The 1953 Bowman Color set is the best set made from this era. It's perfection. It's beauty comes from its simplicity-no names, no positions, no team names. Just glorious 1950s baseball. The uniforms, the stadiums, the players. The photography is as aesthetically pleasing as any I've ever seen. The only way it could have possibly been better is if it had been released just a few years later so Clemente, Aaron, Kaline and Banks could have been in it. Still, as a Braves fan, the Mathews and Spahn are two beauties I cannot add fast enough.
Soon. 
The 1953 Bowman set. Glorious.
For Topps, it's hard to say. The '54 set is great. The '52 set is iconic. But I think I'd have to pick the 1956 Topps set, too.
Look at this beauty. It was love at first site.
1956 Topps. Taking the '55 concept, and kicking it up a notch. Bam!
I also really like the 1957 Topps set, too. In a way, you could say it was the birth of the modern baseball card era, as it adopted the standard size we see today.
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Building these sets: T206, 1953 Bowman Color, 1975 Topps.
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