Which music period was the Beatles’ best?

Very difficult to choose. My favorite album is the White Album, but I love so many of the other eras as well.

 

True, but I find it hard to separate RS & Revolver because I’ve always thought of them as a pair. They complement each other so well. The folk rock is obviously evident on Help & Rubber Soul.

 

...been there, done that...and for the last two weeks, with the same gosh-darned album as I've been re-investigating my various pressings of Abbey Road while enjoying the remix.

 

I chose "1965-1966: Help,RS & Revolver" but it's all wonderful, obviously. I just find I listen to Rubber Soul the most.

 

I have to ask...how are RS and Revolver a "pair" in your opinion..? George Harrison basically said the same thing in Anthology but lots of people (myself included) beg to highly differ. I'd much more so place Help and RS together (or even BFS, Help and RS as the greatest triple album of all time...but now I'm getting carried away.....)

 

My favorite period is circa 65-67. I feel that was their peak as a band. They made some amazing music after that too, but as a group they were beginning to drift apart.

 

I thought they were when I was younger too, but now I think they're very, very different with very few similarities. Even songs I used to think could've been on Rubber Soul (And Your Bird Can Sing, Doctor Robert) I think show way too much change in sound to be similar enough.
Then again, every album to me sounds different to the last.
With the Beatles is quite a bit rockier than Please Please Me (less harmonica too changes the sound a lot)
A Hard Day's Night is folky and much poppier than what came before
Beatles For Sale is that folk sound taken the furthest they ever took it along with more classic rock 'n' roll
Help! is like A Hard Day's Night and Beatles For Sale combined. Very poppy folk, but no classic rock 'n' roll (besides Dizzy Miss Lizzy).
Rubber Soul's similar, I guess, but I find it to be an infinitely better album than Help! they don't even compare to my ears.
Revolver was their second BIG leap (after A Hard Day's Night, and not in terms of quality, just sound), foregoing the folk sound entirely and introducing psychedelia to many of the songs for the first time, as well as having more elaborate arrangements for everything.
Pepper is all of that taken to the extreme to the point they sound so very little alike.
Magical Mystery Tour is simply a different brand of psychedelia that feels more like Pink Floyd at times than The Beatles.
The White Album is famously the opposite of Pepper, with the much of it being acoustic and 'simple' in terms of arrangements. This is their last big change in sound to my ears.
Yellow Submarine's a mishmash of throwaway psych (but if I had to place it, sounding similar-ish to stuff on MMT, hard thing with The Beatles is that no two songs really sound alike).
Abbey Road is classic rock encapsulated. Very few elements of psychedelia, lots of rocking songs, lots of ballads, beautiful production and orchestral arrangements, studio experimentation but sounds like a lot of it could've been done live in the studio etc.
Let It Be is Abbey Road's rockier songs but with that live aspect taken to the extreme.

So given every one is so different to the previous it is a bit hard to group them without argument over a few, so I think OP's done a good job overall.

 

I used to like the mid period '65 -'66 but it just bugs me now. Absolute favorites are the White Album and Let It Be.

 

Wow. Beautiful observation. And yes, I agree.

 

I prefer the early period when they were still just "a great little R&B band" and their only real message was "I'm happy just to dance with you."

 

Don’t know about best but my favourite period is 65-66.

 

Love all of the Beatles “periods” but astonished you didn’t include 1962. Listening to the recent (Executive edition) of the Star Club recordings, they display a raw energy that they probably never matched again. So, as much as I love 66-67, 1962 gets my vote..... oh, hang on, I can’t vote for it ☹️

 

Well obviously no albums were released yet then...

 

Yes! Then it subsides. I just ordered the Capitol album sets because I never got around to it and those were the albums that were bought for me when I was a kid and the release of each new album was the most important thing in your world.

 

Nice rundown. For me, the major differences in Revolver (psychedelic textures aside)involve the sound of the guitars. Along with both Paperback Writer and Rain, the guitars throughout the album-even on the "lighter" Pop tracks like Dr. Robert and AYBCS, have a heavier, crunchier feel. Up till now, while they always played around with tone, the electric guitars were pretty much a matter of plug in and play. Revolver was the first album in which The Beatles got guitar-sound heavy and the "Rock" aspect of their "Pop/Rock" categorization was more the latter than ever before. It's interesting if you think about it in terms of development, sound-wise...while songs like TNK and I'm Only Sleeping point towards the psychedelia of what was to come, others like Taxman, SSSS and AYBCS (strictly in terms of guitar sounds) curve around 1967 and point towards The White Album which is their "other" heavy-guitar sound album. Of course there's many arguable inbetweens in all this...it's just the way i hear it.

 

1963-1964: PPM, WTB, HDN & BFS

I was torn between 1963-1964 and 1965-1966, but I had to give it to 1963-1964 because of A Hard Day's Night. That was the first Beatles' album I connected with so that edged out the other period (which was tough because I really like Help! a lot too lol.).

 

I was a 67-68 guy until a few years ago but now I’m 65-66. Maybe because it was the least explored for me previously

 

1967 - Sgt. Pepper and Magical Mystery Tour. Their strongest year overall.

 

Depends whether or not the OP means “released at the time” or “representing that period”. But maybe I’m splitting hairs? So my vote is 1962

 

1968-71 for me

 

I can't vote because i think the best period is revolver, peppers and mmt

I dont understand the grouping we have been given. Revolver has little to do with Help and Rubber Soul as it is the start of the sound that led to peppers and mmt . Again white album was a break from the revolver/peppers era with its back to basics production idea

 

Probably 1965 - 1966, but the early years are terribly underrated. The Beatles never had a down period.

 

1964 / 1965

 

there was no "Beatles" bad period...it was all good...

 

just a little bit more acoustic guitar if one wants to call an acoustic guitar FOLK...