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	126	5,248	Voice Of The Xtabay (2,140th)by Yma Sumac
1951	142	4,225	Genius Of Modern Music (2,780th)by Thelonious Monk
1952	153	7,017	Bird & Diz (1,950th)by Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie
1953	197	6,737	Black Coffee With Peggy Lee (1,814th)by Peggy Lee
1954	232	11,098	Chet Baker Sings (682nd)by Chet Baker
1955	342	14,923	In The Wee Small Hours (380th)by Frank Sinatra
1956	454	32,502	Elvis Presley (352nd)by Elvis Presley
1957	583	45,563	Blue Train (294th)by John Coltrane
1958	601	41,573	Lady In Satin (558th)by Billie Holiday
1959	644	81,501	Kind Of Blue (37th)by Miles Davis
Total	3,474	250,388

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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481.

New Faces - New Sounds

Lou Donaldson & Clifford Brown

Year of Release:

1953

Appears in:

14 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1953:

Rank in 1950s:

481

Overall Rank:

17,202

Average Rating:

74 (12 votes)

Comments:

482.

Plenty, Plenty Soul

Milt Jackson

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

16 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

482

Overall Rank:

17,203

Average Rating:

71 (13 votes)

Comments:

483.

Lullaby Of Broadway

Doris Day

Year of Release:

1951

Appears in:

17 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1951:

Rank in 1950s:

483

Overall Rank:

17,278

Average Rating:

67 (18 votes)

Comments:

484.

Deeds, Not Words

Max Roach

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

21 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

484

Overall Rank:

17,341

Average Rating:

75 (22 votes)

Comments:

485.

Bobby Darin

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

13 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

485

Overall Rank:

17,363

Average Rating:

67 (11 votes)

Comments:

486.

1ère Série: Félix Leclerc Chante Ses Derniers Succès

Félix Leclerc

Year of Release:

1951

Appears in:

13 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1951:

Rank in 1950s:

486

Overall Rank:

17,369

Average Rating:

70 (11 votes)

Comments:

487.

A Blowin' Session

Johnny Griffin

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

21 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

487

Overall Rank:

17,378

Average Rating:

74 (19 votes)

Comments:

488.

Encores

Édith Piaf

Year of Release:

1951

Appears in:

13 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1951:

Rank in 1950s:

488

Overall Rank:

17,394

Average Rating:

71 (14 votes)

Comments:

489.

Messiaen: Catalogue D'Oiseaux (1959)

Yvonne Loriod

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

5 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

490.

Grieg: Peer Gynt

Sir Thomas Beecham / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

10 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

490

Overall Rank:

17,594

Average Rating:

71 (15 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 49 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%
Sarah Vaughan	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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