Ranking All 106 Beatles Songs: 1965 And After
- C. Max Bachmann
- May 25, 2019
- 6 min read
The British Invasion has arrived -- nearly 60 years later -- in Max Bachmann's life. Casual listening and appreciation over the course of my life has recently given way to full-blown worshiping. The past few weeks the music of John, Paul, George, and Ringo has filled my eardrums and my heart. Their songs fill my thoughts and their tunes slip off my tongue subconsciously. I have come to the conclusion that The Beatles truly are the best and most influential band ever to grace this earth.
To celebrate this monumental milestone in my life I have decided to rank every Beatles song from every album they released in 1965 or after. The seven albums*, Rubber Soul (1965), Revolver (1966), Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), Magical Mystery Tour (1967), The Beatles (a.k.a. The White Album) (1968), Abbey Road (1969), and Let It Be (1970) represent a complete tonal shift from their previous albums leading up to 1965. From 1965 to 1970 each of the Beatles grew immensely not only as artists, but also as public figures. Standard pop songs like She Loves you and From Me to You gave way to orchestral masterpieces like Tomorrow Never Knows and The Long And Winding Road.
The songs will be graded by the following guidelines:
- How much I like the song
That is all. I won't be taking into account how socially or culturally influential they were or how much they changed music. It will be based purely on how much I like the song in question.
Now let's get to it! I present to you my ranking of the final Beatles albums:
106) Dig It (Let It Be)
105) Revolution 9 (The Beatles)
Not Much to say. The nearly eight minute song is just a bunch of mashed up hubba-bubba. No. 9....No. 9...No. 9...
104) Blue Jay Way (Magical Mystery Tour)
George Harrison wrote some of my favorite Beatles song, this is not one of them.
103) Helter Skelter (The Beatles)
102) Polythene Pan (Abbey Road)
101) Mean Mr. Mustard (Abbey Road)
100) Yer Blues (The Beatles)
Have never seen the appeal in this song, just sounds like any other blues tune.
99) Wild Honey Pie (The Beatles)
98) Girl (Rubber Soul)
97) Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey (The Beatles)
96) Piggies (The Beatles)
95) Octopus's Garden (Abbey Road)
One of Ringo's two written songs. It's fine. Just fine.
94) Flying (Magical Mystery Tour)
93) One After 909 (Let It Be)
92) I've Got A Feeling (Let It Be)
91) Her Majesty (Abbey Road)
90) Birthday (The Beatles)
89) Run For Your Life (Rubber Soul)
The tune is nice, but I've never been able to look past the lyrics. Disturbing.
88) Yellow Submarine (Revolver)
87) Sun King (Abbey Road)
86) Maggie Mae (Let It Be)
86) Savoy Truffle (The Beatles)
85) The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill (The Beatles)
85) Why Don't We Do It In The Road? (The Beatles)
84) Don't Pass Me By (The Beatles)
83) Revolution 1 (The Beatles)
82) She Came In Through The Bathroom Window (Abbey Road)
81) I Want To Tell You (Revolver)
80) Julia (The Beatles)
The lyrics, a heartfelt tribute to Lennon's mother, are beautiful, but the tune leaves much to be desired.
79) Wait (Rubber Soul)
78) Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band)
Good song, but due to the nature of it being a reprise it doesn't land higher.
77) Baby You're A Rich Man (Magical Mystery Tour)
76) I Me Mine (Let It Be)
75) For You Blue (Let It Be)
74) Good Night (The Beatles)
A nice and tranquil lullaby. Nothing more.
73) For No One (Revolver)
72) Doctor Robert (Revolver)
71) Got To Get You Into My Life (Revolver)
One of the few songs that another band covered and did a better job. The tune is good, but Earth, Wind and Fire's rendition blows it out of the water. As a result, it stays in the lower half.
70) Long, Long, Long (The Beatles)
69) With A Little Help From My Friends (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band)
68) Here, There And Everywhere (Revolver)
67) Eleanor Rigby (Revolver)
This one is sure to ruffle some feathers. The song is good, but I've never loved it.
66) Oh! Darling (Abbey Road)
65) Hello, Goodbye (Magical Mystery Tour)
64) The Word (Rubber Soul)
We have officially entered the territory where I enjoy each song.
63) I've Just Seen A Face (Rubber Soul)
62) I'm So Tired (The Beatles)
61) I'm Only Sleeping (Revolver)
60) In My Life (Rubber Soul)
Come for the verse, stay for the sensational harpsichord solo.
59) Cry Baby Cry (The Beatles)
58) Because (Abbey Road)
57) Across the Universe (Let It Be)
56) Martha My Dear (The Beatles)
55) Sexy Sadie (The Beatles)
54) Honey Pie (The Beatles)
53) When I'm Sixty Four (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band)
52) You Never Give Me Your Money (Abbey Road)
51) All You Need Is Love (Magical Mystery Tour)
50) Your Mother Should Know (Magical Mystery Tour)
49) Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band)
48) Norwegian Wood (Rubber Soul)
A song that used to be among my favorites but has since fallen back a bit. Still a good tune.
47) Glass Onion (The Beatles)
A song referencing other Beatles songs. I love it.
46) Rocky Raccoon (The Beatles)
I truthfully thought this song was stupid upon my first listen, after many more listens I realized how wrong I was.
45) Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite! (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band)
44) You Won't See Me (Rubber Soul)
43) While My Guitar Gently Weeps (The Beatles)
42) Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (The Beatles)
I don't care what anyone says, I love this song.
41) Come Together (Abbey Road)
40) Get Back (Let It Be)
39) Happiness Is A Warm Gun (The Beatles)
38) Fixing A Hole (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band)
37) Good Day Sunshine (Revolver)
36) I'm Looking Through You (Rubber Soul)
35) Magical Mystery Tour (Magical Mystery Tour)
The titular song from the 1967 album just gets me going every time I listen to it.
34) Lovely Rita (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band)
33) Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (Sgt. Pepper's Hearts Club Band)
32) If I Needed Someone (Rubber Soul)
31) Hey Jude (Single)
Okay I know its not off an album, but I couldn't make a list about the Beatles without plugging my finest performance on the grand stage.
30) Dig A Pony (Let it Be)
29) Here Comes the Sun (Abbey Road)
Another Harrison song. Another banger.
28) Penny Lane (Magical Mystery Tour)
27) Good Morning Good Morning (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band)
26) I Want You (She's So Heavy) (Abbey Road)
25) The Long And Winding Road (Let It Be)
24) Getting Better (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band)
23) Love You To (Revolver)
Shout out my brother Graham for showing me this song way back when.
22) I Will (The Beatles)
21) I Am The Walrus (Magical Mystery Tour)
20) Maxwell's Silver Hammer (Abbey Road)
Another song that grew on me tremendously.
19) And Your Bird Can Sing (Revolver)
18) Dear Prudence (The Beatles)
17) Let It Be (Let It Be)
16) Michelle (Rubber Soul)
15) Back In The U.S.S.R. (The Beatles)
This obvious riff on any early Beach Boys song is hilarious if you pay close attention to the lyrics.
14) Strawberry Fields Forever (Magical Mystery Tour)
13) Blackbird (The Beatles)
One of the most beautiful and uplifting songs ever written. To get the scope of it's influence, check this out:
12) She Said She Said (Revolver)
The harmonies are never more sharp on any Beatles record than on this one.
11) Think For Yourself (Rubber Soul)
10) Mother Nature's Son (The Beatles)
Just beautiful.
9) The Fool On The Hill (Magical Mystery Tour)
This song conjures up a weird emotion in me, I can't place it.
8) Two Of Us (Let It Be)
This song is criminally underrated.
7) Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End (Abbey Road)
The medley that wraps up Abbey Road is the Beatles at their best.
6) Taxman (Revolver)
This song is just so catchy. Throw in some shrewd political commentary from Harrison and you got yourself a splendid tune.
5) She's Leaving Home (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band)
Haunting Beautiful. There are no words to describe this song.
4) Tomorrow Never Knows (Revolver)
No song better describes chaos than this tune. Ragnarok in one song.
3) Within You Without You (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band)
No surprise here. Another Harrison song that had very few contributions from the rest of the Beatles is a mind trip.
2) Something (Abbey Road)
The best love song ever written. Would be the clear number one choice if not for the next song.
1) A Day In The Life (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band)
I tried to. I really did. I didn't want to pick A Day In The Life but I just had to. From the majestic verses to the insane orchestral buildup to the haunting chord, this song has it all. There is a reason it's considered to be one of the best songs ever written.
BEATLEMANIA FOREVER.
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