Amazon has just published their take on the 100 greatest jazz albums of all time. I had a great time going through this list, remembering music that I have not heard in a long, long time and I also discovered a few albums and musicians that I have not previously been turned on to.
Here is the list below – check it out, and leave your comments on whether or not you think any album was missed but don’t forget, this is albums, not musicians. If there is anything in the list that you don’t agree with, let us know.
Personally, I think the Jaco Pastorius album should have been higher on the list, but hey, I’m a bass player!
You can click on any of the links to hear previews of the songs on the album.
100 Greatest Jazz Albums
1. Ornette Coleman – The Shape of Jazz to Come
2. John Coltrane – A Love Supreme
3. Charlie Parker / Dizzie Gillespie – Bird & Diz
4. Miles Davis – Kind of Blue
5. Ella Fitzgerald/Louis Armstrong – Ella and Louis
6. Getz/Gilberto – Getz/Gilberto
7. Erroll Garner – Concert by the Sea
8. Charles Mingus – The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady
9. Wayne Shorter – Speak No Evil
10. Thelonious Monk – Straight, No Chaser
11. Keith Jarrett – The Köln Concert
12. Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers – Moanin’
13. Chet Baker – Chet Baker Sings
14. John Coltrane – Blue Train
15. Eric Dolphy – Out to Lunch
16. Art Tatum – Piano Starts Here
17. Dexter Gordon – Go!
18. Count Basie – Count Basie at Newport
19. Alice Coltrane – Journey In Satchidananda
20. Dave Brubeck Quartet – Time Out
21. Bill Evans – Everybody Digs Bill Evans
22. Duke Ellington – Duke Ellington & John Coltrane
23. Naked City – Naked City
24. Louis Armstrong – Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy
25. Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane – At Carnegie Hall
26. Clifford Brown & Max Roach – Clifford Brown & Max Roach
27. Dizzy Gillespie – Afro
28. Miles Davis – Sketches of Spain
29. Pharoah Sanders – Karma
30. Abbey Lincoln – Staright Ahead
31. Charlie Parker – Charlie Parker With Strings
32. Cannonball Adderley Quintet – Somethin’ Else
33. Billie Holiday – Lady in Satin
34. Coleman Hawkins – Body & Soul
35. Art Blakey – A Night in Tunisia
36. Stephane Grappelli – Afternoon in Paris
37. Andrew Hill – Compulsion
38. Thelonius Monk – Monk’s Dream
39. The Bad Plus – Suspicious Activity?
40. Miles Davis – Bitches Brew
41. Herbie Hancock – Takin’ Off
42. Benny Goodman – The Famous Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert 1938
43. Oscar Peterson – The Oscar Peterson Trio at the Stratford Shakespearean Festival
44. Lee Morgan – The Sidewinder
45. Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington – The Great Summit
46. George Gershwin – Gershwin Plays Rhapsody in Blue
47. Grant Green – Idle Moments
48. Sun Ra – Secrets of the Sun
49. Patricia Barber – Mythologies
50. Charles Mingus – Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus
51. Duke Ellington – Such Sweet Thunder
52. Carmen McRae – The Great American Songbook
53. Blossom Dearie – Once Upon a Summertime
54. Cecil Taylor – Unit Structures
55. Lionel Hampton & Stan Getz – Hamp & Getz
56. Nancy Wilson/Cannonball Adderley – Nancy Wilson/Cannonball Adderley
57. David Axelrod – Song Of Innocence
58. Weather Report – Heavy Weather
59. Albert Ayler – Slugs’ Saloon
60. Branford Marsalis – Trio Jeepy
61. Roland Kirk – We Free Kings
62. Shirley Horn – Travelin’ Light
63. Sonny Rollins – A Night at the Village Vanguard
64. Diana Krall – Live In Paris
65. Clifford Brown – Clifford Brown with Strings
66. Milt Jackson – Bags & Trane
67. Kenny Burrell – Midnight Blue
68. Etta Jones – Don’t Go To Strangers
69. Herb Ellis – Ellis in Wonderland
70. Vince Guaraldi Trio – Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus
71. Rosemary Clooney – Blue Rose
72. Art Pepper – Art Pepper Meets The Rhythm Section
73. Helen Merrill – Helen Merrill
74. Oliver Nelson – The Blues and the Abstract Truth
75. Stanley Clarke – School Days
76. Brad Mehldau – Elegiac Cycle
77. Joshua Redman – Wish
78. Jason Moran – Artist in Residence
79. Ahmad Jamal – Ahmad’s Blues
80. Moondog – Sax Pax for a Sax
81. Wynton Marsalis – Black Codes (From The Underground)
82. Duke Pearson – The Right Touch
83. Astrud Gilberto – The Astrud Gilberto Album
84. Chick Corea – Return To Forever
85. Bill Frisell – Blues Dream
86. Sarah Vaughn / Lester Young – One Night Stand – The Town Hall Concert 1947
87. Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass – Whipped Cream & Other Delights
88. Art Ensemble of Chicago – Full Force
89. Bela Fleck & The Flecktones – Bela Fleck & The Flecktones
90. Jimmy Scott – Mood Indigo
91. Elis Regina – Elis & Tom
92. Pat Metheny Group – Offramp
93. Stan Getz – Stan Getz and the Oscar Peterson Trio
94. Skerik’s Syncopated Taint Septet – Husky
95. Cuong Vu – Come Play with Me
96. Anthony Braxton – Five Compositions (quartet)
97. Madeline Peyroux – Careless Love
98. Jaco Pastorius – Jaco Pastorius
99. Max Roach – M’Boom
100. Robert Glasper – In My Element
Nice Try , Anybody in there right mine knows that Miles Davis’s Kind of Blue is the # 1 jazz Album of all time.
Come on all, Amazon is about money. This list is deliberately contentious (to put the cat among the pigeons) and create debate, interest, and sales: to get you thinking about what next to buy, so get on with buying your next Jazz Masterpiece, keep these musicians and their families alive!
Great list. Mine would have to include: Cecil Taylor, Air Above Mountains and Anouar Brahem, Astrakhan Cafe.
Blues and the Abstract Truth?
Joe Pass, “For Django” is pretty epic too.
Did I miss the record of the greatest jazz concert of all time on this list. I’m talking about The Quintet, Jazz at Massey Hall. Diz, Bird, Powell, Mingus, Roach. The Legend about this concert alone automatically qualifies it for admission.
100 albums and no mention of Jack Sheldon? Come on! I’m certainly no expert, but Sheldon could at least make the list.
I’m a fan of Weather Report and Pat Metheny, so was glad to see a few of their albums on the list. Would have picked “Mysterious Traveler” and “Tailspinnin'” by WR, and “Still Life (Talking)” and “As Falls Wichita Falls…” by Metheny though.
Re Metheny, I’d put the first album and 80/81 both ahead of Offramp.
Wait what? The author of this list definitely needs to reevaluate his/her definition of a great jazz album. Understandbly, some jazz artists tend to be underrated, but that doesn’t mean to include a bunch of relatively insignificant people that made no lasting impact on the jazz community.
Love that Robert Glasper made this list. <3 <3 <3 Jazz!
No J.J.Johnson and Jacky Mclean, I can,t believe…..
Good list. The one thing that I don’t agree with is the absence of Herbie Hancock’s “Maiden Voyage”. Also, I know that many would not agree with me on this, but on my personal list, I’d have to put “John Coltrane and Johnny Hartmann” somewhere in the top 10. One last thing I just remembered, Miles Davis Quintet “Cookin”. But good list all in all. Bravo.
Not a bad list for beginners.. your missing hundreds of [-] albums and artists…
Wes Montgomery?? Early George Benson?
Dave Brubeck’s “Time Out” should have been put a bit more higher. Also, where is “Mingus Ah Um”? “The Shape of Jazz to Come” was very good, but…greatest Jazz album ever? There are definably better.
this list is missing a lot. A LOT! there are no bad or marginal discs here,[some are nopt really jazz albums] and granted this type of list (as all things art) is purely subjective. that said a full 20% of this list isnt even close to being a true Top 100.
the list of artists not even making this list is embarrassing. [dont tell me Freddie Hubbard didnt make the cut?! lester young?! hank mobley? joe henderson? bud powell?! wes montgomery?! jimmy smith? gene ammons? betty carter? george benson? horace silver?! art blakey?! mccoy tyner? etc etc etc!] there are numerous instances of a deserving artist but a questionale album choice. clearly this can not be intended to be in numerical order based on importance?! jaco’s debut? number 98? getouttahere! admittedly its a challenge but i cant grade this better than a C-. ouch. look at those 13 omissions people!
even if you dont agree with my all 13 of my cited examples of omissions above, this list leaves much to be explored. i mean gil evans, fats navarro, django rheinhardt, ahmad jamal, mahavishnu orhestra, dont get me started again!
You’re right. mahavishnu, wes montgomery, too many left off. jaco at 98, ornette at 1. just a joke. but to be honest, anyone expecting amazon to know anything about music of any genre is kind of silly as well. kind of blue is hands down the greatest jazz record of all time. i’d put ornette b/w 25 and 11 on this list. too much criticism to add, but amazon’s not worth my time.
No Freddie Hubbard? What about ‘Ready for Freddie’ or ‘Red Clay’? I cannot believe Herb Alpert is above him!!!!!
I’ve been checking sites for the best/most popular jazz albums. One album that’s missing is one I own (on vinyl) and hardly anyone else, so good luck finding it. It’s called Art Blakey and The Original Jazz Messengers with Horace Silver, Hank Mobley, Don Byrd, and Doug Watkins. It’s on Columbia Jazz Odyssey #32-16-0246. Mine is electronically re-channeled for stereo and was originally titled “The Jazz Messengers” – recorded in April and May, 1956. Songs are: Infra-Rae, Nica’s Dream, It’s You or No One, Ecaroh, Carol’s Interlude, The End of A Love Affair and Hank’s Symphony. Maybe some songs are on other albums – I wouldn’t know. I bought it a long time ago just by chance and love it.
Okay, the majority of this stuff is great, and many belong on this list, but Top 100? Not even close. WAY too many albums missing and quite a few don’t belong here at all. I mean, Herb Alpert/Tijuana Brass?? That’s not even jazz! Naked City????
I suggest you go educate yourself a bit better on what jazz is….
IMHO, this list is for non-purists. Some greats alongside some lesser artists who will not be remembered in 50 years.
ornette coleman #1 WTF???
School Days Huh ? not even the best Stanley Clarke record so how its on this list god only knows.
Heavy Weather ???? BOrrrrrrrrrrrrrrinnnnnnnnngggggggggggg
I really like Stan Getz! But Wayne Shorter’s SPEAK NO EVIL should post higher than GETZ/GILBERTO!
Totally agree with number 1. Would have liked to have seen Mingus Ah Um included, but it’s a great list regardless.
The Bad Plus at #39!?!? The fact that they are on the list negates the whole thing. We are all dumber for having viewed it because they are listed. Why don’t you list Kenny G?
This is a joke, right?
Kenny G is a joke…
The fact that Diana Krall is on there at all is bizarre. Decent musician but nothing of lasting significance. And she’s #64 while Blues and The Abstract Truth is #74? Odd
Also Clarke’s School Days was ok but not listworth IMO.
What gives?
I miss Hoagy Carmichael, “Hoagy Sings Carmichael”
Um, hello? Money Jungle — Ellington, Max Roach and Charlie Mingus. And not even a mention of Ellington at Newport in 56? These two records are top 10, if not top 5 and they’re completely missing from your list.
(ready….aim….)
What? No Kenny G “Breathless”??? Hell, that outsold everything on the list combined!!! Wouldn’t that mean it’s the greatest? Does the artistry of ‘ciruclar breathing’ mean nothing to you people???
(fire!!!)
The first guitarist-lead session recording is not Wes Montgomery but Grant Green’s Idle Moments? And at #47 no less?
Ask any jazz historian or accomplished jazz guitarist and they will firmly disagree with this.
That said, it’s one of my all time favorite jazz guitar records and I spun it yesterday (I swear)… 🙂
And any jazz list that omits the Nat King Cole Trio, places Billie Holiday at 33, etc. is amateur hour.
-Thomas
Yeah, I really like _The Shape of Jazz to Come_, but it’s really bizarre to me that it’s given first place over _Kind of Blue_ or _A Love Supreme._
Gotta agree with Ball there. WTF for #1? IMO there is really no way you could hash that list and not have Kind of Blue or Love Supreme as #1.
Guess I died for nothing.
Awesome list!
You of course missed Johnny Griffin – A Blowin’ Session…
I totally disagree with number 1. WTF
Whaaaaaaat.
No love for Don Ellis?
I totally agree about Jaco… but I play bass as well (poorly), so I’m biased.
wow, nice list! 😀
The Great Summit is probably my favorite album 🙂