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 53,000 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	124	5,304	Voice Of The Xtabay (2,066th)by Yma Sumac
1951	141	4,236	Genius Of Modern Music (2,768th)by Thelonious Monk
1952	150	6,941	Bird & Diz (1,980th)by Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie
1953	194	6,723	Black Coffee With Peggy Lee (1,824th)by Peggy Lee
1954	230	11,162	Chet Baker Sings (671st)by Chet Baker
1955	326	14,926	In The Wee Small Hours (382nd)by Frank Sinatra
1956	435	32,540	Elvis Presley (365th)by Elvis Presley
1957	567	45,610	Blue Train (303rd)by John Coltrane
1958	570	41,507	Lady In Satin (563rd)by Billie Holiday
1959	613	81,787	Kind Of Blue (37th)by Miles Davis
Total	3,350	250,736

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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Kind Of Blue

Miles Davis

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

1,612 charts

Rank Score:

24,879

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

89 (2,218 votes)

Comments:

166

Mingus Ah Um

Charles Mingus

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

643 charts

Rank Score:

7,377

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

229

Average Rating:

84 (709 votes)

Comments:

Time Out

The Dave Brubeck Quartet

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

631 charts

Rank Score:

6,542

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

571 charts

Rank Score:

5,956

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

303

Average Rating:

84 (648 votes)

Comments:

Elvis Presley

Year of Release:

1956

Appears in:

576 charts

Rank Score:

4,944

Rank in 1956:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

365

Average Rating:

79 (747 votes)

Comments:

In The Wee Small Hours

Frank Sinatra

Year of Release:

1955

Appears in:

475 charts

Rank Score:

4,700

Rank in 1955:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

382

Average Rating:

80 (633 votes)

Comments:

Here's Little Richard

Little Richard

Year of Release:

1957

Appears in:

410 charts

Rank Score:

3,975

Rank in 1957:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

452

Average Rating:

79 (480 votes)

Comments:

The Shape Of Jazz To Come

Ornette Coleman

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

414 charts

Rank Score:

3,890

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

460

Average Rating:

81 (499 votes)

Comments:

Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

372 charts

Rank Score:

3,527

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

509

Average Rating:

83 (355 votes)

Comments:

10.

Berry Is On Top

Chuck Berry

Year of Release:

1959

Appears in:

347 charts

Rank Score:

3,179

Rank in 1959:

Rank in 1950s:

Overall Rank:

561

Average Rating:

80 (311 votes)

Comments:

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Best Albums of the 1950s composition

Year	Albums	%

1950	40	4%
1951	40	4%
1952	58	6%
1953	62	6%
1954	77	8%
1955	86	9%
1956	116	12%
1957	152	15%
1958	173	17%
1959	196	20%

Artist	Albums	%

Various Artists	19	2%
Billie Holiday	18	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	%

	780	78%
	40	4%
	32	3%
	26	3%
	20	2%
	12	1%
	11	1%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	942	94%
Yes	58	6%

Live?	Albums	%
No	963	96%
Yes	37	4%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	977	98%
Yes	23	2%

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

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