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 54,000 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	72	1,697	Dust Bowl Ballads - Volume 1 (3,831st)by Woody Guthrie
1941	76	1,319	The Midnight Special (And Other ... (4,652nd)by Lead Belly
1942	77	792	Her Second Album Of Piano Solos ... (8,720th)by Hazel Scott
1943	78	529	Songs By Lead Belly: Accompanied... (9,529th)by Lead Belly
1944	78	1,190	An Album Of Outstanding Arrangem... (5,432nd)by Glenn Miller
1945	81	1,091	Merry Christmas (5,515th)by Bing Crosby
1946	105	1,777	The Voice Of Frank Sinatra (6,838th)by Frank Sinatra
1947	107	1,668	Teddy Wilson - Billie Holiday (5,625th)by Teddy Wilson And His Orchestra F...
1948	106	1,391	Chansons Des Cafés De Paris (6,449th)by Édith Piaf
1949	111	1,910	Bird Blows The Blues (6,618th)by Charlie Parker
Total	891	13,364

The best artists of the 1940s were Woody Guthrie, Nat King Cole, Lead Belly, Duke Ellington, Josh White, Charlie Parker, The King Cole Trio, Bing Crosby, Hazel Scott and The Original Broadway Cast.

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121.

Cowboy Classics

The Sons Of The Pioneers

Year of Release:

1949

Appears in:

6 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1949:

Rank in 1940s:

121

Overall Rank:

28,423

Average Rating:

72 (4 votes)

Comments:

122.

Sextet Session

Benny Goodman Sextet

Year of Release:

1946

Appears in:

6 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1946:

Rank in 1940s:

122

Overall Rank:

28,468

Average Rating:

72 (6 votes)

Comments:

123.

J.S. Bach: Goldberg Variations

Wanda Landowska

Year of Release:

1945

Appears in:

6 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1945:

Rank in 1940s:

123

Overall Rank:

29,015

Average Rating:

69 (4 votes)

Comments:

124.

Ives: Sonata, No. 2 (Concord, Mass., 1840-1860)

John Kirkpatrick (Pianist)

Year of Release:

1948

Appears in:

4 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1948:

Rank in 1940s:

124

Overall Rank:

29,112

Average Rating:

70 (3 votes)

Comments:

125.

Louis Armstrong And His Hot Five Vol. 2
Compilation

Louis Armstrong's Hot 5

Year of Release:

1947

Appears in:

6 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1947:

Rank in 1940s:

125

Overall Rank:

29,267

Average Rating:

70 (3 votes)

Comments:

126.

The Velvet Fog

Mel Tormé

Year of Release:

1948

Appears in:

9 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1948:

Rank in 1940s:

126

Overall Rank:

29,605

Average Rating:

71 (5 votes)

Comments:

127.

Spellbound

Miklós Rózsa

Year of Release:

1945

Appears in:

8 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1945:

Rank in 1940s:

127

Overall Rank:

29,743

Average Rating:

70 (6 votes)

Comments:

128.

Frankly Sentimental

Frank Sinatra

Year of Release:

1949

Appears in:

10 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1949:

Rank in 1940s:

128

Overall Rank:

29,945

Average Rating:

70 (9 votes)

Comments:

129.

Dizzy Gillespie And His All-Stars

Dizzy Gillespie

Year of Release:

1947

Appears in:

10 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1947:

Rank in 1940s:

129

Overall Rank:

30,113

Average Rating:

72 (7 votes)

Comments:

130.

In Songs He Made Famous

Al Jolson

Year of Release:

1946

Appears in:

5 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1946:

Rank in 1940s:

130

Overall Rank:

30,213

Average Rating:

70 (6 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 315. Page 13 of 32

Best Albums of the 1940s composition

Year	Albums	%

1940	29	3%
1941	30	3%
1942	24	2%
1943	23	2%
1944	24	2%
1945	25	3%
1946	37	4%
1947	40	4%
1948	39	4%
1949	44	4%

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%
Woody Guthrie	5	2%
Almanac Singers	5	2%
Bing Crosby	5	2%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	244	77%
	22	7%
	12	4%
	7	2%
	6	2%
	5	2%
	2	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	298	95%
Yes	17	5%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	309	98%
Yes	6	2%

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

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