The Best Beatles Album, Revealed

[PaulMaul]

After an intense and thorough scientific study, I have definitively concluded that the best Beatles album is "Hard Day's Night."

Really, as the only early Beatles album with all original material, it's kind of a shoe-in.

"I'll Be Back" wins the award for "Most McCartney sounding Lennon song." It took me multiple listenings before I even realized it's a John Song.

This album is so loaded it's scary. Factor in that it was one of three albums produced in 18 months, it's terrifying.

I spent years listening only to the later Beatles albums, starting with Rubber Soul. I never realized how much I was missing in the early Lennon material. Just one amazing vocal performance after another by John on this album.

The Beatles deserve every speck of their fame.

[phil]

That is a really hard question. I enjoy all of the Beatle albums and feel they are all very very good. I guess my favorite one would be Abbey Road. I am not sure but I really like it.

[GMan]

That's a tough one...I LOVED them all but I favored the earlier stuff...I LOVED "Beatles For Sale"! "A Hard Day's Night" was the first album with all Lennon-McCartney originals. I love this one too!

[blackhawkpat]

I have always felt if I could only choose one, it would be "Rubber Soul", with "Revolver" and "Help!" closely behind.

[PaulMaul]

It is very hard to compare albums from the different eras. I was always convinced that Revolver was my favorite, but I had never really given the early albums a fair shot. Now I'm addicted to the early albums because they feature so many great Lennon vocals. Unfortunately, from Revolver forward, Lennon lost energy due to all the drugs and his voice just didn't quite sound the same.

So, Hard Day's night is my favorite "early album"...during the "middle period" (1965-ish), I love many of the singles (Help, We Can Work it Out, Paperback Writer). This actually may be my favorite period of the band.

And Revolver is my favorite later album. Personally, while I love them all, I just can't put Abbey Road near the top of my list because songs like "She's So Heavy" and "Because" pale to me in comparison to Lennon's really energetic periods.

[LC]

I go through phases where I consider almost any Beatles album to be their best. At various times, I've ranked Sgt. Pepper, Abbey Road, Let It Be, Revolver, Rubber Soul, Help, A Hard Day's Night, Help!, and even The White Album as the Beatles' best; it really amounts to a current personal favorite.

But overall... I usually end up like this: 1) Revolver; 2) Abbey Road; 3) Hard Day's Night; 4) Rubber Soul; 5) Let It Be (especially for "The Long and Winding Road" and "The Two of Us"). Note that I don't even have Sgt. Pepper in there!

Yet lately, I've been listening a lot to Magical Mystery Tour. I know it's sort of an EP-slash-compilation, but... what an awesome collection of songs.... "Penny Lane," "Strawberry Fields Forever," "Your Mother Should Know," "All You Need Is Love," "I Am the Walrus," "Fool on the Hill," the underrated "Baby You're a Rich Man." I even love "Blue Jay Way" (please don't be long...).

And "Hello Goodbye" is on there, too --- one of Paul's pop classics. (I loved the 2001 tour, where he opened each concert with that song.)

Plus, it's an incredibly accessible CD for younger kids --- my daughters love the whole album.

[hollies65]

Hard Days Night is also my top pick!