Best Albums of the 1940s

« View best albums of the 1930sView best albums of the 1950s »

Listed below are the best albums of the 1940s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 53,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade

Decade:

Year:

1940s 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.
1940	70	1,804	Dust Bowl Ballads - Volume 1 (3,656th)by Woody Guthrie
1941	75	1,355	The Midnight Special (And Other ... (4,431st)by Lead Belly
1942	75	785	Her Second Album Of Piano Solos ... (8,701st)by Hazel Scott
1943	77	602	Songs By Lead Belly: Accompanied... (8,770th)by Lead Belly
1944	76	1,294	An Album Of Outstanding Arrangem... (4,995th)by Glenn Miller
1945	79	1,112	Merry Christmas (5,398th)by Bing Crosby
1946	102	1,842	The Voice Of Frank Sinatra (6,345th)by Frank Sinatra
1947	105	1,756	Teddy Wilson - Billie Holiday (5,219th)by Teddy Wilson And His Orchestra F...
1948	104	1,464	Chansons Des Cafés De Paris (5,929th)by Édith Piaf
1949	107	1,991	Bird Blows The Blues (6,203rd)by Charlie Parker
Total	870	14,007

The best artists of the 1940s were Woody Guthrie, Nat King Cole, Lead Belly, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Josh White, Bing Crosby, Louis Jordan, The King Cole Trio and The Original Broadway Cast.

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Dust Bowl Ballads - Volume 1

Woody Guthrie

Year of Release:

1940

Appears in:

41 charts

Rank Score:

399

Rank in 1940:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

3,656

Average Rating:

75 (37 votes)

Comments:

Dust Bowl Ballads - Volume 2

Woody Guthrie

Year of Release:

1940

Appears in:

32 charts

Rank Score:

355

Rank in 1940:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

4,036

Average Rating:

73 (29 votes)

Comments:

The Midnight Special (And Other Southern Prison Songs)

Lead Belly

Year of Release:

1941

Appears in:

32 charts

Rank Score:

316

Rank in 1941:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

4,431

Average Rating:

75 (23 votes)

Comments:

An Album Of Outstanding Arrangements

Glenn Miller

Year of Release:

1944

Appears in:

32 charts

Rank Score:

271

Rank in 1944:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

4,995

Average Rating:

73 (24 votes)

Comments:

Teddy Wilson - Billie Holiday

Teddy Wilson And His Orchestra Featuring Billie Holiday

Year of Release:

1947

Appears in:

18 charts

Rank Score:

257

Rank in 1947:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

Year of Release:

1945

Appears in:

35 charts

Rank Score:

247

Rank in 1945:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

5,398

Average Rating:

73 (53 votes)

Comments:

Billie Holiday

Year of Release:

1947

Appears in:

19 charts

Rank Score:

227

Rank in 1947:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

5,813

Average Rating:

74 (17 votes)

Comments:

Chansons Des Cafés De Paris

Édith Piaf

Year of Release:

1948

Appears in:

54 charts

Rank Score:

221

Rank in 1948:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

5,929

Average Rating:

72 (52 votes)

Comments:

Bird Blows The Blues
Compilation

Charlie Parker

Year of Release:

1949

Appears in:

21 charts

Rank Score:

210

Rank in 1949:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

6,203

Average Rating:

74 (16 votes)

Comments:

10.

The Voice Of Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra

Year of Release:

1946

Appears in:

22 charts

Rank Score:

204

Rank in 1946:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

6,345

Average Rating:

69 (28 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 321. Page 1 of 33

Best Albums of the 1940s composition

Year	Albums	%

1940	29	3%
1941	30	3%
1942	24	2%
1943	24	2%
1944	25	3%
1945	26	3%
1946	38	4%
1947	40	4%
1948	40	4%
1949	45	5%

Artist	Albums	%

Various Artists	11	3%
Josh White	7	2%
Bing Crosby	6	2%
The Original Broadway Cast	6	2%
Sir Thomas Beecham / The London Philharmonic Orchestra	6	2%
Woody Guthrie	5	2%
Almanac Singers	5	2%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	250	78%
	20	6%
	14	4%
	7	2%
	6	2%
	5	2%
	2	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	303	94%
Yes	18	6%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	315	98%
Yes	6	2%

« View best albums of the 1930sView best albums of the 1950s »

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