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	1,804	Dust Bowl Ballads - Volume 1 (3,655th)by Woody Guthrie
1941	75	1,356	The Midnight Special (And Other ... (4,432nd)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... (8,773rd)by Lead Belly
1944	76	1,294	An Album Of Outstanding Arrangem... (4,994th)by Glenn Miller
1945	79	1,112	Merry Christmas (5,399th)by Bing Crosby
1946	102	1,842	The Voice Of Frank Sinatra (6,349th)by Frank Sinatra
1947	105	1,756	Teddy Wilson - Billie Holiday (5,218th)by Teddy Wilson And His Orchestra F...
1948	104	1,464	Chansons Des Cafés De Paris (5,930th)by Édith Piaf
1949	106	1,991	Bird Blows The Blues (6,209th)by Charlie Parker
Total	868	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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261.

Ballads And Blues Volume II

Josh White

Year of Release:

1947

Appears in:

4 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1947:

Rank in 1940s:

261

Overall Rank:

62,665

Average Rating:

71 (4 votes)

Comments:

262.

Piano Impressions

Art Tatum

Year of Release:

1945

Appears in:

6 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1945:

Rank in 1940s:

262

Overall Rank:

62,681

Average Rating:

71 (5 votes)

Comments:

263.

Benny Rides Again (1947)

Benny Goodman

Year of Release:

1947

Appears in:

3 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1947:

Rank in 1940s:

263

Overall Rank:

62,754

Average Rating:

73 (3 votes)

Comments:

264.

New Orleans Music

Kid Rena's Jazz Band

Year of Release:

1944

Appears in:

3 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1944:

Rank in 1940s:

264

Overall Rank:

63,063

Average Rating:

71 (1 vote)

Comments:

265.

Duchin Plays Cole Porter

Eddy Duchin

Year of Release:

1942

Appears in:

3 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1942:

Rank in 1940s:

265

Overall Rank:

63,401

Average Rating:

70 (3 votes)

Comments:

266.

Rumba Rhapsody

Caney

Year of Release:

1949

Appears in:

3 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1949:

Rank in 1940s:

266

Overall Rank:

64,051

Average Rating:

70 (3 votes)

Comments:

267.

A Piano Recital

Hazel Scott

Year of Release:

1946

Appears in:

4 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1946:

Rank in 1940s:

267

Overall Rank:

64,203

Average Rating:

71 (3 votes)

Comments:

268.

Souvenir Album

Hildegarde

Year of Release:

1943

Appears in:

3 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1943:

Rank in 1940s:

268

Overall Rank:

64,335

Average Rating:

71 (3 votes)

Comments:

269.

A Collection Of Early Recordings Volume 1
Compilation

Bing Crosby

Year of Release:

1943

Appears in:

3 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1943:

Rank in 1940s:

269

Overall Rank:

64,496

Average Rating:

71 (4 votes)

Comments:

270.

The Birth Of The Blues (An Album Of W. C. Handy Music)

The Dixieland Jazz Group Of NBC's Chamber Music Society Of Lower Basin Street

Year of Release:

1941

Appears in:

3 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1941:

Rank in 1940s:

270

Overall Rank:

65,182

Average Rating:

71 (3 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 321. Page 27 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%
The Original Broadway Cast	6	2%
Sir Thomas Beecham / The London Philharmonic Orchestra	6	2%
Bing Crosby	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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