Best Albums of the 1940s

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
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.
1940721,697
1941761,319
194277792
194378529
1944781,190
1945811,091
19461051,777
19471071,668
19481061,391
19491111,910
Total89113,364

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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Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1949
Appears in:
Rank Score:
30
Rank in 1949:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1946
Appears in:
Rank Score:
30
Rank in 1946:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1945
Appears in:
Rank Score:
29
Rank in 1945:
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:
29
Rank in 1948:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1947
Appears in:
Rank Score:
29
Rank in 1947:
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:
28
Rank in 1948:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1945
Appears in:
Rank Score:
28
Rank in 1945:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1949
Appears in:
Rank Score:
27
Rank in 1949:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1947
Appears in:
Rank Score:
27
Rank in 1947:
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:
27
Rank in 1946:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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%
Country Albums %


United States 244 77%
Mixed Nationality 22 7%
United Kingdom 12 4%
France 7 2%
Spain 6 2%
Cuba 5 2%
Russia 2 1%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 298 95%
Yes 17 5%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 309 98%
Yes 6 2%
Recognised  Decade Charts (2020s)
1. 100 Best Albums of the 2010s: Staff Picks by Billboard (2019)
2. Top 100 Albums of the Decade by Crack Magazine (2019)
3. Top 50 Albums of the 2010s by The Wild Honey Pie (2019)
4. NME's Greatest Albums of The Decade: The 2010s by New Music Express (2019)
5. The 50 best albums of the decade – 2010 to 2019 by Independent (2019)
6. 100 Best Albums of the 2010s by Rolling Stone (2019)
7. The Needle Drop's Top Albums Of The 2010s by The Needle Drop (2019)
8. The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s by Pitchfork (2019)
9. The A.V. Club's 50 best albums of the 2010s by The A.V. Club (2019)
10. BrooklynVegan's Top Albums of 2010s by BrooklynVegan (2020)
11. Gorilla vs. Bear Albums of the 2010s by Gorilla vs. Bear (2019)
12. All The Best Albums Of The 2010s, Ranked by Uproxx (2019)
13. The 50 Best Albums of the Decade by Deep Cuts (2019)
14. The 100 Best Albums Of The 2010s by Stereogum (2019)
15. The 101 Best Albums of the 2010s by Spin (2020)
16. Die besten Platten 2010-2019 by Spex (2019)
17. The 100 Best Albums of the 2010s by Paste (2019)
18. BEST OF 2011 - 2020: Die besten Alben des Jahrzehnts by laut (2020)
19. Tiny Mix Tapes 2010s: Favorite 100 Music Releases of the Decade by Tiny Mix Tapes (2019)
20. Top 100 Albums of the 2010s by Consequence of Sound (2019)
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