# Jazz albums for beginners: where to start

The records that guides for newcomers recommend again and again: easy to love on first listen and a door into everything else.

- 193 votes · 18 items
- Jul 17, 2025 · Jasmine R.
- https://even.best/en/l/2962/jazz-albums-for-beginners-where-to-start

## Top 18

1. **A Love Supreme — John Coltrane** (18 · ▲18 ▼0) — 1965. A four-part spiritual suite.
2. **Time Out — The Dave Brubeck Quartet** (16 · ▲16 ▼0) — 1959. Odd time signatures you can hum, including "Take Five".
3. **Kind of Blue — Miles Davis** (14 · ▲15 ▼1) — 1959. The best-selling jazz album ever and the obvious first step.
4. **Blue Train — John Coltrane** (14 · ▲14 ▼0) — 1957. Hard bop on Blue Note.
5. **Getz/Gilberto — Stan Getz & João Gilberto** (12 · ▲13 ▼1) — 1964. Bossa nova and "The Girl from Ipanema".
6. **Waltz for Debby — Bill Evans Trio** (9 · ▲10 ▼1) — 1962. Piano trio recorded live at the Village Vanguard.
7. **The Sidewinder — Lee Morgan** (9 · ▲10 ▼1) — 1964. A catchy soul-jazz title track that became a hit.
8. **Monk's Dream — Thelonious Monk** (9 · ▲9 ▼0) — 1963. Monk's quirky melodies at their most accessible.
9. **Song for My Father — Horace Silver** (8 · ▲9 ▼1) — 1965. A bossa-tinged groove that sticks.
10. **Mingus Ah Um — Charles Mingus** (7 · ▲9 ▼2) — 1959. Gospel, blues and big-band energy in one record.
11. **Maiden Voyage — Herbie Hancock** (6 · ▲6 ▼0) — 1965. Modal jazz about the sea.
12. **Saxophone Colossus — Sonny Rollins** (5 · ▲8 ▼3) — 1956. Includes the calypso "St. Thomas".
13. **Moanin' — Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers** (5 · ▲7 ▼2) — 1958. Bold, rhythmic and full of swing.
14. **Ella and Louis — Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong** (4 · ▲7 ▼3) — 1956. The friendliest way into vocal jazz.
15. **Somethin' Else — Cannonball Adderley** (3 · ▲5 ▼2) — 1958. With Miles Davis and a famous "Autumn Leaves".
16. **Head Hunters — Herbie Hancock** (2 · ▲5 ▼3) — 1973. Jazz-funk with "Chameleon".
17. **Lady in Satin — Billie Holiday** (2 · ▲5 ▼3) — 1958. Her late, heartbreaking voice with strings.
18. **The Shape of Jazz to Come — Ornette Coleman** (0 · ▲2 ▼2) — 1959. The first step towards free jazz.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.