Top 5 Beatles Albums

It has been 50 years now since some little indie band called “The Beatles” decided to break up after only making 6 years worth of music. However despite their short tenure as a group, apparently these four gentlemen (Jim, Pete, Greg & Rizzy) from some place called Liverpool actually had a reasonably sized impact on modern music and even carved themselves out a nice little legacy along such artists of the 1960s like Norman Greenbaum, The Surfaris and even at their peak, Davy Jones and the Monkees.

Zing.

Honestly is there even a need to write an introduction? They’re The Beatles. The likelihood that someone is 

A. Alive

B. Doesn’t know who The Beatles are

And C.  Both knows how to read English, and is for some reason choosing to read my rinky-dink article is so small, you’d have a better chance of getting a Beatles reunion. 

However, any chance I get to write about arguably my favorite band (“Wow! What unique taste!” – All seven people who read my work), I’ll more than likely take. And seeing as I, a college student born 29 years after their final album was released, am ranking the top 5 albums of the most famous, probably most talked about and debated, arguably most influential, and quite possibly greatest musical group of all time, just go ahead and consider this the definitive list that will be set in stone for eternity and has no need for debate over or even further discussion.

Double Zing.

#5: Help! (1965)

I’m sure that those with more expertise on the subject would argue that it’s more, but to a layman such as myself, The Beatles catalogue can be split into two fairly distinct stages. The first of which is the more traditionally poppy, love-song centric music that caused many parents to scoff and many more teenagers to just f***ing SCREAM. 1965 was the year where through their albums Help! and Rubber Soul The Beatles began to transition away from this. Between these two albums, Help! is surely the one I like more.

Help! works wonderfully as a sort of transitional piece in a larger discography. Here is where I see the first legitimate, and very successful breaks both lyrically and musically out of the pop music shell that The Beatles found themselves in for the prior few years. Although I absolutely mean no disrespect to their pop music. In fact, I’d say that this album is more than likely where they perfected this type of song with tracks like “I’ve Just Seen a Face”. However what really sets Help! apart are the songs that both sound more mature, as well as begin to discuss deeper themes, or at least more interpersonal ones. Tracks like “Help!”, “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away”, “Ticket To Ride” and “Yesterday” make Help! The Beatles first all-timer.

#4: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)

Alright, calm down you seven. Of most Beatles album rankings, it is shockingly rare to find this one outside of the top three, or even the number one spot. However, in my case, this speaks less to any sort of fault with Sgt. Pepper but more as to just how good the top three are.

Sgt. Pepper stands as solid confirmation of what may be The Beatles’ most unique and powerful legacy. Not only is it an album that is both rich and complex in its composition, but remarkably accessible despite the new territory it explores. Sgt. Pepper plows ahead with what a certain album from 1966 that we’ll get to started. This album confirms that The Beatles had the ever sought after ability to both create their own samples of what was already popular and better it, as well as take something previously unheard of by their audience and say “this is new, but it’s what we’re doing. And you’re going to love it.”

Familiar favorites on this one include “With A Little Help From My Friends”, “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” and “She’s Leaving Home”, however the album leaves the very, very best for their closer: The forever contender for their best song “A Day in the Life”.

#3: The Beatles (The White Album) (1968)

Normally, the term “rough around the edges” means that an album is flawed, but maybe it’s just me when I say that this actually helps the appeal of The White Album. This absolute beast of a double album feels less like a polished set list done in concert, and more like we as an audience have the privilege to sit in and watch history’s greatest band just sort of jam for an hour and a half. This album feels like it contains every single chord and sound that The Beatles could think of. But, because it’s The Beatles, it’s awesome. There are plenty of ups and downs, but the ups are some of the uppest ups to ever up. There are legitimately too many great tracks to list here, but the album, and arguably The Beatles whole discography never quite gets better than “Blackbird” and especially “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”.

#2: Revolver (1966)

I’ve always felt that the way The Beatles albums evolved, was eerily similar to the progression of the Harry Potter series. The first half is very fun, some darker spots, but mostly cheerful. The second half starts with a sort of bang that says “That stuff isn’t entirely gone, but get ready for some real s**t.”

Effectively, Revolver is the second half of Goblet of Fire.

Revolver is in my opinion as close to a perfect album as you can get. It is the progression of the type of transition I described for Help!, and the beginning of the type of game changer I described for Sgt. Pepper. This is the perfect balance between the two stages of The Beatles. For every classic, lovable pop song (“Yellow Submarine”, “Here, There And Everywhere”, “Got to Get You Into My Life”) there is a new, contemplative, profound musical exploration (“Eleanor Rigby”, “For No One”, “Tomorrow Never Knows”). If you’re looking for an album that is both fantastic, and gives you a relative understanding of the whole band, this would be my pick.

#1: Abbey Road (1969)

Although Let it Be (1970) may have been their last album released, perhaps the most famous album of all time (indisputably the most famous cover art) was actually recorded after. And for all intents and purposes, this is The Beatles’ grand finale. This album has every Beatles staple: All time classics about nonsense (“Come Together”, “Octopus’s Garden”), Upbeat songs about horrible things (“Maxwell’s Silver Hammer”), Incredibly dark sounding songs about nice things (“I Want You (She’s So Heavy)”, “Because”), beautiful songs about beautiful things (“Something”, “Here Comes The Sun”) and songs that give you inspiration and hope for all humanity (“Carry that Weight”). And if not to show off enough, The Beatles cap their final album with a 9 song medley that is perhaps their greatest work, and leave you with some of their finest, most resounding lyrics: “And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.”

Almost as good as “Piggies”.