1950’s

N umber 1

Elvis Presley by Elvis Presley is ranked number 416 in the overall greatest album chart

The record is ranked number 2 in the best al bum

s of the 1950’s

In total, there are 27 music albums by Elvis Presley which appear in the greatest album charts and Elvi

s Pre

sley i

s ran

ked

as th

e be

st

The

albu

m a

rtwor

k des

ign was e

choed by The Clash for the front of their 1979 album London Calling

The sleeve of Elvis Presley was voted the 40th best album cover in Rolling Stone magazine's list of 100 greatest

album

slee

ves

1950’s

N umber 2

1950’s

N umber 3

Mingus Ah Um by Charles Mingus is ranked number 453 in the overall greatest album chart

The record is ranked number 3 in the best al bum

s of the 1950’s

In total, there are 15 music albums by Charles Mingus which appear in the greatest album charts and M

ingu

s Ah

Um is

NO

T ra

nked

as t

he b

est

The

Peng

uin

Guide

to Ja

zz on CD calls this album "an extended tribute to ancestors” and Mingus's musical forebears gure largely throughout

The cover features a painting by S. Neil Fujita

Mingus Ah U

m by Charle

s M

ingus

1950’s

N umber 4

Time Out by The Dave Brubeck Quartet is ranked number 472 in the overall greatest album chart

The record is ranked number 4 in the best al bum

s of the 1950’s

In total, there are 5 music albums by The Dave Brubeck Quartet which appear in the greatest

album ch

arts

and

Tim

e O

ut is

rank

ed a

s the

bes

t

The

title

is a

play

on M

ozart'

s "Rondo alla Turca" fro

m his Piano Sonata No. 11, and re ects the fact the rhythm the band heard while travelling in Turkey

Many of Brubeck's com

positions had religious themes. He was born into a Presbyterian family but converted to

Cat

holic

ism la

ter i

n lif

e.

Tim

e Out by The D

ave Brubeck Q

uart

et

1950’s

N umber 5

In the Wee Small Hours is ranked number 575 in the overall greatest album chart

The record is ranked number 5 in the best al bum

s of the 1950’s

In total, there are 41 music albums by Frank Sinatra which appear in the greatest album charts and In

the W

ee S

mal

l Hou

rs is

rank

ed a

s the

bes

t

In many ways, the song is a re ection of the heartbreak of his love a

air with actress Ava Gardner

The running themes throughout the song is of a midnight

In

the W

ee Small Hours by Frank Sina

tra

1950’s

N umber 6

Here’s Little Richard is ranked number 593 in the overall greatest album chart

The record is ranked number 6 in the best al bum

s of the 1950’s

In total, there are 6 music albums by Little Richard which appear in the greatest album charts and H

ere;s

Littl

e Ri

char

d is

rank

ed a

s the

bes

t

Little Richard’s "A wop bop a loo mop a lomp bomp bomp"

Her

e’s Little Richard by Little Richar

d

Litt

le R

icha

rd’s

band p

umped out th

e New Orleans back beat that would de ne the Crescent City's (New Orleans) R&B for the next two decades, albeit w

ith precision and plenty of groove

1950’s

N umber 7

The Shape of Jazz to Come is ranked number 628 in the overall greatest album chart

The record is ranked number 7 in the best al bum

s of the 1950’s

In total, there are 9 music albums by Ornette Coleman which appear in the greatest album charts an

d The S

hape

of J

azz t

o Co

me

is ra

nked

as

the

best

Ornette Colem

an is well known for his free improvisation which broke conventional techniques

The

Shape of Jazz to C

ome by Ornette C

olem

an

The

albu

m w

as a

break

thro

ugh and helped to establish the free jazz movement due to the abandons of the use of chord structures

1950’s

N umber 8

Blue Train is ranked number 676 in the overall greatest album chart

The record is ranked number 8 in the best al bum

s of the 1950’s

In total, there are 26 music albums by John Coltrane which appear in the greatest album charts and Blu

e Tra

in is

NOT

rank

ed a

s the

bes

t

The triple horn arrangements incorporate an additional sonic density that remains a trademark unique to

both th

is ba

nd a

nd a

lbum

Blu

e Train by John Coltra

ne

Jo

hn C

oltra

ne blends hard bop as well as sensitive balladry

1950’s

N umber 9

Birth of th

e Cool is ranked number 709 in the overall greatest album chart

The record is ranked number 9 in the best al bum

s of the 1950’s

In total, there are 59 music albums by Miles Davis which appear in the greatest album charts and Birt

h of t

he C

ool i

s NO

T ra

nked

as t

he b

est

Birt

h of the Cool by Miles Davis

One

of t

he la

rgest

stated in

uences on the sound of The Birth of the Cool was band leader Claude Thornhill and his orchestra

Featuring unusual instrumentation and several notable musicians, the music consisted of innovative arrangements

in

uenced b

y cla

ssic

al m

usic

tech

niqu

es su

ch a

s pol

ypho

ny

1950’s

Number 10

Saxophone Colossus is ranked number 825 in the overall greatest album chart

The record is ranked number 10 in the best album

s of the 1950’s

In total, there are 8 music albums by Sonny Rollins which appear in the greatest album charts and Sax

ophone

Col

ossu

s is r

anke

d as

the

best

Sax

ophone Colossus by Sonny Rollin

s

Saxo

phon

e Co

loss

us has

been awarded a rare Crown by The Penguin Guide to Jazz

Sonny Rollins has been praised for the use of motivic development exploring and developing melodic themes throughout h

is m

usic

1960’s

N umber 1

Revolver is ranked number 3 in the overall greatest album chart

The record is ranked number 1 in the best al bum

s of the 1960’s

In total, there are 31 music albums by The Beatles which appear in the greatest album charts and H

ere;s

Revo

lver

is ra

nked

as t

he b

est

The title Revolver is a pun, referring both to a kind of handgun as well as the "revolving" motion of the re

cord

as it

is p

laye

d on

a tu

rnta

ble

R

evolver by T

he Beatles

The

albu

m c

over

consis

ts of K

laus Voorm

ann's illustration, part line drawing and part collage which include photographs by Robert Whitaker and m

any other images of the group betw

een 1964 and 1966

1960’s

N umber 2

Abbey Road is ranked number 4 in the overall greatest album chart

The record is ranked number 2 in the best al bum

s of the 1960’s

In total, there are 31 music albums by The Beatles which appear in the greatest album charts and A

bbey R

oad

is NO

T ra

nked

as t

he b

est

The image of the Beatles on the crossing has become one of the most famous and imitated in recording history.[45] T

he cross

ing

is a p

opul

ar d

estin

atio

n fo

r Bea

tles f

ans Abbe

y Road by T

he Beatle

s

Alth

ough

the

albu

m w

as a su

ccess, it r

eceived mixed reviews from music critics who found its music inauthentic and criticized the production's articial e

ects

1960’s

N umber 3

The record is ranked number 3 in the best al bum

s of the 1960’s

McCartney had the idea of recording an album

that would represent a performance by a ctitious band. This alter ego group would give th

e band th

e fre

edom

to e

xper

imen

t mus

ical

ly Sgt

. Pepper’s Lonely H

earts Club Band by The B

eatle

s

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is ranked number 5 in the overall greatest album chart

In total, there are 31 music albums by The Beatles which appear in the greatest album charts and Sgt. Pepper’s

Lonely

Hea

rts C

lub

Band

is N

OT

rank

ed a

s th

e be

st

The

albu

m c

over

des

ign

by E

nglis

h pop arti

sts Peter B

lake and Jann Haworth was inspired by a sketch by Paul McCartney that depicted the band posing in front of a collage of some of their favourite celebrities

1960’s

Number 4

The record is ranked number 4 in the best al bum

s of the 1960’s

The

Beatles (The W

hite Album) by The B

eatle

s

The Beatles (The White Album) is ranked number 7 in the overall greatest album chart

In total, there are 31 music albums by The Beatles which appear in the greatest

album ch

arts

and

The

Beat

les (

The

Whi

te A

lbum

) is

NO

T ra

nked

as t

he b

est

The album was w

ritte

n an

d re

cord

ed d

urin

g a

perio

d of

turm

oil f

or th

e gr

oup

- Rin

go St

arr q

uit the band fo

r a brief time and many of the songs were "solo" recordings, or at least by less than the full group, as each individual m

ember began to explore his ow

n talent

The album's sleeve was designed by Richard Hamilton

1960’s

Number 5

The record is ranked number 5 in the best al bum

s of the 1960’s

Pet

Sounds by T

he B

each Boys

In total, there are 37 music albums by The Pet Shop Boys which appear in th

e greatest

album

char

ts a

nd P

et S

ound

s is r

anke

d as

the

best

Pet Sounds is ranked number 12 in the overall greatest album chart

Pet S

ound

s has

bee

n ch

ampioned and emulated for its dramatic and revolutionary baroque instrumentationBoth the origin and meaning of the album

title Pet Sounds are uncertain. Brian Wilson has claim

ed at one point that the title was "a tribute" to Phil Spector by naming the album

usin

g hi

s ini

tials

1960’s

Number 6

The record is ranked number 6 in the best al bum

s of the 1960’s

The

Velv

et Underground &

Nico by T

he Velvet Underg

roun

d

In total, there are 11 music albums by The Velvet Underground which appear in the greatest album ch

arts

and Th

e Vel

vet U

nder

grou

nd &

Nic

o is

rank

ed a

s th

e be

st

The Velvet Underground & Nico is ranked number 13 in the overall greatest album chart

Thei

r son

gs fo

cus o

n many su

bject matters including drug abuse, prostitution, sadism and masochism and sexual deviancy

The album cover features an Andy Warhol print of a banana. Early copies of the album

invited the owner to "Peel slowly and see"; peeling back the banana skin revealed a

esh-

colo

ured

ban

ana

unde

rnea

th

1960’s

Number 7

The record is ranked number 7 in the best al bum

s of the 1960’s

Hig

hw

ay 61 Revisited by Bob Dylan

In total, there are 55 music albums by Bob Dylan which appear in the greatest album charts and Highway

61 R

evisi

ted

is ra

nked

as t

he b

est

Highway 61 Revisited is ranked number 17 in the overall greatest album chart

Bob

Dyl

an c

ombi

ned

drivi

ng, blues-b

ased music with the subtlety of poetry to create songs that captured the political and cultural chaos of contem

porary America

Author Michael G

ray has argued that in an important sense the 1960s "started" with this album

1960’s

Number 8

The record is ranked number 8 in the best al bum

s of the 1960’s

Rub

ber Soul by T

he Beatles

In total, there are 31 music albums by The Beatles which appear in the greatest album charts and Rubber S

oul is

NOT

rank

ed a

s the

bes

t

Rubber Soul is ranked number 18 in the overall greatest album chart

Rubb

er S

oul w

as th

e gr

oup's

rst re

lease not to feature their name on the cover, an uncommon tactic in 1965

The unusual Rubber Soul album cover cam

e to be when the photograph slide card fell slightly backwards, elongating the projected image of th

e photogra

ph an

d st

retc

hing

it

1960’s

Number 9

The record is ranked number 9 in the best al bum

s of the 1960’s

Blon

de on B

londe by Bob Dylan

In total, there are 55 music albums by Bob Dylan which appear in the greatest album charts and Blonde on B

lond

e is

NOT

rank

ed a

s the

bes

t

Blonde on Blonde is ranked number 25 in the overall greatest album chart

Blon

de o

n Bl

onde

is co

mpr

ised entir

ely of songs driven by inventive, surreal, and witty wordplay

The album title is a ri

on Brecht on Brecht, a stage production based on works by German playwright Bertolt Brecht that had in

uenced Bob D

ylan

ear

ly so

ng w

ritin

g

1960’s

Number 10

The record is ranked number 10 in the best album

s of the 1960’s

Are

You

Experienced by T

he Jim

i H

endrix Experie

nce

In total, there are 9 music albums by Jimi Hendrix which appear in the greatest album charts and Are Yo

u Exper

ienc

ed is

rank

ed a

s the

bes

t

Are You Experienced is ranked number 28 in the overall greatest album chart

Jimi H

endr

ix sy

nthe

sises

vario

us elements o

f the cuttin

g edge of 1967 rock into music that sounds both futuristic and is rooted in the best traditions of rock, blues, pop, and soul

"Are you experienced" was com

monly interpreted as H

endrix asking if you have experienced drugs. He said that this song was not necessarily about d

rugs,

but a

bout

bei

ng a

t pea

ce w

ith y

ours

elf