979

The best artists of the 1950s were Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, Frank Sinatra, Charles Mingus, Elvis Presley, Art Blakey, Buddy Holly, The Dave Brubeck Quartet, Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane.

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Kind Of Blue

Miles Davis

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

1,555 charts

Rank Score:

27,908

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

89 (2,123 votes)

Comments:

159

Mingus Ah Um

Charles Mingus

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

620 charts

Rank Score:

7,772

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

237

Average Rating:

84 (669 votes)

Comments:

Time Out

The Dave Brubeck Quartet

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

612 charts

Rank Score:

6,831

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

546 charts

Rank Score:

5,942

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

327

Average Rating:

84 (607 votes)

Comments:

Elvis Presley

Year of Release:

1956

Appears in:

540 charts

Rank Score:

5,134

Rank in 1956:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

374

Average Rating:

79 (717 votes)

Comments:

In The Wee Small Hours

Frank Sinatra

Year of Release:

1955

Appears in:

437 charts

Rank Score:

4,898

Rank in 1955:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

391

Average Rating:

80 (599 votes)

Comments:

The Shape Of Jazz To Come

Ornette Coleman

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

401 charts

Rank Score:

4,071

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

460

Average Rating:

81 (463 votes)

Comments:

Here's Little Richard

Little Richard

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

386 charts

Rank Score:

3,995

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

466

Average Rating:

79 (458 votes)

Comments:

Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

352 charts

Rank Score:

3,516

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

531

Average Rating:

83 (323 votes)

Comments:

10.

Lady In Satin

Billie Holiday

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

344 charts

Rank Score:

3,185

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

585

Average Rating:

80 (342 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 1 of 100

Best Albums of the 1950s composition

Year	Albums	%

1950	45	5%
1951	42	4%
1952	58	6%
1953	60	6%
1954	77	8%
1955	88	9%
1956	115	12%
1957	157	16%
1958	173	17%
1959	185	19%

Artist	Albums	%

Billie Holiday	18	2%
Various Artists	17	2%
Frank Sinatra	16	2%
Miles Davis	16	2%
Sonny Rollins	15	2%
Ella Fitzgerald	12	1%
Sarah Vaughan	12	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	777	78%
	36	4%
	32	3%
	30	3%
	21	2%
	14	1%
	10	1%
Show all

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

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

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	981	98%
Yes	19	2%

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

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