Without The Beatles, I wouldn't of been born. I'm extremely proud of the fact that my parents met due to the impact The Beatles had on people's lives and on music. Everybody's heard of them, and anyone with a soul is a fan of their music. There's not really one song that is the best, but statistically, there may be songs that stand out more than others. That's why this list is here, to pinpoint what song is really the epitome of The Beatles' work.
Starting from 20 and down to 1, these are what I think are the top 20 Beatles songs:
20. Happiness Is A Warm Gun (The White Album)
This song is not super famous, but is the cornerstone of what makes John Lennon's writing so great. Most people would agree that this song makes absolutely no sense, but that's okay since it's John. This has always been one of my favorite songs by them, and one of the first lines, "She's not acquainted with the touch of the velvet hand like a lizard on a window pane," has to be the most creative thing I've ever heard.
19. Strawberry Fields Forever (Magical Mystery Tour)
Another John song about the whimsical tale of the Strawberry Fields Orphanage, a place he often walked by. He spent a lot of time around this area, and the song reflects the imagination of a child with no worries nor any needs, other than to just be free. Unfortunately, the orphanage closed down about 5 years ago, but this song is still a favorite among many. It's got one of the best strings collaborations in music.
18. Michelle (Rubber Soul)
A favorite among other women, Michelle is the tale of a woman who, in short, has a man who needs her. One of the first American songs to contain French lyrics, it's the only Beatles song to have won the Grammy for Song of the Year.
17. From Me to You (Past Masters)
Oddly, it was never actually on an official English Beatles album, but it was one of the biggest hit of that year. It's a prime example of where The Beatles came from, and the type of music they played when they first started out.
16. I Am the Walrus (Magical Mystery Tour)
Regardless of what many paranoid music scholars may think, John Lennon himself said this song is a song about absolutely nothing. It's purpose is to be weird, and that it is. John is easily the only person who can make gibberish sound like music genius. Prime example: "Krabba-Lacka fishwife pornographic priestess". The list goes on.
15. Help! (Help!)
To me, at this point, is when The Beatles stopped singing primarily about getting the girl of their dreams or anything like that, but rather focusing on what more they could do that other artists of their time haven't done yet. Help! was the spawn of that effort. To some people that actually knew John, they think that this song was an actual cry for help.
14. She Loves You (Past Maters)
I watched in a documentary that Paul wanted this song to be different, and there's no hidden message or anything. Instead, they're actually playing the messenger, and are simply telling another guy that "Hey, she loves you". It's simplicity at it's very best.
13. Let It Be (Let It Be)
With Phil Spector as the new manager for The Beatles on what would be released as their last album, they put together an ode to Paul's deceased mother. This song is inspired by a dream where Paul's mother visited him at a time of hectic tensions between The Beatles while recording the White Album. This song has since become one of the most inspirational songs of all time.
12. Revolution (Past Masters)
At this point in time, after the Tet Offensive in 1967, The Beatles had avoided doing anything politically related, as they knew how much of an influence they'd have on millions of people. Finally, when the American embassy of London was marched on, John said he needed to talk about it. Revolution was born from that need, and they ask the rioters, "What is your plan? If you plan to topple the government, what's next?" John was always anti-war, but not at the expense of a working country.
11. Yellow Submarine (Rubber Soul/Yellow Sumbarine)
This is the first Beatles song I ever heard, and is easily a Beatles song that pretty much everybody knows. Whenever you hear this song, you think of them, that's pretty much what makes this song one of their best. It's so simple, it's so good. It was made into a movie after it's release, and was coined as a psychedelic masterpiece.
10. All My Loving (With the Beatles)
Compromised of one of the best melodies in a Beatles song, the song is an innocent tale of love. It's apparently a spiritual sequel to their earlier song "P.S I Love You." That would mean the song is to be sent over a letter through some long distance. This song is one of the best from their first years.
9. Something (Abbey Road)
Paul said himself, "Everybody wondered what song it'd be that would become on this new album, and whether it'll be me or John that writes it." He then expressed the surprise everyone had when the biggest hit on Abbey Road happened to be a song written by George. With all four Beatles coupled and happy at the time of this song, Something was the reflection on those relationships.
8. Eleanor Rigby (Revolver)
Even though John disliked this song because he didn't think it worked out right, The Beatles outdid themselves in every aspect with this song. One of their first songs with a darker meaning, it's a song that puts together strings, vocals, and loneliness together like nobody else could. There is not one person who I've met that dislikes this song.
7. Sgt. Peppers' Lonely Hearts Club Band (Sgt. Peppers' Lonely Hearts Club Band)
The lead track to what is often cited as the best album of all time, Sgt. Pepper is the beginning of what The Beatles were going to make into a "rock opera" of sorts. For no reason other than to explore more music possibilities within the studio, The Beatles took on four altar egos, and called themselves Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Billy Shears (Ringo) soon comes afterward.
6. Come Together (Abbey Road)
Released along with Something, Come Together is one of my favorite Beatles songs, if not my favorite. It's, again, a song about nothing. However, the song has many references, including a line from a Chuck Berry song. Each part of the song references to one of the four Beatles, including John himself.
5. I Want to Hold Your Hand (With the Beatles)
With this song, Beatlemania and the British Invasion in America was born. When this song first played on the radio, calls went off the hook, as said by DJs at the time. If you listen to any other song from 1964, you realize how different and how The Beatles really were ahead of their time.
4. All You Need is Love (Magical Mystery Tour)
Paul said that this song isn't directed at a war, or anything. It's just a simple, heart-felt message to everybody on Earth. The first satellite world broadcast, ever. This song had everybody. The Beatles, an orchestra, random people, The Rolling Stones, everyone. This song is an ultimate collaboration of the people, not of any single bands, but the people themselves.
3. Hey Jude (Past Masters)
Hey Jude is the ultimate concert staple of all time. I've been to two Paul McCartney concerts, I would know. This is one of the only songs that absolutely everybody has to sing, because it's 7 minutes of musical genius. The song is actually about John's son, Julian, who unfortunately spent very little time with his father, and as such formed a father-son relationship with Paul. The song, to this day, is considered one of the best songs of all time.
2. Yesterday (Help!)
Paul's solo song about a heartbreaking split. This song is 100% Paul, nobody else. It's the most covered song of all time, with over 2,000 cover versions out there. No other song has been covered anywhere near that many times. This was #1 before I decided the the next song is the ultimate Beatles song.
1. A Day in the Life (Sgt. Peppers' Lonely Hearts Club Band)
After Sgt. Pepper greeted the listener into their adventure, A Day in the Life ended it. A song that is actually two songs put together in one, this song is a complete collaboration of every ounce of genius that The Beatles could muster up. It has strings, horns, and even a dog whistle at the very end. Not only that, it's got the longest single chord of all time, as John had 4 people slam an organ at the very end, making a note that lasted nearly 40 seconds. This song is considered by professional music critics as one of The Beatles defining songs as to what makes them so great.
Note: Album names/songs are based on England's releases, not America's.
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