Best Albums of the 1950s

Listed below are the best albums of the 1950s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 54,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade
Decade:
Year:
1950s 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.
19501255,249
19511414,213
19521536,990
19531956,736
195423211,106
195534114,963
195645232,518
195757845,550
195859141,399
195963881,437
Total3,446250,160

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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Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1957
Appears in:
Rank Score:
68
Rank in 1957:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • iTunes
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  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1958
Appears in:
Rank Score:
68
Rank in 1958:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1950
Appears in:
Rank Score:
66
Rank in 1950:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1956
Appears in:
Rank Score:
66
Rank in 1956:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1956
Appears in:
Rank Score:
66
Rank in 1956:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1957
Appears in:
Rank Score:
66
Rank in 1957:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1958
Appears in:
Rank Score:
66
Rank in 1958:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1956
Appears in:
Rank Score:
66
Rank in 1956:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1956
Appears in:
Rank Score:
66
Rank in 1956:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1951
Appears in:
Rank Score:
65
Rank in 1951:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 46 of 100

Best Albums of the 1950s composition

Year Albums %


1950 40 4%
1951 40 4%
1952 59 6%
1953 63 6%
1954 76 8%
1955 82 8%
1956 116 12%
1957 153 15%
1958 173 17%
1959 198 20%
Country Albums %


United States 776 78%
Mixed Nationality 37 4%
France 34 3%
United Kingdom 27 3%
Brazil 19 2%
Canada 13 1%
Austria 11 1%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 942 94%
Yes 58 6%
Live? Albums %
No 962 96%
Yes 38 4%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 977 98%
Yes 23 2%
Recognised  Decade Charts (2020s)
1. 100 Best Albums of the 2010s: Staff Picks by Billboard (2019)
2. The A.V. Club's 50 best albums of the 2010s by The A.V. Club (2019)
3. BrooklynVegan's Top Albums of 2010s by BrooklynVegan (2020)
4. All The Best Albums Of The 2010s, Ranked by Uproxx (2019)
5. Gorilla vs. Bear Albums of the 2010s by Gorilla vs. Bear (2019)
6. Top 100 Albums of the Decade by Crack Magazine (2019)
7. NME's Greatest Albums of The Decade: The 2010s by New Music Express (2019)
8. Top 50 Albums of the 2010s by The Wild Honey Pie (2019)
9. 100 Best Albums of the 2010s by Rolling Stone (2019)
10. The 50 best albums of the decade – 2010 to 2019 by Independent (2019)
11. The Needle Drop's Top Albums Of The 2010s by The Needle Drop (2019)
12. The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s by Pitchfork (2019)
13. The 100 Best Albums Of The 2010s by Stereogum (2019)
14. The 101 Best Albums of the 2010s by Spin (2020)
15. The 50 Best Albums of the Decade by Deep Cuts (2019)
16. Top 100 Albums of the 2010s by Consequence of Sound (2019)
17. Die 100 besten Alben der 10er Jahre by Musikexpress.de (2020)
18. The 100 Best Albums of the 2010s by Paste (2019)
19. Die besten Platten 2010-2019 by Spex (2019)
20. BEST OF 2011 - 2020: Die besten Alben des Jahrzehnts by laut (2020)
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