See also: List of years in music, Timeline of trends in music to 1899, Timeline of trends in music (1900-1949), Timeline of trends in music (1960-1969), Timeline of trends in music (1970-1979), Timeline of trends in music (1980-1989), Timeline of trends in music (1990-present)
- 1950 in music
- Music of Afghanistan
- The beginning of radio broadcasting leads to the beginning of Afghan popular music
- Music of Argentina
- Astor Piazzolla begins to fuse traditional tango music with jazz and classical music
- Music of Algeria
- Music of China
- The Chinese government begins recording and documenting the music of minorities in China
- Music of Colombia
- The Golden Age of Cumbia begins
- Music of Cuba
- Music of Japan
- Latin music becomes very popular in Japan, especially tango
- Music of Mexico
- Polka and corridos combine, with other influences, and form norteño music (known as Tex-Mex in the United States)
- Music of Papua New Guinea
- String bands, featuring acoustic guitars and ukuleles are popular in Papua New Guinea
- Music of Peru
- Huaynos spreads from the inland to coastal areas, supplanting fusions of multiple Western genres called musica criolla
- Music of Trinidad and Tobago
- Music of the United States
- Israel "Cachao" López popularizes Cuban mambo in the US
- The peak of Chicago blues, exemplified by musicians like Sonny Boy Williamson, Big Bill Broonzy and Tampa Red.
- Music of Afghanistan
- 1951 in music
- Music of Japan
- Music of the Lesser Antilles
- Haitian compas and cadence rampa take over the music scene in Martinique, Guadeloupe and elsewhere in the Lesser Antilles, displacing biguine and similar native genres, which continue to thrive in rural villages
- Music of Trinidad and Tobago
- Calypso's mainstream popularity outside of Trinidad begins with artists like Lord Melody, Lord Kitchener, and, most especially, Mighty Spoiler's "Bed Bug".
- Music of the United States
- The Bakersfield sound in country music develops in Bakersfield, California as a reaction against the dominant Nashville sound - artists like Buck Owens and Wynn Stewart begin their career
- Piano Red ("The Wrong Yo Yo", "Just Right Bounce", "Laying the Boogie") is the first blues singer in history to appear on the pop charts
- Cool jazz is formed as a fusion of jazz and bossa nova
- Ray Boley sets up Canyon Records to record Navajo singer Ed Lee Natay; Canyon Records goes on to become the most influential label in Native American music
- 1952 in music
- Music of Bolivia
- A revolution leads to increased social and cultural awareness for natives in Bolivia
- Music of Egypt
- A nationalist revolution occurs with the support of classical music performers like Abd el-Halim Hafez
- Music of Ghana
- ET Mensah and The Tempos begin recording; they become one of the most popular and influential of dance highlife bands of the decade
- Music of Jamaica
- Stanley Motta makes the first recordings of mento
- Music of Kenya
- Recordings of Jean-Bosco Mwenda's Congolese finger-style guitar playing are availabe in Kenya
- Music of Madagascar
- Bouboul is the country's most popular musician, and its first electric guitarist
- Music of Mali
- Afro-Jazz de Ségou forms; this is the most influential dance band of the period
- Music of Nepal
- Music of Thailand
- Pleng luk thung emerges with artists like Ponsri Woranut and Suraphon Sombatjalern
- Music of the United States
- Hard bop emerges with recordings by Miles Davis (Miles Ahead), Sonny Rollins (Way Out West) and J.J. Johnson (Blue Trombone)
- Bill Haley's pioneering recordings ("Rocket 88") mark the beginning of rockabilly as a distinct genre and commercial force
- Music of Bolivia
- 1953 in music
- International trends
- Ghanaian drummer Guy Warren moves to Liberia and then the United States, where he begins recording a series of radical fusions of African drumming with American jazz
- Music of Congo-Kinshasha
- Luambo Makiadi begins recording, and the first full-time Congolese orchestra, African Jazz forms; this is the beginning of a Congolese popular music sound
- Music of Cuba
- Chachachá begins its reign of popularity in Cuba after developing of Haitian immigrant charanga bands, followed within a year by a short-lived American obsession with the dance music
- Music of Greece
- Manolis Khiotis adds a fourth pair of strings to the bouzoúki
- Music of Papua New Guinea
- The Port Moresby Show is held for the first time, established newfound respect for traditional Papuan music
- Music of Slovenia
- The Avsenik Brothers establish the foundation for Slovenian popular music
- Music of the United States
- International trends
- 1954 in music
- Music of Algeria
- Cheikha Remitti records "Charrag Gatta" (Tear, Lacerate), an extremely controversial exhortation for young girls to lose their virginity
- Music of the Bahamas
- Bahamanian junkanoo parades, annual celebrations of music and dance, begin to become more organized, eventually helping solidify the sound of junkanoo and move it towards popularization
- Music of Cameroon
- Music of Jamaica
- The rise of the first sound systems dominated by future record producers like Sir Coxsone Dodd, King Edwards and Duke Reid; these parties are playing jump blues, R&B and other, mostly American, musicians
- Music of Spain
- Hispavox, a Spanish record label, releases Antología del Cantte Flamenco, a popular collection of recordings from the early flamenco masters
- Music of the United States
- Bill Haley and his Comets release "Rock Around the Clock", beginning the first rock and roll craze among mainstream listeners; many consider this the end of Tin Pan Alley's dominance of pop music
- Music of Algeria
- 1955 in music
- Music of Germany
- The Rudolstadt festival is founded in East Germany
- Music of Ghana
- Borborbor music develops in Kpandu, evolving out of konkoma highlife
- Music of India
- Ali Akbar Khan's performance in the US marks the beginning of fusions between Indian and Western musical traditions
- Music of the Netherlands
- Music of the Philippines
- Tagalog lyrics to Western-style rock appear in the Philippines; this is the beginning of Pinoy rock
- The Weavers return to folk music after years of being blacklisted; their concert at Carnegie Hall helps to re-establish folk music's popular acceptance
- The Louvin Brothers mainstream stardom is established, and they become the most popular of the close harmony acts
- Music of Haiti
- Compas direct begins its popularization due to artists like Nemours Jean Baptiste.
- Music of the United States
- Music of Germany
- 1956 in music
- Music of China
- Turdu Ahun, a traditional Uighur performer, records the 12 muqams; this is an important recording in the history of Chinese folk music
- Music of Colombia
- Rock and roll begins its popularity in Colombia, and is soon dominated by Mexican performers like Enrique Guzmán and Cesar Costa
- Music of Portugal
- José Afonso's career begins with Fados de Coimbra, recorded with Luís Góis, setting the stage for nova canção's development
- Music of Spain
- The first national contest of cante jondo is held in Cordoba
- Music of Trinidad and Tobago
- Mighty Sparrow's "Jean and Dinah" is the last hit for classical calypso. The song became a hit and led to a new interest in pop-calypso.
- Music of the United Kingdom
- Ewan MacColl's Scottish Popular Ballads is an inspiration for the next generation of roots revivalists
- Music of the United States
- Hard bop jazz's mainstream success begins with Max Roach (Max Roach Plus Four), Sonny Rollins (Saxophone Colossus), Clifford Brown (At Basin Street), Jimmy Smith (The Champ) and Horace Silver ("Senor Blue")
- Music of Vietnam
- The founding of the Hanoi Conservatoire of Music leads to more formality and modernization in Vietnamese folk music and the development of nhac dan toc cai bien
- Music of China
- 1957 in music
- Music of Brazil
- Bossa nova emerges from Brazil with artists like João Gilberto ("Bim Bom"), and Antonio Carlos Jobim ("Desafinado" -- the first bossa nova record)
- Music of Greece
- Éntekhno becomes popular in Greece
- Music of Iceland
- Tony Crombie & His Rockets, an English band, popularizes rock and roll in Iceland with a series of thirteen concerts; authorities don't approve and try to offer non-rock related activities for Icelandic youth
- Music of Switzerland
- Bands like the Hula Hawaiians begin incorporating rockabilly influences into their music
- Music of the United States
- The chart success of Johnny Cash ("Home of the Blues", "There You Go"), Ferlin Husky ("Gone", "A Falling Star"), George Hamilton IV ("Only One Love") and Marty Robbins ("Knee Deep in the Blues", "A White Sport Coat (And a Pink Carnation)") mark the beginning of the Nashville sound's domination of country music
- Music of Brazil
- 1958 in music
- Music of Jamaica
- Local R&B bands begin recording commercially for domestic audiences
- Music of Spain
- A Chair of Flamencology is established at Jerez as flamenco music becomes more respectable and mainstream
- Music of the United Kingdom
- Blues musicians like Big Bill Broonzy, Alexis Korner, Cyril Davies and Muddy Waters achieve great popular acclaim in Great Britain
- Music of the United States
- Cuban bolero music is briefly popular, and leaves a long-standing influence on the Nashville Sound
- The Kingston Trio's "Tom Dooley" helps to jumpstart a revival in folk music
- Music of India
- The films Al Hilal and Mughal-e-Azam are responsible for the blossoming of filmi qawwali, as well as its increasing secularization, leading to intense controversy
- Music of Jamaica
- 1959 in music
- Music of Iceland
- Native rock and roll musicians begin an Icelandic rock scene. Record companies require lyrics to be in Icelandic, though the youthful listeners prefer English language acts.
- Music of Jamaica
- Coxsone Dodd and Duke Reid, among others, found Jamaican ska-oriented labels, setting the foundation for a distinctively Jamaican music scene
- Music of Mali
- Allata Brulaye Sidibí develops music for a type of harp that he invented, kamalengoni
- Music of Peru
- A revolution helps bring native music, especially the charango (a string instrument) to middle-class and urban Peruvians
- Music of the United States
- Recordings by Ornette Coleman (The Shape of Jazz to Come), Sun Ra (The Nubians of Plutonia), John Coltrane (Giant Steps), Cecil Taylor (Stereo Drive, Love for Sale) and Eric Dolphy (Hot & Cool Latin) mark a mainstream resurgence in jazz, which has morphed into hard bop, avant-garde jazz and fusion -- most important is Kind of Blue by Miles Davis
- Music of Iceland