Best Albums of the 1950s

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

Listed below are the best albums of the 1950s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 53,000 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	122	5,227	Voice Of The Xtabay (2,069th)by Yma Sumac
1951	141	4,238	Genius Of Modern Music (2,770th)by Thelonious Monk
1952	150	6,936	Bird & Diz (1,990th)by Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie
1953	194	6,690	Black Coffee With Peggy Lee (1,839th)by Peggy Lee
1954	230	11,096	Chet Baker Sings (681st)by Chet Baker
1955	325	14,936	In The Wee Small Hours (381st)by Frank Sinatra
1956	433	32,488	Elvis Presley (364th)by Elvis Presley
1957	565	45,548	Blue Train (303rd)by John Coltrane
1958	568	41,511	Lady In Satin (564th)by Billie Holiday
1959	610	82,085	Kind Of Blue (38th)by Miles Davis
Total	3,338	250,754

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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81.

Songs For Young Lovers

Frank Sinatra

Year of Release:

1954

Appears in:

101 charts

Rank Score:

556

Rank in 1954:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

2,787

Average Rating:

76 (112 votes)

Comments:

82.

Songs By Sam Cooke

Sam Cooke & Bumps Blackwell Orchestra

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

80 charts

Rank Score:

552

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

2,798

Average Rating:

75 (66 votes)

Comments:

83.

Ellington Uptown

Duke Ellington And His Orchestra

Year of Release:

1953

Appears in:

105 charts

Rank Score:

537

Rank in 1953:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

2,856

Average Rating:

77 (81 votes)

Comments:

84.

Please Please Please

James Brown And His Famous Flames

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

96 charts

Rank Score:

537

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

2,857

Average Rating:

74 (66 votes)

Comments:

85.

Bluejean Bop

Gene Vincent

Year of Release:

1956

Appears in:

85 charts

Rank Score:

533

Rank in 1956:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

2,872

Average Rating:

74 (75 votes)

Comments:

86.

Calypso

Harry Belafonte

Year of Release:

1956

Appears in:

97 charts

Rank Score:

513

Rank in 1956:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

2,951

Average Rating:

71 (78 votes)

Comments:

87.

Ella Fitzgerald Sings The George And Ira Gershwin Songbook

Ella Fitzgerald

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

97 charts

Rank Score:

509

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

2,980

Average Rating:

78 (80 votes)

Comments:

88.

Misterioso
Live

The Thelonious Monk Quartet

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

75 charts

Rank Score:

508

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

2,985

Average Rating:

80 (71 votes)

Comments:

89.

Soulville

Ben Webster

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

86 charts

Rank Score:

496

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

3,040

Average Rating:

79 (64 votes)

Comments:

90.

Ramblin' Man

Hank Williams

Year of Release:

1955

Appears in:

75 charts

Rank Score:

481

Rank in 1955:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

3,118

Average Rating:

75 (68 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 9 of 100

Best Albums of the 1950s composition

Year	Albums	%

1950	39	4%
1951	40	4%
1952	58	6%
1953	62	6%
1954	77	8%
1955	87	9%
1956	116	12%
1957	152	15%
1958	173	17%
1959	196	20%

Artist	Albums	%

Various Artists	19	2%
Billie Holiday	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	%

	781	78%
	39	4%
	32	3%
	26	3%
	20	2%
	12	1%
	11	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	942	94%
Yes	58	6%

Live?	Albums	%
No	963	96%
Yes	37	4%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	977	98%
Yes	23	2%

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

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