What is the best jazz album of all time?

Jazz gave birth to improvisation as high art, from Miles Davis' cool introspection to Coltrane's spiritual fire. Which album best represents jazz's unparalleled brilliance?

Kind of Blue

Miles Davis' 1959 modal jazz album is the best-selling jazz record of all time and a serene, timeless masterpiece.

1/16

A Love Supreme

John Coltrane's 1965 spiritual suite is a transcendent four-part offering to God, widely regarded as the greatest jazz album ever.

2/16

Mingus Ah Um

Charles Mingus' 1959 album is a jubilant and mourning tour de force that stretches jazz's emotional and compositional range.

3/16

Giant Steps

John Coltrane's 1960 album introduced his revolutionary chord substitution system that changed harmony for all musicians.

4/16

Saxophone Colossus

Sonny Rollins' 1956 album features some of the most muscular and inventive tenor saxophone improvisation ever recorded.

5/16

Bitches Brew

Miles Davis' 1970 fusion masterpiece smashed the boundary between jazz and rock and spawned an entirely new genre.

6/16

Time Out

The Dave Brubeck Quartet's 1959 album explored unusual time signatures and became jazz's first platinum-certified album.

7/16

Waltz for Debby

Bill Evans' 1961 live album captures the delicate, impressionistic piano trio at their most intimate and heartbreakingly beautiful.

8/16

Head Hunters

Herbie Hancock's 1973 funk-jazz crossover was a commercial revelation that proved jazz could embrace groove without sacrificing depth.

9/16

Getz/Gilberto

Stan Getz and João Gilberto's 1964 bossa nova album introduced The Girl from Ipanema and won the Grammy for Album of the Year.

10/16

The Shape of Jazz to Come

Ornette Coleman's 1959 debut album launched the free jazz movement and remains one of the most provocative records ever made.

11/16

Monk's Dream

Thelonious Monk's 1963 debut for Columbia Records features his distinctive angular harmonies and idiosyncratic sense of swing.

12/16

In a Silent Way

Miles Davis' 1969 album was the quiet bridge between acoustic jazz and electric fusion, created through radical studio editing.

13/16

Moanin'

Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers' 1958 album is one of hard bop's greatest statements and a showcase for Bobby Timmons' signature tune.

14/16

Ellington at Newport

Duke Ellington's 1956 live album captures his legendary comeback at the Newport Jazz Festival, revitalizing his career.

15/16

Charlie Parker with Strings

Bird's 1950 album was his most commercially successful, showing jazz's genius could soar gracefully over orchestral arrangements.

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