When I started this blog, I was determined to not write any "cliche" posts like this one. Then I read this article, and it made me irrationally angry, so I decided I had to take my own stand about how the Beatles' albums stack up. I will note that I think any attempt to objectively rank these albums by relative greatness is absolutely ridiculous and bound to fail. This is nothing more or less than my personal preferences and the reason behind them. Also, I am very far from an unbiased judge due to my passionate love for the Beatles-- I probably overrate songs that a less fervent admirer might view as mediocre. Anyway, enough prologue-- here is my ranking!
13. Yellow Submarine
Yes, this album comes at the bottom of every single ranking, and while I wanted to break away from that trend, its shortcomings are too obvious. Its main disadvantage is lack of original material-- only six of its thirteen tracks are actually Beatles songs, and two of those songs were also released on other albums. That being said, George Martin's score, which takes up the other seven tracks, is absolutely lovely, and two of the original releases ("Hey Bulldog" and "It's All Too Much") are absolute bops. "Only a Northern Song," however, is easily the weakest on the album, and while "All Together Now" is a fun attempt at a children's song, it lacks the creativity and charm of "Yellow Submarine." All in all, Yellow Submarine isn't a terrible album-- it just pales in comparison to the rest of the Beatles' catalogue.
12. With the Beatles
One of the biases that will affect rankings in this list is that I vastly prefer the Beatles singing their own songs. With the Beatles, like many of their early albums, is heavy on covers, and I feel it suffers as a result. Of its fourteen tracks, only three-- "It Won't Be Long," "All My Loving," and "Hold Me Tight"-- feel like essential additions to the Beatles canon. With three really good songs compared to Yellow Submarine's two, it definitely deserves second to last place. That being said, this album also features the first songwriting effort from George Harrison, which is worthy of celebration. The U.S. version, Meet the Beatles!, included the landmark singles "She Loves You" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand," which alone would have led me to bump this album up several places.
11. Magical Mystery Tour
It's hard to know what to do with Magical Mystery Tour. This odd little album includes a few of the Beatles' finest songs in "All You Need Is Love," "Strawberry Fields Forever," and "Penny Lane." Then, there is also the iconic "I Am the Walrus" and the underrated "Fool on the Hill." But the album suffers from the inclusion of filler tracks like "Flying" and "Your Mother Should Know." "Blue Jay Way" is all right, but far from the best of George Harrison's writing. Similarly, "Baby You're a Rich Man," "Hello Goodbye," and the title track are all perfectly acceptable songs, but lack the greatness and creativity of other Beatles efforts. I would say of all the Beatles' albums, this one feels like the least effort went into it. It makes sense, as it was made at a time in their careers when they were increasingly drug-dependent and lacking in direction, in between the triumph of Sergeant Pepper and the renewed burst of energy that resulted in The White Album.
10. Beatles for Sale
Going into this post, I wanted to rank this album last in lieu of Yellow Submarine-- my bias against covers coming into play again. But then I looked back over the track listing and realized I couldn't possibly do that. Yes, I wish Beatles for Sale had more original material on it. But the original songs that are there-- "Eight Days a Week," "I'll Follow the Sun," "I'm a Loser," "Every Little Thing," and others-- are all so good, so memorable, so creative and unique, that I have to give credit where credit is due. Also, the cover of "Words of Love" by Buddy Holly is probably one of the best the Beatles ever did. Some people say that Rubber Soul is the first album where the Beatles wrote personal songs, influenced by their meeting with Bob Dylan. However, I think the more heartfelt side of their writing can be seen as early as the charming "There's a Place" on Please Please Me, and it is certainly very present in several of the Beatles for Sale tracks.
9. Let It Be
This poor album is about as good as the exhumed remains of a failed album could be. After the tension of the Get Back sessions, the Beatles managed to come together (ha!) one last time and create the miracle we know as Abbey Road, which I wish could have been their final word. Unfortunately, their last album recorded was not their last album released-- it was followed by Let it Be. While many of the songs on this album are great-- the title track, "Across the Universe," "Get Back" and "The Long and Winding Road"-- and others, such as "I Me Mine," "I've Got a Feeling," and "Two of Us," are underrated, it suffers from unfortunate production decisions and an overall piecemeal feel. What's more, it leaves the false impression that the Beatles were falling apart and at odds with one another at the end, which Abbey Road should strongly contradict.
8. Please Please Me
I love this album, and I wish I could rank it higher. You can feel the energy and urgency of the marathon 13-hour studio session in which it was made. It's filled with iconic moments, from the opening countoff of "I Saw Her Standing There" to cold-ridden John blowing out his vocal cords on "Twist and Shout." However, while its scrappy, rough-hewn feel adds to its charm, it also forces me to rank it below albums that have the Beatles at the top of their game. Just like "With the Beatles" and "Beatles for Sale," the large number of covers also brought its ranking down. Still, this album is worthy of recognition for being the one that started it all, and for being the closest thing to actually hearing the Beatles at the Cavern Club when they were first starting out.
7. Rubber Soul
This may be the most controversial ranking on my list, as most rankings I've seen put Rubber Soul in the top 5, and the article that prompted me to write this gave it first place. Certainly, I can see how Rubber Soul was a historic album for the Beatles. It included George Harrison on sitar for the first time, on "Norwegian Wood," and it was the first album to include a large number of songs that were more focused on philosophical reflection than romantic love. It includes one of their best songs, "In My Life." But for some reason, the album as a whole doesn't do it for me. With the exception of "Norwegian Wood," "Girl," "In My Life," and "The Word," I find most of the tracks somewhat forgettable. Also, the misogynistic final track, "Run for Your Life," which John Lennon later regretted writing, sours me a bit to the album.
6. Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
My other most controversial ranking. Sergeant Pepper is a great album with many iconic songs. The Beatles created sounds here that no one had ever heard before. Yet I feel there is a relative lack of depth and meaning to the album, which may have arisen from John and George's disinterest in it. Aside from his standout solo track "Within You Without You," George's presence is barely felt here, and while "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and "A Day in the Life" are masterpieces, it says a lot about a Beatles album when it only has two good John songs on it. "With a Little Help from My Friends" is underrated, as is "Fixing a Hole." But it also contains "Good Morning Good Morning," one of the few Beatles songs I actively dislike. Certainly, there is much that is great about Sergeant Pepper. I just feel it has been blown entirely out of proportion. At risk of sounding disparaging, I have to wonder if most of the album's original listeners being on acid led them to see a quality that just wasn't there.
5. Help!
This album has a lot more weight to it than many of the Beatles' early efforts-- the title track and "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" signaled the beginning of John's shift to deeply confessional songwriting. There are so many other landmark moments in this one album-- George's first really good song ("I Need You"), the Beatles foreshadowing heavy metal with "Ticket to Ride," and of course, the most covered song of all time-- do I even need to name it? This album shows the Beatles' first efforts to break away from the "mop-topped heartthrobs singing cute love songs" image of their early years, while still retaining their rock 'n' roll roots. It marks the beginning of the transition that would continue with Rubber Soul and be completed by Revolver. For this reason, I think it is one of the Beatles' most important albums. Not to mention that nearly every track is either loads of fun ("The Night Before," "Another Girl,") or just plain lovely ("It's Only Love," "I've Just Seen a Face.")
4. The Beatles
It pains me to rank the White Album outside of the top three. I have such a sentimental attachment to it-- "Blackbird" was the song that made me discover I loved the Beatles. It's rare for a Beatles album to have such fantastic writing contributions from Paul, John, and George alike-- along with Ringo's best vocal performance ever ("Good Night.") Some of the band's very best songs are here, like "Dear Prudence," "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," and "Revolution." Then there are overlooked gems like "Martha My Dear," "Long Long Long," and the fun-if-nonsensical "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Monkey." I would list every song I love on it, but that would take up far too much space. None the less, the accusations that the album is overly long and bloated are fair. "Wild Honey Pie" and "Revolution 9" usually come at the bottom of rankings of Beatles songs, and for good reason. Then there are filler tracks like "Birthday" and "Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da" that aren't terrible, but look especially mediocre compared to the rest of the album. Overall, it's an incredible album, but the uneven quality of the songs prevents me from ranking it higher, however much I might want to.
3. Revolver
As far as I'm concerned, any of the albums in the top three could easily be ranked number 1. From this point on, it's less a matter of how good they are, and more about how much I personally like them. And Revolver is stunningly good. Even its weaker songs-- "Taxman" and "Good Day Sunshine," in my opinion-- would probably have been highlights on another Beatles album. "Here, There, and Everywhere" is simply gorgeous and possibly the Beatles' best love song. "Love You To," George's first foray into raga rock, is philosophical and groundbreaking. Then there are the straight-up bops like "She Said She Said" and "And Your Bird Can Sing." The only thing I can really say against this album is that, "Yellow Submarine" notwithstanding, it's a bit more somber and a bit less fun than most Beatles albums. Sure, "Eleanor Rigby" is a great song, but talk about a downer! Few Beatles albums contain this many blunt confrontations of mortality and the vain, fleeting nature of life-- or conclude with the command to "surrender to the void." This may make Revolver the Beatles' greatest album, but it may also be why I don't love it or revisit it as much as the two albums I've ranked above it.
2. A Hard Day's Night
It breaks my heart to see this glorious album barely make the upper half of most rankings. I can't understand how so many people overlook it. It's the Beatles' first album with only original songs, setting them apart from other rock 'n' roll groups of the era. And what songs they are! "If I Fell," "Can't Buy Me Love," "And I Love Her," and the title track are all stone-cold classics, the type of songs that feel like they've always existed. Even the less well-known tracks, like "I Should Have Known Better" and "Any Time at All," are ridiculously good. Many of the songs, such as "Things We Said Today," show that the Beatles were entering into a more mature era of songwriting than the days of "Love Me Do" and "From Me to You." This album is the pinnacle of the Beatles' early era, when they were a great rock 'n' roll band, plain and simple. The genius that would appear in a different form when they got more experimental is already on clear display here, and this album may be the most unified the band ever sounded. Along with the iconic movie by the same name, it epitomizes the concept of "Beatlemania," with its songs evoking the hysterical screaming of teenage girls that will forever be inseparable from the Beatles. Overall, quite contrary to its title, "A Hard Day's Night" is just a great time.
1. Abbey Road
Of course. What other album could possibly hold this spot? The "worst" song on Abbey Road is "Maxwell's Silver Hammer," which isn't even a bad song (especially if you're like me and you have a soft spot for "Paul's granny music.") And every single other song is a masterpiece, from Paul's epic vocals on "Oh! Darling," to the proto-metal feel of "I Want You (She's So Heavy)," to the sheer bliss of every note of George's guitar part on "Here Comes the Sun." And these are only a handful of the highlights. Then there is the epic medley that concludes the album, and really, concludes the Beatles, which goes from poignant and wistful, to funny, to pure rock, to melancholy, to utterly, epically transcendent. This whole album is magic, featuring every one of the four musicians at the height of their powers, in a momentary truce to create one last piece of beauty together before they inevitably spread their wings and went their separate ways. Go listen to it, and I dare you to dispute this ranking.
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