Via kottke, I found this list that ranks all released Beatles songs from 185 (Revolution No 9) to 1 (A Day in the Life).

Ranking that full list of songs is quite an undertaking. And ambitious at that. The Beatles have been a favorite of mine ever since I was very little. My mom and dad ingrained in me an appreciation for their contribution to the world of pop music and once I heard Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, I was totally hooked. Last year’s Across the Universe was one of my favorite movies of the year for this reason alone.

I’m not ambitious enough to rank all 185 singles, but I’ll give you my own personal top 10 (the original author’s overall ranking of the song is in parentheses). Feel free to share your own Beatles favorites in the comments.

#10 – “Blackbird” (49)

I’ll be honest…when I heard they were going to use a bunch of Beatles songs for the soundtrack of Sean Penn’s movie I Am Sam, I was a little annoyed. I imagine it was a result of Michael Jackson owning the Beatles’ catalog and then spending himself into oblivion and losing the rights to evil overlord Sony because he owed them so much money. But to hear Sarah McLachlan sing this song (and then subsequently to hear my oldest friend Gabe sing it at his sister’s wedding accompanied only by a bass) totally sold me on this track.

#9 – “Eleanor Rigby” (10)

There’s something about this song that rings true to me. I didn’t really discover this gem until later into my adult life and when I listened to it. (But I found it before David Cook covered it for American Idol.) I found it to be this great character study and I began to understand where Ben Folds (another one of my favorite artists) found some of his story-telling inspiration.

All the lonely people…where do they all come from?

#8 – “I Want to Hold Your Hand” (114)

The Beatles early music is personified by this track…the light clapping in the background, the harmonies…this song is what brought them to America. Along with songs like “Love Me Do” and “Can’t Buy Me Love”, this is the sound that many people associate with The Beatles. Unfortunately, they miss out on some of their later brilliance. That’s not to discount their early work. It just shows how great they were.

#7 – “Something” (9)

It’s just a great love song. George Harrison was vastly overshadowed as a songwriter because of John and Paul, yet his abilities are so evident in songs like this. While he was arguably the largest spiritual seeker in the group, he still seemed to stay grounded despite all their escapades with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. This is only my perception, but this song is a great example of why George should have gotten more of his songs on the albums. He was a great songwriter that just coincidentally happened to be in a group with two of the greatest of all-time.

#6 – “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” (116)

I loved this song so much when I first got the Sgt. Pepper’s album. It wasn’t until later that I learned that the song was really about drugs. That was a bizarre discovery for me. I’d listened to this record so innocently over and over and over again and that revelation was an awakening to me. Songs about drugs? That’s not such a huge revelation to the current generation, but to me…it was huge. I began to understand it more. I never got into heavy drugs…music was the only connection to that world I would ever have. This song was my gateway to that world.

#5 – “Hey Jude” (5)

There’s nothing I can really say about this song that hasn’t already been said. The way that it starts simple and just grows and grows…brilliant.

#4 – “When I’m Sixty-Four” (67)

My list will obviously be marked by more songs from Sgt. Pepper’s than most, but that’ a result of how special that album is to me. I’d affectionately call this song a “little diddy” because it’s got this great old-timey feel. I remember being littler and singing this song to myself at the top of my lungs, before I really understood it. But it’s so great and happy and it’s my list. The way that Paul sings “Indicate precisely what you mean to say…yours sincerely wasting away…” is so wonderfully joyful. 

#3 – “Yesterday” (51)

Just listen to the strings arrangement and the way it compliments the simple guitar-playing.

#2 – “Let it Be” (63)

Perhaps the most iconic Beatles song ever, it’s no surprise that it’s at the top of my list. It’s just so genius. The simplicity of the beginning – just a piano and a voice, then it opens to be a gospel hymn. Beautiful. I love how Julie Taymor portrayed it in Across the Universe:

#1 – “A Day in the Life” (1)

The author and I share our number one ranking, “A Day in the Life”. It’s the closing song on Sgt. Pepper’s and…well…the author says it best:

“A Day In The Life,” to me, is the quintessence of what The Beatles are all about. On that song they took the seemingly mundane ordinariness of everyday life and showed it in a different light, and suddenly the view changed. Suddenly the drear of existence seemed flush with possibilities, even if those possibilities were only accessible via the corridors of one’s own mind. While the lyrics drolly looked at the limits of reality, the music dared to suggest those limits were illusory and easily shattered.

It’s gorgeous and it nearly brings me to tears every time I hear it. It’s like a full opera in 5 ½ minutes.

Wrapping it up…

Honestly, your list will not be the same as my list. There are certainly people who don’t like The Beatles and others who probably love them more than I do. But it’s hard to deny that their work did anything less than change the landscape of music for generations to come. If you’d like to hear the original songs, I suggest that you visit the original inspiration for this post. He’s done the work of linking online to versions of all the songs.