The Beatles (Album rankings)

Submitted by Zacharyyy on Wed, 01/20/2010 - 19:02
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  1. 10/10.
  2. 9.5/10.
  3. 9/10.
  4. 8.5/10.
  5. 8/10.
  6. The Beatles. The Beatles. 1968. A great big kaleidoscope of pop music featuring every single Beatle in perfect form; showcasing that they've all got a great creative spark. From the heartbreaking "Julia" to adorable "Piggies" to HARDCORE "Helter Skelter" there's many great songs on this record and they flow together better than the other albums do, for the most part (second in this aspect only to Abbey Road). It's a highly original, expressive, and epic album.
  7. 7.5/10.
  8. Abbey Road. The Beatles. 1969. Probably the most accomplished "album" on a whole; the medley on the B-Side being one of the most uplifting and beautiful pieces of Baroque-Pop ever created. "Her Majesty" is the most superfluous thing ever on a record, though.
  9. Plastic Ono Band. John Lennon. 1970. John Lennon baring all. A rollicking and heartfelt record; his screams really pull you in. Songs like "Well Well Well" and "God" and "Mother" are goddamned masterpieces. "Working Class Hero" sometimes strikes me as slightly pretentious though.
  10. Revolver. The Beatles. 1966. One of the best produced albums ever, some of the tightest pop songs. Has a great many great little moments, small touches, and production tricks that all flow together smoothly; nothing sticks out and this is probably one of the best accessible albums out there. "Tomorrow Never Knows" is still a weird-ass great song.
  11. 7/10.
  12. Rubber Soul. The Beatles. 1965. Flashes of sincerity and meaningful rock music. The last release of purely straight-up rock. In itself, it has some of Lennon's greatest pieces, "Norwegian Wood" and "In My Life", and one of McCartney's most interesting "I'm Looking Through You". There's power in things so damn pleasant. This album and Beatles For Sale are hugs in sound-form.
  13. All Things Must Pass. George Harrison. 1970. A massive panorama of everything George Harrison can do-- almost just to say that he really can do it. Good thing is that all the things he can do, he can do pretty well. Even the "Apple Jam" disc that everyone hates is really good once you get used to it.
  14. 6.5/10.
  15. Beatles For Sale. The Beatles. 1964. There's just something weirdly cute and sincere about this album; it seems like the start of their best stuff. The cynical angst meets uplifting melodies of "No Reply" and "I'm A Loser" make for great tunes.
  16. Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The Beatles. 1967. A pretty good pop album; nothing more. Really, I've always found this album to be a bit stiff and lacking in expression (aside from "A Day In The Life"). That said, this and Revolver probably feature the best productions ever (next to Dark Side Of The Moon, Faust, and Original Sin).
  17. The Magical Mystery Tour. The Beatles. 1967. One of the better singles-collections out there... Seriously what the fuck else can I say about this... "Flying" is a good song and makes me wish they wrote more things all together like that or even just more instrumentals.
  18. Help!. The Beatles. 1965. Help! help me get out of these meaningless MOR trappings heeeeelp-- This is the transitional album.
  19. 6/10.
  20. Band On The Run. Paul McCartney. 1973. By no means bad, but it's just... Not special. I mean, the title song is catchy and well written and nice and stuff, but this album has no verve or energy to it.
  21. 5.5/10.
  22. RINGO. Ringo Starr. 1973.Ringo is the pleasant playful old uncle of the group. He's adorable and clownish. Makes for nice personality but not the nicest music. Some of it is good though; it'd be best to stick to the singles, though.
  23. Yellow Submarine. The Beatles. 1969. And it doesn't matter what chords they play or the quality of it, as it's only a film soundtrack.
  24. 5/10.
  25. Let It Be. The Beatles. 1970. The Beatles ended as a painfully middle of the road soft rock band.
  26. A Hard Day's Night. The Beatles. 1964. a little better....
  27. 4.5/10.
  28. 4/10.
  29. With The Beatles. The Beatles 1963. See Please Please Me...("It Won't Be Long" is good though)
  30. 3.5/10.
  31. 3/10.
  32. Please Please Me. The Beatles. 1963. The Beatles started as a painfully middle of the road Merseybeat band. Their cover of "Twist and Shout" is still pretty strong though.
  33. 2.5/10.
  34. 2/10.
  35. 1.5/10.
  36. 1/10.
  37. 0.5/10.
  38. 0/10.
Author Comments: 

None of the Beatles are the best musicians, singers, composers, or lyricists. They still made a few flashes of brilliance together (a few more flashes of brilliance in the single-only releases too that are not represented here). They are better than the sum of their parts.
Like Scaruffi, I included the best album by each Beatle's solo career too!

BUT George Martin, the fifth Beatle, is most definitely the greatest Producer and is an essential part of the Beatles as arranger, producer, cheerleader, and a creative force in himself.

(Average rating: 6.147)