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 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 (2,140th)by Yma Sumac
1951	142	4,226	Genius Of Modern Music (2,785th)by Thelonious Monk
1952	153	6,991	Bird & Diz (1,950th)by Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie
1953	197	6,738	Black Coffee With Peggy Lee (1,812th)by Peggy Lee
1954	232	11,105	Chet Baker Sings (681st)by Chet Baker
1955	342	14,924	In The Wee Small Hours (380th)by Frank Sinatra
1956	454	32,516	Elvis Presley (352nd)by Elvis Presley
1957	583	45,600	Blue Train (294th)by John Coltrane
1958	599	41,452	Lady In Satin (558th)by Billie Holiday
1959	644	81,519	Kind Of Blue (37th)by Miles Davis
Total	3,471	250,320

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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111.

Kenya

Machito

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

66 charts

Rank Score:

368

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

111

Overall Rank:

3,920

Average Rating:

73 (64 votes)

Comments:

112.

Gene Vincent & The Blue Caps

Gene Vincent

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

60 charts

Rank Score:

365

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

112

Overall Rank:

3,937

Average Rating:

73 (50 votes)

Comments:

113.

Tragic Songs Of Life

The Louvin Brothers

Year of Release:

1956

Appears in:

71 charts

Rank Score:

362

Rank in 1956:

Rank in 1950s:

113

Overall Rank:

3,970

Average Rating:

72 (74 votes)

Comments:

114.

The Amazing Bud Powell

Bud Powell

Year of Release:

1952

Appears in:

74 charts

Rank Score:

360

Rank in 1952:

Rank in 1950s:

114

Overall Rank:

3,996

Average Rating:

76 (65 votes)

Comments:

115.

Study In Brown

Clifford Brown & Max Roach

Year of Release:

1955

Appears in:

57 charts

Rank Score:

359

Rank in 1955:

Rank in 1950s:

115

Overall Rank:

4,007

Average Rating:

78 (70 votes)

Comments:

116.

Have 'Twangy' Guitar Will Travel

Duane Eddy

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

56 charts

Rank Score:

352

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

116

Overall Rank:

4,073

Average Rating:

70 (33 votes)

Comments:

117.

Blind Joe Death

John Fahey

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

54 charts

Rank Score:

352

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

117

Overall Rank:

4,085

Average Rating:

78 (41 votes)

Comments:

118.

Chante Les Chansons Poétiques no1

Georges Brassens

Year of Release:

1953

Appears in:

31 charts

Rank Score:

347

Rank in 1953:

Rank in 1950s:

118

Overall Rank:

4,134

Average Rating:

72 (41 votes)

Comments:

119.

The Amazing Nina Simone

Nina Simone

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

61 charts

Rank Score:

343

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

119

Overall Rank:

4,166

Average Rating:

74 (63 votes)

Comments:

120.

Gospel Train

Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Year of Release:

1956

Appears in:

54 charts

Rank Score:

342

Rank in 1956:

Rank in 1950s:

120

Overall Rank:

4,178

Average Rating:

74 (45 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 12 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	154	15%
1958	172	17%
1959	198	20%

Artist	Albums	%

Billie Holiday	18	2%
Various Artists	17	2%
Miles Davis	16	2%
Sonny Rollins	15	2%
Frank Sinatra	15	2%
Ella Fitzgerald	13	1%
Elvis Presley	11	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	777	78%
	36	4%
	34	3%
	27	3%
	19	2%
	13	1%
	11	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	943	94%
Yes	57	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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