The 109 Greatest Jazz CDs
| Artist(s) | Album | Score |
| Davis, Miles | Kind of Blue | 14 |
| Coltrane, John | A Love Supreme | 10 |
| Coltrane, John | Giant Steps | 10 |
| Davis, Miles | Bitches Brew | 10 |
| Hancock, Herbie | Maiden Voyage | 10 |
| Rollins, Sonny | Saxophone Colossus | 10 |
| Shorter, Wayne | Speak No Evil | 10 |
| Brubeck, Dave | Time Out | 9 |
| Coleman, Ornette | The Shape of Jazz to Come | 9 |
| Davis, Miles | Birth of the Cool (Complete) | 8 |
| Dolphy, Eric | Out to Lunch! | 8 |
| Ellington, Duke | Blanton-Webster Band (1940-1942) | 8 |
| Evans, Bill | Sunday at the Village Vanguard | 8 |
| Evans, Bill | Waltz for Debby | 8 |
| Powell, Bud | The Amazing Bud Powell, Vol. 1 (with Fats Navarro) | 8 |
| Coltrane, John | My Favorite Things | 7 |
| Garner, Erroll | Concert by the Sea | 7 |
| Mingus, Charles | Mingus Ah Um | 7 |
| Montgomery, Wes | The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery | 7 |
| Nelson, Oliver | Blues and the Abstract Truth | 7 |
| Adderley, Cannonball | Somethin' Else | 6 |
| Basie, Count | The Complete Atomic Basie | 6 |
| Coltrane, John | Blue Train | 6 |
| Davis & Evans | Porgy & Bess | 6 |
| Ellington, Duke | Far East Suite | 6 |
| Goodman, Benny | Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert (1938) | 6 |
| Hill, Andrew | Point of Departure | 6 |
| Monk, Thelonious | Brilliant Corners | 6 |
| Parker, Charlie | The Complete Dial Sessions | 6 |
| Pepper, Art | Meets the Rhythm Section | 6 |
| Silver, Horace | Song for My Father | 6 |
| Basie, Count | The Complete Decca Recordings (1937-1939) | 5 |
| Blakey, Art | A Night at Birdland, Vol. 1 | 5 |
| Blakey, Art | Moanin' (with the Jazz Messengers) | 5 |
| Coleman, Ornette | Free Jazz | 5 |
| Davis & Evans | Sketches of Spain | 5 |
| Davis, Miles | Cookin' | 5 |
| Davis, Miles | Miles Smiles | 5 |
| Ellington, Duke | Ellington at Newport 1956 | 5 |
| Hawkins, Coleman | Body and Soul | 5 |
| Jarrett, Keith | Koln Concert | 5 |
| Mahavishnu Orchestra | The Inner Mounting Flame | 5 |
| Monk, Thelonious | Monk & Coltrane | 5 |
| Morgan, Lee | The Sidewinder | 5 |
| Morton, Jelly Roll | Birth of the Hot: The Classic Chicago "Red Hot Peppers" Sessions (1926-1927) | 5 |
| Armstrong & Hines | Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines, 1928 (Playboy Vol. IV) | 4 |
| Art Ensemble of Chicago | Nice Guys | 4 |
| Blakey, Art | A Night at Birdland, Vol. 2 | 4 |
| Brown & Roach | Clifford Brown & Max Roach | 4 |
| Carter, Benny | Further Definitions | 4 |
| Davis, Miles | Milestones | 4 |
| Giuffre, Jimmy | Jimmy Giuffre 3, 1961 | 4 |
| Hancock, Herbie | Head Hunters | 4 |
| Herman, Woody | Thundering Herds (Playboy 1945-1947) | 4 |
| Johnson, J.J. | The Eminent Jay Jay Johnson, Vols. 1 | 4 |
| Johnson, J.J. | The Eminent Jay Jay Johnson, Vols. 2 | 4 |
| Lambert, Hendricks & Ross | Sing A Song of Basie | 4 |
| Modern Jazz Quartet | Django | 4 |
| Monk, Thelonious | Genius of Modern Music, vol. 1 | 4 |
| Parker & Gillespie | Bird & Diz | 4 |
| Pass, Joe | Virtuoso | 4 |
| Silver, Horace | Blowin' The Blues Away | 4 |
| Taylor, Cecil | Silent Tongues | 4 |
| Vaughan, Sarah | Swingin' Easy | 4 |
| Waller, Fats | The Fats Waller Piano Solos/Turn On The Heat (1929-1941) | 4 |
| Weather Report | Heavy Weather | 4 |
| Armstrong, Louis | Hot Fives and Sevens, vol. 2/3 | 3 |
| Armstrong, Louis | Plays W.C. Handy | 3 |
| Beiderbecke, Bix | Bix Beiderbecke, Vol. 1: Singin' the Blues | 3 |
| Coleman, Ornette | Change of the Century | 3 |
| Coltrane & Hartman | John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman | 3 |
| Corea, Chick | Light As a Feather (with Return to Forever) | 3 |
| Corea, Chick | Return to Forever | 3 |
| Davis & Evans | Miles Ahead | 3 |
| Davis, Miles | In A Silent Way | 3 |
| Davis, Miles | Miles Ahead | 3 |
| Dolphy, Eric | Outward Bound | 3 |
| Ellington, Duke | OKeh Ellington | 3 |
| Evans, Bill | Portrait in Jazz | 3 |
| Fitzgerald & Armstrong | Ella & Louis | 3 |
| Fitzgerald, Ella | Mack the Knife - The Complete Ella in Berlin | 3 |
| Fitzgerald, Ella | The Best of the Songbooks | 3 |
| Gordon, Dexter | Go! | 3 |
| Gordon, Dexter | Our Man in Paris | 3 |
| Henderson, Joe | Inner Urge | 3 |
| Hutcherson, Bobby | Dialogue | 3 |
| Lambert, Hendricks & Ross | Everybody's Boppin' | 3 |
| Lavano, Joe | From the Soul | 3 |
| Marsalis, Wynton | Citi Movement | 3 |
| McLean, Jackie | Let Freedom Ring | 3 |
| Mingus, Charles | Blues and Roots | 3 |
| Mingus, Charles | Mingus (or Live) at Antibes | 3 |
| Mingus, Charles | Pithecanthropus Erectus | 3 |
| Mobley, Hank | Soul Station | 3 |
| Mulligan, Gerry | Best of Mulligan Quartet with Chet Baker | 3 |
| Murray, David | Ming | 3 |
| Parker, Charlie | Jazz at Massey Hall | 3 |
| Parker, Charlie | The Complete Live Performances on Savoy | 3 |
| Powell, Bud | The Genius of Bud Powell | 3 |
| Quintet, The | Jazz at Massey Hall (Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, et.al.) | 3 |
| Rollins, Sonny | Way Out West | 3 |
| Sun Ra | Jazz in Silhouette | 3 |
| Tatum, Art | Piano Starts Here | 3 |
| Tristano, Lennie | Lennie Tristano - The New Tristano | 3 |
| Tyner, McCoy | The Real McCoy | 3 |
| Washington, Grover, Jr. | Mister Magic | 3 |
| Wilson, Cassandra | Blue Light 'Til Dawn | 3 |
| World Saxophone Quartet | Plays Duke Ellington | 3 |
| Young, Lester | With the Oscar Peterson Trio (1952) | 3 |
The album, A Boy Named Charlie Brown, originally titled Jazz Impressions of a Boy Named Charlie Brown, by Vince Guaradli, still appears to be the best selling jazz recording of the 20th century. It also can probably be considered to be the best introduction to jazz, since the end of the first swing era of the big bands, that millions of people have been exposed to, probably without even realizing they were listening to jazz.
Fifteen different jazz resources, recommending the best jazz recordings of all times were reviewed and 845 different albums appeared as a result of combining their recommendations. The CDs listed above are ones which scored three or more recommendations. Therefore, Jazz At Nite is setting forth this list as the 109 Greatest Jazz CDs of all time, knowing this definition will always leave out somebody's favorite jazz recordings and some of you may want to push me over a cliff for my choices.
Thankfully, the differences in what each of us love is what keeps jazz alive and thriving. The numbers listed above indicate how many recommendations each CD received.
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Last updated:
12 May, 2008