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	69	1,776	Dust Bowl Ballads - Volume 1 (3,759th)by Woody Guthrie
1941	75	1,347	The Midnight Special (And Other ... (4,437th)by Lead Belly
1942	75	756	Her Second Album Of Piano Solos ... (8,698th)by Hazel Scott
1943	77	601	Songs By Lead Belly: Accompanied... (8,835th)by Lead Belly
1944	76	1,294	An Album Of Outstanding Arrangem... (4,992nd)by Glenn Miller
1945	79	1,092	Merry Christmas (5,397th)by Bing Crosby
1946	102	1,816	The Voice Of Frank Sinatra (6,393rd)by Frank Sinatra
1947	105	1,753	Teddy Wilson - Billie Holiday (5,218th)by Teddy Wilson And His Orchestra F...
1948	104	1,464	Chansons Des Cafés De Paris (5,928th)by Édith Piaf
1949	106	1,988	Bird Blows The Blues (6,207th)by Charlie Parker
Total	868	13,888

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

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141.

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5

Artur Rodzinski / The Cleveland Orchestra

Year of Release:

1942

Appears in:

5 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1942:

Rank in 1940s:

141

Overall Rank:

31,840

Average Rating:

71 (4 votes)

Comments:

142.

At The Piano

Count Basie

Year of Release:

1940

Appears in:

7 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1940:

Rank in 1940s:

142

Overall Rank:

32,048

Average Rating:

71 (6 votes)

Comments:

143.

Jazz As It Should Be Played

Bix Beiderbecke

Year of Release:

1940

Appears in:

6 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1940:

Rank in 1940s:

143

Overall Rank:

32,063

Average Rating:

69 (5 votes)

Comments:

144.

A Monday Date At Blue Note

Art Hodes' Hot Seven

Year of Release:

1948

Appears in:

6 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1948:

Rank in 1940s:

144

Overall Rank:

32,233

Average Rating:

71 (4 votes)

Comments:

145.

Beethoven: Concerto In D Major For Violin And Orchestra

Arturo Toscanini / NBC Symphony Orchestra / Jascha Heifetz

Year of Release:

1940

Appears in:

9 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1940:

Rank in 1940s:

145

Overall Rank:

32,289

Average Rating:

71 (8 votes)

Comments:

146.

Debussy: Pelléas Et Mélisande

Roger Désormière / Orchestre Symphonique De Paris / Chœurs Yvonne Gouverné / Maurice Maeterlinck / Irène Joachim

Year of Release:

1942

Appears in:

7 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1942:

Rank in 1940s:

146

Overall Rank:

32,421

Average Rating:

67 (5 votes)

Comments:

147.

Sings Blue Ridge Ballads

Texas Gladden

Year of Release:

1948

Appears in:

6 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1948:

Rank in 1940s:

147

Overall Rank:

32,689

Average Rating:

70 (3 votes)

Comments:

148.

Debussy: La Mer ("The Sea")

Artur Rodzinski / The Cleveland Orchestra

Year of Release:

1942

Appears in:

4 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1942:

Rank in 1940s:

148

Overall Rank:

32,748

Average Rating:

70 (4 votes)

Comments:

149.

Deep Sea Chanteys And Whaling Ballads

Almanac Singers

Year of Release:

1941

Appears in:

6 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1941:

Rank in 1940s:

149

Overall Rank:

32,849

Average Rating:

69 (5 votes)

Comments:

150.

New Movements In Be-Bop

Lionel Hampton

Year of Release:

1948

Appears in:

6 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1948:

Rank in 1940s:

150

Overall Rank:

33,215

Average Rating:

71 (4 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 321. Page 15 of 33

Best Albums of the 1940s composition

Year	Albums	%

1940	29	3%
1941	29	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%
The Original Broadway Cast	6	2%
Sir Thomas Beecham / The London Philharmonic Orchestra	6	2%
Bing Crosby	6	2%
Almanac Singers	5	2%
Frank Sinatra	5	2%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	249	78%
	20	6%
	14	4%
	7	2%
	6	2%
	5	2%
	2	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	302	94%
Yes	18	6%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	314	98%
Yes	6	2%

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

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