Even the “worst” Beatles album is better than most bands’ best. Their discography remains the most seismic in pop history, an arc of reinvention and experimentation that redefined what music could be. Across just seven years, they went from tight suits and teen screams to sprawling double albums and orchestral freakouts. It’s like if One Direction became Radiohead.
Here, then, is the full catalog, ranked not by cultural impact alone, but by lasting musical power. Every LP is a snapshot of an era, a reflection of where they were emotionally, artistically, and culturally. From charming early hits to psychedelic landmarks and bittersweet farewells, these are the albums that shaped everything.
12
‘With the Beatles’ (1963)
“All My Loving,” “It Won’t Be Long,” “Roll Over Beethoven”
Released just eight months after their debut, With the Beatles sounds like a band sprinting to keep up with its own momentum. It’s packed with covers and quick-take originals, but also hints of the sharper songwriting and moodier textures that would later define the band. ‘All My Loving’ and ‘It Won’t Be Long’ are brisk, winning tracks that (the latter makes the band’s trademark “Yeah!”s sound almost explosive), while George Harrison‘s vocal on ‘Roll Over Beethoven’ makes a strong case for his early presence.
Still, the album can feel like a holding pattern, full of charm but light on invention. The harmonies are clean, the energy infectious, but there’s less urgency to break new ground. That said, the shadows of future greatness are everywhere, particularly in the cool detachment of ‘Don’t Bother Me’, Harrison’s first composition. As sophomore albums go, it’s rock solid. As a Beatles album, it’s simply their least essential.
11
‘Beatles for Sale’ (1964)
“I’m a Loser,” “Eight Days a Week,” “No Reply”
Coming off the white-hot success of 1964, Beatles for Sale feels noticeably more world-weary. The title itself hints at exhaustion, and the songs reflect it. There’s a lot of melancholy tucked behind the catchy choruses. John Lennon in particular sounds jaded, bruised, even a little bitter. ‘I’m a Loser’ and ‘No Reply’ are emotional step-ups from previous work, both more confessional and cynical than anything prior.
There’s real songwriting evolution here, even if the album lacks cohesion. Covers make up a significant chunk, and while their take on Chuck Berry‘s ‘Rock and Roll Music’ is thrilling, the inclusion of so many non-originals suggests a band still grappling with burnout. But when it hits, like the swooning, underrated ‘Eight Days a Week’, it reminds you that even tired Beatles could produce magic. Stephen Stills of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young has cited it as a favorite, saying, “At that time [the Beatles] were at their biggest and most isolated, and thus at their closest.”
10
‘Please Please Me’ (1963)
“I Saw Her Standing There,” “Love Me Do,” “Twist and Shout”
It’s hard to overstate what a cultural bomb the Beatles’ debut album was. Recorded in a single day, it’s a burst of raw, joyous energy, a teenage rush captured on tape. ‘I Saw Her Standing There’ opens with a bassline that still slaps, and ‘Twist and Shout’ ends the album with a throat-shredding explosion from Lennon (he had a cold at the time). In between, there’s puppy-love charm, tight harmonies, and the confident sense that this band knew exactly how good they were. At the time, it felt like their life’s work but, of course, it was only the beginning.
The album’s simplicity is part of its power. Sure, it’s not as ambitious as what would come later, but this is its appeal. There’s no pretense, no concept, no orchestra. Just four guys in a room, making pop music with infectious conviction. It’s the sound of the 1960s arriving, and it still holds up. The 2009 remaster is especially good, making everything sound modern but still authentic.
9
‘Yellow Submarine’ (1969)
“Yellow Submarine,” “All You Need Is Love,” “Hey Bulldog”
Let’s be honest: Yellow Submarine is half filler. Only four new songs appear on the album, and the second side is all orchestral score by George Martin. But if you take it for what it is, a companion piece to an animated film, it becomes easier to appreciate, and the highs (though less frequent) are still pretty darn high. ‘Hey Bulldog’ is one of the band’s most underrated rock tracks, full of fuzz and sneer. ‘All You Need Is Love’ is still undeniable in its naive beauty, even if overplayed,
As a musical product, it’s thin but not without entertainment value. ‘Yellow Submarine’ (the song) might be silly, but it’s become iconic, especially with younger fans. The background ad libs will not be fun. And ‘Only a Northern Song’ is a sly, self-aware jab at the band’s own publishing woes, despite not being the catchiest tune the Fab Four ever put it. Overall, not a vital Beatles record, but not without weird, colorful appeal either.
8
‘A Hard Day’s Night’ (1964)
“A Hard Day’s Night,” “If I Fell,” “Can’t Buy Me Love”
The only Beatles album written entirely by Lennon and McCartney, A Hard Day’s Night is pure songwriting muscle. From the clang of that opening chord to the final fade, it’s full of hooks, harmonies, and emotional range. The title track is a banger, ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ is pure pop bliss, and ‘If I Fell’ offers a ballad so tender it still breaks hearts. ‘And I Love Her’ is also simple but beautiful. (A brilliant Kurt Cobain cover of it would surface in 2015.) Even the lesser-known tracks here shimmer with melody. There’s a ton of quality squeezed into just 29 minutes.
All in all, this album is where they stopped sounding like a great band and started sounding like legends. There’s a new sophistication in the chord changes, the lyrics, the arrangements. And yet, the whole thing is wrapped in youthful exuberance. It’s not just a movie soundtrack. It’s proof they could do it all.
7
‘Let It Be’ (1970)
“Let It Be,” “Across the Universe,” “Get Back”
Let It Be is a strange beast. Recorded before Abbey Road, but released after, and haunted by the band’s slow dissolution. It’s raw, uneven, and often downbeat. The title track and ‘Across the Universe’ rank among their most affecting songs, while ‘Get Back’ injects some much-needed levity. There’s a looseness to the performances that occasionally works in its favor, giving the album a worn, almost documentary feel, though most fans didn’t love this direction.
Indeed, this project is less a swan song than a slow-motion breakup caught on tape. There doesn’t seem to be much genuine collaboration happening here. Phil Spector‘s production choices, especially the orchestral layering, remain divisive, too. Despite these criticisms, Let It Be contains moments of beauty and melancholy that cut deep. It’s not their most cohesive album, but it might be their most vulnerable. Peter Jackson‘s documentary provided more insight into its difficult creation, casting the album in a different light.
6
‘Help!’ (1965)
“Help!,” “Yesterday,” “Ticket to Ride”
A transitional album if there ever was one. Help! marks the end of the mop-top era and the start of something more introspective. The title track finds Lennon pleading behind a pop hook, while ‘Yesterday’ introduces strings and soft regret, becoming an enduring classic. ‘Ticket to Ride’ might be one of their first truly heavy songs, both musically and emotionally. (Lennon later claimed it helped pioneer metal.) The experimentation is still cautious, but the shift is undeniable.
This is where The Beatles started to sound like individuals rather than a single unit. Lennon and McCartney’s voices were diverging in tone and subject, and Harrison was slowly finding his feet. This meant greater ambition and creativity at the time, but was also the first sign of the fragmentation that would contribute to the band splitting up. Help! is still catchy, still tight, but there are undercurrents of sadness.
5
‘Rubber Soul’ (1965)
“Norwegian Wood,” “In My Life,” “Drive My Car”
Someone once quipped that the jump in sophistication from Help! to Rubber Soul was akin to the evolutionary leap from ape to man. It’s a testament to the band’s rapid improvement that this is only half an exaggeration. With Rubber Soul, The Beatles grew up. The hair was longer, the lyrics more introspective, and the arrangements more adventurous. ‘Norwegian Wood’ introduced a sitar to mainstream pop. ‘In My Life’ brought poetic reminiscence into the heart of rock songwriting. Even the more playful tracks like ‘Drive My Car’ felt tighter, more layered, and just a little bit sly.
In other words, this album is a pivotal moment in their discography, the first time they started asking bigger questions in smaller, stranger ways. It’s an album about identity, memory, and romantic ambiguity, but it’s also full of deeply enjoyable and infectious sounds. The harmonies are richer, the basslines more melodic, and the textures increasingly global. In many ways, Rubber Soul was their first masterpiece.
4
‘The Beatles (White Album)’ (1968)
“While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” “Blackbird,” “Happiness Is a Warm Gun”
This is The Beatles at their most chaotic, fractured, and fascinating. The White Album (officially titled The Beatles, a deliberate contrast to the fictional band name of Sgt. Pepper) is essentially four solo albums stapled together. Sprawling across two LPs, this 93-minute opus has no central theme, and yet, it works. ‘Blackbird’ is spare and beautiful. ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ is majestic. ‘Happiness Is a Warm Gun’ is three songs stitched into one, and somehow perfect. There’s also noise (‘Revolution 9’), nursery rhymes (‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’), and the raucous cheek of ‘Back in the U.S.S.R’.
In other words, it’s a mess, but it’s a glorious mess, an accidental self-portrait of a band at war with itself. Each member shines in isolation, but the whole feels haunted by disconnection. While there are duds, the highlights are some of the strongest material they ever recorded. More than any other Beatles album, The White Album resists categorization, meaning a lot of it still feels fresh now.
3
‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ (1967)
“Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” “A Day in the Life,” “With a Little Help from My Friends”
There’s never been an album quite like Sgt. Pepper. More than a record, it was a cultural event, a technicolor explosion that redefined what pop music could be. ‘Lucy in the Sky’ with Diamond’ conjures a surreal dream, ‘With a Little Help from My Friends’ turns friendship into a singalong gospel, and ‘A Day in the Life’ ends it all on a note of uncanny melancholy. The whole thing is packed with invention and intent, from its gatefold art to the final orchestral crescendo.
This is a sonic theater piece, considered by many to be the first concept album. Paul’s vision of a fictional band freed them to explore character, narrative, and texture like never before. The result is lush, layered, and endlessly dissected. The cover art was also subversive, with the band commenting on pop culture and their own boy-band image. You can argue about whether it’s their “best,” but you can’t deny it’s the most iconic.