The 7 Best Albums of 1958 Ranked

As the 1950s decade was approaching its end, modern perceptions of the sounds and structures of the mainstream American music industry in the period were actually taking shape. Top chart hits in 1958 reflect the conquering presence of rock and roll and its absorption into pop production, catered to a growing youth culture. And such charts cohered into the mainstay Billboard Hot 100, which debuted in August 1958 after decades of various forms from Billboard itself and other outlets of tracking the best-selling records (and most-played on the radio).

My list to some extent reflects the emerging power of rock and roll and rhythm and blues while retaining the traditional pop from earlier in the decade, which of course was not evaporated by the new genres. A folk movement was also growing in strength, as old masters sought out by the likes of Alan Lomax were being recorded and inspiring a new wave forming in New York City. I am a bit embarrassed by a lack of jazz, even though I listen to a lot of it; perhaps I must admit a bias for pop structures, even as I appreciate the works of someone like Miles Davis, who was frequently and powerfully innovating like many of his peers. The number of debut albums below reflect the exciting changes taking place, which included the consideration of releases for the 1st Grammy Awards (which would be held the next year, along with the 2nd) and a growing reliance on and appreciation for the LP as an artistic release and not just a compilation of singles (even though that latter format was still very much in play).

#7 — THE FABULOUS MR. D — Fats Domino

Favorite track: “What Will I Tell My Heart”

As has been demonstrated in pieces on previous years, I’m a bit of a Fats Domino partisan. He is one of the most resonant early rock and roll pioneers, but his albums heading into the 1960s have become obscure today in light of the meteoric success of early hits. But that belies the generally high quality of a record like THE FABULOUS MR. D, which if it doesn’t reach the heights of Domino’s earliest compilations of all-timers, rollicks with the same reliably great beat. The singer’s plaintive Louisiana inflection on a song like “What Will I Tell My Heart” illustrates his ability to make even an upbeat and fun song more emotionally complex. Although more notable rock records were released in 1958, THE FABULOUS MR. D showcases Domino’s lasting appeal and what I perceive as a purity of purpose or invention.

#6 — BUDDY HOLLY — Buddy Holly

Favorite track: “Everyday”

While technically a “debut solo” album, BUDDY HOLLY still has the titular star’s band The Crickets playing throughout it, especially since it also collects a slew of hits from the previous year. While not as strong as THE “CHIRPING” CRICKETS, my favorite album from 1957, the rollercoaster of energy on BUDDY HOLLY is intoxicating. From the driving “Peggy Sue” to the rhythmic lullaby that is “Everyday,” the record is essentially devoid of misses. The overt rockabilly of Holly’s earliest years is toned down a bit, however, to the album’s general but still slight detriment. Almost a year after its release, Holly himself would be dead and his legend and star would become solidified in an early demise. That story sometimes overshadows the music, which in spite of oversaturation and application to many a cheesy reminiscence of the 1950s, still hits with an emotional fervor through Holly’s distinct voice. BUDDY HOLLY remains a defining rock and roll record of its day, not just as a relic, but as a totally alive and electric exhibition.

#5 — FOLKSONGS AND INSTRUMENTALS WITH GUITAR — Elizabeth Cotten

Favorite track: “Freight Train”

Originally released as ELIZABETH COTTEN: NEGRO FOLK SONGS AND TUNES and reissued later as FREIGHT TRAIN AND OTHER NORTH CAROLINA FOLK SONGS AND TUNES, the album usually referred to as FOLKSONGS AND INSTRUMENTALS WITH GUITAR documented the great Elizabeth Cotten for the first time. A guitarist of astonishing talent, utilizing a right-handed guitar upside down as a left-handed player, Cotten’s story is itself remarkable. “Discovered” as a musician while working for the Seeger family (yes, as in Pete), Mike Seeger began recording the resident maid in her room. FOLKSONGS AND INSTRUMENTALS was released when Cotten was 65 years old, coming just after a multiple decade period where she had barely played the guitar. It fomented an appreciation not just for Cotten’s skills, but the tradition from which they stemmed. For the rest of her life, this manifested most obviously in the popularization of her composition “Freight Train.” Regardless of this historical context, which indeed lends the record a new kind of weight, FOLKSONGS AND INSTRUMENTALS is purely beautiful. Cotten’s plaintive voice tells her stories so powerfully, but even on the titular instrumentals, her unique style of playing comes through and creates a depth that may not be expected of just one guitarist. FOLKSONGS AND INSTRUMENTALS is a must-listen for any folk music fan and perhaps any student of American history, which is perhaps why it has also been inducted into the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry.

#4 — THE BLUES — B.B. King

Favorite track: “Why Do Things Happen to Me”

Three out of the seven artists on this list appeared on my 1957 installation, but I make no apologies. Like Fats Domino and Buddy Holly, B.B. King pierces through the veil of preconceived notions of the apparent tameness and blandness of the period (which are misguided in many more ways anyways). THE BLUES, like King’s first album SINGIN’ THE BLUES, is a compilation of hits never before collected in LP form. But like SINGIN’ THE BLUES, THE BLUES is an exciting collection of tracks, this time from 1951 to 1958. The songs showcase King’s unique playing style and fusion of regional influences, from origin points in Mississippi and Memphis to osmosis from Los Angeles recording with the Bihari brothers on the budget label Crown and nationwide touring, including places like Chicago with their own blues bent. King’s voice is in usual top form, although I think he refined it as he got a little older, and the “straight ahead blues” of the period is already being expanded by the guitarist with accompanying horns. This foreshadows King’s ability to stretch out a bit from his reputation as a successor to the “downhome blues” or associated labels. In the meantime, though, THE BLUES offers incredible riffs and powerful singing from King’s earliest period.

#3 — SAM COOKE — Sam Cooke

Favorite track: “You Send Me”

The original order of this list looked very different, with Sam Cooke’s debut album, fittingly self-titled, placed at #7. But the more I listened to SAM COOKE, the more I discovered an even deeper richness to his voice and backing instrumentation that was already and obviously apparent to some extent. “You Send Me” is just a tremendously groovy song and it reminds me of Marvin Gaye’s earliest work before he transformed into the icon he would become. Cooke himself was headed that way, I think, before his untimely and controversial death. But in diving into the lushness of SAM COOKE, one can find an emotional simplicity that conquers the traditional song selection full of lyrics played much more cornily by many peers.

#2 — PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE — James Brown

Favorite track: “Just Won’t Do Right”

Like BUDDY HOLLY, calling PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE James Brown’s debut album is a bit misleading. At this time, he was the lead vocalist of the Famous Flames, a group formed in 1953 by Bobby Byrd that Brown joined the next year. Through the end of the ’50s and most of the ’60s, their records were often credited as “James Brown and His Famous Flames,” as is the case with PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE. Regardless of crediting semantics, the album is a hell of a debut for both the individual and the group. It reveals the incredible longevity and evolution of Brown’s career. He anticipated so many changes in sound throughout the decades, and although it’d be total hyperbole to say nothing sounded like PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE at this time, Brown evades easy genre labeling with a fusion of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and choral pop that led into designations like soul. And he did it by writing or co-writing most of the songs on the record, which was not necessarily common at this time. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE is full of pleasing arrangements and harmonies, making it imminently listenable in the context of its time and today.

#1 — FRANK SINATRA SINGS FOR ONLY THE LONELY — Frank Sinatra

Favorite track: “Only the Lonely”

I’ve written before that sad Frank Sinatra is my favorite Frank Sinatra. I’ve also written that Ol’ Blue Eyes’ pairings with arranger Nelson Riddle are the best pairings he ever got. FRANK SINATRA SINGS FOR ONLY THE LONELY belongs in both of those camps (although Riddle ended up not actually conducting for the recording sessions, just writing the arrangements). PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE almost superseded ONLY THE LONELY as my favorite album of 1958, but where Brown’s record is essentially pure fun (although tracks like “Just Won’t Do Right” and “Try Me” wail with angst), Sinatra’s is cohesively tied to the image of the Pagliacci-Sinatra on the record’s cover. I’ve heard tell that Frank himself named ONLY THE LONELY as his favorite record he had made. While IN THE WEE SMALL HOURS still reigns supreme as Sinatra’s masterpiece in my mind, ONLY THE LONELY is certainly in contention for second. The torch songs of the record are given painfully real weight by the iconic singer’s crooning and Riddle’s arrangements cushion it in lush instrumentation that perhaps comes the closest to Romanticism in pop music after the great composers of the previous century. ONLY THE LONELY is a superb album, wistful yet not saccharine, and its efficacy as a teary descent into angst has not been lost in the years since 1958.