Best Albums of the 1950s

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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

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	125	5,249	Voice Of The Xtabay (2,125th)by Yma Sumac
1951	141	4,213	Genius Of Modern Music (2,784th)by Thelonious Monk
1952	153	6,990	Bird & Diz (1,953rd)by Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie
1953	195	6,736	Black Coffee With Peggy Lee (1,817th)by Peggy Lee
1954	232	11,106	Chet Baker Sings (683rd)by Chet Baker
1955	341	14,963	In The Wee Small Hours (379th)by Frank Sinatra
1956	452	32,518	Elvis Presley (353rd)by Elvis Presley
1957	578	45,550	Blue Train (295th)by John Coltrane
1958	591	41,399	Lady In Satin (559th)by Billie Holiday
1959	638	81,437	Kind Of Blue (37th)by Miles Davis
Total	3,446	250,160

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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611.

Work Time

Sonny Rollins

Year of Release:

1956

Appears in:

17 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1956:

Rank in 1950s:

611

Overall Rank:

22,018

Average Rating:

73 (17 votes)

Comments:

612.

Aquarela Nordestina

Marinês E Sua Gente

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

5 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

613.

Bowling Green

The Kossoy Sisters

Year of Release:

1956

Appears in:

8 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1956:

Rank in 1950s:

613

Overall Rank:

22,049

Average Rating:

70 (9 votes)

Comments:

614.

Listen To Lefty

Lefty Frizzell

Year of Release:

1952

Appears in:

7 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1952:

Rank in 1950s:

614

Overall Rank:

22,088

Average Rating:

70 (5 votes)

Comments:

615.

LaVern Baker Sings Bessie Smith

LaVern Baker

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

17 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

616.

The Complete Film Music From Gone With The Wind
Soundtrack

Max Steiner

Year of Release:

1954

Appears in:

11 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1954:

Rank in 1950s:

616

Overall Rank:

22,145

Average Rating:

72 (10 votes)

Comments:

617.

At The Cafe Bohemia, Volume 2
Live

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers

Year of Release:

1956

Appears in:

13 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1956:

Rank in 1950s:

617

Overall Rank:

22,173

Average Rating:

72 (12 votes)

Comments:

618.

Wagner: Das Rheingold

Sir Georg Solti / Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

12 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

619.

Alternate Masters Vol. 1

Charlie Parker

Year of Release:

1951

Appears in:

12 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1951:

Rank in 1950s:

619

Overall Rank:

22,226

Average Rating:

69 (8 votes)

Comments:

620.

Songs Of The Open Spaces

Guy Mitchell

Year of Release:

1953

Appears in:

11 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1953:

Rank in 1950s:

620

Overall Rank:

22,273

Average Rating:

71 (7 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 62 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%

Artist	Albums	%

Billie Holiday	18	2%
Various Artists	18	2%
Miles Davis	16	2%
Sonny Rollins	15	2%
Frank Sinatra	15	2%
Ella Fitzgerald	13	1%
Sarah Vaughan	11	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	776	78%
	37	4%
	34	3%
	27	3%
	19	2%
	13	1%
	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%

« View best albums of the 1940sView best albums of the 1960s »

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