Uncovering the Next Generation's Hall of Fame
| ⇦ 1955 | 1957 ⇨ |
The Best Music of 1956
Here is a selection of the best albums and songs from 1956. Hall of Famers are highlighted in orange.
For a list of the top artists who made their debut recording in 1956, check out this list.
| Albums (?) | Wikipedia | |
| B.B. King | Singin' The Blues | ☆ |
| Big Joe Turner | The Boss of the Blues | ☆ |
| Bill Haley and His Comets | Rock 'n' Roll Stage Show | ☆ |
| Billie Holiday | Lady Sings the Blues | ☆ |
| Charles Mingus | Pithecanthropus Erectus | ☆ |
| Chet Atkins | Finger-Style Guitar | ☆ |
| Dinah Washington | In the Land of Hi-Fi | ☆ |
| Duke Ellington | At Newport | ☆ |
| Ella Fitzgerald | Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers & Hart album Book | ☆ |
| Ella Fitzgerald | Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book | ☆ |
| Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong | Ella and Louis | ☆ |
| Elvis Presley | Elvis | ☆ |
| Elvis Presley | Elvis Presley | ☆ |
| Fats Domino | This is Fats Domino! | ☆ |
| Fats Domino | Rock and Rollin' with Fats Domino | ☆ |
| Ferrante and Teicher | Soundblast | ☆ |
| Frank Sinatra | Songs For Swingin' Lovers | ☆ |
| Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers | The Teenagers Featuring Frankie Lymon | ☆ |
| Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps | Bluejean Bop! | ☆ |
| Harry Belafonte | Calypso | ☆ |
| Harry Belafonte | Belafonte | ☆ |
| Johnny Burnette and the Rock 'n Roll Trio | Johnny Burnette and the Rock and Roll Trio | ☆ |
| Little Willie John | Fever | ☆ |
| Louis Prima | The Wildest! | ☆ |
| Sister Rosetta Tharpe | Gospel Train | ☆ |
| Sonny Rollins | Saxophone Colossus | ☆ |
| Sonny Rollins | Moving Out | ☆ |
| Sonny Rollins | Tenor Madness | ☆ |
| The Four Freshmen | Four Freshmen and 5 Trombones | ☆ |
| The Louvin Brothers | Tragic Songs of Life | ☆ |
| Various Artists | My Fair Lady (Broadway Cast Recording) | ☆ |
| Songs (?) | Wikipedia | |
| Big Joe Turner | Corrine Corrina | ☆ |
| Bill Doggett | Honky Tonk | ☆ |
| Bill Haley & His Comets | See You Later, Alligator | ☆ |
| Bill Haley & His Comets | The Saints Rock 'N' Roll | ☆ |
| Billie Holiday | Lady Sings the Blues | ☆ |
| Buchanan & Goodman | The Flying Saucer Part I & II | ☆ |
| Carl Perkins | Blue Suede Shoes | ☆ |
| Carl Perkins | Matchbox | ☆ |
| Carl Perkins | Honey Don't | ☆ |
| Carl Perkins | Boppin' the Blues | ☆ |
| Celia Cruz | Yerbero Moderno | ☆ |
| Chuck Berry | Roll Over Beethoven | ☆ |
| Chuck Berry | Brown Eyed Handsome Man | ☆ |
| Chuck Willis | It's Too Late | ☆ |
| Clarence "Frogman" Henry | Ain't Got No Home | ☆ |
| Clyde McPhatter | Treasure of Love | ☆ |
| Dale Hawkins | Susie Q | ☆ |
| Dave Bartholomew | Shrimp and Gumbo | ☆ |
| Doris Day | Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be) | ☆ |
| Eddie Cochran | Twenty Flight Rock | ☆ |
| Ella Fitzgerald | Blue Moon | ☆ |
| Ella Fitzgerald | Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love) | ☆ |
| Elvis Presley | Don't Be Cruel | ☆ |
| Elvis Presley | Heartbreak Hotel | ☆ |
| Elvis Presley | Hound Dog | ☆ |
| Elvis Presley | Love Me Tender | ☆ |
| Elvis Presley | Blue Suede Shoes | ☆ |
| Fats Domino | Blueberry Hill | ☆ |
| Fats Domino | Blue Monday | ☆ |
| Fats Domino | I'm In Love Again | ☆ |
| Fats Domino | Ida Jane | ☆ |
| Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers | Why Do Fools Fall in Love | ☆ |
| Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers | I'm Not a Juvenile Delinquent | ☆ |
| Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers | The ABC's of Love | ☆ |
| Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps | Race With The Devil | ☆ |
| Gene Vincent & The Blue Caps | Be Bop a Lula | ☆ |
| Gogi Grant | The Wayward Wind | ☆ |
| Harry Belafonte | Day-O (The Banana Boat Song) | ☆ |
| Harry Belafonte | Jamaican Farewell | ☆ |
| Harry Belafonte | Mary's Boy Child | ☆ |
| Howlin' Wolf | Smokestack Lightning | ☆ |
| Ivory Joe Hunter | Since I Met You Baby | ☆ |
| James Brown & The Famous Flames | Please, Please, Please | ☆ |
| Jimmy Reed | Ain't That Lovin' You Baby | ☆ |
| Johnny Burnette & The Rock 'n' Roll Trio | Train Kept A-Rollin' | ☆ |
| Johnny Burnette & the Rock 'n' Roll Trio | Lonesome Train (On A Lonesome Track) | ☆ |
| Johnny Cash | I Walk the Line | ☆ |
| Johnny Cash | Give My Love To Rose | ☆ |
| Johnny Cash | Get Rhythm | ☆ |
| Lavern Baker | Jim Dandy | ☆ |
| Little Richard | Long Tall Sally | ☆ |
| Little Richard | The Girl Can't Help It | ☆ |
| Little Richard | Ready Teddy | ☆ |
| Little Richard | Rip It Up | ☆ |
| Little Willie John | Fever | ☆ |
| Louis Prima | Jump, Jive An' Wail | ☆ |
| Louis Prima | Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody | ☆ |
| Mahalia Jackson | Take My Hand, Precious Lord | ☆ |
| Mickey & Sylvia | Love is Strange | ☆ |
| Muddy Waters | Forty Days And Forty Nights | ☆ |
| Otis Rush | I Can't Quit You Baby | ☆ |
| Ravi Shankar | Raga Jog | ☆ |
| Ray Charles | Drown In My Own Tears | ☆ |
| Ray Charles | Lonely Avenue | ☆ |
| Ray Price | Crazy Arms | ☆ |
| Screamin' Jay Hawkins | Little Demon | ☆ |
| Screaming Jay Hawkins | I Put a Spell on You | ☆ |
| Shirley & Lee | Let the Good Times Roll | ☆ |
| Sonny Rollins | St. Thomas | ☆ |
| T-Bone Walker | T-Bone Shuffle | ☆ |
| The Cadets | Stranded in the Jungle | ☆ |
| The Coasters | Down in Mexico | ☆ |
| The Del-Vikings | Come Go With Me | ☆ |
| The Dells | Oh, What a Night | ☆ |
| The Drifters | I Gotta Get Myself a Woman | ☆ |
| The Five Satins | In The Still Of The Nite | ☆ |
| The Four Freshmen | Graduation Day | ☆ |
| The Louvin Brothers | Knoxville Girl | ☆ |
| The Platters | (You've Got) The Magic Touch | ☆ |
| The Platters | My Prayer | ☆ |
| ⇦ 1955 | 1957 ⇨ |