The Beatles' Best Albums (ranked by my facebook friends)

I've been wanting to list my favorite Beatles albums for a while now. But I could never pick a definite #1. So I openly asked my peers via facebook to answer the question for me. I got plenty of responses; definitely enough to keep the list interesting!
Thank you guys for helping me make this list! I conjured up some kinda points system that divvied out how often albums got mentioned, how many were people's indefinite favorites, and even points for comments getting facebook likes. 9 albums were mentioned. And some of them weren't even by The Beatles!
So here we go!

The Beatles' Best Albums

(ranked by my facebook friends)

9 Love .5 pts

So, by all technicality, this album shouldn't count. It's a 2006 compilation of remixed Beatles tracks helm'd by master producer George Martin himself. I've heard it myself, and I gotta admit, it's pretty darn enjoyable + I'm surprised it got brought up.








8 Let It Be 1 pts

Ah, the prototype for the breakup album. I personally like the album cover more than the album itself, but I don't think I'm alone in that. "Two Of Us" is my personal favorite track.









7 Magical Mystery Tour 1.5 pts

This is a tough album to define. Side A is a string of some of The Beatles' most "WTF" psychedelic songs; production-wise as well as lyrically. Side B is kinda unfair, as it is a set of separately-released singles from 1967. All things considered, I freaking love this album. As magically colorful as it presents itself, I can imagine this being a frightening experience on hard drugs.






6 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band 2 pts

Surprised how low this got ranked! Sgt Pepper is often considered the greatest album of all time. If you heard every Beatles album except for their 1967 releases, I'm sure all of y'all would be asking, "Okay... What the heck happened between this... and this?"








5 Revolver 2 pts

Gotta love Revolver. Sometimes undermined by the fact it was released during the same summer as The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds + Bob Dylan's Blonde On Blonde, this was actually a huge artistic leap for the greatest band of all time. "Eleanor Rigby" + "Tomorrow Never Knows" on the same album? Daaaaaaaang, this thing is loaded.







4 White Album 3 pts

I love White Album because it's a mixbag of crazy tracks with mysterious recording techniques that I personally find extremely creepy + terrifying. To add on to that, look up Charles Manson's conspiracy theories regarding the album. If anything, my favorite 1-2 punch from any Beatles album is on side A here: "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" + "Happiness Is A Warm Gun."






3 Rubber Soul 4 pts

Rubber Soul is often considered the first "album-conscience" album ever made (and by that, I mean a stoned Brain Wilson said that in 1965, and that's a pretty sound opinion to go off of). But yeah, can you name an album made by anyone from before 1965 that's better than Rubber Soul? At least nothing with songwriting chops like "In My Life."






2 In Utero 4.5 pts

It deserves to be clarified that this is a 1993 album by Nirvana. This comment, made by my high school buddy who introduced me to The Buzzcocks + Flogging Molly, was surprisingly popular. Since I myself cannot decide on a favorite Beatles album, I myself voted for this. And I freaking love In Utero! The best Nirvana album + arguably the best Beatles album as well! Apparently...






1 Abbey Road 4.5 pts

I always cite Abbey Road as the reason why snobby critics like myself put the word "rock" in quotation marks. This is the prototype for every "rock" album ever. The biggest band in the world gives each individual instrument special treatment with detailed fills + solos meant to be memorized. At its softest and its loudest, Abbey Road is an accessible symphony that covers all the "rock" bases.

my favo albums of 2018 thus far

Hey, I usually list my favorite albums halfway through the year, and that's what this is.
There are 16 albums here. Gonna try to give this an "unofficial" vibe because I think I still have some catching up to do. And even though I have them ranked, my opinion could change on any of these albums. And it's not like everything here will make my year-end list.
But yeah, I like these. And there was some other stuff I liked too. But I probably prefer these.
Playlist at the bottom.
So yeah, let's crank this out.

my favo albums of 2018 thus far

16 CupcakKe x Ephorize
Not for the faint of heart.
15 Kali Uchis x Isolation
Some fresh pop music with Columbian roots.
14 Parquet Courts x Wide Awake!
I guess it's "just a Parquet Courts album," but perhaps their most experimental + conceptual.
13 Iceage x Beyondless
A fun grab-bag of solid rock songs from my favorite Denmark band.

12 Father John Misty x God's Favorite Customer
Some Elton John ballads about self-loathing in relationships.
11 Mount Eerie x Now Only
Mountain man Phil Elverum continues his stages of grief with vivid detail + storytelling.
10 Janelle Monae x Dirty Computer
Some fun, futuristic, Prince-esque pop.
9 Charli XCX x Pop 2
Charli XCX's stint with PC Music reaches its peak in sound + songwriting.
8 Sleep x The Sciences
If you don't know what "stoner metal" is, any Sleep album is a good place to start.
7 Playboi Carti x Die Lit
A snapshot of where rap is today (for better or for worse).
6 Jean Grae & Quelle Chris x Everything's Fine
Some coked-up 70's jazz instrumentals + equally philosophical/hilarious lyrics from weirdo-rap's sweetest married couple.
5 Pusha T x DAYTONA
20 minutes of solid ghetto rap produced by Kanye West [which was eventually followed by the most insane diss trake of all time, "The Story Of Adidon" (R.I.P Drake btw)].
4 Car Seat Headrest x Twin Fantasy
The Strokes: The Musical!
3 U.S. Girls x In A Poem Unlimited
With lyrics smart enough to go way over my head, backed by some lo-fi production and primitive funk beats, Meghan Remy is totally ahead of the game.
2 Beach House x 7
It's like a collage every dream pop band ever, except for Beach House.
1 A.A.L. (Against All Logic) x 2012 - 2017
So, Nicolas Jaar made an album where he messes with a bunch of 70's funk samples, and I'm still not sure whether it's just some project to shrug off or if it's genius.

1st Listen Real-Time Notes: Kanye West, 'Ye'

INTRO
Alright, everybody knows who Kanye West is, everybody has a different opinion about him, he has a new album out today, it's titled Ye, it's 23 minutes long, his behavior has been clinically insane for the last couple years, I'm kinda scared to press play on this thing, but I'm gonna listen to this whole thing, and you're all gonna join in on my experience.
Here is the album cover.

...Ya know, I gotta admit, the deeper I get into music, the more I see album covers like this. Perhaps not so much in the rap world; not nearly as much as among garage indie bands who try to sound like Pavement or Meat Puppets... anyways. Here we go. The album. Ye.

1 I Thought About Killing You
Is this Francis and the Lights?
The title is pretty darn literal. Who is he talking about? Sounds like he's referring to himself.
It's a spoken word piece...
Whoa... an instrument.
"Sometimes I think really bad things." Thanks, XXXTentacion.
I think he's high.
Whoa, rapping. Kinda.
Instrumental is cool.
Whoa, switch-up!
This is legitimately weird. Lyrically, the background stuff.
FRITO LAY.
2 Yikes
1 minute in, this is already more accessible.
Russel Simmons, pray for me.
"You know how many girls I took to the t*tty shop?" I don't.
"We could be in North Korea." This is basically a Kanye/Trump relationship reference.
Same lyrical themes as the last 8 years.
Bipolar is a superpower... dang...
3 All Mine
NICE organs.
Weird vocal part here. Part(s).
Naomi Cambpell, Stormy Daniel...
Tristan Thompsion namedrop.
"I love your t*tties cuz they prove I can focus on 2 things at once." That's a terrible line. On multiple levels.
Ha. A come/cum joke. Nice, Ye. Nice.
Cool futuristic noise parts.
Yet this song really really sucks.
4 Wouldn't Leave
Ooh, pretty :)
Weird, but pretty.
He referenced his "slavery was a choice" comment. Didn't even justify it... It's just about him.
I think that's a crying baby in the background.
"I got a gentlemental." HA!  I kinda like that.
George Jefferson?
I need to know more celebrity names.
Wait... is he saying "white"? "White enough?"
To every guy who's ever been embarrassed... this song is dedicated to me now?
Aw, cute. Shoutout to the females who stuck with stupid guys. No, like, he actually kinda said that.
5 No Mistakes
Interesting sampling... not sure if I mean that in a good way or bad way.
Is that the 'Devil In A New Dress' beat?
What is this song about?
"The Cubs lost?" I guess he's from Chicago. They lose games sometimes...
This song is 2 minutes.
Chorus>Verse>Chorus. But what the heck is going on?
6 Ghost Town
Super old sample.
Who's singing? Is that Ty Dolla $ign?
Heavy guitar outta nowhere...
No, he was high when he made this. Like, during the process. Not beforehand, but like, 'WTF, let's just press some buttons and see what happens.'
Hey, he's doing some good singing here...
Kinda catchy. I would dare call it "emotional" if it wasn't so... bad...
What the frick that drum beat!!! That's sick.
WHAT? What is this?????? That was some outterspace sh*t.
So many different ideas, no direction :(
Sounds like Queen + White Album + Country Joe & The Fish + Gospel music + The Shaggs
7 Violent Crimes
Nice female vocal. Pleasant. Upfront production.
Very Chance The Rapper. Gospel.
Nice beat.
Some usual Kanye contradictions here.
Meet The Fockers.
He rhymed karate with Pilates.
I think it's about girls... His daughter...
He says the word "pray" a lot.
Nicki Minaj reference, but self referential.
I just realized this is not an album. Like, not really.
A girl on the voicemail at the end... what the heck?

AFTERTHOUGHTS
It's hard to call this an "album" considering it's only 23 minutes. It's hard to call this "music," because it's so non-focused. It's hard to say Kanye is just "trolling" us with this because some of the production is pretty dope. But where on earth does he go from here? This would be a pretty easy moment to erase from his catalog; music history at all, really. But this isn't something where he can just make a comeback... not any time soon. And even though we can shrug this off as some unofficial experimental mixtape, the fact that it exists still kinda creeps me out. Yeah, it's a cry for help; I'd say Kanye somewhat made it that way on purpose. I know he's trying to sound like he's off his rocker. The reason why I'm convinced he's truly on his way there... I think he himself believes it.