Best Albums of the 1950s

« View best albums of the 1940sView best albums of the 1960s »

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 (1,950th)by Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie
1953	197	6,738	Black Coffee With Peggy Lee (1,812th)by Peggy Lee
1954	232	11,105	Chet Baker Sings (681st)by Chet Baker
1955	342	14,924	In The Wee Small Hours (380th)by Frank Sinatra
1956	454	32,516	Elvis Presley (352nd)by Elvis Presley
1957	583	45,600	Blue Train (294th)by John Coltrane
1958	599	41,452	Lady In Satin (558th)by Billie Holiday
1959	644	81,519	Kind Of Blue (37th)by Miles Davis
Total	3,471	250,320

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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771.

Anthology Of American Folk Music Volume One: Ballads
Compilation

Various Artists

Year of Release:

1952

Appears in:

6 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1952:

Rank in 1950s:

771

Overall Rank:

27,799

Average Rating:

73 (5 votes)

Comments:

772.

Tam... Tam... Tam...!

José Prates

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

6 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

773.

What Is There To Say?

Gerry Mulligan Quartet

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

12 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

774.

Sua Majestade, O Violão

Dilermando Reis

Year of Release:

1956

Appears in:

4 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1956:

Rank in 1950s:

774

Overall Rank:

27,849

Average Rating:

71 (6 votes)

Comments:

775.

Mating Call

Tadd Dameron With John Coltrane

Year of Release:

1956

Appears in:

17 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1956:

Rank in 1950s:

775

Overall Rank:

27,885

Average Rating:

70 (19 votes)

Comments:

776.

Beethoven: Symphony #6 "Pastoral"

Wilhelm Furtwängler / Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

Year of Release:

1953

Appears in:

5 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1953:

Rank in 1950s:

776

Overall Rank:

27,921

Average Rating:

74 (4 votes)

Comments:

777.

Serge Prokofiev: Pierre Et Le Loup

Gennady Rozhdestvensky / USSR State Symphony Orchestra / Gérard Philipe

Year of Release:

1956

Appears in:

5 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1956:

Rank in 1950s:

777

Overall Rank:

28,059

Average Rating:

72 (4 votes)

Comments:

778.

Peckin' Time

Hank Mobley & Lee Morgan

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

16 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

779.

Satchmo In Style

Louis Armstrong

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

5 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

780.

K + J.J.

Year of Release:

1955

Appears in:

4 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1955:

Rank in 1950s:

780

Overall Rank:

28,144

Average Rating:

72 (2 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 78 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%
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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