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 (3,831st)by Woody Guthrie
1941	76	1,319	The Midnight Special (And Other ... (4,652nd)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... (9,529th)by Lead Belly
1944	78	1,190	An Album Of Outstanding Arrangem... (5,432nd)by Glenn Miller
1945	81	1,091	Merry Christmas (5,515th)by Bing Crosby
1946	105	1,777	The Voice Of Frank Sinatra (6,838th)by Frank Sinatra
1947	107	1,668	Teddy Wilson - Billie Holiday (5,625th)by Teddy Wilson And His Orchestra F...
1948	106	1,391	Chansons Des Cafés De Paris (6,449th)by Édith Piaf
1949	111	1,910	Bird Blows The Blues (6,618th)by Charlie Parker
Total	891	13,364

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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61.

Blues Till Dawn

Libby Holman

Year of Release:

1942

Appears in:

14 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1942:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

15,160

Average Rating:

69 (8 votes)

Comments:

62.

Tenor Sax

John Hardee

Year of Release:

1946

Appears in:

8 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1946:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

15,228

Average Rating:

74 (5 votes)

Comments:

63.

On Asch Records

Coleman Hawkins

Year of Release:

1945

Appears in:

10 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1945:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

15,339

Average Rating:

72 (8 votes)

Comments:

64.

Chicago Jazz Classics

Benny Goodman And His Boys

Year of Release:

1943

Appears in:

9 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1943:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

15,941

Average Rating:

68 (5 votes)

Comments:

65.

Tenor Sax

Ike Quebec

Year of Release:

1946

Appears in:

7 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1946:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

15,981

Average Rating:

72 (6 votes)

Comments:

66.

Songs Of Free Men

Paul Robeson

Year of Release:

1943

Appears in:

12 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1943:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

15,986

Average Rating:

68 (13 votes)

Comments:

67.

New Orleans Memories

Jelly Roll Morton

Year of Release:

1947

Appears in:

12 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1947:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

16,273

Average Rating:

70 (14 votes)

Comments:

68.

Volume 3

The King Cole Trio

Year of Release:

1948

Appears in:

11 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1948:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

16,462

Average Rating:

68 (10 votes)

Comments:

69.

Marlene Dietrich

Year of Release:

1940

Appears in:

11 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1940:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

16,779

Average Rating:

71 (12 votes)

Comments:

70.

Boogie Woogie In Blue

Harry "The Hipster" Gibson

Year of Release:

1944

Appears in:

12 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1944:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

16,892

Average Rating:

72 (9 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 315. Page 7 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%
Almanac Singers	5	2%
Bing Crosby	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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