In 1986, Billboard published a Jazz Album list every two weeks with forty albums ranked. Here’s a chart of the #1 jazz albums of 1986:
| Week Ending | Album | Artist(s) |
|---|---|---|
| January 18 | Magic Touch | Stanley Jordan |
| February 1 | ||
| February 15 | ||
| March 1 | ||
| March 15 | ||
| March 29 | ||
| April 12 | ||
| April 26 | ||
| May 10 | ||
| May 24 | Love Will Follow | George Howard |
| June 7 | ||
| June 21 | ||
| July 5 | ||
| July 19 | Alone/But Never Alone | Larry Carlton |
| August 2 | Double Vision | Bob James & David Sanborn |
| August 16 | ||
| August 30 | ||
| September 13 | ||
| September 27 | Breakout | Spyro Gyra |
| October 11 | Down to the Moon | Andreas Vollenweider |
| October 25 | ||
| November 8 | ||
| November 22 | Tutu | Miles Davis |
| December 6 | ||
| December 20 |
#1 Jazz Albums:
1976 · 1977 · 1978 · 1979
1980 · 1981 · 1982 · 1983 · 1984 · 1985