Reviews for albums released in 1956 can be found below. The album reviews are categorized by genre and alphabetical order.
Jazz
- The Toshiko Trio (Toshiko Akiyoshi) A-
- Clifford Brown and Max Roach at Basin Street (Clifford Brown & Max Roach) A
- Brubeck Plays Brubeck (Dave Brubeck) A-
- Blue Serge (Serge Chaloff) A
- The Musings of Miles (Miles Davis) A-
- Miles: The New Miles Davis Quintet (Miles Davis) B+
- Quintet/Sextet (Miles Davis) A-
- Ellington at Newport (Duke Ellington) A
- The Steamer (Stan Getz) B+
- Count ‘Em 88 (Ahmad Jamal Trio) A-
- Kenton in Hi-Fi (Stan Kenton) A-
- Cuban Fire (Stan Kenton) B+
- Pithecanthropus Erectus (Charles Mingus) A+
- Django (Modern Jazz Quartet) A-
- Fontessa (Modern Jazz Quartet) A-
- The Unique Thelonious Monk (Thelonious Monk) A
- Bud Powell’s Moods (Bud Powell) A-
- Piano Interpretations (Bud Powell) B+
- Max Roach + 4 (Max Roach) A-
- Moving Out (Sonny Rollins) A-
- Work Time (Sonny Rollins) A-
- Sonny Rolling Plus 4 (Sonny Rollins) A-
- Tenor Madness (Sonny Rollins) A
- Jazz Advance (Cecil Taylor) A
- Lennie Tristano (Lennie Tristano) A-
- The Jazz Giants ’56 (Lester Young) A-
Rock and Roll
- Johnny Burnette and the Rock ‘n Roll Trio (Johnny Burnette) A
- Elvis Presley (Elvis Presley) A+
- Elvis (Elvis Presley) A
- Bluejean Bop (Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps) B
Swing/Pop
- Calypso (Harry Belafonte) C+
- Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book (Ella Fitzgerald) A
- Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers & Hart Song Book (Ella Fitzgerald) A-
- Ella and Louis (Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong) A
- Lady Sings the Blues (Billie Holiday) A
- Lonely Girl (Julie London) A-
- Calendar Girl (Julie London) B
- The Wildest! (Louis Prima) A
- Songs for Swingin’ Lovers! (Frank Sinatra) A
- Dinah! (Dinah Washington) A-
- In the Land of Hi-Fi (Dinah Washington) B+
Rhythm and Blues
- The Boss of the Blues (Big Joe Turner) A-
Country/Folk
- Finger Style Guitar (Chet Atkins) A-
- Tragic Songs of Life (The Louvin Brothers) B+
- Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues (Odetta) A
Classical
- Classical Check-Up
- Glenn Gould
- Luigi Nono
- Ravi Shankar
- Frank Sinatra
- Karlheinz Stockhausen
- Ralph Vaughan Williams
- Heitor Villa-Lobos
Foreign
- Three Ragas (Ravi Shankar) A-
The Music of 1956
