If you’re only just starting to get into The Beatles, you might be wondering what order the band’s albums came out in. Here’s a complete list of all The Beatle’s albums in order…
1963 to 1970
Beatles Albums In Order
Here’s every Beatles album (the studio ones, not compilations and best of albums) listed in order.
Please Please Me (1963)
A debut phenomenon, showcasing raw energy with hits like “Love Me Do.” Captures their early sound and charismatic charm.
1,674,069 sales
→
With The Beatles (1963)
Marks significant growth, featuring richer harmonies and deeper lyrical content. “All My Loving” showcases their evolving sound.
1,118,954 sales
→
A Hard Day’s Night (1964)
A soundtrack to their film, characterized by infectious enthusiasm and iconic tracks like the title song, reflecting their life as superstars.
5,352,124 sales
→
Beatles For Sale (1964)
A mix of rock ‘n’ roll covers and introspective originals, showing signs of weariness but brilliance in tracks like “No Reply.”
1,375,610 sales
→
Help! (1965)
Another film soundtrack, blending pop and folk rock, featuring classics like “Help!” and “Ticket to Ride,” depicting their transitional phase.
4,428,956 sales
→
Rubber Soul (1965)
A pivotal album that veers into more complex sounds and mature lyrics, featuring “Norwegian Wood” and initiating a major shift in pop music.
8,600,843 sales
→
Revolver (1966)
Revolutionizes rock with experimental techniques in “Eleanor Rigby” and “Tomorrow Never Knows,” showcasing a leap in creative ambition.
7,174,684 sales
→
Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
An innovative masterpiece with a concept persona band, blending art rock and psychedelia, impacting music and culture profoundly.
32,000,000 sales
→
The Beatles (White Album) (1968)
A double album brimming with diversity, from the heavy “Helter Skelter” to the soothing “Blackbird,” reflecting intense personal expressions.
13,782,269 sales
→
Yellow Submarine (1969)
A whimsical soundtrack with vivid storytelling and animated fantasies, featuring “Yellow Submarine” and “All You Need is Love.”
1,250,492 sales
→
Abbey Road (1969)
Known for its strong harmonies, complex arrangements, and the famous closing medley, it’s a fitting swan song for the group’s recording career.
19,973,949 sales
→
Let It Be (1970)
A back-to-basics approach amidst internal strife, producing raw gems like “Let It Be” and “The Long and Winding Road.”
5,957,058 sales
→
To say The Beatles were influential would be the understatement of the century. The mark left on music by Paul, John, George, and Ringo has touched billions of people over the last six decades and continues to do so even today. Paul just recently headlined Glastonbury, for instance, at the ripe old age of eighty!
With respect to The Beatles’ enduring influence and popularity, the reason they remain so consistently popular is that nearly all of the most well-known bands and artists – from Black Sabbath to Bruno Mars – cite The Beatles as one of their core influences. That and the fact that their songs and melodies have a timelessness to them that seems to transcend time and space.
Tracks like Hey Jude, Get Back, Eleanor Rigby, and Back in The USSR sound as fresh today as they did fifty or even sixty years ago. And a lot of that is down to the fact that The Beatles was comprised of three of the best songwriters in history – Paul McCartney, John Lennon, and George Harrison. But also because, during the latter part of the band’s career, they stopped touring and simply became a recording band – this was when The Beatles got REALLY experimental.
But if you’re just getting started listening to The Beatles, the best place to start is the beginning. Why? Because this way you’ll not only be able to appreciate how the band evolved over time but also how their approach to songwriting changed – and, believe me, it changed pretty significantly towards the end of the band’s career.
If you want to listen to The Beatles’ albums in order, here’s the correct order (based on release dates):
The Beatles Albums In Order
- Please Please Me (1963)
- With The Beatles (1963)
- A Hard Day’s Night (1964)
- Beatles For Sale (1964)
- Help! (1965)
- Rubber Soul (1965)
- Revolver (1966)
- Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
- The Beatles (White Album) (1968)
- Yellow Submarine (1969)
- Abbey Road (1969)
- Let It Be (1970)
Beatles Album Sales Stats
The Beatles released 12 albums in total. The first record, Please Please Me, came out in 1963, and the final record, Let It Be, was released in 1970. Talk about prolific: 12 albums in 7 years is good going by anyone’s standards – but this is the Beatles we’re talking about.
During these 12 short years (bizarrely, this is the exact amount of time Jimi Hendrix played guitar for), the Beatles produced some of the most influential and most-listened to music in, well… the history of music.
But what about sales? Which Beatles albums were the most popular and the best selling? Let’s crunch some numbers and find out.
Beatles Albums Ranked By Sales Figures
- Please Please Me (1963) – 1,674,069 sales
- With The Beatles (1963) – 1,118,954 sales
- A Hard Day’s Night (1964) – 5,352,124 sales
- Beatles For Sale (1964) – 1,375,610 sales
- Help! (1965) – 4,428,956 sales
- Rubber Soul (1965) – 8,600,843 sales
- Revolver (1966) – 7,174,684 sales
- Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) – 32,000,000 sales
- The Beatles (White Album) (1968) – 13,782,269 sales
- Yellow Submarine (1969) – 1,250,492 sales
- Abbey Road (1969) – 19,973,949 sales
- Let It Be (1970) – 5,957,058 sales
And here’s that data represented visually:
Overview of Data
- Earliest Release: 1963
- Latest Release: 1970
- Total Albums Analyzed: 12
- Highest Selling Album: “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” (1967) with 32,000,000 sales
- Lowest Selling Album: “Yellow Submarine” (1969) with 1,250,492 sales
Analysis by Decade
The Beatles’ primary active recording period falls within the 1960s, so all these albums are from that decade except for “Let It Be” which was released in 1970.
Sales Trends
- Peak Year: The peak for Beatles album sales from this selection was in 1967 with “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”, marking a significant commercial success.
- Growth over Time: There is a notable increase in sales numbers in the mid to late 60s, peaking in 1967, followed by a stabilization with high sales still being notable towards the end of the decade.
Impact of Album Releases
- Multiple Releases in a Year: 1963, 1964, 1965, and 1969 saw multiple album releases. Notably, 1964 had three albums released, and though individually they didn’t match the peak sales of later albums, collectively they contributed significantly to that year’s total sales volume.
- Sales Volume vs. Impact: While “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” and “Abbey Road” had the highest sales, albums like “Rubber Soul” and “Revolver” are also crucial because of the influence they had on modern music. Revolver is one of my all-time personal favorite albums.
Milestones
- 32 Million Sales Milestone: “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” reached this exceptional milestone, making it one of the most successful albums not only by The Beatles but in music history.
- Continued Sales Post-Active Years: The sales of albums like “Abbey Road” and “Let It Be” after the band stopped recording together indicate enduring popularity.
The Beatles’ First Album
- Notable Tracks:
- Love Me Do
- Twist and Shout
- Please Please Me
- I Saw Her Standing There
- Recording Location:
- Abbey Road Studios, London, England
- Producer:
- George Martin
- Songwriting Credits:
- Majority of the songs were written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, contributing to their legendary songwriting partnership known as Lennon-McCartney.
- Number of Sales:
- Approximately 1,674,069 sales
The Beatles’ debut studio album, Please Please Me, hit the shelves in the United Kingdom on 22nd March 1963, released by Parlophone Records.
At that time, the Beatles were just beginning to emerge from their intense and formative years playing gritty clubs in Hamburg, not yet the household names they would soon become.
Please Please Me rocketed to the top of the UK Albums Chart in just 11 weeks, a rapid ascent fueled by the breakout success of singles like Love Me Do and Twist and Shout.
These tracks didn’t just catch the ear; they held on tight, heralding the arrival of something new and exciting in the music scene.
While initial international reception was tepid—the album and its lead singles didn’t crack the Top 20 in the USA—the seeds of global Beatles fever were sown.
It wouldn’t be long before Beatlemania swept across the United States and the rest of the world, propelling the Beatles to unprecedented international stardom.
Decades later, the enduring charm of Please Please Me continues to resonate. The album not only captures the raw, unfiltered energy of the Beatles’ early days but also serves as a landmark of their revolutionary sound.
Its historical and cultural impact was cemented when Rolling Stone included it in its prestigious list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, ranking it at number 39. This accolade is a testament to the album’s lasting appeal and significant role in shaping the course of modern music.
The Beatles’ Last Album
Notable Tracks:
- Come Together
- Here Comes the Sun
- Something
- Octopus’s Garden
- I Want You (She’s So Heavy)
Recording Location:
- Abbey Road Studios, London, England
Producer:
George Martin, often referred to as the “Fifth Beatle” for his extensive involvement and influence on the band’s music
Songwriting Credits:
The album showcases the songwriting talents primarily of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison. Harrison’s contributions, like Here Comes the Sun and Something, are particularly noteworthy and highlight his maturation as a songwriter.
Number of Sales: Approximately 19,973,949 sales
The Beatles’ last studio album, Abbey Road, was released on 26th September 1969 by Apple Records. The hype around this album was immense and the stress the band were under during its production made created a nightmarish procession of events that saw George Harrison famously quit the band, only to rejoin a few days later.
By this point, John had checked out mentally, George wasn’t getting on with Paul, and the band, while still able to churn out classics like “Come Together” and “Here Comes the Sun” were essentially done. They’d stopped touring years before and, as Lennon pointed out numerous times, the song writing process had become stale.
I liked the A side. I never liked that sort of pop opera on the other side. I think it’s junk. It was just bits of song thrown together. And I can’t remember what some of it is.
John Lennon
Abbey Road topped the charts in several countries, of course, including the UK and the US, reaching number one in both the Billboard 200 and UK Albums Chart. At the time, no one knew it’d be the last Beatles album but there were plenty of rumors – John was pretty vocal about his distain for the band at this point.
Beatles Albums Ranked
Ranking the Beatles’ albums in order of greatness is, of course, an entirely subjective process. You may think Revolver is the best album, while other Beatles fans will prefer Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band or The White Album.
Me personally, I like Revolver the best followed by Abbey Road and then The White Album. But what is the best Beatles album according to the critics?
Here’s a complete breakdown of the best Beatles albums ranked by some of the biggest and most well known music review sites:
Rolling Stone
- Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
- Revolver (1966)
- Rubber Soul (1965)
- The White Album (1968)
- Abbey Road (1969)
Ultimate Classic Rock
- Revolver (1966)
- Abbey Road (1969)
- Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
- The White Album (1968)
- Rubber Soul (1965)
NME
- Revolver (1966)
- Abbey Road (1969)
- Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
- The White Album (1968)
- Rubber Soul (1965)
Best Beatles’ Album Overall?
As you can see, both the NME, Ultimate Classic Rock, and yours truly, here at ELECTRIKJAM, think that Revolver is the best Beatles album.
Rolling Stone reckons its Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and, while I do love that album, for me, it doesn’t quite have the urgency or energy that is present on Revolver.
If you’re new to the Beatles and you’re looking for an album to get started with, your best bet would be Revolver – it is CLASSIC Beatles.
It has all the classic hallmarks of an iconic album, some of the best riffs and bass lines ever put to track, and Macca and Lennon’s vocals and harmonies never sounded better.
Revolver is, basically, the PEAK Beatles experience. It is the band at their best, performing at the very edge of their capabilities, and, importantly, it was recorded during a time when all four members’ hearts were truly into what they were doing.
And that, alongside its near flawless track listing, is what makes Revolver, for me, the best album the Beatles ever put out.
Why The Beatles Were So Influential…
The scope and impact of The Beatles’ music cannot be understated, multiple books and documentaries have been made about the bands’ effect on the world and the music business at large.
No other band has ever achieved what these four lads from Liverpool did – and they did ALL of it before any of them were even thirty years old.
After The Beatles, George, John, Paul, and Ringo all had solo careers, with John and Paul’s arguably being the most successful – Paul is still releasing music today, for instance.
But the main reason why they’re all still famous, household names is because of The Beatles and the band’s enduring legacy which, after more than six decades, is still as prominent today as it was thirty and forty years ago.
As a long-time fan of The Beatles, I’ve often wondered what each of the band’s members’ favorite album was. I needed to find out, so I did some digging – here’s what I found out…
The Beatles’ Favorite Beatles Album
As it turns out, each member of The Beatles has a completely different favorite record.
It is well known that both John and George weren’t massive fans of Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, this album was a concept album predominantly driven by Paul McCartney, although it is now considered one of the band’s finest studio albums.
So what albums did John, Paul, George, and Ringo like the best from The Beatles’ back catalog of records?
- John Lennon’s favorite Beatles album was The White Album
- Paul McCartney has stated numerous times that his favorite is Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
- George Harrison’s favorite album was Rubber Soul
- Ringo Starr’s favorite Beatles album is Abbey Round, especially the second half of the record.
What’s your favorite Beatles album and why? Tell us in the comments below…
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