I'd start with The White Album or Revolver. Maybe SGT Peppers. Don't get compilations, they're a waste of time and money.

i disagree - they may not have the best songs, but they're a good gateway to the band, and you also get to see which era of the band you like best before proceeding to get into the real nitty-gritty

I'd suggest getting Abbey Road, Revolver, and The White Album. But to start, I would actually recommend getting a compilation album to get a taste of the band.

Can't believe someone's asking this question... but my answer would be Rubber Soul, then Revolver.

How the hell could you be a beginner when it comes to the Beatles? The average westerner probably hears half their discography before he/she can walk.

Naw. Compilations are good for people who want a broad view of material from all stuff released at that time.

I would just get the 1962-1966 (Red) and 1967-1970 (Blue) albums. Sometimes if you look you can get them both together on sale. Those are best as an introdution to The Beatles, that go beyond the "1" CD.

Exile On Main Street

^ haha.

Seriously though, don't do that. Get The Beatles first.. Rolling Stones second.

I've heard plenty of their hits but I want to delve deeper into their albums, so thats why I asked the question.

Well just listen to any of these then

With The Beatles
Help
Rubber Soul
Revolver
Sgt Pepper
White Album
Abbey Road.

It doesn't matter which one, we aren't talking about an average group here.

if that's the case, go for Rubber Soul

it's some sort of bridge between the early pop era and the later experimentation

As said by BOY the Red and Blue compilation albums are the best place to start as they cover the Beatles discography pretty well. After that see which songs and period you like best and go from there. If you want to go straight into their albums, then the mid period of "Rubber Soul" and "Revolver" is the best place to start.

I would start with Abbey Road. Fantastic record.

Don't start with the White Album. Too much filler.

For a complete Beatles beginner, "With the Beatles" is a very accessible album.
Some great tracks-best ever versions of " Please Mr Postman" and "You really got a hold on me" and "Money", plus great originals like "All my Loving" and "Not a second time".
Very much Lennon`s band at that time.

Considering how the Beatles evolved, compilations are a great way to narrow down your interest and then focus on a specific album.

I think '1' probably is the best one. Because it give you a healthy dose of their entire career, without it overloading your senses. I say this probably because this was the album that started me off. But I say the compilation method is the best way to go.

Okay guy, whatever you do, please don't start with a compilation. Rubber Soul and Revolver are varied enough, they practically could be comps.

Abbey Road or Revolver are definitely my suggestions.

pfft, just get John Lennon's Solo stuff, he WAS the Beatles

no^ All the members contributed to The Beatles and each one in their own right are equally deserving of praise.

George Harrison is my favorite Beatle.

No way.McCartney single handledly wrote " Michelle", "Let it Be", " Hey Jude",
"Yesterday", "Eleanor Rigby", "Penny Lane", "All my Loving", "Here, There and Everywhere", "Get Back", "The Fool on the Hill" "Obla Di" " Hello, Goodbye"and "Paperback Writer".
He also contributed to much of the early stuff-"She loves you", "Please please me", "I`m only sleeping" etc, etc.

IMO, Lennon and McCartney were far better as a partnership than solo artists.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. If you want to know I'll be starting off with Rubber Soul.

a most tres excellente choice

Rubber Soul is good, not their best but even The Beatles' mediocre albums are phenomenal. Listen to Abbey Road next, that is their best in my opinion.

I would start off with a movie like "A Hard Days Night" then watch a doc like The Complete Beatles or The Beatles Anthology.

Some people think that the beatles were nothing special, just a mediocre pop band. I don't see how anyone can think that.

I used to think that a while back.... God I was an idiot.... ;)

Ive been defending them for a while now, on another thread. Theyve been called "formulaic pop band". That's so false. They were always changing and experimenting and they were so innovative in so many ways. They DID NOT stick to the same formula that got them their success in the beginning.

That's true. Certainly their greatest strength was being able to combine accessible pop/rock to their more arty/experimental side in a perfect balance. And like you said they were constantly adapting and changing to keep themselves on the musical cutting edge.

Traditions do not appear out of thin air, they reflect certain natural tendencies in people's minds, and totally discarding traditional forms in favour of something previously unheard before is much like somebody discarding the traditional way of walking down the street in favour of, say, crawling on all fours - just because this makes him different from the regular "sheep herd".

They could take traditional forms and imbue them with new content, as well as pour old content into new forms.

^^uh, dude, this is a thread for recommending the best Beatles album for a beginner, not a continuation of your diatribes from the "days of yore" thread

stay on-topic, n'kay?

Meany! Me and the nice guy were just having a talk.

This is off topic too



I apologize. Dont take me to the gallows. haha

The White Album, since it has a little of everything they've done, you can pick, and chose an album from there.

I am not good with suggesting albums for beginners, but I started with Revolver and have been quite happy with that decision.

Id say start with A Hard Days night, its when their music started getting better. Skip Beatles for Sale and go on to Help. Help is when their music started getting real good.

Abbey Road all day.

Baet me to it, Abbey Road was their best work. I know a lot go Sgt Pepper and no doubting it is great but AR beats it any day.

My first album was Help! It didn't put me off the Beatles....

"Meany! Me and the nice guy were just having a talk.

This is off topic too



Quote:
Originally Posted by William Zanzinger
No way.McCartney single handledly wrote " Michelle", "Let it Be", " Hey Jude",
"Yesterday", "Eleanor Rigby", "Penny Lane", "All my Loving", "Here, There and Everywhere", "Get Back", "The Fool on the Hill" "Obla Di" " Hello, Goodbye"and "Paperback Writer".
He also contributed to much of the early stuff-"She loves you", "Please please me", "I`m only sleeping" etc, etc.

IMO, Lennon and McCartney were far better as a partnership than solo artists.


I apologize. Dont take me to the gallows. haha "


I was replying to this-
Originally Posted by Lord Dweedle
pfft, just get John Lennon's Solo stuff, he WAS the Beatles

And if I hadn`t, someone else would have.

The formatting of this is so confusing. John was The Beatles? No way. They were a team, not one of them really stood out from the others.