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
1944781,189
1945811,091
19461051,777
19471081,668
19481061,391
19491111,910
Total89213,363

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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Collector's summary (top 315)Log in or register to discover the great albums that are missing from your music collection!
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Buy album United States
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Year of Release:
1945
Appears in:
Rank Score:
13
Rank in 1945:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
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  • iTunes
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  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1948
Appears in:
Rank Score:
12
Rank in 1948:
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:
12
Rank in 1948:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1942
Appears in:
Rank Score:
12
Rank in 1942:
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:
12
Rank in 1947:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1940
Appears in:
Rank Score:
12
Rank in 1940:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1941
Appears in:
Rank Score:
12
Rank in 1941:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Buy album United States
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • iTunes
  • Spotify
  • #Sponsored
Year of Release:
1941
Appears in:
Rank Score:
12
Rank in 1941:
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:
11
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:
11
Rank in 1946:
Rank in 1940s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 315. Page 23 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%
Mexico 2 1%
Show all
Compilation? Albums %
No 298 95%
Yes 17 5%
Soundtrack? Albums %
No 309 98%
Yes 6 2%
Popular  Charts
1. The Top 100 Albums by VH1 (2001)
2. 200 Greatest Albums of All Time by Uncut (2016)
3. The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone (2020)
4. 100 Best Albums - 2024 Edition by Apple Music (2024)
5. The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time by New Music Express (2013)
6. Virgin All-Time Top 1000 Albums by Virgin (2000)
7. Top 100 Albums by ABC (2006)
8. The Definitive 200 by National Association of Recording Merchandisers (2007)
9. Die 100 besten Platten des Jahrhunderts by Wiener (1999)
10. Los 48 mejores discos de la historia by Esquire España (2022)
11. The 100 Greatest Albums Of All Time by Absolute Radio (2012)
12. 100 Greatest Albums Ever by Q (2006)
13. The 300 Greatest Albums of All Time (1-100) by Paste (2024)
14. Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by Melody Maker (2000)
15. The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time by Consequence of Sound (2022)
16. Die 100 besten Alben der Musikgeschichte by radioeins (2019)
17. Die 20 besten Alben der Geschichte by Musikexpress.de (2011)
18. Mojo Readers: The 100 Greatest Albums Ever Made by Mojo (1996)
19. Greatest 100 Albums of All Time by The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums with NME (2006)
20. The Greatest Rock Albums by uDiscoverMusic (2015)
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