Rolling Stone: The Top Ten Beatles Songs of All Time

[james1985]

If I put my non-fan hat on (looking rather unworn!) - Day in the Life, In My Life and Strawberry Fields would all be top-spot material. Day and Strawb because they're both beautiful songs with revolutionary production; In My Life because everything's just perfect.

Put if I stick my dog-eared fan hat on, I'd say that two minutes of music doesn't get much better than And Your Bird Can Sing

[Craigerb]

An excellent list, though I would substitute a real rocker like "Back in the USSR" instead of "Come Together" at #9.
As for Rolling Stone saying: "'A Day in the Life' wasn't recognized as the band's masterwork until the Eighties, after Lennon's death." This is not true. "A Day in the Life" was immediately recognized as the greatest track on the greatest album.

[chris]

Yeah, Craig, I'm sort of siding with you on the whole "A Day in the Life" thingie. It was...is...the best song on what has always been considered their masterwork.

And it is absolutely worthy of being considered the best song by the best band.

[The Pound is Sinking]

I generally agree with the list (but not the order) of the top ten greatest songs by RS except that "Eleanor Rigby" should be there dropping off "I Wanna Hold Your Hand". You could jumble the order of my new op ten list and it will still be OK. All ten have common great features but if I will rank it based on universal appeal and timelessness, I would put "Yesterday" and "Hey Jude" on top since almost everybody every day can hum or recognize it while "A Day in the in the Life" and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" are indeed great songs but not everybody can hum or recognize them easily so they are at the bottom of the ten.

In conclusion, its dangerous to have a top ten greatest Beatles songs because they have at least 50 songs that equal or surpass the best songs of the day. As for the greatest 100 Beatles Songs by RS, it becomes more dangerous since the Beatles song canon are the best in history and ranking them becomes very subjective since criteria become loose in which not a few of Beatles fans may disagree. How one can make a difference of song ranked 51 from song ranked 99? Given the eclectic and various appeal of the Beatles discography, it is advisable to have a list of top ten or top five only of Beatles song in a very specific criteria so that a semblance of objectivity and concensus can be achieved say Top Five Most Romantic Beatles Song, Top Ten Most Danceable Beatles Songs, Top Five Most Emotional Beatles Song and the likes. In the end, the one positive thing the RS 100 list might possibly have done is for hard core, soft core and would-be Beatles fans to listen (again or fresh) to the 14 Remasters Beatles Album (Stereo or Mono) and compare it to their own own listening to the discography (or bunch of albums) of other popular acts like the Rolling Stones, U2, Beach Boys etc. I am quite sure that they will know the difference why only the Beatles and not any other act is being accorded the distinct honor of having their 100 songs ranked in a single issue of RS.

[Craigerb]

"I Want to Hold your Hand" was selected as representative of the influence of the British Invasion & Beatlemania. If it is replaced, it can only be by something early like "She Loves You" or "Please, Please, Me".