Traditional Pop/Vocal Jazz: Top 25 Albums

Traditional Pop/Vocal Jazz: The Top 25 Albums

While traditional pop and vocal jazz aren’t quite the same thing, they share a lot of commonalities. Traditional pop is considered a genre of music that generally pre-dates rock and roll in the 1950s and generally consists of artists performing standards from the American songbook. Crooners such as Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and Perry Como are popular singers of the genre. Musically, the singers were frequently backed by swing bands. Vocal jazz is a sub-genre of jazz in which a singer’s voice is used as an instrument, which includes techniques such as vocal improvisations and scatting in which the singer imitates the instruments. It emerged out of the New Orleans jazz tradition which was built on the field hollers and work songs of African-American slaves. Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Sarah Vaughan are some of the genre’s most notable performers. Like traditional pop, it often leans on standards. 18 sources focused on the best traditional pop, vocal jazz, and standards albums were aggregtated to create this exclusive Dave’s Music Database list. Check out other best-of-genre/category lists here. 1. Norah Jones Come Away with Me (2002) 2. Frank Sinatra Songs for Swingin’ Lovers! (1956) 3. Frank Sinatra In the Wee Small Hours (1955) 4. Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook (1956) 5. Natalie Cole Unforgettable…With Love (1991) 6. Billie Holiday Lady in Satin (1958) 7. Judy Garland Judy at Carnegie Hall (live, 1961) 8. Ray Charles The Genius of Ray Charles (1959) 9. Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely (1958) 10. Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy (1954) 11. Frank Sinatra Come Dance with Me (1959) 12. Frank Sinatra Come Fly with Me (1957) 13. Frank Sinatra September of My Years (1965) 14. Frank Sinatra A Swingin’ Affair (1957) 15. Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong Ella & Louis (1957) 16. John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman (1963) 17. Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook (box set: recorded 1959) 18. Chet Baker Chet Baker Sings (1954) 19. Frank Sinatra and Antonio Carlos Jobim Francis Albert Sinatra and Antonio Carlos Jobim (1967) 20. Frank Sinatra Songs for Young Lovers (1953) 21. Billie Holiday Lady Sings the Blues (1956) 22. Nina Simone Pastel Blues (1965) 23. Nina Simone Wild Is the Wind (1966) 24. Billie Holiday Songs for Distingué Lovers (1957) 25. Sarah Vaughan & Clifford Brown Sarah Vaughan with Clifford Brown (1955) Resources and Related Links: Dave’s Music Database: other best-of-genre lists Dave’s Music Database: “Top 100 Songs of the American Songbook” First posted 9/15/2024; last updated 2/28/2026.

Dave's Music Database Hall of Fame: Album Inductees (Feb. 2025)

The Top Traditional Pop/Jazz Albums Originally posted 2/22/2025. January 22, 2019 marked the 10-year anniversary of the DMDB blog. To honor that, Dave’s Music Database announced its own Hall of Fame. This month marks the 25th group of album inductees. These are the top 10 traditional pop/vocal jazz albums of all time (see the DMDB’s top 25 list here). Three were inducted in previous classes – Frank Sinatra’s Songs for Swingin’ Lovers, Judy Garland’s Judy at Carnegie Hall, and Norah Jones’ Come Away with Me. See the full list of album inductees here.

Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy (1954) Inducted February 2025 as “Top Traditional Pop/Jazz Albums.”

AllMusic.com: “This recording was not only Louis Armstrong's finest record of the 1950s but one of the truly classic jazz sets.” He covers 11 songs written by W.C. Handy, including the notable “St. Louis Blues.” This is “essential music for all serious jazz collections.” Read more at Wikipedia.

Ray Charles The Genius of Ray Charles (1959) Inducted February 2025 as “Top Traditional Pop/Jazz Albums.”

Ray Charles was one of the most influential singers of all time with “a revolutionary fusion of blues, jazz, R&B, and gospel.” RD The Genius of Ray Charles showed an artist “still in his twenties and signaled both his eagerness and ability to transcend genres at will.” RD It “comes on strong with a ravishing set of six big-band-flavored jazz numbers.” RD On the second side, “Charles turned in a more seductive direction and arrived at a roster of ballads backed by massive, swooning string sections.” RD Read more.

Natalie Cole Unforgettable…With Love (1991) Inducted February 2025 as “Top Traditional Pop/Jazz Albums.”

Natalie Cole was born into music royalty as the daughter of Nat “King” Cole, a jazz crooner who charted more than 100 times in the 1940s, ‘50s, and ‘60s. She became a star in her own right, winning the Grammy for Best New Artist in 1976 and charting sixteen top-10 R&B hits in the ‘70s and ‘80s. However, she found her greatest success in 1991 when she recorded an album of songs her father had made famous. It won her the Grammy for Album of the Year and sold seven million copies in the U.S. Read more.

Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook (1956) Inducted February 2025 as “Top Traditional Pop/Jazz Albums.”

“Ella Fitzgerald was already the preeminent voice in the jazz world when she began what became her signature project in 1956; a series of recordings devoted to works by each of the great stage and screen composers of postwar America.” TM They “are all wonderful, but her natural wit and intelligence was at its most perfect” AZ on Sings the Cole Porter Songbook, the first collection. She “shines as the perfect interpreter of Cole Porter’s bittersweet love songs.” AM It “is a dream pairing of singer and song,” TM “arguably history’s finest jazz singer singing some of the best-written American pop standards.” AM Read more.

Billie Holiday Lady in Satin (1958) Inducted February 2025 as “Top Traditional Pop/Jazz Albums.”

“Lady Day was in big trouble by 1958.” BL “Although not yet 43, she could have passed for 73.” AM “Her raspy singing reflected a lifetime riddled with abusive relationships, drug addiction and time spent in prison.” PM “The sweet tones of Holiday’s upper register were practically non-existent, but her voice remained an immovable force.” PM Lady in Satin is “as heartbreaking and necessary as it is gorgeous,” PM a “startling masterpiece rooted in tough times.” BL Without it, “there would simply have been no divas like Nina Simone or Janis Joplin crying their hearts out so uncompromisingly in the decades to come.” RD Read more.

Frank Sinatra In the Wee Small Hours (1955) Inducted February 2025 as “Top Traditional Pop/Jazz Albums.”

Sinatra’s “break-up with Ava Gardner provided the perfect catalyst” TL for what has been hailed as “the all-time greatest break-up album.” RD “The wisecracking, finger-snapping Sinatra of popular legend is absent;” RD this is an “authoritative take on masculine loneliness.” TL It is also “one of the finest jazz albums of all time.” CAD and “considered by many to be the first concept album.” CAD Read more.

Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely (1958) Inducted February 2025 as “Top Traditional Pop/Jazz Albums.”

“The sad songs come one after another on this album, Sinatra’s definitive ballad collection.” TM “Only the Lonely follows the same formula as his previous down albums, but the tone is considerably bleaker and more desperate.” AM The “world’s greatest saloon singer is in his element” TM playing the part of “a wounded Everyman…who lurk[s] in the lounge nursing their disappointment, bending the ear of the barkeep, seeking consolation in the woozy hues of jazz and cocktails.” TM “It’s a heartbreaking record, the ideal late-night album.” AM Read more.

Natalie Cole Unforgettable won Grammy for Album of the Year

Unforgettable…With Love Natalie Cole

Released: June 11, 1991 Charted: June 29, 1991 Peak: 15 US, 5 RB, 11 UK, 2 CN, 16 AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 7.23 US, 0.10 UK, 14.0 world (includes US and UK) Genre: traditional pop

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) The Very Thought of You (3/21/92, 34 AC, 71 UK) It’s Only a Paper Moon Route 66 Mona Lisa L-O-V-E This Can’t Be Love Smile Lush Life That Sunday, That Summer Orange Colored Sky Medley: For Sentimental Reasons/ Tenderly/ Autumn Leaves Straighten Up and Fly Right Avalon Don’t Get Around Much Anymore Too Young Nature Boy Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup Almost Like Being in Love Thou Swell Non Dimenticar Love Is Here to Stay Unforgettable [with Nat “King” Cole] (6/15/91, 14 BB, 23 CB, 16 GR, 20 RR, 3 AC, 10 RB, 19 UK, 15 CN, 2 AU, 6 DF) Total Running Time: 72:47

Rating: 4.381 out of 5.00 (average of 20 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: Natalie Cole was born into music royalty as the daughter of Nat “King” Cole, a jazz crooner who charted more than 100 times in the 1940s, ‘50s, and ‘60s with such memorable hits as “Mona Lisa,” “Nature Boy,” “Too Young,” “Straighten Up and Fly Right,” “I Love You for Sentimental Reasons,” “Get Your Kicks on Route 66,” and “Unforgettable.” She became a star in her own right when she won the Grammy for Best New Artist in 1976. She landed sixteen top-10 hits on the R&B charts in the ‘70s and ‘80s, going all the way to #1 six times. However, 1991 “found the singer abandoning the type of R&B/pop she’d been recording since 1975 in favor of jazz-influenced pre-rock pop along the lines of Nat King Cole’s music.” AM She paid homage to her father by covering 22 songs – including those just listed – that he had made famous. “Quite clearly, this was an album Cole was dying to make…The 41-year-old Cole sounds more inspired than she had in well over a decade.” AM “Naysayers who thought that so radical a change would be commercial suicide were proven wrong;” AM Unforgettable…With Love “was a surprising risk that paid off handsomely – both commercially and artistically.” AM Not only did it win the Grammy for Album of the Year, but it gave her the biggest commercial success of her career selling more than 7 million copies in the U.S. alone. The album’s juggernaut was the title cut, a duet in which overdubbing was used to make it sound like she was singing the song with her father. She was only a baby when Dad’s version was released in 1951. Now, 40 years later, the song became a surprise hit and won three Grammys, including Record of the Year.

Reviews: AM AllMusic.com review by Alex Henderson WK Wikipedia Related DMDB Links: First posted 4/5/2008; last updated 2/28/2026.

“Unforgettable” won Grammys for Song and Record of the Year

Unforgettable Nat “King” Cole with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra

Writer(s): Irving Gordon (music and lyrics) (see lyrics here) First Charted: November 3, 1951 Peak: 12 US, 116 UK, 6 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.2 UK Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 28.10 video, 139.86 streaming

Unforgettable Natalie Cole with Nat “King” Cole

First Charted: June 15, 1991 Peak: 14 BB, 23 CB, 16 GR, 20 RR, 3 AC, 10 RB, 19 UK, 15 CN, 2 AU, 6 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 0.55 US, -- UK, 0.63 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 3.28 video, 85.79 streaming

Awards (Nat “King” Cole): Click on award for more details. Awards (Natalie Cole):

About the Song: Irving Gordon was a songwriter born Israel Goldener in New York City in 1915. He wrote many comedic and parody songs SF and had songs recorded by Perry Como, Bing Crosby, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, and Patti Page. His best-known song, however, was “Unforgettable” – a song which netted him a Grammy for Song of the Year forty years after he wrote it. Nat “King” Cole was the first to chart with the song. He started his career as a jazz pianist and rose to become “one of the most popular singers in recording history.” PM He charted more than 120 times from 1943 to his death in 1965, most notably with “Straighten Up and Fly Right” (1944), “The Christmas Song” (1946), and #1 hits “I Love You for Sentimental Reasons” (1946), “Nature Boy” (1948), “Mona Lisa” (1950), and “Too Young” (1951). Cole recorded “Unforgettable” in 1951 with an arrangement by Nelson Riddle. He recorded a non-orchestrated version a year later. WK It reached #12 in the U.S. and topped the UK charts for 16 weeks. In 1954, the Dick Hyman Trio brought it back, getting to #29. PM Others to record it over the years include George Benson, Andrea Bocelli, Captain & Tennille, Sammy Davis Jr., Roberta Flack, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Merle Haggard, Englebert Humperdinck, Peggy Lee, Johnny Mathis, Oscar Peterson, Kenny Rogers, and Dinah Washington. WK 40 years after Cole first recorded the song, his version was edited and reworked into a duet with his daughter, Natalie. She’s already had a successful career herself, winning the Grammy for Best New Artist in 1975 and having top-ten hits with “This Will Be an Everlasting Love” (1975), I’ve Got Love on My Mind” (1977), “Our Love” (1978), “Pink Cadillac” (1988), and “Miss You Like Crazy” (1989). HT Her version of “Unforgettable” with her father, however, cemented her legacy. It was a surprise hit, reaching #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #3 on the adult contemporary chart. Her version was recorded as part of a full album tribute to her father. At a time when “grunge and gangsta rap were the big trends…an album of jazz standards seemed the perfect way to keep a contemporary artist off the charts” SF but the public and Grammy voters embraced it wholeheartedly. The album, Unforgettable…With Love, topped the Billboard album chart and sold 11 million copies worldwide. It won the Grammy for Album of the Year while the song won Grammys for Song and Record of the Year. Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Natalie Cole SF Songfacts TY2 Don Tyler (2007). Hit Songs, 1900-1955. McFarland & Company, Inc.: Jefferson, North Carolina. Page 323. PM Joel Whitburn (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954. Record Research, Inc: Menomonee Falls, WI. Pages 87-89, 601. HT Joel Whitburn (2016). Top Pop Singles 1955-2015. Menomonee Falls, WI; Record Research, Inc. Page 189. WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 4/16/2024.

Bruce Springsteen “Pink Cadillac” released as a B-side

Pink Cadillac Bruce Springsteen

Writer(s): Bruce Springsteen (see lyrics here) Released: May 3, 1984 First Charted: June 2, 1984 Peak: 27 AR, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions as B-side of “Dancing in the Dark”): 2.0 US, 0.6 UK, 2.91 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 4.7 video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: The Bruce Springsteen Born in the U.S.A. 1984-1985 era may be the most dominant in the history of the album rock chart. Not only did nine of the album’s twelve cuts chart (seven of which reached the top 10), but three other songs from that era charted as well. The most successful was a live version of the song “Trapped,” a #1 album rock hit which was culled from the We Are the World compilation. The other two, “Pink Cadillac” and “Stand on It” were B-sides. “Pink Cadillac” came early in Springsteen’s chart domination, as it was the B-side to “Dancing in the Dark,” the first single from Born in the U.S.A. The song only reached #27 on the charts, but that was significant for a song that wasn’t even an album cut. It wouldn’t show up on a Springsteen album until 1998 when it appeared on Tracks, a box set of outtakes. Springsteen wrote the song in December 1981 under the title “Love Is a Dangerous Thing.” He first recorded an acoustic version of “Pink Cadillac,’ with more lighthearted lyrics, in January 1982 during sessions for the Nebraska album. He recorded it again in the spring of 1983 during sessions for Born in the U.S.A. He cut the basic track at the end of a session and completed it with the E Street Band the next morning. WK The idea of singing about a pink Cadillac came from Elvis Presley’s 1954 cover of “Baby Let’s Play House” in which the King sang “You may have a pink Cadillac” (a reference to his custom painted Cadillac that was his touring vehicle) instead of the original line “You may get religion.” WK Springsteen played on the automobile as a metaphor for sexual activity much like songs such as Prince’s “Little Red Corvette” and Wilson Pickett’s “Mustang Sally.” The lyric “I love you for your pink Cadillac was supposedly a reference to a vagina. WK Ironically, the song became a top-10 single in 1988 when covered by a woman – Natalie Cole. Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Bruce Springsteen SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 8/7/2022.