Best Beatles album to get started on?
 

I have the 27 track "1" hits collection, and its great and all but I feel that I am missing out on the good stuff (I think all of their stuff past Rubber Soul made it in the top 20 in vh1's 100 albums of all time. Which one is a good one to get started on or should I just buy them all. Also, as some of you know, the bass on "Come Together on the "!" cd is absolutley insane, way too strong. Is it any weaker on any of the other albums that it is on?

Also, in the song Revolution, there is one part where Paul said something like "We don't want to change your head", but the word "head" doesn't sound right as if he either coughed or choked in the recording studio. Is there a reason why that part sounds so bad.

Try the White Album or Sgt. Peppers, they are both really great and have fairly diverse songs. If you are after the early Beatles sound then Rubber Soul is a great album. I don't think that the bass on Come Together is any stronger or weaker depending on the album, it is overpowering on every version I've heard.

Revolver
then go with Rubber Soul

the problem with this question is that there is no good place to start. like radiohead or blur now-a-days, every single album the Beatles made had a different sound to it.

what i would do is find your favorites from the "1" cd and pick up the album(s) from that era. thankfully the "1" album is chronological, so you can figure out whether to go with "With the Beatles" or "Abbey Road" or "Let It Be" or whatever... plus, i believe (don't quote me on this) that the liner notes even tell you what album a song is from.. assuming it came from an album.

i started w/ Sgt. Pepper's. a great album. but then again, all of their albums are great!
-di doctor-

the 1 cd just says how long it was #1 and what the original single looked like.

Name your favorites and I am sure we can give you the best suggestion. I personally think EVERY Beatles album is a masterpiece worth owning. You literally could start any where in their catalog and you get gold.

Like everyone else said, every album is truly a masterpiece. I'd say that Sgt. Pepper's is the all-around good starting point for many new Beatles fans, but you should really just buy them all, anyway!

Sgt Pepper is where I got started and then I picked up the rest and I love at least 3/4s of every album they've put out :)

Alright, favorite songs
Yesterday
Hey Jude
day tripper
yellow submerine
come together
Let it Be (I'll wait until the new version comes out.)

Is there any chance that EMI will put out new mono remasters or remasters of the original master tapes.

I got started with the White Album so that's got my vote.

I think I must be in the minority but my recommendations would be:

1) Revolver (my favorite Beatles album as well as a good one to start with)
2) Rubber Soul
3) Magical Mystery Tour

I think Sgt Peppers is a good one to listen to after you've already been hooked. It really doesn't sound like any of the albums that came before or after it (IMO that is)

Michael

I'd say Rubber Soul. I think it is the strongest collection of songs on any album of theirs and is their turning point album as songwriters and musicians.

Just because nobody's mentioned it yet (and it happens to be my favorite Beatles album) -- Abbey Road

If you're planning on getting started with the Beatles, why not start at the beginning? This way, you can follow their evolution from the start.

Of course, if you want to start in the middle, I'd suggest either Sgt. Pepper (which was my starting point), Abbey Road (very solid stuff), or the White Album, which is my current favorite.

Also, I really like Anthology II & III.

Sgt. Pepper hooked me. Then I went on to Revolver and Rubber Soul. Then to the White Album, then back to their older stuff.

I'd go with Revolver first, then Sgt. Pepper's.

If it means anything, Revolver was consitered on vh1's top albums of all time, #1. And a question about that one, I noticed there are two versions, the UK version and the US version. Which one is better to have and is there a big box set that contains all the beatles albums in one set (kind of like Led Zeppeiln's big box set.)

What's amazing is the evolution is only about 9 years.

I would start, like others have wrote, Rubber Soul...Sgt. Pepper..White Album...(my favorite) Revolver.

I don't think you can go wrong anywhere if you are a fan of their music. Also there are different versions of their albums. There is a US one and a UK one. Usually the UK versions had more songs (I think) or different orders. I forget.

Until Sgt. Pepper every Beatles album released in the US was the same as the UK version only minus 2-3 songs. The US would then combine these songs with singles and release a 'new' Beatles album. The CD's that are available now are the UK version with all tracks in tact and in the correct order. There is no box set with every Beatles' album.

Actually, there is a box set floating around out there. Amazon has it up here:

Beatles Box Set

I used to see it in B&M stores here and there...it comes in a cool box with a door reminiscent of a rolltop desk. It has all official albums, plus the two Past Masters sets. Pretty cool if you are looking to grab the entire catalog at once!

EDIT: There's a better description with a picutre up at Tower

Damn, 300 bucks seems a little steap for 16 cds. Thats like 19 bucks a disc. I think I'll just stick to the entire collection since I could get them cheaper that way. (approx 13.99 a disc at bb.)

Get the lot..any order. You simply can't go wrong.

Terry

My favorites are Abbey Road and The White Album...but I like pretty much all of them (personally, I probably wouldn't start out with the early ones)

Even though I like them quite a bit, I also wouldn't start out with the Anthology ones--those are much better after you've heard a bunch of other Beatles.

Yeah, that is pretty expensive...I guess that they figure they could charge more because of the box and the book. You're right, though, you probably could get the set cheaper if you bought the CD's individually. But, on the other hand, Tower doesn't really have the best of prices, so it's possible that you could find the box set in a B&M for cheaper. But the actual box sure does look cool. Yummy.

I bought the boxset you are discussing about 8 years ago. It is black wood w/ a roll top and it is super-nice looking. It has a notched section for each Beatles album and holds them all in order including the two Past Masters cds.

The booklet fits in the bottom of the case and it is 60 pages. It goes thru every album in order and lists every song and gives a short history behind every song written by Mark Lewisohn (renown Beatles historian). It does this even for the Past Masters. There are some pix (some rare, some not) and a Recording Chronology and a A-Z song index.

I know I didn't pay $300 back in the day but it was pricey. I don't regret it though as I am a huge Beatles fan and it is one of the best box-set cases I have ever seen.