Ranking all the albums of the Beatles from worst to best

1. Revolver (1966)

“Eleanor Rigby” is the second track on Revolver. There is nothing remotely rock & roll about it. The only instruments are violins, violas, and cellos. It may be the finest song Paul McCartney ever wrote. Except later on the album, Paul sings the underrated masterpiece “For No One,” among the simplest and most poignant breakup songs in pop music. It employs a clavichord and French horn. Yet somehow they both fit on one of the greatest rock & roll albums ever produced.

George kicks off things with a more traditional rocker, “Taxman,” and later dives in deep on the sitar-based “Love You To.” John rocks on “Doctor Robert,” about the high-society drug clientele of Robert Freymann, and his Peter Fonda-inspired “She Said She Said.” He also slows things down on “I’m Only Sleeping” and is as sunny as he would ever be on “And Your Bird Can Sing.”

But it is Paul who really expands the palette on Revolver. I’m not even a huge fan of “Here, There and Everywhere,” “Good Day Sunshine,” and “Got to Get You Into My Life,” but that doesn’t prevent me from recognizing how remarkable each was in exploring new places for popular rock music to venture. He even wrote the marvelous “Yellow Submarine” for Ringo to sing.

The album closes with John’s trippy “Tomorrow Never Knows,” which is as experimental as any prog rock song from the era, while still holding onto the Beatles’ preternatural pop sensibilities. I just said I don’t love some of Paul’s songs on Revolver but I can also safely say that there is not a single weak link on their greatest album.

Best Tracks: “Eleanor Rigby,” “For No One,” “Tomorrow Never Knows”

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