The Beatles and the curse of the Best ofs.

When anyone asked me what my favorite album was, I always said it was something by The Beatles, usually "Help!", "Revolver", or "Abbey Road". So one lonely day I sat down and tried to settle this question by rating each Fab Four album.

Four lads from Liverpool (Library of Congress)

I rated each song of The Beatles from 1 to 5 stars (in reality from 2 to 5, they've never had a truly terrible song). I gave the song content of an album 85% of the score. I gave another 10% to the tracklisting. As anyone who's made a good mixtape (or watched "High Fidelity") knows, how songs flow together matters. The final five percent is for personal bias. If it was the album that started my obsession (Sgt. Pepper's), or reflects an era in my life (Help!), it deserves higher marks. If it's a great album, but also a soundtrack to a dull movie (Magical Mystery Tour), it might lose a point or two.

Then there's the problem with compilations. If you're to advise someone on buying a Beatles album, you wouldn't avoid suggesting "Past Masters 2" just because the songs were recorded and released over a five-year period instead of all-at-once. You certainly need "Hey Jude" and "Day Tripper" in your Beatles collection. (I don't care that you can buy the songs separately online now -- albums still matter -- what's that? I can't hear you). If you think that allowing compilations will lead to a slippery slope, you are correct! Let's do this.

Album

Songs

Flow

Bias

Total

Sgt. Pepper	83.7	10	5	98.7
Rubber Soul	81.4	10	5	96.4
Abbey Road	81.0	10	5	96.0
White Album	80.5	9	5	94.5
Revolver	77.7	10	5	92.7
Past Masters 2	81.4	8	3	92.4
Help!	76.5	10	5	91.5
Please Please Me	76.5	9	5	90.5
Magical Mystery Tour	77.3	8	4	89.3
With the Beatles	75.3	8	4	87.3
A Hard Day's Night	74.5	8	4	86.5
Let it Be	73.7	8	4	85.7
Past Masters 1	71.8	8	3	82.8
Beatles for Sale	68.0	8	4	80.0
Yellow Submarine	72.3	4	2	78.3

The success of Past Masters 2 on my list, (sixth overall, tied for second for song content) even with lower flow and bias ratings, is alarming to album purists. It only gets worse when you include their best of albums, "Red", "Blue", and "1".

Album	Songs	Flow	Bias	Total

Red album	85.0	9	5	99.0
Blue album	85.0	9	4	98.0
1	85.0	8	3	96.0

Now this top Beatles album list is starting took bad. The Red Album, due to being full of great songs, no filler, and has the bias of being the first Beatles album I've ever owned, skyrockets to the top of the list. The only detriment that album has is its tracklisting is in chronological order. For the most part, hearing their musical progression makes for an exciting listen. Though sometimes the songs just don't flow well together from one to the next. It's no side 2 of "Abbey Road" (otherwise known as the standard of flow).

It's about to get worse. Here comes a Beatles mix tape! A collection of great songs, each one flowing together perfectly, creating a perfect album to love and cherish. Is this mix tape my "favorite Beatles album of all time"?

1. I am the Walrus
2. Helter Skelter
3. Help!
4. Day Tripper
5. She Loves You
6. Hey Jude
7. Can't By Me Love
8. Revolution
9. I Should've Known Better
10. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
11. Tomorrow Never Knows
12. A Day in the Life

Okay, that's not a real mix tape of mine. But who knows, it just might be the greatest album of all time.