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 55,000 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	131	5,292	Voice Of The Xtabay (2,174th)by Yma Sumac
1951	141	4,291	Genius Of Modern Music (2,762nd)by Thelonious Monk
1952	156	6,564	Bird & Diz (1,964th)by Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie
1953	198	6,694	Black Coffee With Peggy Lee (1,822nd)by Peggy Lee
1954	238	11,201	Chet Baker Sings (677th)by Chet Baker
1955	345	15,190	In The Wee Small Hours (378th)by Frank Sinatra
1956	464	32,967	Elvis Presley (348th)by Elvis Presley
1957	590	39,823	Here's Little Richard (424th)by Little Richard
1958	611	48,406	Blue Train (327th)by John Coltrane
1959	657	82,270	Kind Of Blue (37th)by Miles Davis
Total	3,531	252,698

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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841.

Richcraft

Buddy Rich & His Orchestra

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

7 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

842.

Nothing But The Blues

Herb Ellis

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

6 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

843.

Mahler: Symphony No. 9 In D Minor

Jascha Horenstein / Vienna Symphony Orchestra

Year of Release:

1952

Appears in:

4 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1952:

Rank in 1950s:

843

Overall Rank:

29,705

Average Rating:

70 (4 votes)

Comments:

844.

Spirituals With Dock Reed And Vera Hall Ward

Dock Reed & Vera Hall Ward

Year of Release:

1953

Appears in:

5 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1953:

Rank in 1950s:

844

Overall Rank:

29,708

Average Rating:

70 (2 votes)

Comments:

845.

Dvořák: Symphony From The New World

Arturo Toscanini / NBC Symphony Orchestra

Year of Release:

1954

Appears in:

8 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1954:

Rank in 1950s:

845

Overall Rank:

29,737

Average Rating:

73 (5 votes)

Comments:

846.

Sings The Gershwin Song Book Vol. 1

Ella Fitzgerald

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

9 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

847.

Britten: Peter Grimes

Benjamin Britten / Royal Opera House Orchestra & Chorus

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

5 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

848.

More Of Tom Lehrer

Tom Lehrer

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

10 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

849.

Mozart: Le Nozze Di Figaro

Erich Kleiber / Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra / Vienna State Opera Chorus

Year of Release:

1955

Appears in:

6 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1955:

Rank in 1950s:

849

Overall Rank:

29,856

Average Rating:

72 (7 votes)

Comments:

850.

Nostalgia

Fats Navarro

Year of Release:

1958

Appears in:

7 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1958:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 85 of 100

Best Albums of the 1950s composition

Year	Albums	%

1950	41	4%
1951	40	4%
1952	56	6%
1953	61	6%
1954	75	8%
1955	83	8%
1956	116	12%
1957	153	15%
1958	177	18%
1959	198	20%

Artist	Albums	%

Billie Holiday	18	2%
Miles Davis	16	2%
Sonny Rollins	15	2%
Frank Sinatra	15	2%
Various Artists	14	1%
Ella Fitzgerald	13	1%
Elvis Presley	11	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	782	78%
	35	4%
	32	3%
	27	3%
	18	2%
	12	1%
	11	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	944	94%
Yes	56	6%

Live?	Albums	%
No	962	96%
Yes	38	4%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	976	98%
Yes	24	2%

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

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Best Albums of 1964
1. A Hard Day's Night by The Beatles
2. Getz/Gilberto by Stan Getz & João Gilberto
3. The Times They Are A-Changin' by Bob Dylan
4. Beatles For Sale by The Beatles
5. Another Side Of Bob Dylan by Bob Dylan
6. Out To Lunch! by Eric Dolphy
7. Presenting The Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica by The Ronettes
8. Where Did Our Love Go by The Supremes
9. Ain't That Good News by Sam Cooke
10. Kinks by The Kinks
11. The Sidewinder by Lee Morgan
12. Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus by Charles Mingus
13. Empyrean Isles by Herbie Hancock
14. Folk Singer by Muddy Waters
15. The Animals by The Animals
16. Song For My Father (Cantiga Para Meu Pai) by Horace Silver Quintet
17. "Live" At The Star-Club, Hamburg by Jerry Lee Lewis
18. Meet The Beatles! by The Beatles
19. The Rolling Stones by The Rolling Stones
20. Wednesday Morning, 3AM by Simon & Garfunkel