# Favourite Beatles Album



## shangoyal (Sep 22, 2013)

Pick your favourite Beatles album, and tell us why.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Revolver. Lean and mean, the middle-period Beatles with a consistently strong showing of great songs.


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## shangoyal (Sep 22, 2013)

Revolver and Sgt. Pepper's used to be my favs, but then I got bored sick of psychedelia, and now I like Abbey Road best, followed by all the pre-psychedelia albums and the White Album.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Meet the Beatles got my vote because it wasn't so much an album as an event. I kind of got caught up in all of it as a young lad, so that album still evokes the feeling of that time.


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

I would rate Sgt. Pepper's and Magical Mystery Tour equally high (I voted the former), as they together represent the Beatles at the fulfilment of their creative and innovative peak.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

The White Album followed closely by Revolver, but I'm a big fan of most of their output from Help! onwards. The diversity from the sophisticated art-pop of Paperback Writer/Revolver to the stripped-back rock 'n' roll of Lady Madonna and Revolution 2 via the lush kaleidoscopic soundworld of Sgt. Pepper and Magical Mystery Tour is pretty amazing - and all achieved within the space of little over 2 years. 

The Stones also did well in this regard (i.e. Paint It Black/Between The Buttons to Jumpin' Jack Flash/Beggars Banquet via We Love You) but their 67 output wasn't as good because the Stones just weren't really suited to psychedelia - it seemed as if they were trying to play a stylistic keep-up game with their old rivals in what was already a pretty bad year for them what with the drugs busts and Brian Jones beginning to fade into the wallpaper (on the other hand, the Beatles lost Epstein and Lennon had marital issues but they still remained focussed - at least for now). The Satanic Majesties Request album appeared months too late anyway as the Beatles had already stolen their thunder with Pepper and were already considering psychedelia a dead-end once the Magical Mystery Tour material was done and dusted. 

However, who'd have thought by early 68 that the Stones would come back so strongly and enter their finest era yet whereas the Beatles were about to be dragged down by dramas largely of their own making which resulted in them losing their collective will to live less than a year later?


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## Guest (Feb 14, 2014)

I can pick out favourite tracks, but the albums are too closely associated with the rise and fall of my childhood that I can't offer a single album just on the basis of the music.

Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields/Hello Goodbye/Lady Madonna - four greats that only appeared on compilations.


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## senza sordino (Oct 20, 2013)

Revolver. More of my favorite songs on one album.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

I see I'm the only one who voted for 'Beatles for Sale'. I bought it when I was fourteen & had a massive crush on the Beatles, especially Paul McCartney. I like the early stuff - very hum-along-able - and went off them when they became druggy & surreal. On this album you have songs like 'Eight Days a Week', 'What you're doing' and 'I'm a loser'. The last two appealed particularly to my adolescent angst, wearing bottle green polo-neck sweaters & spending all afternoon in our lounge playing Beatles tracks over and over and mooching round the room. Happy Days!


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## regressivetransphobe (May 16, 2011)

Rewhitevolalbumer


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## Oreb (Aug 8, 2013)

I've gone with _Revolver _- their most consistent IMO.

I'd have picked _Abbey Road _except for that godawful 7 minute dirge on side one.


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

White here.
Love the unpolished feel about it.


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## Guest (Feb 14, 2014)

Ingélou said:


> I see I'm the only one who voted for 'Beatles for Sale'. I bought it when I was fourteen & had a massive crush on the Beatles, especially Paul McCartney. I like the early stuff - very hum-along-able - and went off them when they became druggy & surreal. On this album you have songs like 'Eight Days a Week', 'What you're doing' and 'I'm a loser'. The last two appealed particularly to my adolescent angst, wearing bottle green polo-neck sweaters & spending all afternoon in our lounge playing Beatles tracks over and over and mooching round the room. Happy Days!


You enforce my point about the context for listening being important to your perception of it. I didn't hear _Beatles for Sale_ (or _With The Beatles_) until my older brother bought them in about 1971/2, by which time, traumatised by their break-up, these songs carried a nostalgia for a long-gone past.


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## SimonNZ (Jul 12, 2012)

The White Album: for the variety and for the way despite having many tracks that sound like odd filler on their own the album in its entirety is greater than the sum of its parts and a miracle of track sequencing. And for the slightly dark, uneasy, antagonistic tone atypical of The Beatles that seems to be just under the surface.

Also I want to give a shout-out to the now unjustly neglected 1970 uncollected round-up Hey Jude album, which I think of as being every bit as canonical as the others.


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

The Hey Jude and Let it be albums could have been grouped together with the White Album as they were from the same period.


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## shangoyal (Sep 22, 2013)

Ingélou said:


> I see I'm the only one who voted for 'Beatles for Sale'. I bought it when I was fourteen & had a massive crush on the Beatles, especially Paul McCartney. I like the early stuff - very hum-along-able - and went off them when they became druggy & surreal. On this album you have songs like 'Eight Days a Week', 'What you're doing' and 'I'm a loser'. The last two appealed particularly to my adolescent angst, wearing bottle green polo-neck sweaters & spending all afternoon in our lounge playing Beatles tracks over and over and mooching round the room. Happy Days!


I love Beatles for Sale too! I only just heard it properly, and it has a lot of great music - Baby's in black, No reply to add to your three.


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## starry (Jun 2, 2009)

I always say Abbey Road now. The White Album ends with some weaker songs, Revolver is just a bit cold, Sgt. Pepper is good but Mr Kite is largely a production piece for example, Rubber Soul ends a bit weakly with a lesser Lennon song.


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## Vesteralen (Jul 14, 2011)

starry said:


> I always say Abbey Road now. The White Album ends with some weaker songs, Revolver is just a bit cold, Sgt. Pepper is good but Mr Kite is largely a production piece for example, Rubber Soul ends a bit weakly with a lesser Lennon song.


Couldn't say it better.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

For me, the Beatles have always been more about numerous excellent songs than excellent albums. I'd probably go for Pepper or Revolver as their best, but neither would be high in my list of favourite pop/rock albums.


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## julianoq (Jan 29, 2013)

It is very hard for me to choose between the White Album, Revolver, Rubber Soul, Abbey Road and Stg. Pepper's. I love all these records almost equally. But I voted for the White Album. Even the "fillers" are quite amazing in my opinion, and it have two tracks that are on my Beatles "top 3" ('While My Guitars Gently Weeps' and 'Sexy Sadie', the other one being 'A Day in the Life').


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## Berlioznestpasmort (Jan 24, 2014)

I voted for _Rubber Soul_, partly because of so many superb songs on it but also, admittedly, because of memories associated with it (tough to dissociate those from 'critical thinking') but perhaps first and foremost: it marks such a sophisticated advance for the boys - one that showed them their future path.

_Abbey Road _is a close second - the lyrics are so creative, so confident, exquisite really. Mean Mr. Mustard is still out there somewhere waiting, I know. Not to mention Maxwell's Silver Hammer (Paul said they came to use the term for anything bad that unexpectedly happens). They really were at the height of their powers. Several years ago, I heard an interesting story on NPR about how grammar school teachers use the songs in their classes. Children like them for their 'jauntiness' and playfulness and the fact that the Beatles "sing high" like they do. What a wonderful legacy.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Past Masters 2 is also vital for me in getting the complete(ish) picture of my favourite Beatles period as there were various non-album singles and b-sides but I have to say I'd much prefer to see them as bonus tracks on the contemporaneous albums rather than being lumped together as a compilation.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Sgt. Pepper's. A genuine masterpiece.


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## Winterreisender (Jul 13, 2013)

I voted Abbey Road, and mostly for George Harrison's contribution. I dont't rate the White Album at all; most of it just sounds like throw-away filler.


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## Haydn man (Jan 25, 2014)

hpowders said:


> Sgt. Pepper's. A genuine masterpiece.


That sums up my feelings also


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Haydn man said:


> That sums up my feelings also


You just wanted them to go on forever.


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## Kivimees (Feb 16, 2013)

Abbey Road. Reason: the medley


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

I voted Rubber Soul because my older sister had it when I very very little and it has a lot of nostalgia for that time, but also because it is a transition from the innocent yeah, yeah, yeah times of the early 60s to the more surreal (sorry Ingélou) stuff that was the forerunner to the beloved progressive rock I later enjoyed. Also a large step in the transition from AM radio hit singles to album oriented rock, wherein the entire album began to be considered a work unto itself.


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## Vaneyes (May 11, 2010)

Abbey Road, because I said so. :tiphat:


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

Revolver, with Rubber Soul breathing down its neck. Sgt. Pepper's is third.

I like all of the late albums, but they became a little messy, not as tight. The songs themselves sometimes weren't as good as they leaned on production more. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. Macca and Lennon weren't balancing other out as well.

The Beatles were "cooler" then, but so were a lot of bands.


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## BurningDesire (Jul 15, 2012)

For me its a tie between Abbey Road, Rubber Soul, and Revolver. Sgt Pepper and With the Beatles are great too. And I love Magical Mystery Tour's songs, but it doesn't really feel like a proper album since most of it was just compiled singles.


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

Not everyone's favorite. But Magical Mystery Tour is probably their most psychedelic album. I think that might be my favorite. Though Revolver and Sgt. Pepper are also great. Rubber Soul started it for them. Maybe influenced by the Byrds early psychedelia.


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

And btw Please Please Me is a great album as well. The best of their early output imo.


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## lupinix (Jan 9, 2014)

Magical mystery tour might also be my favorite  Strawberry Fields Forever <3 I am the walrus Fool on the Hill just such great psychedelic songs all of them

but Im not sure yet, too many great albums!


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

neoshredder said:


> Not everyone's favorite. But Magical Mystery Tour is probably their most psychedelic album. I think that might be my favorite. Though Revolver and Sgt. Pepper are also great. Rubber Soul started it for them. Maybe influenced by the Byrds early psychedelia.


And Dylan. the Beatles loved Dylan.


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## senza sordino (Oct 20, 2013)

I listened to Rubber Soul and Revolver this afternoon. I haven't listened to these in a few years. I was singing along.


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## Eviticus (Dec 8, 2011)

Revolver pips With the Beatles for me. It's my anchor to summer. Probably aged the best too (except if you only have one speaker). 

Albums and EP's released 67/68 contained great songs and great idea's but not particular great recordings. Abbey Road is a great work but the tapestry of songs meant that some great ones were not fully developed. In that sense i prefer Let it Be (and whenever i watch it i usually go and get the guitar immediately after).


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## Morimur (Jan 23, 2014)

*Favorite Beatles album...*

"Trout Mask Replica" by the secret beatle, Captain Beefheart


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## shangoyal (Sep 22, 2013)

Lope de Aguirre said:


> "Trout Mask Replica" by the secret beatle, Captain Beefheart


Yeah, that theory does have something. After all, Cap'n shares with the Beatles a passion for 2-minute songs.


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## maestro267 (Jul 25, 2009)

Abbey Road. I Want You, Because, and that epic sixteen-minute medley. Proto-prog rock.


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

Beatles 65 is a favorite


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## Eviticus (Dec 8, 2011)

Itullian said:


> Beatles 65 is a favorite


Not sure that's an official album...

That said if this was just studio based projects/albums Yellow Submarine and the Past Masters were not official albums either. Even Magical Mystery Tour was released as an EP originally (as opposed to an LP) and made in to an LP some time later after they split i think.

Of the non official albums or compilations - I think the 1973 albums The Beatles (1962-1966) and The Beatles (1967-1970) often referred to as the red and blue albums are my fav's. They should be referred to as the gold albums in my opinion as they really are a treasure to have in your collection along with The Rolling Stones London Years triple disc set.


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## Serge (Mar 25, 2010)

I don't know. None of their earlier stuff, for sure. But I do love the Beatles and it's not like I can wrap my mind around them.


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## Guest (Feb 24, 2014)

I would rather have Rubber Soul than any two other Beatles albums.


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## regressivetransphobe (May 16, 2011)

maestro267 said:


> Abbey Road. I Want You, Because, and that epic sixteen-minute medley. Proto-prog rock.


"I Want You" is almost proto-metal. I almost get a Sabbath vibe from it. Every time I feel like I hate Lennon, that tune makes me think twice.


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

The Beatles are one of those bands where I can admire the genius and the great imagination they displayed in their song writing and the amazing production and innovation of their records. I can acknowledge the fact that they are probably the best pop group of all time, yet for whatever reason I have no desire to listen to their music - ever.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

Which Beatle are you? A fun quiz to go with your choice of album.


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## shangoyal (Sep 22, 2013)

I knew I would get Paul.


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## FleshRobot (Jan 27, 2014)

Taggart said:


> Which Beatle are you? A fun quiz to go with your choice of album.


I got:

You got: Late '60s John Lennon

You're a very complex person - sometimes you're preaching love and tolerance, and other times you're a bit snarky and mean. You seek out romantic partners who inspire and challenge you, which leads you to take huge creative risks.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

FleshRobot said:


> I got:
> 
> You got: Late '60s John Lennon
> 
> You're a very complex person - sometimes you're preaching love and tolerance, and other times you're a bit snarky and mean. You seek out romantic partners who inspire and challenge you, which leads you to take huge creative risks.


I got this, too - not quite what I expected, a bit like when I was selected for Slytherin in the Sorting Hat quiz.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

shangoyal said:


> I knew I would get Paul.
> 
> View attachment 35817


Gosh - when I was fourteen, I would have *loved* to have 'got' Young Paul McCartney! :kiss:


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## MagneticGhost (Apr 7, 2013)

Now, these three remain, With The Beatles, Rubber Soul and The White Album. 
And the greatest of these is The White Album.

A collection box of awesomeness.


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## MagneticGhost (Apr 7, 2013)

> You got: Psychedelic Paul McCartney
> You are extremely imaginative and creative, and very good at convincing other people to get on board with your wildest ideas. You have a rather cheerful disposition, and that sometimes rubs people the wrong way. Wait… hold on… you might actually be dead. Huh.


Gotta be pleased with that


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## Alydon (May 16, 2012)

shangoyal said:


> Pick your favourite Beatles album, and tell us why.


Rubber Soul - every time I put it on it might have been recorded yesterday - should be in the top ten greatest albums ever recorded.


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

Alydon said:


> Rubber Soul - every time I put it on it might have been recorded yesterday - should be in the top ten greatest albums ever recorded.


Eh Revolver and Sgt Pepper are better.


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## AClockworkOrange (May 24, 2012)

I cannot choose. Rubber Soul would be the closest I suppose but it is a tough choice.

On a side note though, I'd be just as happy with Harrison's Cloud 9 album.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

I am not really a Beatles fan, but do have Rubber Soul, Abbey Road, and Sgt Pepper. They are all good albums but of the three I like Rubber Soul as it is more of a blues rock where the others are more freaky like LSD trip music, but i do very much like Come Together, a song with very Dylan-ish lyrics.


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

Florestan said:


> I am not really a Beatles fan, but do have Rubber Soul, Abbey Road, and Sgt Pepper. They are all good albums but of the three I like Rubber Soul as it is more of a blues rock where the others are more freaky like LSD trip music, but i do very much like Come Together, a song with very Dylan-ish lyrics.


It's called psychedelic. And that's the best part about it.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

neoshredder said:


> It's called psychedelic. And that's the best part about it.


I know, but I didn't know how to spell psychedelic and didn't want to bother looking it up.  Oh and it is good for what it is but just not doing it for me on a regular basis.


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## SimonNZ (Jul 12, 2012)

Ingélou said:


> Gosh - when I was fourteen, I would have *loved* to have 'got' Young Paul McCartney! :kiss:


I'm betting you would have been his type:










(on the other hand I don't think he really treated poor Jane all that well...)

edit: now I want to play Hard Days Night again, specifically to hear "Things We Said Today", one of my top-five favorite Beatles songs, and, if memory serves, Jane Asher-inspired


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

Gosh - don't they look young! 
Ah well, she made a happy marriage to someone else, anyway.


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## Dustin (Mar 30, 2012)

For me it comes down to Rubber Soul, Revolver, Abbey Road, and Sgt. Peppers. I had to go with Sgt. Peppers though on this one. The wonderful experimental sounds to go along with the brilliant songwriting throughout. Can't resist it!


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Dustin said:


> For me it comes down to Rubber Soul, Revolver, Abbey Road, and Sgt. Peppers. I had to go with Sgt. Peppers though on this one. The wonderful experimental sounds to go along with the brilliant songwriting throughout. Can't resist it!


Ahhh yes!!! The good old days, when they were still writing music we could sing, rather than the current tedious rhythms with no melodies.


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## Guest (Apr 14, 2014)

I'm going to go ahead and make this a standard TC response, also applicable to 20th century classical music:


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## SimonNZ (Jul 12, 2012)

That reminds me, having mentiond Jane Asher recently, that just the other day I learned that Austin Powers' look (apart from the colour) is based on her brother Peter (from Peter and Gordon):










The Yeah Baby voice is taken from some TV presenter, whose name I can't remember now.


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

Dustin said:


> For me it comes down to Rubber Soul, Revolver, Abbey Road, and Sgt. Peppers. I had to go with Sgt. Peppers though on this one. The wonderful experimental sounds to go along with the brilliant songwriting throughout. Can't resist it!


Yep those are my big 4 as well with Sgt Pepper winning out. Make it big 5. Forgot about Magical Mystery Tour.


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## sankalp (Apr 10, 2014)

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band for me


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## regressivetransphobe (May 16, 2011)

Yeah, new music has melody, most of it just sucks for a million other reasons.


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## Tristan (Jan 5, 2013)

The White Album is the one I am most familiar with, mainly because of a particular friend. I've heard it from start to finish twice and I really like it.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

SimonNZ said:


> That reminds me, having mentiond Jane Asher recently, that just the other day I learned that Austin Powers' look (apart from the colour) is based on her brother Peter (from Peter and Gordon):
> 
> 
> 
> ...


The dark-haired one is actually the great Johann Cruyff - don't let anyone else tell you any different.


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## perempe (Feb 27, 2014)

i hate Hey Dude at the end of concerts with McCartney. So boring.

sorry for the off.


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## Chronochromie (May 17, 2014)

The White Album, the most varied, followed closely by Revolver, Abbey Road and Sgt. Pepper's.


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

Changed my mind. Going with Abbey Road.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

I'll go with Magical Mystery Tour and Revolver, but there is always something very good on any Beatles album. I have a weakness, though, for their druggy, psychedelic songs.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Sgt. Pepper. It was so glorious! Pure genius!


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## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet (Aug 31, 2011)

I picked Revolver but a couple of others were close behind.


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## Jay (Jul 21, 2014)

Magical Mystery Tour


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, but then again I am not a expert.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Abbey Road, Revolver, Rubber Soul.


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## Chronochromie (May 17, 2014)

Chronochromie said:


> The White Album, the most varied, followed closely by Revolver, Abbey Road and Sgt. Pepper's.


It's also variable in quality, dummy. Abbey Road FTW. Then Revolver probably.


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## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

I voted Help!, and Please Please Me would be a close second (not as into the psychedlic material).


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## yetti66 (Jan 30, 2017)

Earliest childhood memory is my mother playing revolver. Still love it but White Album is broadest expression of their art.


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## EarthBoundRules (Sep 25, 2011)

This will shock many of you, but the only Beatles albums I'm fond of these days are _Let It Be_ and _Past Masters Volume 2_. I voted for _Let It Be_ for "I Me Mine" and "Across the Universe".


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

Revolver for me


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

Used to be Revolver, but Magical Mystery Tour. I’ve grown to really like Blue Jay Way. Hard to beat an album with both Walrus and Strawberry.


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