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	5,222	Voice Of The Xtabay (2,063rd)by Yma Sumac
1951	141	4,238	Genius Of Modern Music (2,773rd)by Thelonious Monk
1952	150	6,926	Bird & Diz (1,981st)by Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie
1953	194	6,683	Black Coffee With Peggy Lee (1,846th)by Peggy Lee
1954	230	11,114	Chet Baker Sings (675th)by Chet Baker
1955	325	14,934	In The Wee Small Hours (381st)by Frank Sinatra
1956	433	32,553	Elvis Presley (364th)by Elvis Presley
1957	566	45,625	Blue Train (303rd)by John Coltrane
1958	568	41,542	Lady In Satin (564th)by Billie Holiday
1959	611	81,904	Kind Of Blue (38th)by Miles Davis
Total	3,340	250,742

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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21.

Little Girl Blue

Nina Simone

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

217 charts

Rank Score:

2,101

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

853

Average Rating:

81 (202 votes)

Comments:

22.

Pithecanthropus Erectus

Charles Mingus

Year of Release:

1956

Appears in:

247 charts

Rank Score:

1,850

Rank in 1956:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

971

Average Rating:

80 (260 votes)

Comments:

23.

'Round About Midnight

Miles Davis

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

238 charts

Rank Score:

1,729

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,027

Average Rating:

82 (303 votes)

Comments:

24.

Ella & Louis

Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong

Year of Release:

1956

Appears in:

214 charts

Rank Score:

1,601

Rank in 1956:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,102

Average Rating:

79 (221 votes)

Comments:

25.

Gunfighter Ballads And Trail Songs

Marty Robbins

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

200 charts

Rank Score:

1,600

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,104

Average Rating:

77 (193 votes)

Comments:

26.

Johnny Cash With His Hot And Blue Guitar

Johnny Cash

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

224 charts

Rank Score:

1,599

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,106

Average Rating:

77 (216 votes)

Comments:

27.

The Genius Of Ray Charles

Ray Charles

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

221 charts

Rank Score:

1,555

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,139

Average Rating:

77 (208 votes)

Comments:

28.

After School Session

Chuck Berry

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

189 charts

Rank Score:

1,514

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,174

Average Rating:

78 (153 votes)

Comments:

29.

Bo Diddley

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

192 charts

Rank Score:

1,507

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,178

Average Rating:

77 (141 votes)

Comments:

30.

Ellington At Newport
Live

Duke Ellington And His Orchestra

Year of Release:

1956

Appears in:

210 charts

Rank Score:

1,488

Rank in 1956:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,193

Average Rating:

79 (192 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 3 of 100

Best Albums of the 1950s composition

Year	Albums	%

1950	39	4%
1951	40	4%
1952	58	6%
1953	62	6%
1954	77	8%
1955	87	9%
1956	116	12%
1957	152	15%
1958	173	17%
1959	196	20%

Artist	Albums	%

Various Artists	19	2%
Billie Holiday	18	2%
Miles Davis	16	2%
Frank Sinatra	15	2%
Sonny Rollins	15	2%
Ella Fitzgerald	13	1%
Elvis Presley	11	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	781	78%
	39	4%
	32	3%
	26	3%
	20	2%
	12	1%
	11	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	942	94%
Yes	58	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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