The 100 Greatest Jazz Albums of All Time
Because of its long, storied history, jazz has existed in recorded form longer than the format, or even concept of the album has, which certainly complicates making a list of the 100 Greatest Jazz Albums of All Time. There were many incredible, influential, and vital jazz musicians who never released a single album--many, if not most of those who created and shaped the genre in its early days are included in that group. However, this is a list of the greatest jazz albums of all time, not the most influential or innovative jazz musicians of all time. Here are the rules we used to compile our list:
• Legitimate album releases only: no collections, compilations, singles, or EPs.
• Reissues, even those with tacked-on bonus tracks, qualify for inclusion.
• While we typically only allow one album per artist, due to the
collaborative nature of jazz as an art form, and the drastically
different styles played by single artists within one career, we will
allow multiple albums by the same artists.
Don't agree with our list? Think we hit the right note? Let us know in the comments below.
Also, visit our 100 Greatest Jazz Albums of All Time page to see some artists we love who didn't fit the criteria, but whose importance can't be underestimated.
1. Ornette Coleman - The Shape of Jazz to Come
2. John Coltrane - A Love Supreme
3. Charlie Parker / Dizzie Gillespie - Bird & Diz
4. Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
5. Ella Fitzgerald/Louis Armstrong - Ella and Louis
6. Getz/Gilberto - Getz/Gilberto
7. Erroll Garner - Concert by the Sea
8. Charles Mingus - The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady
9. Wayne Shorter - Speak No Evil
10. Thelonious Monk - Straight, No Chaser
11. Keith Jarrett - The Köln Concert
12. Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers - Moanin'
13. Chet Baker - Chet Baker Sings
14. John Coltrane - Blue Train
15. Eric Dolphy - Out to Lunch
16. Art Tatum - Piano Starts Here
17. Dexter Gordon - Go!
18. Count Basie - Count Basie at Newport
19. Alice Coltrane - Journey In Satchidananda
20. Dave Brubeck Quartet - Time Out
21. Bill Evans - Everybody Digs Bill Evans
22. Duke Ellington - Duke Ellington & John Coltrane
23. Naked City - Naked City
24. Louis Armstrong - Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy
25. Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane - At Carnegie Hall
26. Clifford Brown & Max Roach - Clifford Brown & Max Roach
27. Dizzy Gillespie - Afro
28. Miles Davis - Sketches of Spain
29. Pharoah Sanders - Karma
30. Abbey Lincoln - Staright Ahead
31. Charlie Parker - Charlie Parker With Strings
32. Cannonball Adderley Quintet - Somethin' Else
33. Billie Holiday - Lady in Satin
34. Coleman Hawkins - Body & Soul
35. Art Blakey - A Night in Tunisia
36. Stephane Grappelli - Afternoon in Paris
37. Andrew Hill - Compulsion
38. Thelonius Monk - Monk's Dream
39. The Bad Plus - Suspicious Activity?
40. Miles Davis - Bitches Brew
41. Herbie Hancock - Takin' Off
42. Benny Goodman - The Famous Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert 1938
43. Oscar Peterson - The Oscar Peterson Trio at the Stratford Shakespearean Festival
44. Lee Morgan - The Sidewinder
45. Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington - The Great Summit
46. George Gershwin - Gershwin Plays Rhapsody in Blue
47. Grant Green - Idle Moments
48. Sun Ra - Secrets of the Sun
49. Patricia Barber - Mythologies
50. Charles Mingus - Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus
51. Duke Ellington - Such Sweet Thunder
52. Carmen McRae - The Great American Songbook
53. Blossom Dearie - Once Upon a Summertime
54. Cecil Taylor - Unit Structures
55. Lionel Hampton & Stan Getz - Hamp & Getz
56. Nancy Wilson/Cannonball Adderley - Nancy Wilson/Cannonball Adderley
57. David Axelrod - Song Of Innocence
58. Weather Report - Heavy Weather
59. Albert Ayler - Slugs' Saloon
60. Branford Marsalis - Trio Jeepy
61. Roland Kirk - We Free Kings
62. Shirley Horn - Travelin' Light
63. Sonny Rollins - A Night at the Village Vanguard
64. Diana Krall - Live In Paris
65. Clifford Brown - Clifford Brown with Strings
66. Milt Jackson - Bags & Trane
67. Kenny Burrell - Midnight Blue
68. Etta Jones - Don't Go To Strangers
69. Herb Ellis - Ellis in Wonderland
70. Vince Guaraldi Trio - Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus
71. Rosemary Clooney - Blue Rose
72. Art Pepper - Art Pepper Meets The Rhythm Section
73. Helen Merrill - Helen Merrill
74. Oliver Nelson - The Blues and the Abstract Truth
75. Stanley Clarke - School Days
76. Brad Mehldau - Elegiac Cycle
77. Joshua Redman - Wish
78. Jason Moran - Artist in Residence
79. Ahmad Jamal - Ahmad's Blues
80. Moondog - Sax Pax for a Sax
81. Wynton Marsalis - Black Codes (From The Underground)
82. Duke Pearson - The Right Touch
83. Astrud Gilberto - The Astrud Gilberto Album
84. Chick Corea - Return To Forever
85. Bill Frisell - Blues Dream
86. Sarah Vaughn / Lester Young - One Night Stand - The Town Hall Concert 1947
87. Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass - Whipped Cream & Other Delights
88. Art Ensemble of Chicago - Full Force
89. Bela Fleck & The Flecktones - Bela Fleck & The Flecktones
90. Jimmy Scott - Mood Indigo
91. Elis Regina - Elis & Tom
92. Pat Metheny Group - Offramp
93. Stan Getz - Stan Getz and the Oscar Peterson Trio
94. Skerik's Syncopated Taint Septet - Husky
95. Cuong Vu - Come Play with Me
96. Anthony Braxton - Five Compositions (quartet)
97. Madeline Peyroux - Careless Love
98. Jaco Pastorius - Jaco Pastorius
99. Max Roach - M'Boom
100. Robert Glasper - In My Element
--Alan Wiley
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never released a single album--many, if not most of those who created and shaped the genre in its early days are included in that group. However, this is a list of the greatest jazz albums of all time, not the most influential or innovative jazz musicians of all time. Here are the rules we used to compile our list:
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A few other worthy of mention - they are all great albums:
Oliver Nelson - Blues and the Abstract Truth
Freddie Hubbard - Ready for Freddie
Marcus Miller - The Sun Don't Lie
Clark Terry with Thelonious Monk - In Orbit
Michael Brecker - Michael Brecker
Mahavishnu Orchestra- Birds of Fire
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I looked the list over twice and maybe I missed it, but Kid Ory ain't on it.
Restonic Mattress on April 26, 2011 at 02:15 AM
Thanks for the great list! I am a guy who is familiar with a good amount of Jazz (I have heard at least a little bit of most people here), but was looking for a list like this to get a bit more into it. These kinds of lists are great for people like me.
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Thanks for the great list! I am a guy who is familiar with a good amount of Jazz (I have heard at least a little bit of most people here), but was looking for a list like this to get a bit more into it. These kinds of lists are great for people like me.
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Swami Moe on March 03, 2010 at 06:14 PM
Here are some great releases that didn't make the list that are worthy of mention.
Chick Corea & Return to Forever - Light as a Feather
Wayne Shorter - Native Dancer
Les McCann & Eddie Harris - Swiss Movement
Billy Cobham - Crosswinds
George Benson - The George Benson Cookbook