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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31.

Milestones

Miles Davis

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

203 charts

Rank Score:

1,488

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,194

Average Rating:

81 (231 votes)

Comments:

32.

Ascenseur Pour L'échafaud
Soundtrack

Miles Davis

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

186 charts

Rank Score:

1,481

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,200

Average Rating:

80 (207 votes)

Comments:

33.

Lady Sings The Blues

Billie Holiday

Year of Release:

1956

Appears in:

190 charts

Rank Score:

1,367

Rank in 1956:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,283

Average Rating:

77 (167 votes)

Comments:

34.

Elvis

Elvis Presley

Year of Release:

1956

Appears in:

198 charts

Rank Score:

1,340

Rank in 1956:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,314

Average Rating:

77 (194 votes)

Comments:

35.

Frank Sinatra Sings For Only The Lonely

Frank Sinatra

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

172 charts

Rank Score:

1,283

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,359

Average Rating:

77 (195 votes)

Comments:

36.

Chega De Saudade

João Gilberto

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

138 charts

Rank Score:

1,177

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,475

Average Rating:

78 (134 votes)

Comments:

37.

Little Richard

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

139 charts

Rank Score:

1,089

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,585

Average Rating:

76 (93 votes)

Comments:

38.

Ray Charles

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

134 charts

Rank Score:

1,076

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,602

Average Rating:

76 (103 votes)

Comments:

39.

Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Cole Porter Song Book

Ella Fitzgerald

Year of Release:

1956

Appears in:

163 charts

Rank Score:

1,076

Rank in 1956:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,603

Average Rating:

78 (138 votes)

Comments:

40.

Sarah Vaughan

Year of Release:

1955

Appears in:

159 charts

Rank Score:

961

Rank in 1955:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

1,770

Average Rating:

78 (141 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 4 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%

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