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... (9,532nd)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 (6,839th)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 (6,450th)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.

View chart at point in time

Share this chart

Collector's summary (top 315)Log in or register to discover the great albums that are missing from your music collection!

Sort by

81.

Mendelssohn: Concerto In E Minor For Violin And Orchestra Op. 64

Bruno Walter / Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra Of New York / Nathan Milstein

Year of Release:

1948

Appears in:

6 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1948:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

19,135

Average Rating:

71 (5 votes)

Comments:

82.

Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book

Miklós Rózsa

Year of Release:

1942

Appears in:

8 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1942:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

19,179

Average Rating:

68 (5 votes)

Comments:

83.

Stravinsky: Le Sacre Du Printemps (The Rite Of Spring)

Igor Stravinsky / The Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra Of New York

Year of Release:

1940

Appears in:

7 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1940:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

19,485

Average Rating:

72 (9 votes)

Comments:

84.

Oklahoma!

The Original Broadway Cast

Year of Release:

1943

Appears in:

11 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1943:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

19,834

Average Rating:

71 (11 votes)

Comments:

85.

Gilbert & Sullivan: The Pirates Of Penzance

Isidore Godfrey / D'Oyly Carte Opera Orchestra With The New Promenade Orchestra

Year of Release:

1949

Appears in:

8 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1949:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

19,999

Average Rating:

70 (6 votes)

Comments:

86.

Billie Holiday Vol. 1

Billie Holiday

Year of Release:

1947

Appears in:

8 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1947:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

20,179

Average Rating:

73 (6 votes)

Comments:

87.

Songs For John Doe

Almanac Singers

Year of Release:

1941

Appears in:

10 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1941:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

20,208

Average Rating:

72 (7 votes)

Comments:

88.

Ballads From The Dust Bowl

Woody Guthrie

Year of Release:

1946

Appears in:

7 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1946:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

20,222

Average Rating:

68 (5 votes)

Comments:

89.

Annie Get Your Gun

The Original Broadway Cast

Year of Release:

1946

Appears in:

11 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1946:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

20,350

Average Rating:

72 (10 votes)

Comments:

90.

Waller On The Ivories

Fats Waller

Year of Release:

1942

Appears in:

9 charts

Rank Score:

Rank in 1942:

Rank in 1940s:

Overall Rank:

20,428

Average Rating:

71 (7 votes)

Comments:

« prev
1
...
8
9
10
...
32
next »
Goto Page:

Total albums: 315. Page 9 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%
Frank Sinatra	5	2%
Almanac Singers	5	2%
Woody Guthrie	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 »

If you enjoy our site, please consider supporting us by sparing a few seconds to disable your ad blocker.

A lot of hard work happens in the background to keep BEA running, and it's especially difficult to do this when we can't pay our hosting fees :(

We work very hard to ensure our site is as fast (and FREE!) as possible, and we respect your privacy.

Best Ever Albums
1. OK Computer by Radiohead
2. The Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd
3. Abbey Road by The Beatles
4. Revolver by The Beatles
5. In Rainbows by Radiohead
6. Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd
7. Kid A by Radiohead
8. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles
9. The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars by David Bowie
10. The Velvet Underground & Nico by The Velvet Underground & Nico
11. Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys
12. Untitled (Led Zeppelin IV) by Led Zeppelin
13. The Beatles (The White Album) by The Beatles
14. Nevermind by Nirvana
15. Funeral by Arcade Fire
16. In The Aeroplane Over The Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel
17. The Queen Is Dead by The Smiths
18. To Pimp A Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar
19. Doolittle by Pixies
20. London Calling by The Clash