Top 20 Songs by the Beatles

Who doesn't know the name of this band or its members? Who doesn't know at least one Beatles song? I was concerned about doing an article commemorating 10 to 20 of The Beatles for fear it might become monotonous or should I say, one needle in a stack of needles. But, I love this band and their music too much to ignore them.

Just in case you don't know anything about The Beatles, the band was comprised of four talented, visionary men, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. Lennon was shot and killed on December 8, 1980. Harrison died more recently of cancer on November 29, 2001. Ringo and Paul are still going strong, playing music or giving to charities. But, everything goes back to 1960, when these four men were joined together, forming the legendary band we know today.

The Beatles became one of the most successful and acclaimed bands in the history of popular music. They sold over 1 billion records internationally. Unfortunately, the band lasted only a decade, breaking apart in 1970. Paul, George, Ringo and John went off on their separate ways to start their own solo careers.

Between 1962 and 1963, the group had just released their first album, Please Please Me and started rocking the socks off many people. In this time, the band's fame had grown so intense, with men and women screaming and cheering at the sight of Paul, George, John and Ringo, it was called, "Beatlesmania". If you've ever seen the actual footage of their fans, you should know how crazed or crazy the world got over these four men.

Here are 20 of The Beatles' greatest songs in my opinion. I hope you'll agree that there are some great choices on this list. The band did a lot of great songs. It's not easy to just pick 20 out of them all.

Hey Jude - This great song was released on August 26, 1968. The single of the same name went platinum 4 times.

Come Together - Released on October 31, 1969 on the album, Abbey Road, this great song was The Beatles' 21st single and a number one hit in the US.

Day Tripper - This great song peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was released on December 3, 1965. It was as big of a hit as Come Together, but Day Tripper has certainly gained popularity since it first came out.

Yesterday - From the album, Help!, Yesterday was released on September 13, 1965 in the US and voted the best song of the 20th Century in 1999 by a poll on BBC Radio 2. It's become a legendary song and one of the greatest in rock & roll history.

Love Me Do - Written by McCartney between 1958 and 1959, released on April 27, 1964 in the US, Love Me Do was The Beatles' first single. As you can imagine, this great song was a number one hit in '64. It's from the album, Please Please Me.

Can't Buy Me Love - Released on March 16, 1964 in the US, Can't Buy Me Love is from the album, A Hard Day's Night. The single was so popular, it went platinum 3 times.

Let It Be - The slow song, released on March 11, 1970 became a #1 hit in the US, Australia, Italy, Norway and Switzerland. Oddly enough, Let It Be peaked at #2 in the UK, The Beatles' own country. It's truly one of the best Beatles' songs ever.

A Hard Day's Night - Released on July 10, 1964, from the album of the same name, this brilliant song held the top spot on the charts in the US and UK for a couple of weeks. Once you've heard it, you know you're listening to one great song by one great band.

All You Need is Love - From their album, Magical Mystery Tour, All You Need is Love was released on July 7, 1967. This song is so great in fact that Rolling Stone magazine placed it on their 500 greatest songs of all time list at #362.

Help! - This great song, released on August 13, 1965, made it all the way to #29 on the Rolling Stone 500 greatest list. Help! was a number one hit for three weeks in the US and the UK back in the day. Undoubtedly, one of the greatest rock songs ever produced.

Please Please Me - The Beatles' second single was released on February 7, 1963 and re-released on January 3, 1964 in the US. This great song didn't do very well at first in the US. After the re-release, Please Please Me reached #3 on the US Hot 100. It should be no surprise why it's on this list of the greatest Beatles' songs.

Hello, Goodbye - From the album, Magical Mystery Tour, Hello, Goodbye was released on November 24, 1967 and topped both the US and UK charts. This great song was #1 for seven weeks.

Ticket to Ride - This great song was released on April 19, 1965 in the US and ranked #384 on the Rolling Stone magazine 500 greatest list.

Eleanor Rigby - From the album, Revolver, this great song was released on August 8, 1966 and became a number one hit in the UK. In the US, Eleanor Rigby only made it to #11 on the charts.

I Saw Her Standing There - Ranked #139 on the Rolling Stone 500 greatest list, I Saw Standing There was released on March 22, 1963. It went platinum 5 times.

Eight Days a Week - Written by John and Paul, this great song was released on December 4, 1964.

Don't Let Me Down - Released on April 11, 1969, Don't Let Me Down was a love song written by John for Yoko Ono.

I Want to Hold Your Hand - From the album, Meeth The Beatles, this great song was released on January 13, 1964 in the US. It became the band's best-selling single worldwide. No top 10 Beatles' list would be completely without I Want to Hold Your Hand.

Revolution - Basically, this great song sums up The Beatles' influence on modern culture to me. It was released on August 28, 1968 and written by John Lennon. The song was one of the band's most successful. If you're a fan, you absolutely need this song in your collection.

And I Love Her - Released on July 20, 1964, And I Love Her reached #12 on the Billboard charts. It's certainly one of the 20 greatest Beatles songs ever produced.

More great songs

Get Back

Paperback Writer

The Ballad of John and Yoko

Lady Madonna

P.S. I Love You

Yellow Submarine

From Me to You

Strawberry Fields Forever

I'm Down

You Can't Do That