The definitive ranking of The Beatles discography, as told by an unqualified 21-year-old girl
I like to think of myself as something of a Beatles connoisseur. I mean, not to brag, but according to Spotify, I was in the top 0.1% of Beatles listeners in 2020. Anyway, I know I have absolutely zero qualifications to write something like this, and I probably won’t change anyone’s minds but hey, can’t blame a girl for trying. This topic has caused many a heated argument among friends — some of which sounding like “What’s better? The entirety of Abbey Road or ‘Being For The Benefit of Mr. Kite’?” (‘Mr. Kite’ won )— so I figure someone will find it interesting.
Below, my definitive ranking of The Beatles discography, as decided by me, and no one else.
(I will only be including albums 1–12, no re-releases or deluxe versions, and no Yellow Submarine. Sorry, but it has no place on this list. If you want it to have a place for completion purposes, it’s #13. That better?)
(I also need to preface with the fact that all of these albums are wonderful. The Beatles are unarguably amazing, and ranking their discography is a harrowing task. I just need to reiterate that I am an unqualified 21-year-old girl, and my opinion is nothing.)
12. Beatles For Sale (December 1964)
Okay. I know I said all of the albums are wonderful. But Beatles For Sale sucks. Let’s just get this one out of the way. It is forgettable, boring, and I literally could not name a single song on it. I rarely acknowledge its existence, and every time I try to give it another chance it just wildly disappoints me.
MVPs: There are none, but if I’m being nice I’ll say “Everybody’s Trying to Be My Baby”
11. Please Please Me (March 1963)
I’ll give it credit for being their debut, but even so, it’s just eh. Yes, it has some absolute classics, and The Beatles probably would’ve amounted to nothing without “Love Me Do” or “Twist And Shout,” but it loses me by the B side.
MVPs: “Anna (Go To Him),” “Chains”
10. Let It Be (May 1970)
This one is just sad. We all know they hated each other when it was being made, and you can hear the lack of cohesiveness and collaboration very clearly. It just feels kind of scrapped together. There’s a solid mix of tracks I really like but others I just don't. The fact that they were broken up already upon its release makes it feel like a “Here ya go, whatever, we’re done now” sort of LP. In my opinion, their discography should’ve ended with Abbey Road. It would’ve been so much nicer of an exit. Also, I hate “Let It Be.” I know I can’t help the fact that it’s overplayed, but I still hate it. Sorry!
MVPs: “Dig A Pony,” “I’ve Got A Feeling”
9. A Hard Day’s Night (July 1964)
It has some classics, and I have to acknowledge that, but it’s nowhere near my favorite. I always put it on and think it’s gonna be awesome, but every single time it gets old. This was released at peak “Beatlemania” time, which I think led it to be somewhat commercial-y. I can’t blame them, though, they were just trying to work with the earth-shattering stardom they sort of fell into. I don’t really have much to say because I feel it’s very middle of the road.
MVPs: “If I Fell,” “And I Love Her”
8. The White Album (November 1968)
I don’t know man. I know I’m setting myself up for hate, but it’s just not my favorite. Of course, there are some tracks that I love, but so many others are just lost on me. Call me close-minded! Whatever! But I think this album shows that the technological advances they began to have at their disposal negatively impacted group collaboration. With the rise of the eight-track recording machine, there was less of a need to be all together in the studio, causing individuals to do as they pleased with their own independent tracks. This helped feed into the group animosities that were on the rise during The White Album sessions. I think this is one of the reasons it sounds very jumbled together with a lack of cohesion. Lennon himself admitted that this recording setup impacted the band’s inevitable split.
MVPs: “I Will,” “Dear Prudence,” “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”
7. With The Beatles (November 1963)
The fact that there were only eight months between the release of With The Beatles and Please Please Me is enough for this album to be close to the upper half. The jump between the two is huge and shows that the group was exponentially picking up speed. Add George Harrison’s first writing credit in there, and you have the makings for a wonderful album. I can recall so many personal favorites, and I feel it is the group’s first glimmers of a succinct album that all fits together. It is definitely more rock-y than the doo-wap sound we were getting from PPM. There’s a reason my dad chose “All My Loving” to be his walk-up song in college baseball!
MVPs: “Don’t Bother Me,” “Hold Me Tight,” “All My Loving,” “Til There Was You”
6. Help! (August 1965)
So what if I skip the opening track every time I listen to it? No one needs to know that. And I wouldn’t skip it if it wasn’t one of those songs that I came out of the womb knowing the words to. I’m sure if I was a teen in 1965 listening to it with fresh ears it’d be a different story. If you ignore the title track, every single song is wonderful. The album has a great mix of slower ballads and their classic Beatles rock sound they’d formed by that time. Everything is just pleasing to listen to. You can hear that they were starting to get more creative with different types of sounds and instruments (think keyboards, acoustic guitars, strings), and it makes sense how they eventually got to Rubber Soul later in the year. It gets docked points because I hate “Yesterday.” Sorry, Paul!
MVPs: “The Night Before,” “You Like Me Too Much,” “I've Just Seen A Face,” “Another Girl”
5. Magical Mystery Tour (November 1967)
In my opinion, Magical Mystery Tour is one of the most slept on Beatles albums. I always catch myself hating on it until I listen and remember every song is phenomenal. I think a lot of people criticize because it’s like a not-as-good Sgt. Pepper’s but how is anything supposed to live up to Sgt. Pepper’s? Especially being released so soon after. Regardless of if it was meant to be a full album or if it’s an album of Sgt. Pepper’s rejects, they're all amazing, simply because they’re songs by The Beatles.
MVPs: “Blue Jay Way,” “Baby You're a Rich Man, “I Am The Walrus”
4. Revolver (August 1966)
Revolver is either completely overlooked, or people think they’re quirky for it being their favorite (I was one of those people). Regardless, it’s a great album. You can clearly see the growth from the initial experimentation of Rubber Soul and can feel its lingering influences on Sgt. Pepper’s. It has some classics (hello, “Eleanor Rigby”), some hidden gems (I'm looking at you, “I Want To Tell You”), and some psychedelic explorations (“Love You To”), making it everything you could want from a Beatles album. Not sure if the fact that I spend the whole B-side thinking the last song is next when there are actually five more docks points from it or gives it a boost, but I love it just the same.
MVPs: “I’m Only Sleeping,” “She Said She Said,” “For No One”
3. Abbey Road (September 1969)
Abbey Road was proudly my first favorite Beatles album. My dad showed it to me when I was growing up, and it was the first one I ever listened to in full. It stuck with me for a really long time, and I definitely have a personal attachment to it. In my opinion, nothing can beat the B side. It carries the entire work, and always tugs at my heartstrings in the best way possible. I just love every single song and think it’s one of the most sentimental works the group ever put out. I love this album so much that one time I listened to it on repeat for the entire five-and-a-half-hour drive home from visiting a friend at college, and it just never got old.
MVPs: “Oh! Darling,” the entire B side
2. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (May 1967)
What’s there to say that hasn't been said already. It’s Sgt. Pepper’s. Arguably one of the best albums ever made. Groundbreaking in every way, and if it did not exist, music would currently not exist as we know it. If I have no authority to talk about any of the albums in The Beatles discography, it's this one. Next question.
MVPs: “She’s Leaving Home,” “Fixing A Hole,” “Getting Better,” “A Day In The Life”
1. Rubber Soul (Dec 1965)
That’s right, I said it. I can point to many things to support why I think this is the best Beatles album. First of all, HOW did they release this so soon after Help!? It’s such a big and important jump in their career. This album set them down a very specific trajectory, and if they didn’t do this, there would be no Revolver, and certainly no Sgt. Pepper’s. You can see the growth in both the instrumental experimentation — recall Harrison’s use of the sitar in “Norweigan Wood” — as well as the lyrics. The group was putting their emotions on display for the first time. It wasn’t just “la la la I love you, you love me.” They incorporated metaphors, imagery, and euphemisms relating to sex, psychedelia, and their own personal hardships. Talk about rock and roll!
We also need to acknowledge the immense influence it had on other artists at the time. Everyone always cites The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds in conjunction with Sgt. Peppers as two of the best albums of all time, but they always forget that Rubber Soul was what set Brian Wilson off to create Pet Sounds in the first place. Many of music’s greatest moments circle back to Rubber Soul.
MVPs: “If I Needed Someone,” “You Won’t See Me,” “Girl”
And with that, we have my definitive ranking of The Beatles discography. You may love it, you may hate it, you may be indifferent to it. Whatever you feel, I think we can all agree that The Beatles revolutionized the music industry at large, and everything they released holds a well-deserving place in the rock and roll canon for years to come. If this 21-year-old is still talking about them 50+ years after their last release, I’m sure another 21-year-old will continue to be talking about them in 50 more.
