Best Albums of the 1950s

Listed below are the best albums of the 1950s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 55,000 greatest album charts.

Best albums by year or decade
Decade:
Year:
1950s 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.
19501315,292
19511414,291
19521566,564
19531986,694
195423811,201
195534515,190
195646432,967
195759039,823
195861148,406
195965782,270
Total3,531252,698

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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Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1954
Appears in:
Rank Score:
22
Rank in 1954:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1957
Appears in:
Rank Score:
22
Rank in 1957:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1956
Appears in:
Rank Score:
22
Rank in 1956:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1953
Appears in:
Rank Score:
22
Rank in 1953:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1956
Appears in:
Rank Score:
22
Rank in 1956:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1958
Appears in:
Rank Score:
22
Rank in 1958:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1954
Appears in:
Rank Score:
22
Rank in 1954:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1956
Appears in:
Rank Score:
22
Rank in 1956:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1958
Appears in:
Rank Score:
22
Rank in 1958:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1959
Appears in:
Rank Score:
22
Rank in 1959:
Rank in 1950s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 1,000. Page 100 of 100

Best Albums of the 1950s composition

Year Albums %


1950 41 4%
1951 40 4%
1952 56 6%
1953 61 6%
1954 75 8%
1955 83 8%
1956 116 12%
1957 153 15%
1958 177 18%
1959 198 20%
Country Albums %


United States 782 78%
France 35 4%
Mixed Nationality 32 3%
United Kingdom 27 3%
Brazil 18 2%
Canada 12 1%
Austria 11 1%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 944 94%
Yes 56 6%
Live? Albums %
No 962 96%
Yes 38 4%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 976 98%
Yes 24 2%
Recognised  Decade Charts (2020s)
1. 100 Best Albums of the 2010s: Staff Picks by Billboard (2019)
2. The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s by Pitchfork (2019)
3. BrooklynVegan's Top Albums of 2010s by BrooklynVegan (2020)
4. The A.V. Club's 50 best albums of the 2010s by The A.V. Club (2019)
5. All The Best Albums Of The 2010s, Ranked by Uproxx (2019)
6. Gorilla vs. Bear Albums of the 2010s by Gorilla vs. Bear (2019)
7. Top 100 Albums of the Decade by Crack Magazine (2019)
8. Top 50 Albums of the 2010s by The Wild Honey Pie (2019)
9. NME's Greatest Albums of The Decade: The 2010s by New Music Express (2019)
10. The 50 best albums of the decade – 2010 to 2019 by Independent (2019)
11. 100 Best Albums of the 2010s by Rolling Stone (2019)
12. The Needle Drop's Top Albums Of The 2010s by The Needle Drop (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. Top 100 Albums of the 2010s by Consequence of Sound (2019)
17. Die 100 besten Alben der 10er Jahre by Musikexpress.de (2020)
18. Die besten Platten 2010-2019 by Spex (2019)
19. The 100 Best Albums of the 2010s by Paste (2019)
20. Los 30 mejores discos de la década de 2010 by Esquire España (2023)
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