# Best Beatles Studio Albums (POLL) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [October 30, 2022, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-beatles-studio-albums-poll/974017 "2022-10-30T13:39:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2022, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-beatles-studio-albums-poll/974017/1 "2022-10-30T13:39:39Z")
You define the criteria. Just pick the studio album from The Beatles you think is best. The Beatles are a little tricky as different albums between the UK & US. _Poll ([view on site](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-beatles-studio-albums-poll/974017/1))_ I’m limited to 20 options & only 20 studio albums for Beatles I’ll probably stop with these 4 discographies. So I have 4 favorite groups. [Pink Floyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pink-floyd-studio-albums-poll/973932/1), [Yes](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-yes-studio-albums-poll/973897), [Led Zep](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-led-zeppelin-album-poll/973964) and The Beatles. I started with the most obscure one by far. [Yes](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-yes-studio-albums-poll/973897). * * * There is also a companion [Who Poll started](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-the-who-studio-album-poll/974012): ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2022, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-beatles-studio-albums-poll/974017/4 "2022-10-30T14:24:16Z")
If you were going to put separate US and UK albums on the poll, you probably should have listed different versions separately. (I.e. the US and UK versions of _Rubber Soul_ and _Revolver_ are different albums.) But I see you may not have had space to do that. Also, it bothers me that the thread titles of this and the other threads say “Best … Album **s** ” when we’re only allowed to pick one. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2022, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-beatles-studio-albums-poll/974017/5 "2022-10-30T15:07:38Z")
I am limited to 20 albums. So this was the best compromise in my opinion. Beatles have 5 or 6 ridiculously great albums. Actually much like the other 3 groups I’ve set up these polls for. ---
**Author:** ![Moonrise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonrise/32/14764_2.png) [@Moonrise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonrise)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2022, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-beatles-studio-albums-poll/974017/6 "2022-10-30T16:38:43Z")
Yes, this poll was much more difficult than the **Led Zeppelin** one, partly because they have so many great songs, but also partly because my absolute favourites are spread over half a dozen albums. As a result, I picked _Abbey Road_ as it includes two Harrison gems (but NOT my favourite song of his), the best song Lennon ever wrote (he’s the beatle I like the least). Also, and more puzzlingly, I chose it despite the fact that it does NOT include any great McCartney song (who wrote two-thirds of the best songs in their catalogue). It’s a reluctant compromise pick. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2022, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-beatles-studio-albums-poll/974017/7 "2022-10-30T16:43:29Z")
I struggled between **Abby Road** and **Sgt. Peppers** , but let Abby Road win out. It is the perfect album with no weak spots. In my opinion, “Within You, Without You” is misplaced on Sgt. Peppers, and when I made tapes of the album I would edit that song out. Several years ago, Cracked had an article on [“The 5 Worst Kinds of Albums Every Music Fan Has Bought”](https://www.cracked.com/blog/the-5-worst-kinds-album-every-music-fan-has-bought) and Sgt. Peppers was featured in position 2 as “The Album With One or Two Disproportionately Good Songs” Here’s the accompanying cartoon: [![](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/article/1/8/2/192182.jpg?v=1) ](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/article/1/8/2/192182.jpg?v=1) ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2022, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-beatles-studio-albums-poll/974017/8 "2022-10-30T17:47:36Z")
Ugh! Toughest poll ever. I had to go with Abbey Road because there are no weak spots and dammit you start with _Come Together_ followed by _Something_ and end with _I Want You (She’s So Heavy)_ on side A. Then the medley on side B. Not the perfect album but close. Sgt Pepper’s is a real close second and on a different day that might have been my pick but it loses out because the concept of them being Sgt Pepper’s band doesn’t last the whole album and at this level one little nit makes the difference. White Album loses out because of the inclusion of _Revolution 9_ and the exclusion of _Sour Milk Sea_. If those 2 songs were switched then it is 1A, 1B and 1C among those three. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2022, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-beatles-studio-albums-poll/974017/9 "2022-10-30T18:55:12Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Ugh! Toughest poll ever. Yeah, this is hard to do. I’m a Beatles middle period fan, the five albums from “A Hard Day’s Night” up to “Revolver”, but it’s even hard to pick one from these five. So I go for the album I enjoy listening to the most, and that is AHDN. It’s also one of the first albums in the transition from “Rock’n’Roll” to serious “Rock” (a transition for which Bob Dylan was the other great factor), so it gets my vote. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2022, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-beatles-studio-albums-poll/974017/10 "2022-10-30T19:08:03Z")
The poll was easy for me. I think Abbey Road is the greatest album ever recorded by any group. Ever. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2022, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-beatles-studio-albums-poll/974017/11 "2022-10-30T19:17:28Z")
This was a rough one. Do I go for the album with very few flaws, or the one with the best 2:00 in rock & roll? Decisions, decisions. **Rubber Soul** it is. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2022, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-beatles-studio-albums-poll/974017/12 "2022-10-30T20:00:53Z")
Pretty much a tie for first between _Abbey Road_ and _The Beatles_, with the white one having just a slight edge because of it having a greater variety of songs/styles. _Let It Be_ recently moved up past _Sgt Pepper_ in my rankings with the release of the super-deluxe edition that included the surround mix and Peter Jackson’s Get Back documentary. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2022, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-beatles-studio-albums-poll/974017/13 "2022-10-30T20:49:12Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > The poll was easy for me. I think Abbey Road is the greatest album ever recorded by any group. Ever. Yep, this here, every word. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2022, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-beatles-studio-albums-poll/974017/14 "2022-10-30T21:17:24Z")
I am open to Abbey Road, but I chose Sgt. Pepper. Seriously, though, how did any band produce two albums of such quality? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2022, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-beatles-studio-albums-poll/974017/15 "2022-10-30T21:31:55Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > The poll was easy for me. I think Abbey Road is the greatest album ever recorded by any group. Ever. I think George has two of the best songs on the album as well. I have never really gotten into his solo albums, but it seems like right here at the end of the Beatles, he looked like he might have the most successful solo career of all. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2022, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-beatles-studio-albums-poll/974017/16 "2022-10-31T02:58:53Z")
Pound for pound, Revolver is absolute rock-n-roll dynamite, from Paul’s count-in on Taxman, to the gloriously psychedelic Tomorrow Never Knows. I mean, an album with Eleanor Rigby, Good Day Sunshine, Got to Get You Into My Life, Yellow Submarine, Here There and Everywhere, For No One PLUS THREE George songs that showcased his developing songwriting ability. Hard rock, ballads, strings, tape loops, India, Motown, psychedelia, and a freaking children’s song! This album is absolutely stunning from beginning to end. And it was done when they were still working with each other as a band, helping each other finish songs, and not doing things in separate studios on separate days. From Love Me Do to this masterpiece in just three years. Pure brilliance. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2023, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-beatles-studio-albums-poll/974017/17 "2023-02-18T15:43:46Z")
Interesting _Abbey Road_ won by a decent margin. That would be my second choice and one I actually own in vinyl and not just CD. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2023, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-beatles-studio-albums-poll/974017/18 "2023-02-18T16:17:10Z")
Yeah, Abbey Road is my second fav. I just re-read my post from October, and I stand by every word (sometimes I re-read posts where I give a strong opinion on something and cringe; not so here!). Revolver is hands-down the most power-packed Beatles album. I look at the song listing for that album and am just stunned by how brilliant it is. Doctor Robert is easily the weakest song on the album, and even in its weakness, it’s still a catchy little tune and marks the drug-fueled times well. (Incidentally, I say Magical Mystery Tour as an LP is tragically overlooked, as I think it’s an even better album than Sgt. Pepper. Mad props to @rippingtons_fan for being the lone vote for MMT! ) ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2023, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-beatles-studio-albums-poll/974017/19 "2023-02-18T16:34:49Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > From Love Me Do to this masterpiece in just three years. Pure brilliance. _Father McKenzie_ _Writing the words of a sermon that no one will hear_ _No one comes near_ _Look at him working_ _Darning his socks in the night when there’s nobody there_ _What does he care?_ Macca was about 24 when he wrote this. 24. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2023, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-beatles-studio-albums-poll/974017/20 "2023-02-18T17:12:29Z")
I’ve always thought that Rubber Soul was their greatest achievement because it was the album that saw then Beatles become a studio band where they took control of the recording process, began experimenting with sounds and transformed themselves into the greatest band in the world. It marks the start of their creative peak - and to me that is magical.