What if the Beatles happened to write all of their best songs at the same time and they all ended up on the same album?

I thought this would be a fun idea to try out so...


Here are the rules:

There can be up to 14 songs only on the album

All songs must be taken from The Beatles' 12 original UK LPs (so Magical Mystery Tour tracks and stand alone singles are disqualified)

A song can only be placed in its position on the track list of its original album*
E.G. I Saw Her Standing There was the first song on Please Please Me, so it also has to be the first song on your ultimate Beatles album

*Obviously, exceptions to this rule are cases where the songs you have chosen cannot be placed in the positions they were in on the track lists of their original albums, because the track list (e.g. 30 songs on the White album) exceeds the number of songs you want on your album. In these cases, put the song where you want on your track list.

This also means that you cannot put two songs which have the same position on the track list of two different albums on your track list
E.G. I Saw Her Standing There was the first song on Please Please Me, and It Won't Be Long was the first song on With The Beatles, so they can't both be on your ultimate Beatles album

You can choose a maximum of three songs from each of the original LPs


Here's my ultimate Beatles album:

1. A Hard Day's Night
2. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
3. Across The Universe
4. I Need You
5. And I Love Her
6. She's Leaving Home
7. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
8. Because
9. And Your Bird Can Sing
10. I'm So Tired
11. In My Life
12. Get Back
13. A Day in the Life

After digging through Wikipedia's track listing of all these albums, I've finally figured out my list....


1. Help!
2. Eleanor Rigby
3. Across the Universe
4. I Should Have Known Better
5. Here, There, and Everywhere
6. All You Need is Love
7. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
8. Happiness is a Warm Gun
9. And Your Bird Can Sing
10. The Long and Winding Road
11. In My Life
12. Get Back
13. A Day in the Life
14. Good Night

Here's my ultimate Beatles album :

1. No reply
2. Something
3. If I fell
4. Nowhere man
5. Here, there and everywhere
6. She's leaving home
7. Here comes the sun
8. Because
9. Girl
10.For no one
11.In my life
12.Sgt pepper's lonely hearts club band (reprise)
13.A day in the life
14.Tomorrow never knows

There would have been 5 "Revolver" tracks in my list...

1.Birthday
2.Eleanor Rigby
3.I'm Only Sleeping
4.Nowhere Man
5.Here, There and Everywhere
6.She's Leaving Home
7.Ticket to Ride
8.Here Comes the Sun
9.Happiness Is a Warm Gun
10.You Never Give Me Your Money
11.In My Life
12.Across the Universe
13.A Day in the Life
14.Tomorrow Never Knows

Just for the curious, this is a list of the most acclaimed Beatles song in each spot:




01. Help!
02. Eleanor Rigby
03. Across the Universe
04. Nowhere Man
05. Here There and Everywhere
06. I Am The Walrus
07. Ticket To Ride
08. Strawberry Fields Forever
09. Penny Lane
10. The Long & Winding Road
11. In My Life
12. Get Back
13. A Day in The Life
14. Tomorrow Never Knows


God, John is such a bully.

1. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band)
2. Eleanor Rigby (Revolver)
3. Maxwell's Silver Hammer (Abbey Road)
4. Helter Skelter (The Beatles)
5. Here There and Everywhere (Revolver)
6. The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill (The Beatles)
7. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (The Beatles)
8. Julia (The Beatles)
9. Girl (Rubber Soul)
10. Things We Said Today (A Hard Day's Night)
11. In My Life (Rubber Soul)
12. A Taste of Honey (Please Please Me)
13. A Day in the Life (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band)
14. Tomorrow Never Knows (Revolver)

Julia and Helter Skelter were cheated in here.

1. No Reply
2. Dear Prudence
3. If I Fell
4. Nowhere Man
5. Here, There and Everywhere
6. She's Leaving Home
7. She Said She Said
8. Here Comes the Sun
9. I'm So Tired
10. For No One
11. In My Life
12. Helter Skelter [my "wild card" pick]
13. A Day in the Life
14. Money

"And Your Bird Can Sing" would have been track 9 if it wasn't for the three-songs-from-one-album rule. As for my opening track, "No Reply" has always been one of my favorites, and it may very well be the most underrated Beatles track ever.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.

Damn. I forgot about that 3 songs from each album rule. I almost made it anyway.

1. Come Together
2. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
3. Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds
4. Revolution 1
5. And I Love Her
6. I Want You (She's So Heavy)
7. Here Comes the Sun
8. Eight Days a Week
9. Girl
10. Things We Said Today
11. In My Life
12. Get Back
13. A Day in the Life
14. Helter Skelter

I feel like any song from Disc 2 of the White Album kind of gets a free pass (*cough!* Helter Skelter), so I think that Disc 2 should be counted as its own album (i.e. "Birthday" = Track 1, etc.)

Anywho, I didn't include any songs from Disc 2 of the White Album, so it's no big deal to me. But here's my list:

1. Help! (from Help!)
2. Dear Prudence (from The Beatles)
3. Across the Universe (from Let It Be)
4. Hey Bulldog (from Yellow Submarine)
5. Here, There and Everywhere (from Revolver)
6. Let It Be (from Let It Be)
7. Here Comes the Sun (from Abbey Road)
8. Good Day Sunshine (from Revolver)
9. Martha My Dear (from The Beatles)
10. Lovely Rita (from Sgt. Pepper)
11. Blackbird (from The Beatles)
12. I've Just Seen a Face (from Help!)
13. A Day in the Life (from Sgt. Pepper)
14. Golden Slumbers (from Abbey Road)

Actually, Daniel, that sounds like a good rule (about the White Album); I might add it.

Wow. This took a great deal more thought then I had initially guessed it would. The "3-track per LP" limit was especially trying. In the end here's what I came out with.

SIDE ONE:
1. Help!
2. Eleanor Rigby
3. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
4. Nowhere Man
5. Here, There and Everywhere
6. Let It Be
7. Ticket to Ride

SIDE TWO:
1. Happiness Is a Warm Gun
2. Girl (replace with Helter Skelter if treating White Album as single record)
3. The Long and Winding Road
4. In My Life
5. Get Back
6. A Day in the Life
7. Tomorrow Never Knows

I have to ask, though. Can any Beatles album that has one choose between "A Day in the Life" and "Yesterday" truly be ultimate?

Johnny63, I understand the problem of not quite being able to get the perfect Beatles album with the track position rule. However, what I meant by ultimate album/LP was something that, if played, would actually sound like an authentic album. If I said just put any song in anywhere you like, personally I think that might make it too much like a greatest hits album or a best of, and The Beatles already have plenty of those. George Martin and the boys carefully placed songs in a certain place on their track lists (maybe not so much on the early ones), and part of this post was to reflect that.

yeah but they were placed in those positions in relation to the other songs on the album. it's not like they finished the track and said, "this sounds like a track 4 kind of number."