Best Albums of the 1940s

Listed below are the best albums of the 1940s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 54,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade
Decade:
Year:
1940s decade summary
YearAlbums 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.
1940721,801
1941761,356
194277795
194378606
1944781,297
1945811,116
19461051,854
19471071,790
19481061,472
19491102,010
Total89014,097

The best artists of the 1940s were Woody Guthrie, Nat King Cole, Lead Belly, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Josh White, The King Cole Trio, Bing Crosby, Louis Jordan and Frank Sinatra.
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Collector's summary (top 322)Log in or register to discover the great albums that are missing from your music collection!
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Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1940
Appears in:
Rank Score:
32
Rank in 1940:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1949
Appears in:
Rank Score:
30
Rank in 1949:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1946
Appears in:
Rank Score:
30
Rank in 1946:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • eBay
  • iTunes
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  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1948
Appears in:
Rank Score:
30
Rank in 1948:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1948
Appears in:
Rank Score:
29
Rank in 1948:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1945
Appears in:
Rank Score:
29
Rank in 1945:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1948
Appears in:
Rank Score:
29
Rank in 1948:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1947
Appears in:
Rank Score:
29
Rank in 1947:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1940
Appears in:
Rank Score:
28
Rank in 1940:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1945
Appears in:
Rank Score:
28
Rank in 1945:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 322. Page 13 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 46 5%
Country Albums %


United States 250 78%
Mixed Nationality 22 7%
United Kingdom 12 4%
France 7 2%
Spain 6 2%
Cuba 5 2%
Hungary 3 1%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 304 94%
Yes 18 6%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 315 98%
Yes 7 2%
Best Albums of 1962
1. Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music by Ray Charles
2. Waltz For Debby by Bill Evans Trio
3. Howlin' Wolf by Howlin' Wolf
4. Bob Dylan by Bob Dylan
5. Green Onions by Booker T. & The M.G.'s
6. Go by Dexter Gordon
7. Tous Les Garçons Et Les Filles by Françoise Hardy
8. Tijuana Moods by Charles Mingus
9. Jazz Samba by Stan Getz & Charlie Byrd
10. The Bridge by Sonny Rollins
11. Oh Yeah by Charles Mingus
12. Takin' Off by Herbie Hancock
13. Crying by Roy Orbison
14. Coltrane "Live" At The Village Vanguard by John Coltrane
15. Mosaic by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers
16. Surfin' Safari by The Beach Boys
17. Peter, Paul And Mary by Peter, Paul And Mary
18. Coltrane by John Coltrane Quartet
19. Sentimentally Yours by Patsy Cline
20. The Original Telstar: The Sounds Of The Tornadoes by The Tornados
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