The Beatles recorded thirteen official albums during their career from 1963's Please Please Me to 1970's Let It Be (which was actually recorded in 1969.) That total of 13 includes Magical Mystery Tour and Yellow Submarine although it's debatable whether they should be considered actual albums or not.
When choosing The Beatles best three albums it came down to a choice among the following six for me: Abbey Road, Sgt Pepper, Revolver, The White Album, Magical Mystery Tour, & Rubber Soul. Sure Let It Be has it's moments and A Hard Day's Night is fantastic as far as their early albums go, but for me these six albums do stand above the rest.
To get my final list down to just three I had to get rid of three more great Beatles albums. This was not easy. But in the end I had to get rid of Rubber Soul because of a few too many clunkers in the midst of amazing songs like "Nowhere Man" and I had to get rid of Abbey Road because it's just a little too "clean" and I had to get rid of Magical Mystery Tour because too many of it's best songs were really released previously (see "Strawberry Fields Forever" & "Penny Lane.")
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - This is The Beatles most famous album and because of that some people feel the need to say that it's not that great. That it's somehow "overrated." That's total nonsense. This album is not overrated at all. Listen to these amazing songs with an opened mind and you will understand what I mean. How can an album with songs as great and as varied as these be overrated? And really why does it matter how much press it's got or how many people know about it? Isn't what's really important the music itself? And as I like to say, no album that includes "A Day In the Life" could possibly be overrated.
Revolver - The hipster's choice as the greatest Beatles album. I think that's partly because Revolver isn't quite as well known to the general public as most of the other top choices for best Beatles album (Sgt. Pepper, Abbey Road) and possibly just because it just contains so many absolutely fantastic songs. It's quite likely to be The Beatles best collection of songs ever even if it's not their most cohesive album.
The White Album - If I have to choose just one Beatles album, it's this one. And that's not just so I get 30 songs instead of 13 or 14! Although that must have quite a bit to do with it. I think perhaps if the first LP of this double album was it's own album it'd still be my favorite album. The second LP isn't quite as great to me but it has some really great moments too. And it's really the whole sprawling masterpiece that I love. It's just such an endlessly enjoyable album. I never grow tired of it.
One can make a great argument that some other Beatles albums other than the ones I've chosen should be in the top three. In particular Rubber Soul & Abbey Road. I actually went through a period where Abbey Road was my favorite album. And it can be argued that Rubber Soul has more certifiable "classic" Beatles songs than any other LP. It's hard to go wrong with songs like "In My Life" & "Nowhere Man." It's not easy choosing just three Beatles albums, there's something about all of their albums that I love.
When choosing The Beatles best three albums it came down to a choice among the following six for me: Abbey Road, Sgt Pepper, Revolver, The White Album, Magical Mystery Tour, & Rubber Soul. Sure Let It Be has it's moments and A Hard Day's Night is fantastic as far as their early albums go, but for me these six albums do stand above the rest.
To get my final list down to just three I had to get rid of three more great Beatles albums. This was not easy. But in the end I had to get rid of Rubber Soul because of a few too many clunkers in the midst of amazing songs like "Nowhere Man" and I had to get rid of Abbey Road because it's just a little too "clean" and I had to get rid of Magical Mystery Tour because too many of it's best songs were really released previously (see "Strawberry Fields Forever" & "Penny Lane.")
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - This is The Beatles most famous album and because of that some people feel the need to say that it's not that great. That it's somehow "overrated." That's total nonsense. This album is not overrated at all. Listen to these amazing songs with an opened mind and you will understand what I mean. How can an album with songs as great and as varied as these be overrated? And really why does it matter how much press it's got or how many people know about it? Isn't what's really important the music itself? And as I like to say, no album that includes "A Day In the Life" could possibly be overrated.
Revolver - The hipster's choice as the greatest Beatles album. I think that's partly because Revolver isn't quite as well known to the general public as most of the other top choices for best Beatles album (Sgt. Pepper, Abbey Road) and possibly just because it just contains so many absolutely fantastic songs. It's quite likely to be The Beatles best collection of songs ever even if it's not their most cohesive album.
The White Album - If I have to choose just one Beatles album, it's this one. And that's not just so I get 30 songs instead of 13 or 14! Although that must have quite a bit to do with it. I think perhaps if the first LP of this double album was it's own album it'd still be my favorite album. The second LP isn't quite as great to me but it has some really great moments too. And it's really the whole sprawling masterpiece that I love. It's just such an endlessly enjoyable album. I never grow tired of it.
One can make a great argument that some other Beatles albums other than the ones I've chosen should be in the top three. In particular Rubber Soul & Abbey Road. I actually went through a period where Abbey Road was my favorite album. And it can be argued that Rubber Soul has more certifiable "classic" Beatles songs than any other LP. It's hard to go wrong with songs like "In My Life" & "Nowhere Man." It's not easy choosing just three Beatles albums, there's something about all of their albums that I love.
About the Author:
If you are looking to buy Beatles albums online then Marvin Marks recommends going to the Beatles Mall which includes a huge selection of Beatles stuff for sale including Revolver.
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