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As long as I can remember having Apple iTunes (now Apple Music) — perhaps all the way back to 2001 — I have rated all the songs in my digital library with the program’s built-in five-star system. It has made it easier for me to find the music I love and create “smart playlists” constructed according to a set of predetermined rules.
A couple years ago I started transferring the rating data from my Apple Music library into a spreadsheet. My original intention was to share a list of all the song rankings, and while I might still do something similar down the road, I recently decided it would be fun to find the average song ratings for all the albums and share the highest rankings with my readers.
Ranking albums has also proved to have a useful application. Of course, every collectible jazz album will not align with every collector’s personal musical taste. That said, I am guessing that most experienced collectors at one time or another have gotten caught up in the hype of desiring a very in-demand jazz album only to realize days, weeks, or months later that they don’t really like the music itself. So considering albums strictly based on statistical averages has helped me gain a more realistic sense of where my musical priorities are (or at least where they could be), and it has helped me cut through the bullshit of wanting to build a collection of “collectible” albums versus albums containing music I actually appreciate.
A few notes to help explain how and why the list was created:
- This is not intended to be any sort of an “objective” list. I am not arguing that these are “the greatest jazz albums of all time”, they are merely my personal favorites.
- The albums are ranked according to a combination of ratings and familiarity. Each album’s rating is the average of the song ratings for that album, and by ‘familiarity’ I mean how much I listen to an album. For example, some album rank higher despite having a lower rating because I end of listening to them more (in many cases, a lot more).
- A “trophy song” () is a song that has a special something that makes it utterly unforgettable and distinguishes it from the rest of the songs on a particular album. Certain albums in the list do not have any trophy songs. This does not mean they are inferior, it usually means that their quality is highly consistent from start to finish and no song in particular stands out from the others. (Occasionally, many songs on an album are trophy songs because I love them all that much.)
I hope you enjoy my list. Maybe you will find something new that also becomes one of your own favorites.
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40 This is an album I return to time and time again for its distinctly mellow vibe. A quartet with guitar and piano is a less-than-common lineup but it also works very well here. |
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39 Never exactly a star, not even on his own dates, George Wallington has nonetheless assembled a grade-A cast here including Jackie McLean, Donald Byrd, Paul Chambers, and Art Taylor. The Café Bohemia also had a great-sounding room and engineer Rudy Van Gelder knew how to work it. “Bohemia After Dark” |
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38 Trumpeter John Wilson’s gentle tone and tastefully sparse soloing is what makes this album special. There are only two originals by Raney here but the album’s mellow vibe remains consistent as the group moves in and out of a great set of standards. |
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37 The obscured Phil Sunkel composed and arranged most of the sides here, and his style matches Fruscella’s minimalist playing like a glove. Highly consistent from start to finish. |
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36 Original pressings of this album command ga-ga dollars but that has never stopped me from appreciating it. This is an early Englewood Cliffs recording brimming over with cavernous room reflections that manage to complement the sparser quartet arrangement here. Dorham’s sweet signature style of playing is on full display, and an otherwise uptempo affair is balanced out by two unbeatable ballads. “My Ideal”, “Alone Together” |
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35 This is hard bop of the highest order. Consistent, upbeat and featuring the City of Brotherly Love’s finest jazzmen. The album’s standout tracks, “Blues on My Mind” and “Stablemates”, are both penned by Golson. Introduced to me by my wife, Ako. “Blues on My Mind” |
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34 My list doesn’t have an overwhelming amount of jazz outside of the 1950s and ’60s, but this is a big exception. Galpert’s quartet is firing on all cylinders for the duration of the programme. Slightly lo-fi but the high energy level more than makes up for it. “Now Hear This”, “Mr. Fixit”, “First Song in the Day”, “Red Eye Special” |
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33 This album has recently shot up my list of favorite Monk albums. Hearing Sonny Rollins in 1953 is a real treat, and pairing him with Julius Watkins on french horn to play a handful of Monk’s quirkier compositions for the first time is a bonafide recipe for success. |
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32 This album was recommended to me by Tarik Townsend through a post on his jazz blog, It’s a Raggy Waltz. This is a killer hard bop band led by Candoli that also features the playing and composing of Vince Guaraldi. Recording quality is exceptional. “Macedonia” |
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31 This is yet another beautiful, dry Hackensack recording, and the writing of co-leaders Teddy Charles and Mal Waldron is pleasantly experimental for 1957. Quartet with vibraphone is a favorite lineup of mine. Waldron’s minimalist piano soloing shines. “Dear Elaine” |