The Beatles - 1

If one day aliens interested in music were to land on our planet and ask for the best and most influential songs in our history, I think the obvious thing to do would be to thrust into their hands 1 by The Beatles (assuming they have hands, but that issue could certainly be resolved).

With over 30 million copies sold, we are dealing with one of the best-selling albums of all time – if we focus on compilations, only The Eagles with Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) are ahead of the Fab Four. Since every reader is familiar with the 27 number-one hits that stormed the charts between 1962 and 1970 and were released collectively for the first time in 2000, I can keep this very brief and just limit myself to personal comments.

The Beatles, along with The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and Queen, are rightly considered the pinnacle of rock music. In terms of their widespread appeal, however, they are second to none. People all over the world can sing along to timeless classics like “Love Me Do“, “Yesterday“ or “Help!“.

The greatest power of the 27 compositions, 26 of which were created by the duo John Lennon/Paul McCartney (only “Something“ was written by George Harrison), is that they lift the mood with the first few beats, drowning out everyday worries and giving strength. They should actually come with a prescription...

If you ask me for personal favourites, I have to think very carefully – but I would ultimately settle on the following top three: 1. “Hey Jude“, 2. “Let it be“ and 3. “Come Together“. This suggests a preference for the later Beatles albums, but I appreciate all phases of the unfortunately much too short band career. I am sure that the aforementioned aliens would feel the same way in the end, provided that they have well-functioning ears (or something similar).

Note: As part of this special, I am posting my 100 favorite records. Full-length albums, compilations and EPs are all included. Live albums will be considered in another special. The first 75 records will be posted in no particular order. The top 25 will be ranked.