The 18 Best Jazz Albums of All Time

By YPB TeamSep 9

From Miles Davis's modal calm to Ornette Coleman's break with chord changes altogether, these are the sessions that reset what jazz could sound like.

1
Kind of Blue
Miles Davis's 1959 modal-jazz landmark, the best-selling jazz album of all time.
2
A Love Supreme
John Coltrane's 1965 four-part suite recorded as a spiritual devotion.
3
Time Out
The Dave Brubeck Quartet's 1959 album built on unconventional time signatures like 5/4 and 9/8.
4
Giant Steps
John Coltrane's 1960 album defined by rapid chord changes that became a saxophone rite of passage.
5
Blue Train
John Coltrane's 1957 Blue Note session, his only date as leader for the label.
6
The Shape of Jazz to Come
Ornette Coleman's 1959 album that helped launch free jazz by abandoning fixed chord changes.
7
Mingus Ah Um
Charles Mingus's 1959 album blending gospel, blues, and big-band swing into a single suite.
8
Moanin'
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers' 1958 hard-bop album anchored by its gospel-soaked title track.
9
Speak No Evil
Wayne Shorter's 1966 Blue Note album prized for its ambiguous, dreamlike harmony.
10
Maiden Voyage
Herbie Hancock's 1965 concept album evoking the open sea through modal composition.
11
Head Hunters
Herbie Hancock's 1973 fusion album that brought funk rhythm sections into jazz.
12
Somethin' Else
Cannonball Adderley's 1958 Blue Note session featuring Miles Davis as a sideman.
13
The Köln Concert
Keith Jarrett's 1975 solo piano improvisation, the best-selling solo album in jazz history.
14
Bitches Brew
Miles Davis's 1970 double album that fused jazz improvisation with rock and electric instruments.
15
Ellington at Newport
Duke Ellington's 1956 live album, credited with reviving his career after a marathon saxophone solo.
16
Getz/Gilberto
Stan Getz and João Gilberto's 1964 album that carried bossa nova to a mass American audience.
17
Saxophone Colossus
Sonny Rollins's 1956 album built around his calypso-inflected showpiece 'St. Thomas'.
18
Out to Lunch!
Eric Dolphy's 1964 Blue Note album pushing hard bop toward the outer edge of free jazz.