Best Albums of the 1940s

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
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.
1940691,777
1941751,348
194275756
194377601
1944761,294
1945791,093
19461021,817
19471021,741
19481021,452
19491041,988
Total86113,868

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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Collector's summary (top 319)Log in or register to discover the great albums that are missing from your music collection!
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Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1947
Appears in:
Rank Score:
97
Rank in 1947:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • iTunes
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  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1945
Appears in:
Rank Score:
95
Rank in 1945:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1941
Appears in:
Rank Score:
95
Rank in 1941:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1944
Appears in:
Rank Score:
93
Rank in 1944:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1946
Appears in:
Rank Score:
92
Rank in 1946:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1941
Appears in:
Rank Score:
92
Rank in 1941:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1940
Appears in:
Rank Score:
90
Rank in 1940:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1948
Appears in:
Rank Score:
90
Rank in 1948:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1940
Appears in:
Rank Score:
90
Rank in 1940:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1946
Appears in:
Rank Score:
90
Rank in 1946:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 319. Page 5 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%
Country Albums %


United States 248 78%
Mixed Nationality 20 6%
United Kingdom 14 4%
France 7 2%
Spain 6 2%
Cuba 5 2%
Trinidad and Tobago 2 1%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 302 95%
Yes 17 5%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 313 98%
Yes 6 2%
Best Albums of 2024
1. Wall Of Eyes by The Smile
2. Only God Was Above Us by Vampire Weekend
3. Prelude To Ecstasy by The Last Dinner Party
4. Bright Future by Adrianne Lenker
5. Tigers Blood by Waxahatchee
6. Cowboy Carter by Beyoncé
7. Letter To Self by Sprints
8. All Born Screaming by St. Vincent
9. Tangk by Idles
10. Loss Of Life by MGMT
11. Where We've Been, Where We Go From Here by Friko
12. Iechyd Da by Bill Ryder-Jones
13. Plastic Death by Glass Beach
14. Where's My Utopia? by Yard Act
15. Something In The Room She Moves by Julia Holter
16. A Dream Is All We Know by The Lemon Twigs
17. This Could Be Texas by English Teacher
18. Diamond Jubilee by Cindy Lee
19. She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She by Chelsea Wolfe
20. People Who Aren't There Anymore by Future Islands
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