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	1,777	Dust Bowl Ballads - Volume 1 (3,755th)by Woody Guthrie
1941	75	1,348	The Midnight Special (And Other ... (4,445th)by Lead Belly
1942	75	756	Her Second Album Of Piano Solos ... (8,699th)by Hazel Scott
1943	77	601	Songs By Lead Belly: Accompanied... (8,836th)by Lead Belly
1944	76	1,294	An Album Of Outstanding Arrangem... (4,977th)by Glenn Miller
1945	79	1,093	Merry Christmas (5,380th)by Bing Crosby
1946	102	1,817	The Voice Of Frank Sinatra (6,619th)by Frank Sinatra
1947	102	1,741	Teddy Wilson - Billie Holiday (5,207th)by Teddy Wilson And His Orchestra F...
1948	102	1,452	Chansons Des Cafés De Paris (5,924th)by Édith Piaf
1949	104	1,988	Bird Blows The Blues (6,204th)by Charlie Parker
Total	861	13,868

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, The Original Broadway Cast and Hazel Scott.

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161.

Henry V

Sir William Walton / Philharmonia Orchestra Of London / Laurence Olivier

Year of Release:

1947

Appears in:

4 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1947:

Rank in 1940s:

161

Overall Rank:

36,434

Average Rating:

71 (4 votes)

Comments:

161.

Música Con Pan

Conjunto Tropicavana

Year of Release:

1948

Appears in:

4 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1948:

Rank in 1940s:

161

Overall Rank:

36,434

Average Rating:

70 (3 votes)

Comments:

163.

A Duke Ellington Panorama

Duke Ellington

Year of Release:

1943

Appears in:

4 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1943:

Rank in 1940s:

163

Overall Rank:

36,534

Average Rating:

71 (3 votes)

Comments:

164.

Giant Of Jazz

Sidney Bechet And His Blue Note Jazzmen

Year of Release:

1949

Appears in:

5 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1949:

Rank in 1940s:

164

Overall Rank:

36,877

Average Rating:

70 (5 votes)

Comments:

165.

Bob Wills Round Up

Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys

Year of Release:

1947

Appears in:

6 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1947:

Rank in 1940s:

165

Overall Rank:

36,900

Average Rating:

71 (7 votes)

Comments:

166.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

The Original Broadway Cast

Year of Release:

1949

Appears in:

6 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1949:

Rank in 1940s:

166

Overall Rank:

37,093

Average Rating:

71 (5 votes)

Comments:

167.

Bartók: Concerto No. 3 For Piano And Orchestra / Miaskovski: Symphony No. 21 In F-Sharp Minor, Op. 51

Eugene Ormandy / Philadelphia Orchestra / György Sándor

Year of Release:

1949

Appears in:

5 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1949:

Rank in 1940s:

167

Overall Rank:

37,200

Average Rating:

72 (4 votes)

Comments:

168.

My Encores / Folk Songs Of Brazil

Bidú Sayão

Year of Release:

1949

Appears in:

4 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1949:

Rank in 1940s:

168

Overall Rank:

37,492

Average Rating:

70 (3 votes)

Comments:

169.

Cab Calloway And His Orchestra

Year of Release:

1943

Appears in:

4 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1943:

Rank in 1940s:

169

Overall Rank:

37,699

Average Rating:

73 (3 votes)

Comments:

170.

Hot Jazz

Bunk Johnson And His New Orleans Band

Year of Release:

1946

Appears in:

5 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1946:

Rank in 1940s:

170

Overall Rank:

37,822

Average Rating:

72 (4 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 319. Page 17 of 32

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	39	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%
Woody Guthrie	5	2%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	248	78%
	20	6%
	14	4%
	7	2%
	6	2%
	5	2%
	2	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	302	95%
Yes	17	5%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	313	98%
Yes	6	2%

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

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