# What is the most influential jazz album in history?

> Certain jazz albums didn't just define a moment — they changed music history forever. These recordings influenced generations of musicians across every genre, from rock to hip-hop to classical.

*By YPB Team · Published April 21, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/what-is-the-most-influential-jazz-album-in-history*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Kind of Blue**
   Miles Davis's 1959 album — the single most influential jazz recording ever made.
2. **A Love Supreme**
   John Coltrane's 1964 spiritual suite — inspired generations across every musical boundary.
3. **The Shape of Jazz to Come**
   Ornette Coleman's 1959 album — the moment free jazz was born.
4. **Bitches Brew**
   Miles Davis's 1970 double-LP — the birth of jazz fusion.
5. **Giant Steps**
   John Coltrane's 1960 harmonic innovation — saxophone playing permanently changed.
6. **Birth of the Cool**
   Miles Davis's 1949-50 sessions — cool jazz emerges and influences pop music.
7. **Head Hunters**
   Herbie Hancock's 1973 album — the template for funk and hip-hop sampling.
8. **The Inner Mounting Flame**
   Mahavishnu Orchestra's 1971 debut — progressive rock and fusion's Big Bang.
9. **Charlie Parker with Strings**
   Bird's 1950 orchestral album — the legitimization of bebop as art music.
10. **Genius of Modern Music Vol. 1**
   Thelonious Monk's late-1940s Blue Note sessions — the birth of his unique idiom.
11. **Sketches of Spain**
   Miles Davis and Gil Evans's 1960 orchestral masterwork — jazz as serious concert music.
12. **Hot Fives and Sevens**
   Louis Armstrong's late-1920s recordings — the recordings that invented jazz as we know it.

Tags: 20th-century, music, jazz, historical, classic