In honor of AlphaBeatical’s final episode—which has been posted today on their podcast feed—I wanted to share my list of top 100 Beatles songs (the order of this list is sure to change even as I post it).
AlphaBeatical was the inspiration for my own podcast, Bruce Springsteen Sings the Alphabet (the format was borrowed with permission from Pete the Retailer & Co.), and I have been a faithful listener ever since I discovered it.
So thank you, AlphaBeatlical, for the great episodes and all of the things I learned about the Fab Four along the way. I can’t wait to see what you guys do next!
And now, the list-
1. “Here Comes the Sun” (Abbey Road)
2. “I’ve Got a Feeling” (Let It Be)
3. “I’m Looking Through You” (Rubber Soul)
4. “Hey Jude”
5. “And Your Bird Can Sing” (Revolver)
6. “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” (The Beatles, or The White Album)
7. “Got to Get You Into My Life” (Revolver)
8. “Penny Lane” (Magical Mystery Tour)
9. “Don’t Let Me Down”
10. “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” (Help!)
11. “Get Back” (Let It Be)
12. “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” (Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band)
13. “Eleanor Rigby” (Revolver)
14. “Norwegian Wood” (Rubber Soul)
15. “Helter Skelter” (The Beatles, or The White Album)
16. “Nowhere Man” (Rubber Soul)
17. “Drive My Car” (Rubber Soul)
18. “Lovely Rita” (Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band)
19. “Something” (Abbey Road)
20. “I Will” (The Beatles, or The White Album)
21. “Baby, You’re a Rich Man” (Magical Mystery Tour)
22. “Ticket to Ride” (Help!)
23. “Tomorrow Never Knows” (Revolver)
24. “I’m Only Sleeping” (Revolver)
25. “All My Loving” (With the Beatles)
26. “All You Need is Love” (Magical Mystery Tour)
27. “A Hard Day’s Night” (A Hard Day’s Night)
28. “Help!” (Help!)
29. “I Am the Walrus” (Magical Mystery Tour)
30. “Can’t Buy Me Love” (A Hard Day’s Night)
31. “She Came in Through the Bathroom Window” (Abbey Road)
32. “Carry That Weight” (Abbey Road)
33. “She Said She Said” (Revolver)
34. “Hello, Goodbye” (Magical Mystery Tour)
35. “Act Naturally” (Help!)
36. “Getting Better” (Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band)
37. “If I Needed Someone” (Rubber Soul)
38. “We Can Work it Out”
39. “With a Little Help From My Friends” (Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band)
40. “In My Life” (Rubber Soul)
41. “Across the Universe” (Let It Be)
42. “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” (Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band)
43. “Twist and Shout” (Please Please Me)
44. “Strawberry Fields Forever” (Magical Mystery Tour)
45. “She Loves You”
46. “You Won’t See Me” (Rubber Soul)
47. “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!” (Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club)
48. “Two Of Us” (Let It Be)
49. “Back in the U.S.S.R.” (The Beatles, or The White Album)
50. “I’ve Just Seen a Face” (Help!)
51. “I Saw Her Standing There” (Please Please Me)
52. “Eight Days a Week” (Beatles for Sale)
53. “Dig a Pony” (Let It Be)
54. “I Feel Fine”
55. “Let It Be” (Let It Be)
56. “Please Please Me (Please Please Me)
57. “Day Tripper”
58. “Revolution”
59. “Yesterday” (Help!)
60. “A Day in the Life” (Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club)
61. “Blackbird” (The Beatles, or The White Album)
62. “Girl” (Rubber Soul)
63. “Magical Mystery Tour” (Magical Mystery Tour)
64. “Every Little Thing” (Beatles for Sale)
65. “I’m So Tired” (The Beatles, or The White Album)
66. “Taxman” (Revolver)
67. “Octopus’s Garden” (Abbey Road)
68. “It’s Only Love” (Help!)
69. “Michelle” (Rubber Soul)
70. “Rain” (Past Masters)
71. “If I Fell” (A Hard Day’s Night)
72. “Love Me Do” (Please Please Me)
73. “Polythene Pam” (Abbey Road)
74. “Happiness is a Warm Gun” (The Beatles, or The White Album)
75. “Birthday” (The Beatles, or The White Album)
76. “For No One” (Revolver)
77. “Fixing a Hole” (Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band)
78. “Dear Prudence” (The Beatles, or The White Album)
79. “I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party” (Beatles for Sale)
80. “Hold Me Tight” (With the Beatles)
81. “The Night Before” (Help!)
82. “I Want to Hold Your Hand”
83. “Oh! Darling” (Abbey Road)
84. “I’ll Follow the Sun” (Beatles for Sale)
85. “The End” (Abbey Road)
86. “And I Love Her” (A Hard Day’s Night)
87. “Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Monkey (The Beatles, or The White Album)
88. “Any Time at All” (A Hard Day’s Night)
89. “I Want to Tell You” (Revolver)
90. “Wait” (Rubber Soul)
91. “I’m a Loser” (Beatles for Sale)
92. “Come Together” (Abbey Road)
93. “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” (Abbey Road)
94. “Paperback Writer”
95. “From Me to You”
96. “It Won’t Be Long” (With the Beatles)
97. “Mother Nature’s Son” (The Beatles, or The White Album)
98. “All I’ve Got to Do” (With the Beatles)
99. “The Ballad of John & Yoko”
100. “Think for Yourself” (Rubber Soul)
And of course, since we're making lists, here are my rankings for Beatles albums, from greatest to least-greatest-
1. Rubber Soul (1965)
2. Revolver (1966)
3. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
4. Abbey Road (1969)
5. Help! (1965)
6. Magical Mystery Tour (1967)
7. The Beatles (a.k.a., The White Album) (1968)
8. Let It Be (1970)
9. A Hard Day's Night (1964)
10. Beatles for Sale (1964)
11. With the Beatles (1963)
12. Please Please Me (1963)