What swing records should I start with?

Count Basie's "The Atomic Mr. Basie", Duke Ellington's "Ellington at Newport", Frank Sinatra's "Songs for Swingin' Lovers!" and "Ella and Louis" by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong make an ideal foundation. They're true 1950s albums, with far better sound than compilations of 78s.

Why are 1930s swing records mostly compilations?

Because the LP didn't exist yet: it arrived in 1948. Big bands of the 1930s and 40s recorded for 78 rpm discs, one song per side. Vinyl albums of that era therefore gather those recordings after the fact, with sound quality that depends on the transfer.

Gypsy jazz is a style born in 1930s France around guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stéphane Grappelli in the Quintette du Hot Club de France. With no drums or horns, it relies on guitars, violin and bass, driven by a distinctive rhythmic guitar strum called la pompe.

Does Vinyles.com sell swing records directly?

No. Vinyles.com is a price comparison site: for each record, it shows offers from partner stores. You compare prices and available editions, then click through to the store of your choice, which handles the order and shipping. Prices for the same pressing can vary between stores.

Swing

Swing is the beating heart of jazz, with its driving rhythms and joyful melodies. Popularized in the 1930s-40s by big bands like Duke Ellington's and Count Basie's, it remains music that makes you want to move.

Each record is a concentrate of energy, virtuosity, and contagious good humor. Perfect for transforming your living room into an impromptu dance floor!

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Swings Shubert Alley

Mel Torme

Swing Vinyl Records: Big Bands, Crooners and the Reissues to Pick

Swing vinyl: what you'll find here

This page gathers swing vinyl records: the big bands of the 1930s and 40s swing era, the crooners and singers who carried the style through the 1950s, and European gypsy jazz. You'll find Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra backed by Nelson Riddle and His Orchestra, Nat King Cole and pianist Erroll Garner. For each album, Vinyles.com lists offers from several partner stores, from standard reissues to audiophile editions, so you can pick the right version at the right price.

78s, compilations and hi-fi LPs: understanding swing editions

Here's the key to buying swing on vinyl: the swing era predates the LP, which arrived in 1948. Recordings from the 1930s and 40s were issued on 78s, so on vinyl they exist as compilations whose sound depends on the care taken with the transfer. From the 1950s on, big bands and singers recorded directly for the album format, with much better sound. For those records, series such as Verve Acoustic Sounds reissue classics from the original analog tapes. Many 1950s albums came out in mono, since the stereo LP only arrived in 1958.

78 rpm compilation or true 1950s album
Transfer quality and remastering credits
Mono or stereo for 1950s records
Reissue series and master source

Essential swing records

Benny Goodman's 1938 Carnegie Hall concert, released as an album by Columbia in 1950, remains a landmark of the swing era. Duke Ellington and Count Basie dominate the genre: "Ellington at Newport" (1956) and "The Atomic Mr. Basie" (1958) catch their orchestras at their peak. For vocals, Frank Sinatra's "Songs for Swingin' Lovers!" (1956), arranged by Nelson Riddle, Ella Fitzgerald's Songbooks on Verve and "Ella and Louis" (1956) are must-haves. In Europe,