After decades of collecting almost every album released by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, it’s possible to look back with a clear perspective of which are their best albums.
The top three albums for each artist will be revealed, and the #1 choices will be ranked against each other. There are a ton of various greatest hits collections for the four Beatles, so we’ll recommend which are the best. The countdown is from #1 for each artist.
John Lennon:
Critics almost always give the most love to Lennon’s first album, Plastic Ono Band, but it’s not his best. We’ll get to it later. John’s best is his second album, Imagine. First of all, the musicians on the album are amazing. They include guitarist George Harrison, the truly excellent keyboardist Nicky Hopkins, bassist Klaus Voormann, three great drummers, Alan White, Jim Keltner, & Jim Gordon, two famous saxophonists, King Curtis & Bobby Keys, two members of Badfinger, and many more. You can really hear all that talent, because the recording quality is high. Here are the best songs.
The title track, “Imagine”, is John’s best and most enduring solo song. It has thought-provoking lyrics, an excellent melody, a tastefully restrained instrumental arrangement, and a great vocal performance. The song went to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was probably held out of #1 because of its controversial “Imagine no religion” line.
“Crippled Inside” sounds like it would be a downer song. It’s actually bouncy and up-tempo, but with serious lyrics. It’s about people being able to put up a front…”You can go to church and sing a hymn, judge me by the color of my skin, you can live a lie until you die. One thing you can’t hide, is when you’re crippled inside.” An important part of what makes this recording a great listen, is the incredible piano playing of Nicky Hopkins.
“Jealous Guy” is probably the second-most praised track on the album. It’s basically an apology song…”I didn’t want to hurt you, I’m just a jealous guy.” It’s generally considered to be for his wife, Yoko Ono, but the lyrics could also be applied to his then-feud with Paul McCartney.
“How Do You Sleep” is a good but nasty song aimed at Paul McCartney. It was an answer to Paul’s “Too Many People” that took a shot at John & Yoko’s activism. Paul followed “How Do You Sleep” with the song “Dear Friend” to help get past the fight. John later characterised the situation as best friends fighting.
“Oh My Love” is one of John’s most beautiful love songs. “Oh my love, for the first time in my life, my eyes are wide open. Everything is clear in my heart.”
All of those songs would have sounded at home on a Beatles album.
The Imagine album went to #1 in the U.S. & the U.K., and was John Lennon’s best-selling solo record. It’s true that most artist’s top-selling albums are also their best.
Based on the quality of five songs, the #2 ranked album for John Lennon is Double Fantasy. Most of us probably extract John’s songs from Yoko’s. When you do that, you get a great side of a record.
- “Watching The Wheels”
- “I’m Losing You”
- “(Just Like) Starting Over”
- “Woman”
- “Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)”
“Watching The Wheels” explains why John hadn’t recorded for five years. He says…”I just had to let it go” as he spent time helping raise his son, Sean.
“I’m Losing You” appears to be about John’s lost time with Yoko. “Communication’s lost. Can’t even get you on the telephone.”
“(Just Like) Starting Over” is John suggesting he and his wife get away on their own. “Like we used to in the early days.” “It’ll be just like starting over.”
“Woman” is a love song, but with also a bit of concern. “Woman, hold me close to your heart. However distant, don’t keep us apart. After all, it is written in the stars.”
“Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)” is a sweet and beautiful song for John’s son, Sean. “Before you cross the street, take my hand. Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”
As we all know, John was murdered in December of 1980, shortly after the album came out. Originally, Double Fantasy looked like it would fall short of number one, but after the murder it moved into the top spot.
#3 in the ranking is Plastic Ono Band, which is the first solo album by John Lennon. He and Yoko had been taking part in primal scream therapy, and the album reflects that. The lovely cover photo is probably them relaxing after the album was completed. The only musicians are John Lennon, Ringo Starr, and Klaus Voormann. Reviews were mixed, and the album peaked at #6 on the Billboard album chart. More current reviews probably overly idealize the album. How well you personally like the album may be determined by how much of John’s pain you want to relive.
Here are some songs that are good for repeated listening.
”Love” is a beautiful song. Besides the album version, it’s well worth listening to the “Raw Studio Remix”, which is on the Plastic Ono Band box set. It’s John singing and playing piano without any extra production, and it sounds so good.
”Hold On” is a positive song with John, telling himself… “Hold on John, it’s gonna be alright. You’re gonna win the fight.”
”Isolation” reflects how John and Yoko felt. “People say we’ve got it made. Don’t they know we’re so afraid? Isolation.”
”Look At Me” is John trying to figure out his life. “Who am I supposed to be?” “What am I supposed to do?” “Nobody knows but me.”
”God” …is a concept by which we measure our pain.” Here John is disillusioned by various concepts, religions, and people in the past, including The Beatles. He tells everyone “The dream is over, you just have to carry on.”
Paul McCartney:
Almost everyone agrees that Band On The Run is Paul McCartney’s best solo album. Although it’s listed as a Wings album, Paul played almost all of the instruments, with a little help from Linda McCartney and Denny Laine. There was also some orchestral overdubbing after the basic album was finished. The thing about the Band On The Run is that you could just drop the needle on the record and let each side play through. It was all enjoyable.
The title song kicks off the album with great style. The lyrics “Stuck inside these four walls” could have represented The Beatles, or maybe all the legal battles within Apple. One verse ends with the repeated line “If we ever get out of here.” When it’s sung for the second time, it sounds like John Lennon’s voice joins in. The guitars and orchestration make the song soar.
“Jet” was another uptempo hit from the album. The lyrics don’t seem serious at all, but the song is a fun listen.
“Bluebird” continues the movement and flying, but with a slower tempo and excellent harmony work by Paul, Linda, and Denny. It also has a sax solo that fits the song perfectly.
”Mrs. Vandebilt” brings back the faster tempo, and “Let Me Roll It” is a popular track with a Blues groove.
Side two is also good, but a bit of a drop from side one. The American version of the album included the Top 10 hit “Helen Wheels”. It was a wise choice to include the song, because it fits the album well. Most of the later U.K. versions of the album included it too.
Band On The Run was a #1 hit almost everywhere, and has sold more units than any other solo Beatles album.
Number one was easy, but Paul’s second best album is certainly a tougher choice. The nod here goes to Flaming Pie from 1997. Paul made this after he, George, and Ringo had worked on the original Anthologies. Producer George Martin helped him, and the result is the most Beatles sounding album of his career.
Above are the best songs from the album. At the time of release, Paul said “Calico Skies” was among his best songs ever. It’s mostly about his wife, Linda, and the lyrics include… “I will hold you for as long as you like. I will hold you for the rest of my life.” Linda died of breast cancer the next year.
”Somedays” is the most Beatles-like song on the album, and would have made a great single. Lyrics include… “We don’t need anybody else to tell us what is real. Inside each one of us is love, and we know how it feels.”
The singles chosen were “Young Boy”, “The World Tonight”, and “Beautiful Night”. Good songs, and the last one features Ringo Starr.
Ringo’s ex-wife, Maureen, was the subject of a gentle and emotional song, “Little Willow”. McCartney wrote it after she was lost too soon from cancer.
Much less serious than that is a blues song with Steve Miller. The lyrics are light, but “Used To Be Bad” is good.
Flaming Pie was Paul’s best reviewed album since the 1982 album that’s his third best.
Tug Of War is another album where Paul McCartney was willing to embrace The Beatles sound he helped create. He again utilized producer George Martin.
Tug Of War starts strong with the title track featuring an impressive orchestral arrangement. Next is the breezy and enjoyable single “Take It Away”, one of McCartney’s many Top 10 hits.
“Here Today” is Paul’s tribute to John Lennon. It’s a very sentimental song, but it’s sincere, and the very talented pair earned it. On John Lennon’s last day he said he loved Paul like a brother. Now it was Paul’s chance… “And if I say I really loved you, and was glad you came along, then you were here today. For you were in my song, Here Today.”
Possibly the best melody on the album is the story of sailing out on a boat named “Wanderlust”. The bridge goes… “Oh where did I go wrong my love? What petty crime was I found guilty of? What better time to find a brand new day? Oh, Wanderlust away!”
The #1 hit from the album, “Ebony And Ivory” seems to get a bad rap. Is it so wrong to look at the black and white keys on a piano and wonder why people can’t get along? Paul’s original solo version is the one I have on my playlist. Tug Of War is Paul McCartney’s third-best-selling album out of his 18 platinum studio LP’s.
George Harrison:
Far and away, George Harrison’s best album is All Things Must Pass. The massive three-record set from late 1970 shows George was bursting with great songs after his impressive “Something” and “Here Comes The Sun” showing on Abbey Road.
These are the songs from the two main records, plus a quote from George. When this came out, it was a shock. We were used to George usually having two songs per Beatles album. With just the main two records of a three record set, there were enough songs for nine Beatles albums! Probably just as shocking was how good the songs were. Overall, you could just pick a side and enjoy it. The album reached #1 in most countries around the world.
”My Sweet Lord” was a #1 single, and “Isn’t It A Pity” was paired with it and also designated as an A-side.
”What Is Life” was the follow-up single, and reached #10.
”Beware Of Darkness” and “Behind That Locked Door” are major highlights, along with “All Things Must Pass” and “Run Of The Mill (It’s You That Decides)”.
George recorded the definitive version of Bob Dylan’s “If Not For You”, and Dylan co-wrote the opening track, “I’d Have You Anytime”.
If you ever want to buy or stream the album, the 50th Anniversary Remix from 2022 sounds best.
All Things Must Pass is so good, and has so many songs it should be considered George’s two best albums.
It may seem like cheating to name The Traveling Wilburys as George Harrison’s second best album, but it’s not. No one except George could have gathered this superstar group together. George had close friendships with Tom Petty and Bob Dylan, and he and Roy Orbison were currently working with Jeff Lynne on their solo albums. George deserves credit for the album’s existence, and it really is his second best album after the Beatles split.
The highlights include the heavily George influenced singles “Handle With Care” and “End Of The Line”. And there’s also an excellent song that sounds like a Harrison solo single “Heading For The Light”. Plus, Harrison is a part of all of the album tracks.
The George Harrison album that was being produced by Jeff Lynne was Cloud Nine. By 1988, George had struggled with a string of less than successful albums. Cloud Nine and the original Traveling Wilburys album were his comeback. “Got My Mind Set On You” was a #1 hit. “Cloud Nine” hit #9, and “When We Was Fab” was #2 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart.
Ringo Starr:
Ringo is a really good album, and the only solo album to have contributions from all four Beatles. The hottest album producer in 1973 was Richard Perry, and he nailed this one for Ringo.
Above is the songlist from when the album came out on CD. You can just punch play and enjoy it all.
”Photograph” was a #1 hit. “You’re Sixteen” was a #1 hit. “Oh My My” was a #5 hit. There likely could have been three more hits…John Lennon’s “I’m The Greatest’, Randy Newman’s “Have You Seen My Baby (Hold On)”, and Paul McCartney’s “Six O’Clock”. George Harrison co-wrote three of the songs, and contributed guitar to several tracks. The bonus songs included the classic “It Don’t Come Easy”, and Ringo’s description of post-Beatles time “Early 1970”.
Okay, Goodnight Vienna is placed as Ringo’s second best album simply because it contains two more of his Top 10 hits, “Only You” and “No No Song”. Also, I like the cover photo from the movie The Day The Earth Stood Still.
Unfortunately, after the brilliant Ringo album, his releases tended to have only two or three really worthwhile songs, but I bought them all anyway. You can pick any of his albums for #3, but the best course of action is to buy or stream Ringo, and his album, Photograph, The Very Best Of Ringo.
Which brings us to the best hits collections albums of John, Paul, and George.
This 2020 Remixed collection lets us hear John’s voice better than ever before. If you buy or stream a collection of John’s hits, make it this one.
The most complete greatest hits collection for Paul is Pure McCartney.
And for George Harrison, choose Let It Roll.
So how do the best four Beatles solo albums stack up against each other?
George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass simply has the most quality songs that would have fit well on Beatles albums. Paul McCartney’s Band On The Run is the best of the single albums, always enjoyable. John Lennon’s Imagine has some seriously great songs, but a couple misses. And, Ringo Starr’s Ringo album is hit-filled and a fun listen.
Extra: If you’d like to see Beatles solo recordings made into fantasy Beatles albums, here’s the link:
https://ontherecords.net/2023/04/beatles-solo-songs-made-into-beatles-albums/