The Beatles released 12 albums during their active career, including Magical Mystery Tour (which was actually first released as an EP), but not including Yellow Submarine (which only had 4 new songs) or any of the mangled US versions of their albums. albums.

This is my ranking of those 12 albums from best to worst.

1. The Beatles (The White Album)

The White Album was released in 1968 following the release of the Sgt. Pepper & Magical Mystery Tour in 1967. The White Album was a major departure from the sound of those albums.

While the songs on Sgt. Pepper & Magical Mystery Tour are layered with musical ideas, many of the songs on The White Album are stripped back by comparison. While the Sgt Pepper album seemed to tie the songs together into one theme, the only theme on The White Album seems to be that there is no theme.

Many critics of The White Album say that it has too many weak songs (at least by Beatles standards) to be considered The Beatles’ best work. While I agree there certainly isn’t a song as weak as “Don’t Pass Me By” on Sgt. Pepper, I still don’t agree with that conclusion.

To my ears, the drastic variation in style (and quality) of the songs on The White Album is what makes them so interesting. It’s an album I’ve listened to countless times over the years, but I still hear something new and lovely on it with every new listen.

And yes, I love that “Revolution #9” was included on the album. While I often stop the album at “Cry Baby Cry,” I like having the option to take that trip if I want to. I’ve listened to “Revolution #9” many times and it’s always a different journey. It’s certainly not a track for everyone, but that makes it even more special for those of us who appreciate it.

Highlights: Dear Prudence, As My Guitar Softly Cry, Happiness Is A Warm Gun, I’m So Tired, Blackbird, I Will, Helter Skelter, Cry Baby Cry.

2. Sgt. Pepper

It has become modern to say that Sgt. Pepper is overrated. Of course, what’s hot is often BS and this is certainly such a case. Sergeant Pepper is a great album that deserves all the praise it has received over the years.

And while The White Album has long been my favorite Beatles album, Pepper is getting closer and closer to surpassing that spot as the years go on.

I feel like it’s close to being a perfect album. There is not a single weak track in it. The album is like a carnival and each song is a different ride in that carnival. Even more than 40 years later, it’s amazing that a band (a pretty young band too, if you think about it) was able to write such incredibly different songs in a short period of time and record them for an album.

Also, I feel like it’s impossible for any album that ends with “A Day In The Life” to be overrated. To this day it is the best closed album of all time.

Highlights: With a little help from my friends, Lucy in the sky with diamonds, getting better, fixing a hole, being for the benefit of Mr. Kite, inside you without you, a day in the life.

3. Revolver

On the contrary, it has become quite fashionable to say that Revolver is, in fact, The Beatles’ best album. That somehow everyone missed it at the time and it was the real milestone a year before Sgt. Pepper came out. Listening to “Tomorrow Never Knows” it’s understandable how someone could have that point of view.

But while Revolver’s songs are almost as forward-thinking as Sgt. Pepper’s (although I’d say not quite with the obvious exception of “Tomorrow Never Knows”), there’s no theme that holds the songs together. The album plays like a collection of amazing songs, while Sgt. Pepper has a cohesive feel to it by comparison. The loose topic of Sgt. Pepper is what made people realize the idea of ​​an album as an “art form” at the time. While looking back may not make as much sense today, I still think there is some merit to that idea when comparing the two albums.

My main reason for liking Sgt. Pepper more than Revolver is simple, “Yellow Submarine”. I’ve gotten pretty tired of that song over the years and I think it really sticks out like a sore thumb in the album sequence. It would have worked much better as a single.

Highlights: Eleanor Rigby, I’m Only Sleeping, Here, There and Everywhere, She Said She Said, Good Morning Sunshine, And Your Bird Can Sing, To No One, Tomorrow You Never Know

4. Abbey Road

Abbey Road is the #1 album of all time on RateYourMusic.com and while it’s certainly an excellent album, I obviously don’t agree with that ranking. To me, it’s too fancy sounding and doesn’t seem as packed with ideas as the three albums I’ve ranked above.

That said, the side 2 suite is amazing and I think I rank Abbey Road side 2 as my most enjoyable listen of any album the Beatles have ever recorded. Does that mean I hate side 1? No. It has some of my favorite Beatles songs, like “I Want You (She She’s So Heavy)” and “Oh! Darling,” along with the classic hits “Come Together” and “Something.” But I could do without “Octopus’s Garden” which like “Yellow Submarine” has worn me out quite a bit over the years and now I feel like it messes up the flow of the album.

Highlights: Come together oh! Honey, I love you (she is so heavy), the whole side 2.

5. Magical Mystery Tour

While Magical Mystery Tour wasn’t technically an album release at the time (it was officially an EP), I’m considering it as one for the purposes of this list and since it included quite a few new songs (along with older singles like “Penny Lane” and “Strawberry Fields Forever”) I think it makes sense to think of it as an album at this point.

Includes many of The Beatles’ best psychedelic songs. “I Am The Walrus” and “Strawberry Fields Forever” in particular. If one really wants to get an idea of ​​what the Beatles sounded like at their most “psychedelic” on purpose, then they should get this album.

I also quite enjoy the wonderfully weird movie of the same name.

Highlights: I Am The Walrus, Strawberry Fields Forever, Penny Lane

6. Rubber soul

1965’s Rubber Soul was the album where The Beatles really started to expand their sound and includes some of the best songs they’ve ever recorded. The album saw The Beatles expanding musically, like “Norwegian Wood,” which was the first song most people heard a sitar on, and lyrically, like “Nowhere Man,” which was the first Beatles song. that has no lyrics related to romanticism. love.

But the album also had some clunkers. “What Goes On,” “Wait,” and the awful album-closing “Run For Your Life” are pretty weak tracks by Beatles standards.

Featured: Norwegian Wood, Nowhere Man, Michelle, Girl, I’m Looking Through You, In My Life, If I Needed Someone.

7. Let it be

Let It Be was the last Beatles album released, but not the last they recorded. It was actually recorded mainly before Abbey Road in January ’69, but was released afterwards in 1970.

The album is inconsistent and sloppy-sounding and probably mainly because of that (rather than the songs) it has received more negative reviews than any other Beatles album.

But there are a lot of great songs on the album and I feel like it’s kind of underrated. The album opener “Two Of Us” is one of my favorites. It also includes the classic piano ballads “The Long And Winding Road” and “Let It Be” along with the rocking greats “Get Back” and “I”ve Got A Feeling.”

“Across The Universe” feels very out of place in the album sequence and should be just as it was recorded in 1967. But it’s still a great song. Which really goes to the heart of the problem with Let It Be. It has a lot of great songs (and some rubbish, admittedly) but they don’t seem to go together in sound or style.

Highlights: two of us, through the universe, let it be, I have a feeling, the long and winding road, for you blue, come back

8. A Hard Day’s Night

A Hard Day’s Night was released in 1964 and was the third album by The Beatles. It was their first album to feature all original songs, and in fact is the only Beatles album to feature only Lennon/McCartney originals (as it was before Harrison was a frequent songwriting collaborator).

While I don’t like the individual songs as much as the ones on Let It Be, it flows much better as an album and for that reason is sometimes more enjoyable to listen to.

The album is the peak of their early pure pop days before they started experimenting with more complex songs and recording techniques.

Highlights: A Hard Day’s Night, If I Fall and Love Her, Can’t Buy Me Love, I’ll Cry Instead, Things We Said Today

9. Help!

I find the best songs in Help! be better than the best songs on A Hard Day’s Night but nevertheless, as a whole, the album doesn’t hold together that well.

Unlike A Hard Day’s Night, the album includes a couple of covers (“Act Naturally” and “Dizzy Miss Lizzy”), neither of which I care about at all. The album would be better if they were removed as they are quite out of place and mess up the flow of the album.

But the album includes some of her best pop songs, including the classic “Yesterday.” While “Ticket to Ride”, “You Have to Hide Your Love” and “Help!” show that John Lennon was at an early songwriting peak.

Featured: Help!, You Have to Hide Your Love, I Need You, Ticket to Ride, I Just Saw a Face, Yesterday

10. The Beatles for sale

Sandwiched between the superior A Hard Day’s Night and Help!, Beatles For Sale is often overlooked. And when you see that 6 of the 14 songs were covers, it’s easy to see why.

But there were also some Lennon/McCartney gems on the album, like “No Reply,” “I’m A Loser,” “I’ll Follow the Sun,” and “Every Little Thing.” The original Beatles make the album worth getting. But I find myself quite uninterested in covers on this one and since it makes up a large part of the songs on the album, I don’t listen to it often.

Highlights: No Answer, I’m a Loser, I’ll Follow the Sun, Every Little Thing, What You’re Doing

11. Please please me

The first Beatles album is more interesting to me as a historical artifact at the moment, as I don’t really enjoy listening to it. But the opening (“I Saw Her Standing There”) and closing (“Twist & Shout”) tracks are great.

Oddly enough, since I don’t like listening to most of their covers, I do enjoy a few versions of this one (“Anna”, “Baby It’s You” and of course “Twist & Shout”).

Highlights: I saw her standing there, please please me, there is a place, turn around and shout.

12. With The Beatles

Their second album is very similar to their first without as much “historical significance” meaning I listen to it very rarely.

Highlights: All my love, you really got a hold on me

I recommend getting at least the first 9 albums on this list and supplementing that collection with the Past Masters 1 and Past Masters 2 collections that include all of their singles that aren’t on these albums (and that include many of their best songs).

Next you need to get the Yellow Submarine songs track, which isn’t really an album, but includes some great songs you can’t get anywhere else (particularly “It’s All Too Much”) and interesting alternate mixes of some of his greatest hits.

So if you still need more Beatles (and if you’re like me, you will) get the Anthology series, particularly Anthology 2 and Anthology 3.