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Charles Curtis

Ranking the greatest Beatles songs, from No. 1 to No. 189 (updated with Now and Then)

EDITOR’S NOTE: This was written back in 2017, but we’re updating it with Now and Then, the final single released by The Beatles in 2023. See where it landed below.

It was 50 years ago today …

Indeed, in the United States, Beatles released Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band on June 1, 1967. It was instantly one of rock’s greatest and most progressive albums, and another sign that John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr had officially put their mop-top Fab Four days behind them.

In celebration of the seminal album’s 50th anniversary, I took on a challenge: To rank every Beatles song written by the band from worst to first. What qualifies me to do such a thing? I know, I’m not a music critic. What I am is a die-hard Beatles fan who grew up obsessed with the band, reading anything and everything I could find about the band while listening to the albums over and over.

Here are the rules for this exercise, which we’ve done before with Bob Dylan’s songbook: No bootlegs, no live cuts, nothing from the Anthology collections and — this was tough — no covers of songs written by non-Beatles. It felt a little unfair to rank the Beatles singing other people’s songs, even if they were iconic. Anything that was released as a single, B-side or on an album is on this list.

I spent the last few weeks re-listening to every cut and I tried my best to get rid of personal bias, but it was tough. I also tried to comment on my bottom 10 and top 20, with some thoughts in between.

Ready? Step right this way …

(AP Photo, File)

189. You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)

It’s like Lennon and McCartney slapped together four different songs and repeated the same words over and over and over and over again. Is it supposed to be funny? Artsy? Whatever it is, it’s the worst thing the Beatles released.

188. Good Night

I know, harsh — it’s a lullaby. But it’s corny.

187. Flying

Magical Mystery Tour always felt all over the place as an album, and this instrumental track is just sort of blah.

186. Blue Jay Way

Don’t worry, Harrison’s songs will get some love later.

185. Octopus’s Garden

And zero offense to Starr, who wrote some good songs as a solo artist.

184. Real Love

I had mixed feelings about the remaining Beatles reuniting to record with audio from the late Lennon, but the other single produced by the group was much, much better than this tune.

183. Revolution 9

It would be so easy to rank this mishmash of sounds dead last, but I remember listening to this when I was younger and having the hair on the back of my neck stand up. That response is worth something.

182. Wild Honey Pie

It counts, and it’s a jarring little interlude on the otherwise sparkling White album.

181. All Together Now

Yes, it’s a kids’ song. I once heard it being sung by a bunch of kindergartners, and that was about the only time I enjoyed it.

180. Only a Northern Song

179. The Inner Light

Again: I am not anti-Harrison. But these two aren’t among his best.

178. Dig It

177. Misery

176. You Like Me Too Much

175. Thank You Girl

174. Love You To

173. What Goes On

Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY Staff

172. Ask Me Why

171. Little Child

170. Not a Second Time

169. Hold Me Tight

168. There’s a Place

167. All I’ve Got to Do

166. P.S. I Love You

Seems blasphemous, but the Beatles wrote so many better songs than this early B-side.

165. It’s All Too Much

164. What You’re Doing

163. I’ll Get You

162. Baby, You’re a Rich Man

An earworm of a chorus, at least.

161. I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party

160. When I Get Home

159. Every Little Thing

158. Honey Pie

157. Think for Yourself

156. I Wanna Be Your Man

The Rolling Stones recorded it, but Ringo sang the heck out of the Beatles’ version and it’s so much better than what their British counterparts did with it.

155. Old Brown Shoe

154. Don’t Bother Me

153. Free as a Bird

The video was pretty cool — it’s chock full of references to Beatles song titles and lyrics.

152. Now and Then

This was so hard to rank. On the one hand, it’s the Beatles’ final statement to the world, albeit using Lennon’s demo long after his shocking death in 1980. It’s so emotional to listen to, haunting and sad. Lyrically? It feels like an unfinished statement, a work in progress, which it was when Lennon put it on tape. But it’s still beautiful, particularly the harmonies that sound like the boys back in the late 1960s.

151. Don’t Pass Me By

150. Your Mother Should Know

149. From Me to You

(AP Photo/File)

148. Maxwell’s Silver Hammer

147. Glass Onion

146. Tell Me What You See

The start of a run on good, not great songs.

145. Any Time at All

144. Hey Bulldog

143. Things We Said Today

142. Yellow Submarine

I’ve heard it one too many times.

(AP Photo/File)

141. Why Don’t We Do It in the Road?

140. Within You Without You

139. I Need You

138. I’m Happy Just to Dance with You

137. Yes It Is

136. Wait

135. Run for Your Life

134. One After 909

133. The Night Before

132. If I Needed Someone

131. Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey

There are some songs that aren’t lyrically that great but that are undeniably great tunes. This is one of them.

130. She’s a Woman

129. I Want to Tell You

128. You Won’t See Me

127. The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill

126. Dig a Pony

125. Her Majesty

I know, it’s a tiny little fragment stuck on to the end of Abbey Road. But there’s something cool about this coming after The End, like a little encore, with a chord that never resolves, leaving us eternally wanting more. That’s the English major in me talking.

124. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

123. I Me Mine

122. I’ve Just Seen a Face

121. Rocky Raccoon 

120. This Boy

I’m a sucker for songs when John, Paul and George do three-part harmony together.

119. Sun King

Like in this one. Also, one additional challenge for this list: I decided to rank the songs on the Abbey Road medley separately.

118. Piggies

117. The Fool on the Hill

116. Savoy Truffle

115. Mother Nature’s Son

114. For You Blue

113. The Word

(Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)

112. Another Girl

111. Tell Me Why

110. Martha My Dear

Yeah, about that whole “getting rid of personal bias” thing … I will stand by the fact that this song is vastly underrated. I don’t care that the name Martha belonged to McCartney’s sheepdog.

109. It’s Only Love

108. You Can’t Do That

107. I Should Have Known Better

106. And I Love Her

105. I Call Your Name

Shoutout to the Mamas and the Papas, who did a solid take on this Lennon song.

104. I’m Down

103. Mean Mr. Mustard

AFP/Getty Images

102. Polythene Pam

So hard not to rank all the Abbey Road medley songs together … sorry.

101. Two of Us

100. Cry Baby Cry

99. And Your Bird Can Sing

98. Golden Slumbers

97. You’re Going to Lose That Girl

96. I’m Looking Through You

(AP Photo, File)

95. Good Morning, Good Morning

94. I’ll Cry Instead

93. I’ll Be Back

92. Sexy Sadie

Photo by HBO

91. Long, Long, Long

90. The Ballad of John and Yoko

89. Back in the USSR

88. Do You Want to Know a Secret?

An underrated number in the Beatles catalog.

87. Oh! Darling

86. Love Me Do

I had so much trouble figuring out how I felt about this song, it moved up and down the list before settling here. On one hand, it’s proof of how much the group grew as songwriters after this. On the other, it’s catchy.

85. Yer Blues

84. I’ve Got a Feeling

83. No Reply

There was a point where I didn’t listen to Beatles for Sale for a decade because it was my least favorite album. After listening to it again recently, I realized the trio of songs that lead off the LP (including this one, I’m a Loser and Baby’s in Black) are absolute gold.

82. I’m So Tired

81. It Won’t Be Long

80. Eight Days a Week

A song that I think is overrated but still lands in the top 100.

(AP Photo)

79. I Will

78. Lovely Rita

77. Doctor Robert

76. Birthday

Remember: Some songs don’t have great lyrics, but the tunes make you want to get up and dance.

LVCVA

75. Rain

74. Good Day Sunshine

73. Got to Get You Into My Life

72. I’m a Loser

The second of the Beatles For Sale trio — Lennon gets really dark: “I’m a loser and I’m not what I appear to be.”

71. Don’t Let Me Down

70. Magical Mystery Tour

69. She Came in Through the Bathroom Window

68. I Want You (She’s So Heavy)

Photo by Dan Harr/Invision/AP, File

67. The Long and Winding Road

Could have been so much better without Phil Spector’s “Wall of Sound” overwhelming it.

66. Getting Better

65. Carry That Weight

64. Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite!

A song inspired by a real circus poster.

This is a frame grab from WEBTV series from Make Productions Vimeo Channel. In this short film, Beatles superfan Peter Dean sets out to recreate John Lennon’s circus poster that inspired the lyrics for the song ‘Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!’ HANDOUT

63. I Am the Walrus

62. Hello, Goodbye

61. She’s Leaving Home

When you realize the Beatles were in their mid-20s and wrote/recorded a song like this that had so much depth to it, it’s pretty mind-blowing.

60. She Loves You

I know how ground-breaking this song was, but again: There are better Beatles songs.

59. Baby’s in Black

58. If I Fell

57. Lady Madonna

56. You Never Give Me Your Money

55. When I’m Sixty-Four

McCartney wrote it when he was 16!

54. Here, There and Everywhere

53. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

52. Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)

The album opener is great, but I think the reprise is juuust slightly better.

51. Because

50. Dear Prudence

49. Fixing a Hole

48. I’m Only Sleeping

47. Come Together

46. I Feel Fine

45. Michelle

44. She Said She Said

43. Julia

Only one word for it: Haunting.

42. Paperback Writer

41. Happiness is a Warm Gun

40. We Can Work it Out

Stevie Wonder’s version made it an entirely different song.

39. Drive My Car

38. Girl

37. You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away

I do love it when Lennon goes Dylan, as you’ll see.

36. Nowhere Man

35. Revolution 1

The “White Album” version of its harder-rocking counterpart that will make its appearance later. It’s a different recording and title. So it must be ranked separately, and the slower take is nearly as good as the single.

34. Day Tripper

33. All You Need is Love

32. Across the Universe

31. Helter Skelter

That’s right, Paul McCartney invented heavy metal!

30. Get Back

29. All My Loving

One of their most polished early songs, and I wonder if that’s why they led with it on The Ed Sullivan Show.

(AP Photo, File)

28. Please Please Me

27. I’ll Follow the Sun

26. With a Little Help from My Friends

Starr’s vocals are charming, but this is one of the rare times that they wrote a song that was recorded better by someone else: Joe Cocker. Am I biased because I grew up with this as the theme to The Wonder Years? Maybe.

25. Taxman

Revolver is mind-blowing, and it kicks off with Harrison at his most biting.

24. For No One

“Your day breaks, your mind aches. You find that all the words of kindness linger on when she no longer needs you.” Brilliance from McCartney.

23. Penny Lane

22. Strawberry Fields Forever

21. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

20. The End

What band ends their final recorded album (Abbey Road was released before Let It Be, even though most of the latter was recorded first) with the group trading guitar solos and Ringo’s only drum solo, along with an epitaph? “And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.”

19. Ticket to Ride

The bridge could be its own song.

18. I Want to Hold Your Hand

If you wanted to explain to aliens who the Beatles were, this would be the first tune you’d play for them.

17. I Saw Her Standing There

The best “One, two, three, four!!!” count-off ever followed by this raw, scream-filled number with a lyric that’s been much-cited (“Well she was just seventeen, you know what I mean”) for being just enough of a wink to listeners, who get it without quite completely understanding what McCartney means.

16. Blackbird

Simple, gorgeous, and with a message to “take these broken wings and learn to fly.”

15. A Hard Day’s Night

Can’t hear this title track from their film debut without seeing the Beatles running from their screaming fans, which opens up the movie.

14. Can’t Buy Me Love

A bluesy, joyful tune with one of the best guitar solos Harrison ever recorded.

13. While My Guitar Gently Weeps

Harrison and guest star Eric Clapton wail.

12. Eleanor Rigby

“All the lonely people, where do they all come from?” Deep.

11. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)

Lennon does his best Dylan. It starts as a pleasant song about an encounter with a woman and turns into something much more complex.

10. Let It Be

Of course there are religious overtones, but I also interpreted this as McCartney knowing the Beatles were on their way to splitting and telling himself to “let it be.”

9. Here Comes the Sun

The first of two Harrison-penned songs in the top 10.

8. Help!

A superior pop tune on its own, but when you find out that Lennon wrote it as a literal cry for help, it takes on a different meaning. Here’s what McCartney told People in 2015:

“Lennon later said, ‘I was fat and depressed, and I was crying out for help,’” McCartney said of his former band mate. “But looking back on it, John was always looking for help. He had [a paranoia] that people died when he was around I think John’s whole life was a cry for help.”

7. Tomorrow Never Knows

Too high, you say? No way. It sounds like a sample a DJ might put together today, which means it was 50 years ahead of its time. Also, it’s a part of one of the best scenes in Mad Men, in which the song is used to show just how much old fashioned Don Draper is completely out of his element in the mid-1960s. I can’t imagine how revolutionary this song must have sounded in 1966.

6. Yesterday

I don’t know what more there is to say about a song that’s been written about so much. The ranking speaks for itself.

5. Revolution

An absolute searing political message (although, don’t you know it’s gonna be all right?) surrounded by the group rocking out. A fiery combo.

4. Hey Jude

If you’re ever feeling down about something, just listen to this.

3. Something

The best love song the Beatles ever wrote … and it was written by Harrison. Frank Sinatra famously loved it and for good reason.

2. In My Life

A catchy riff, plus introspective, poignant lyrics, great harmonies and a funky beat, not to mention a sped up piano solo from producer George Martin (side note: Anyone who tells you the “fifth Beatle” is anyone but Martin is wrong). What more could you want?

1. A Day in the Life

I tried. I really did. I tried to see if I could think of a Beatles song that was better, mostly because if you polled 1,000 fans, I’d bet this song would come out on top. But there’s a reason for that, isn’t it? It’s not so much a song as it is a symphony. And this is the apex of the Lennon-McCartney partnership that produced so many amazing songs — John on the verse, Paul on the bridge, leading up to that thunderous piano chord that gives me chills nearly every time I hear it.

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