Top 100 Jazz CDs
The Best Jazz Ever Released on CD
The list below is based on a comprehensive statistical survey of jazz
critics, record stores and popular polls. I hope you find this useful
as we continue to study a largely aural tradition of jazz study.
To study jazz is to listen to it. As we work this year to define
and re-define what our definition of jazz is, let’s use this list as a
starting place. Enjoy.
Rank Artist
Title
Year
1 Miles
Davis
Kind of Blue
1959
2 John Coltrane
A Love Supreme
1964
3 Duke Ellington
The Blanton-Webster Band 1942
4 Charles
Mingus
Mingus Ah Um
1959
5 Thelonious Monk
Brilliant Corners
1956
6 Sonny
Rollins
Saxophone Colossus 1956
7 Louis Armstrong
25 Greatest Hot Fives & Sevens 1928
8 Bill Evans Trio
Sunday At the Village Vanguard 1961
9 Charlie Parker
Best of Complete Savoy & Dial 1948
10 Ornette Coleman
The Shape of Jazz to Come 1959
11 Count Basie
Orchestra The
Complete Atomic Basie 1957
12 Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers
Moanin' 1958
13 Herbie Hancock
Maiden Voyage
1965
14 Miles Davis
Sketches Of Spain
1960
15 Stan Getz & João Gilberto
Getz/Gilberto
1963
16 Ella Fitzgerald
The Best of the Song Books 1964
17 Dizzy Gillespie
Groovin' High [Indigo] 1946
18 Clifford Brown & Max Roach
Study in Brown 1955
19 Eric Dolphy
Out to Lunch!
1964
20 Miles Davis
In a Silent Way
1969
21 Billie Holiday & Lester Young
A Musical Romance 1944
22 Various Artists
Best of Blue Note (Vols 1 & 2) 1965
23 John
Coltrane
Blue Train
1957
24 The Gerry Mulligan Quartet The
Best Of… With Chet Baker 1953
25 The Horace Silver Quintet
Song for My Father
1964
26 Keith Jarrett
The Köln Concert
1975
27 Chick Corea
Light As a Feather
1972
28 Cannonball
Adderley Somethin'
Else 1958
29 The Dave Brubeck
Quartet Time
Out 1959
30 Wayne Shorter
Speak No Evil
1964
31 Bud Powell
The Definitive Bud Powell
1953
32 Coleman Hawkins
Body & Soul [RCA]
1956
33 Dexter
Gordon
Go!
1962
34 The Oscar Peterson Trio Night
Train
1962
35 Pat Metheny Group
Pat Metheny Group
1978
36 Wes Montgomery
Incredible Jazz Guitar 1960
37 Various Artists
Talkin' Verve [1951-72] 1972
38 Art Pepper
Meets the Rhythm Section 1957
39 Lester Young
With the Oscar Peterson Trio 1952
40 Sarah Vaughan w/Clifford Brown
Sarah Vaughan With Clifford Brown 1954
41 Miles Davis
Bitches Brew
1969
42 Benny Goodman
Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert 1938
43 Duke Ellington & His Orchestra
Ellington At Newport 1956
44 Joe Henderson
Page One
1963
45 Lee
Morgan
The Sidewinder
1963
46 Modern Jazz Quartet
Django
1955
47 Chet Baker
My Funny Valentine
1956
48 Art Tatum w/ Ben Webster Tatum
Group Masterpieces, Vol 8 1956
49 Cecil Taylor
Unit Structures
1966
50 McCoy
Tyner
The Real McCoy
1967
51 Weather Report
Heavy Weather
1977
52 Jimmy Smith
The Sermon
1958
53 Charles Mingus
Black Saint & the Sinner Lady
1963
54 Gene Ammons & Sonny Stitt
Boss Tenors - Chicago 1961 1961
55 Oliver
Nelson
The Blues & the Abstract Truth
1961
56 Various Artists
Fabulous Swing Collections
1944
57 John Coltrane
My Favorite Things
1960
58 Jackie McLean
Let Freedom Ring
1962
59 Sun Ra & His Arkestra
Jazz In Silhouette
1958
60 The Gil Evans Orchestra
Out of the Cool
1960
61 Woody Herman
The Thundering Herds - 1945-1947 1947
62 Dave Holland Quartet
Conference Of the Birds 1972
63 Jelly Roll Morton
Birth Of the Hot
1927
64 Erroll Garner
Concert by the
Sea 1955
65 Gerry Mulligan & Ben Webster
Gerry Mulligan Meets Ben Webster 1959
66 David Murray Octet
Ming
1980
67 Lee Konitz
Subconscious-Lee 1950
68 Jay Jay Johnson
The Eminent J J Johnson (Vol. 1) 1953
69 Hank
Mobley
Soul Station
1960
70 Wynton Marsalis
Black Codes(From the Underground)1985
71 Fats Navarro (w/Tadd Dameron)
Dameronia
1948
72 Freddie Hubbard
Open Sesame
1960
73 The Quintet (w/
Charlie Parker)
Jazz At Massey Hall 1952
74 Bix Beiderbecke
At the Jazz Band Ball 1928
75 Gillespie,
Rollins & Stitt
Sonny Side Up
1957
76 Sidney Bechet
Legendary Sidney Bechet 1941
77 Charlie Haden & Pat Metheny
Beyond the Missouri Sky 1996
78 Various Artists
Original Jazz Classics Samplers
1969
79 Rahsaan Roland Kirk
Rip, Rig & Panic/Beautiful Edith 1967
80 Stan Kenton
New Concepts of Artistry In
Rhythm 1952
81 Joe Lovano
From the Soul
1991
82 Reinhardt/Grappelli
The Quintessential 25 Classics 1940
83 Miles Davis Quintet
Cookin'
1956
84 Albert Ayler Trio
Spiritual Unity
1964
85 Dizzy Gillespie & Roy Eldridge
Roy and Diz
1954
86 Stan Getz & Charlie Byrd
Jazz Samba
1962
87 Benny Carter & His Orchestra
Further Definitions 1961
88 The Mahavishnu Orchestra Inner
Mounting Flame 1971
89 Duke Ellington (w/ Mingus & Roach)
Money Jungle 1962
90 Lennie Tristano
Supersonic
1950
91 Frank Sinatra
Sinatra At the Sands 1966
92 Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
Ella & Louis Again 1957
93 Grant Green
Idle Moments
1963
94 John Zorn
The Big Gundown
1985
95 Nat 'King' Cole Trio
Hit That Jive,
Jack 1941
96 Various Artists-Masters Of Jazz
Traditional Jazz Classics 1940
97 Cassandra Wilson
Blue Light 'Til Dawn 1993
98 Michael
Brecker
Michael Brecker
1987
99 George Russell Sextet
Ezz-thetics
1961
100 Art Ensemble Of Chicago
Nice Guys
1978