Best Albums of the 1950s

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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 (1,949th)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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11.

Lady In Satin

Billie Holiday

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

357 charts

Rank Score:

3,171

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

558

Average Rating:

80 (371 votes)

Comments:

12.

Songs For Swingin' Lovers!

Frank Sinatra

Year of Release:

1956

Appears in:

309 charts

Rank Score:

2,949

Rank in 1956:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

599

Average Rating:

79 (371 votes)

Comments:

13.

Brilliant Corners

Thelonious Monk

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

359 charts

Rank Score:

2,897

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

606

Average Rating:

81 (374 votes)

Comments:

14.

Somethin' Else

Cannonball Adderley

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

330 charts

Rank Score:

2,798

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

631

Average Rating:

82 (309 votes)

Comments:

15.

The "Chirping" Crickets

The Crickets

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

301 charts

Rank Score:

2,687

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

657

Average Rating:

78 (321 votes)

Comments:

16.

Saxophone Colossus

Sonny Rollins

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

357 charts

Rank Score:

2,674

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

661

Average Rating:

82 (378 votes)

Comments:

17.

Chet Baker Sings

Chet Baker

Year of Release:

1954

Appears in:

258 charts

Rank Score:

2,634

Rank in 1954:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

681

Average Rating:

79 (248 votes)

Comments:

18.

Buddy Holly

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

298 charts

Rank Score:

2,565

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

701

Average Rating:

79 (271 votes)

Comments:

19.

Birth Of The Cool
Compilation

Miles Davis

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

356 charts

Rank Score:

2,438

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

730

Average Rating:

80 (459 votes)

Comments:

20.

Moanin' In The Moonlight
Compilation

Howlin' Wolf

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

296 charts

Rank Score:

2,369

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

758

Average Rating:

80 (293 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 2 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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