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	6,739	Black Coffee With Peggy Lee (1,812th)by Peggy Lee
1954	232	11,105	Chet Baker Sings (681st)by Chet Baker
1955	342	14,926	In The Wee Small Hours (380th)by Frank Sinatra
1956	454	32,512	Elvis Presley (352nd)by Elvis Presley
1957	582	45,625	Blue Train (294th)by John Coltrane
1958	599	41,453	Lady In Satin (558th)by Billie Holiday
1959	644	81,542	Kind Of Blue (37th)by Miles Davis
Total	3,470	250,367

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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Kind Of Blue

Miles Davis

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

1,622 charts

Rank Score:

24,272

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

89 (2,242 votes)

Comments:

168

Mingus Ah Um

Charles Mingus

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

644 charts

Rank Score:

7,228

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

232

Average Rating:

84 (717 votes)

Comments:

Time Out

The Dave Brubeck Quartet

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

635 charts

Rank Score:

6,551

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

579 charts

Rank Score:

5,945

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

294

Average Rating:

84 (655 votes)

Comments:

Elvis Presley

Year of Release:

1956

Appears in:

577 charts

Rank Score:

5,000

Rank in 1956:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

352

Average Rating:

79 (755 votes)

Comments:

In The Wee Small Hours

Frank Sinatra

Year of Release:

1955

Appears in:

478 charts

Rank Score:

4,681

Rank in 1955:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

380

Average Rating:

80 (641 votes)

Comments:

Here's Little Richard

Little Richard

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

414 charts

Rank Score:

4,021

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

443

Average Rating:

79 (486 votes)

Comments:

The Shape Of Jazz To Come

Ornette Coleman

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

422 charts

Rank Score:

4,019

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

447

Average Rating:

81 (504 votes)

Comments:

Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

375 charts

Rank Score:

3,547

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

501

Average Rating:

84 (360 votes)

Comments:

10.

Berry Is On Top

Chuck Berry

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

357 charts

Rank Score:

3,409

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

527

Average Rating:

80 (318 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 1 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%
Frank Sinatra	15	2%
Sonny Rollins	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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