Revolver achieved remarkable success upon its release, dominating the UK album rankings for seven consecutive weeks. It displaced The Sound of Music soundtrack—which had just concluded its own seven-week run at the top—until the soundtrack reclaimed the lead position on September 25, 1966. On the official Record Retailer chart, Revolver debuted at the summit, spending seven of its 34 weeks in the top 40 in that position, while Melody Maker recorded a nine-week reign at number one. Ultimately, it concluded 1966 as the second best-selling record in the country, trailing only The Sound of Music.

In parallel, the lead single featuring “Eleanor Rigby” as the primary side led the national chart for four weeks across August and September, ultimately becoming the highest-selling track in the UK for 1966. In the annual NME readers’ poll, Revolver shared the “Album of the Year” honor alongside The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds.

By autumn 1966, a minimum of ten tracks from the LP had been recorded by other performers and critiqued by Melody Maker. Notably, Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers achieved a top-ten entry with their rendition of “Got to Get You into My Life,” which Paul McCartney co-produced. Furthermore, McCartney’s compositions “Here, There and Everywhere” and “For No One” gained widespread popularity among mainstream musicians.

In the American market, Capitol Records prioritized “Yellow Submarine” over “Eleanor Rigby” on the double A-side single due to concerns regarding religious allusions amidst contemporary controversies. “Yellow Submarine” reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100, marking the first time since 1963 that an officially designated Beatles single failed to secure the top spot.

On the Billboard Top LPs chart, Revolver claimed the top spot on September 10, succeeding Yesterday and Today, which had recently completed a five-week tenure at number one. The album held the top ranking for six straight weeks and remained on the charts through mid-February 1968. The band received RIAA gold record certifications for exceeding one million unit sales during an August 24 media conference at the Capitol Tower in Hollywood.

Despite its commercial viability, figures released by former Capitol executive David Kronemyer indicate that the LP sold 1,187,869 units by the end of 1966, reaching 1,725,276 by the close of the decade. By early October 1966, it stood as the eighth highest-selling album of the year in the US. However, according to data provided by Allen Klein in 1970, it tied with Help! as only the tenth best-selling Beatles release domestically.

Revolver received a nomination for Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards in March 1967, while Klaus Voormann’s cover artwork won the Grammy for Best Album Cover, Graphic Arts.

Subsequent reissues refreshed the album’s commercial presence:

April 1987: The initial CD launch standardized the track list globally to mirror the original UK edition, propelling the album back to number 55 on the UK charts the following month.

September 2009: A remastered edition attained the number nine spot in the UK.

2013: Following updated British Phonographic Industry (BPI) certification criteria, the album attained Platinum status based on sales registered since 1994.

January 2014: The US Capitol version debuted on CD individually and within The Beatles’ U.S. Albums box set. By this time, the RIAA had certified the album 5× Platinum.

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