As Leader
- 1956: Johnny Griffin (released in 1958 by Argo)
- 1956: Introducing Johnny Griffin (Blue Note)
- 1957: A Blowing Session (Blue Note)
- 1957: The Congregation (Blue Note)
- 1958: Johnny Griffin Sextet (Riverside)
- 1958: Way Out! (Riverside)
- 1959: The Little Giant (Riverside)
- 1960: The Big Soul-Band (Riverside) – rereleased as Wade in the Water
- 1960: Battle Stations (Prestige) – with Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis
- 1960: Johnny Griffin’s Studio Jazz Party (Riverside)
- 1960: Tough Tenors (Jazzland) – with Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis
- 1960: Griff & Lock (Jazzland) – with Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis
- 1961: The First Set (Prestige) – with Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis
- 1961: The Tenor Scene (Prestige) – with Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis
- 1961: The Late Show (Prestige) – with Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis
- 1961: The Midnight Show (Prestige) – with Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis
- 1961: Lookin’ at Monk! (Prestige) – with Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis
- 1961: Change of Pace (Riverside)
- 1961: Blues Up & Down (Jazzland) – with Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis
- 1961: White Gardenia (Riverside)
- 1961: The Kerry Dancers (Riverside)
- 1962: Tough Tenor Favorites (Jazzland) – with Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis
- 1963: Grab This! (Riverside)
- 1963: Soul Groove (Atlantic) – with Matthew Gee
- 1963: Do Nothing ’til You Hear from Me (Riverside)
- 1964: Night Lady (Philips)
- 1967: The Man I Love (Polydor)
- 1967: You Leave Me Breathless (Black Lion)
- 1967: A Night in Tunisia (Trio)
- 1967: Body and Soul (Moon)
- 1968: Jazz Undulation (Joker) – with Dexter Gordon
- 1968: Lady Heavy Bottom’s Waltz (Vogue)
- 1970: Tough Tenors Again ‘n’ Again (MPS) – with Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis
- 1973: Blues for Harvey (SteepleChase)
- 1974: Johnny Griffin Live at Music Inn (Horo)
- 1975: All the Things You Are (Timeless)
- 1976: Johnny Griffin Live in Tokyo (Philips)
- 1976: The Little Giant Revisited (Philips)
- 1978: Sincerely Ours (Four Leaf Clover) – with Rolf Ericson
- 1978: Return of the Griffin (Galaxy)
- 1978: Bush Dance (Galaxy)
- 1978: Birds and Ballads (Galaxy)
- 1979: NYC Underground (Galaxy)
- 1979: To the Ladies (Galaxy)
- 1980: Live / Autumn Leaves (Verve)
- 1981: Meeting (Jeton)
- 1983: Callitwhachawanna (Galaxy)
- 1984: Tenors Back Again! – with Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis (Storyville)
- 1985: Three Generations of Tenor Saxophone with Sal Nistico and Roman Schwaller
- 1986: Have You Met Barcelona, with Ben Sidran
- 1988: Take My Hand with Michael Weiss, Dennis Irwin, Kenny Washington (Who’s Who of Jazz)
- 1990: The Cat with Michael Weiss, Dennis Irwin, Kenny Washington, Curtis Fuller, Steve Nelson (Antilles)
- 1992: Dance of Passion with Michael Weiss, Peter Washington, Kenny Washington, John Clark, Steve Turre, Dave Bargeron (Antilles)
- 1999: In and Out (Dreyfus)
- 2000: Johnny Griffin and Steve Grossman Quintet with Michael Weiss, Pierre Michelot, Alvin Queen (Dreyfus)
As sideman
With Ahmed Abdul-Malik
- Jazz Sahara (Riverside, 1958)
With Nat Adderley
- Branching Out (Riverside, 1958)
With Art Blakey
- Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk (Atlantic, 1958)
With Tadd Dameron
- The Magic Touch (1962)
With Dizzy Gillespie
- The Giant (America, 1973)
- The Source (America, 1973)
- The Dizzy Gillespie Big 7 (Pablo, 1975)
With Bennie Green
- Glidin’ Along (1961)
With Philly Joe Jones
- Blues for Dracula (Riverside, 1958)
With Blue Mitchell
- Big 6 (1958)
With Thelonious Monk
- Thelonious in Action (1958)
- Misterioso (1958)
With Bud Powell
- Bud in Paris (1975, Xanadu Records) (recorded live 1960)
- Earl Bud Powell, Vol. 8: Holidays in Edenville, 64 (1964, Mythic Sound)
With Clark Terry
- Serenade to a Bus Seat (Riverside, 1957)
With Wilbur Ware
- The Chicago Sound (Riverside, 1957)
With Randy Weston
- Little Niles (United Artists, 1958)