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 (3,837th)by Woody Guthrie
1941	76	1,319	The Midnight Special (And Other ... (4,656th)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... (9,535th)by Lead Belly
1944	78	1,189	An Album Of Outstanding Arrangem... (5,435th)by Glenn Miller
1945	81	1,091	Merry Christmas (5,523rd)by Bing Crosby
1946	105	1,777	The Voice Of Frank Sinatra (6,837th)by Frank Sinatra
1947	108	1,668	Teddy Wilson - Billie Holiday (5,633rd)by Teddy Wilson And His Orchestra F...
1948	106	1,391	Chansons Des Cafés De Paris (6,455th)by Édith Piaf
1949	111	1,910	Bird Blows The Blues (6,617th)by Charlie Parker
Total	892	13,363

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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181.

Drums Of Haiti
Compilation

Various Artists

Year of Release:

1949

Appears in:

4 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1949:

Rank in 1940s:

181

Overall Rank:

40,150

Average Rating:

70 (4 votes)

Comments:

181.

The Music Of Cabin In The Sky

Ethel Waters

Year of Release:

1940

Appears in:

3 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1940:

Rank in 1940s:

181

Overall Rank:

40,150

Average Rating:

72 (3 votes)

Comments:

181.

Schoenberg: Serenade Opus 24

Dimitri Mitropoulos / ISCM Concert Group

Year of Release:

1949

Appears in:

5 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1949:

Rank in 1940s:

181

Overall Rank:

40,150

Average Rating:

71 (3 votes)

Comments:

184.

Sequence In Jazz

Woody Herman And His Orchestra

Year of Release:

1948

Appears in:

5 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1948:

Rank in 1940s:

184

Overall Rank:

40,334

Average Rating:

71 (4 votes)

Comments:

185.

Hot Jazz Classics
Compilation

Louis Armstrong's Hot 5

Year of Release:

1941

Appears in:

4 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1941:

Rank in 1940s:

185

Overall Rank:

40,375

Average Rating:

73 (4 votes)

Comments:

186.

Nick's Presents His Dixieland Jazz Band

Miff Mole

Year of Release:

1945

Appears in:

3 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1945:

Rank in 1940s:

186

Overall Rank:

40,403

Average Rating:

72 (4 votes)

Comments:

187.

The Park Avenue Hillbillie Sings

Dorothy Shay

Year of Release:

1946

Appears in:

2 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1946:

Rank in 1940s:

187

Overall Rank:

40,475

Average Rating:

72 (2 votes)

Comments:

188.

Voices Of The Night: The Calls Of 26 Frogs And Toads Found In Eastern North America

Peter Paul Kellogg & Arthur A. Allen

Year of Release:

1948

Appears in:

6 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1948:

Rank in 1940s:

188

Overall Rank:

40,728

Average Rating:

70 (3 votes)

Comments:

189.

American Folk Lore Vol. 3

John Jacob Niles

Year of Release:

1941

Appears in:

6 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1941:

Rank in 1940s:

189

Overall Rank:

40,829

Average Rating:

71 (5 votes)

Comments:

190.

Marian Anderson Sings Spirituals

Marian Anderson

Year of Release:

1948

Appears in:

7 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1948:

Rank in 1940s:

190

Overall Rank:

41,673

Average Rating:

73 (5 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 315. Page 19 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%
Bing Crosby	5	2%
Frank Sinatra	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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Best Albums of the 1950s
1. Kind Of Blue by Miles Davis
2. Mingus Ah Um by Charles Mingus
3. Time Out by The Dave Brubeck Quartet
4. Blue Train by John Coltrane
5. Elvis Presley by Elvis Presley
6. In The Wee Small Hours by Frank Sinatra
7. The Shape Of Jazz To Come by Ornette Coleman
8. Here's Little Richard by Little Richard
9. Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers
10. Berry Is On Top by Chuck Berry
11. Lady In Satin by Billie Holiday
12. Songs For Swingin' Lovers! by Frank Sinatra
13. Brilliant Corners by Thelonious Monk
14. Somethin' Else by Cannonball Adderley
15. The "Chirping" Crickets by The Crickets
16. Saxophone Colossus by Sonny Rollins
17. Chet Baker Sings by Chet Baker
18. Buddy Holly by Buddy Holly
19. Birth Of The Cool by Miles Davis
20. Moanin' In The Moonlight by Howlin' Wolf