BEATLES STUDIO LP’S

RANKED

ABSTRACT From 1963 to 1970, the Beatles released 13 studio

albums, this is my personal list of the Beatle albums

ranked from least to favorite record.

Carlos E. Valdivia This list was started on June 8th and completed June 20th, 2017.

13. Putting this album at the bottom of the list does not mean I

think it’s a terrible record! Far from it, it does have some of my

favorite Beatles songs ie “Hey Bulldog” and “Only a Northern

Song” However this album was released to accompany the

animated Yellow Submarine film of 1969. This would mean:

side one contained songs from the Beatles and side two was the

original film score by George Martin. Out of the six Beatle songs

in this album only four of them are new material. Great content,

but not enough to make it a solid album.

12. There are some fabulous songs in this album. “No Reply”

“I’ll Follow the Sun” “Eight Days a Week” and “Every Little

Thing” just to name a few. These songs would give the Beatles a

much more respected name for their ability to write more

creative songs. However, out of all the Beatle records, to me this

one does not flow extremely well. It’s a little all over the place,

some of the songs don’t just fit well with the others. While still

paying homage to all their influences, the Beatles continued to

do covers of their favorite records as they have done in the past.

But the original compositions don’t blend well with the

traditional 1950’s music ie. “Everybody’s Trying to Be My

Baby”

11. Fantastic record! Their sophomore album captured the

great sound of their debut. There’s so many amazing tracks, even

all the covers. “It Won’t be Long” “All I’ve Got to Do” “Till

there was You” I love all these songs and so much more. A

perfect blend of rock n roll and great harmonies.

10. The very first Beatle record to have all original

compositions! What’s to hate honestly? The Lennon-McCartney

partnership was taking full effect. Curiously, all of these songs

are shorter than the usual two minute and fifty second pop

record. “If I Fell” “And I Love Her” “I’m Just Happy to Dance

with You” are all fabulous love songs which make you wonder

how twenty two year olds were able to come up with this

content. At the time, it was common for the band or frontman (ie

Elvis) to have a songwriter come up with the song for them only

to song. Some of these songwriters were in their 40’s and studied

music in school so they had an idea how to write a pop single.

However Lennon and McCartney were their own songwriting

and composing team, and made it look so effortlessly putting

amazing singles constantly, and this album is a great example of

that. It feels as if this album was comprised of many singles the

Beatles worked on extremely well.

9. This is album to me is everything on a Hard Day’s Night but

improved. Better compositions, with an extended play time.

“You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” “I Need You” “The

Night Before” “It’s Only Love,” a much more mature approach

to the love concept as opposed to their previous efforts. The

harmonies sound great on “You’re Gonna Lose That Girl” John

has a lot of highlights on this album, he really stands out on

“Miss Dizzy Lizzy”.

8. We reach the failed Get Back album. This album was

supposed to be released sometime in early 1969 but because the

Beatles were not happy with the recordings, they scrapped the

album and put all the tapes into storage. Finally, the project was

released May of 1970. The job of producer was given to an

outsider, Phil Spector, who never worked on a Beatle record

previously. The album itself is filled with incredible music.

“Across the Universe” “Let it Be” “Get Back” “The Long and

Winding Road” are some of the Beatles most recognized and

finest works. Yet the downfall of this album is how short

interludes such as “Maggie Mae” and “Dig it” were included to

give the aesthetic of a studio session. Really ruins the whole vibe

and flow of the album, many years later the album was re-mixed

and released again as McCartney and the other Beatles intended

the album to sound.

7. There’s a huge leap from Rubber Soul and everything else the

Beatles released prior to that. This was the turning point for the band.

McCartney once said that before Rubber Soul, all the material that him

and John wrote were for the fans. “She Loves You” “From Me To You”

“Thank You Girl”.... that was stuff for the fans basically telling them:

please buy our record. Once they got to Rubber Soul, things started to

get some serious. George Harrison started to introduce his Indian

influences to the Western audience. Songs such as “Norwegian Wood”

included for the first time, a sitar to the band’s instrument lineup.

Meanwhile, John and Paul were heavily influenced by the work of Bob

Dylan, whose music was considered politically impactful. To compete,

John would write more serious compositions than ever before. “In My

Life” stands out the most in this album to me.

6. On their debut record the Beatles did a fantastic job of

blending in the old with the new. Featuring several covers and

original compositions. “I saw her standing there” opens the

album, and would set the bar for many of their songs in the years

to follow. Although this album contains many covers of R&B

music, the Beatles put their own twist on it making them sound

new and refreshing. This album is said to be recorded in only

one day, as the Beatles showed up to the studio and performed

every song in their live set list. You can hear the energy and

talent the Fab Four had.

5. By far, some of the greatest Lennon-McCartney songwriting

is in this album. “Here, There and Everywhere” “Eleanor Rigby”

“Got to Get You Into My Life” are some of the band’s best

writing and composition. You can hear the psychedelic

influences throughout the album. “She Said She Said” “Love

You To” were by far the most exciting out of all. At last the

infamous track that closes the album “Tomorrow Never Knows”

which was recorded using extensive tape loops by John and

heavy drums by Ringo. A complete psychedelic trip, a sound

they would improve in Sgt. Pepper.

4. I always thought that if “Penny Lane” and “Strawberry

fields Forever” were included, this would have been the ultimate

Beatle record, probably their best. They very much could have.

Both those songs were released in January of ‘67 and Sgt Pepper

was released that summer. So while Sgt Pepper does have some

amazing tracks ie “Lovely Rita” “Lucy in the Sky” there are also

some songs that are good; but nowhere near the standards of “A

Day in the Life” per say. Still a great listen, but definitely not

their best.

3. Released only a few months after Sgt. Pepper, this was a

great follow up to the major success of the last. While still

keeping the psychedelic theme, this album had daring

innovations for the pop audience. With “I am the Walrus” “Blue

Jay Way” and the instrumental track “Flying” introduced new

sounds to a mainstream audience. By this time, it was

established that the Beatles would not ever go back to the suit

and mop top look that they started out with. This album is

completely amazing from start to finish. More interesting than

Sgt. Pepper.

2. Clearly, their most cohesive album. Every song in this album is just

an absolute great body of work. George Harrison was finally getting

recognized by John and Paul as a serious writer. John even claimed that

he thought Harrison’s composition “Something” was much better than

his “Come Together”. Other than that, there are some great vocals from

Paul in “Oh Darling!” and the use of the Moog Synthesizer can be heard

throughout the album in various tracks. Finally, there is the medley at

the end of the album that concludes the Beatles discography as this was

the album they ever recorded together in the same studio. To me this

album showcased the Beatles individually extremely well, and even

though they were all about to go their own separate ways, Abbey Road

proves that they could still put a great body of work.

1. This album sounds like the work of four solo artists. At

ninety minutes, this is the longest Beatle record they ever put.

After the success of Sgt Pepper and Magical Mystery Tour, the

Beatles decided to take some time off from recording and

escape. George Harrison convinced the entire band to travel with

him to India for a spiritual trip and to learn about meditation.

During their stay, John, George, Paul and Ringo would write

new material for what would be their self-titled album, or as

others would refer to it’s as the ‘White Album’ for its simplistic

cover. The way the album starts out with “Back to the USSR”

then transitions to “Dear Prudence” to me exemplifies why the

Beatles were such an amazing band. On one hand, they are a true

rock and roll band who can come up with great riffs and guitar

solos then you are also reminded that these individuals can also

write sweet melancholic music, often blending the two in one

song. George Harrison has multiple tracks on this project, and

they all prove that he was a great songwriter capable of standing

on his own. Ringo even has his own original composition in this

album, the only in the entire Beatles discography. All the Beatles

showcased their own individual talent through their music which

can be heard in this album better than any other in this list