10 Please Please Me – 2 Million Copies Sold
The Beatles recorded their first album, Please Please Me, on March 22, 1963. The record was taped in a rush. The entire album was recorded in just 9 hours and 45 minutes.
Please Please Me sold over 2 million copies.
9 Help! – 2.5 Million Copies Sold
Help! is the name of the fifth British and ninth American album by The Beatles. The Help! album was announced with the single Ticket To Ride, which was the number one theme in America, but the key track on the album is Yesterday, one of the most played and most recorded songs of all time.
The album was released on August 6th, 1965. Help! was nominated at the 1966 Grammys Awards in the category of Album of the Year. It sold over 2.5 million copies.
8 A Hard Day’s Night – 4 Million Copies Sold
The album A Hard Day’s Night was released on July 10th,1964. It showed an increase in confidence, maturity and also sounded more energetic, raw and sweatier, then their previous album. A Hard Day’s Night is a 100% panel of Lennon-McCartney’s author tandem.
Also, never before or after in the Beatles discography did such authorial dominance of one member occur on one record: John Lennon wrote 10 out of 13 songs, while McCartney still had the lead in the remaining three. It sold 4 million copies.
7 Let It Be – 5 Million Copies Sold
The twelfth, and also the last studio album, was released on May 8th, 1970, almost a month after the group announced its termination. The album offered 12 tracks, totaling only 35 minutes and 10 seconds.
Most famous is the brilliant Let It Be, a fantastic blend of a ballad, gospel, and rock guitar. Author Paul McCartney wrote the song in honor of his mother Mary, who died of cancer at the age of 47. The album has sold over 5 million copies.
6 Magical Mystery Tour – 6 Million Copies Sold
The Magical Mystery Tour is Paul McCartney’s idea, a one-hour TV movie designed as a series of “magical” adventures by a group of “ordinary” people on a tour bus. The movie ended infamously, while the soundtrack got a much better score.
It was recorded as a double EP in Britain with only songs from the film. In the US release, on the other hand, EP was expanded to an album. The Magical Mystery Tour is the only American edition of the Beatles that has become part of the group’s official catalog. The Magical Mystery Tour has sold 6 million copies.
5 Abbey Road – 10 Million Copies Sold
Abbey Road was the last album the band ever recorded, although it was not the last that was released (1969). It is considered one of their best albums and one of the highlights of rock music in general. The reason for this is undoubtedly the long medley of songs on the other side of the album, which is intertwined with eight shorter songs.
The rest of the album is also brilliant. This iconic album has sold 10 million copies.
4 The Beatles – 16 Million Copies Sold
The double album called The Beatles, the commercial impact of the album was immense. The Beatles album gave exceptional tracks like While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Helter Skelter, Happiness Is Warm Gun, Back In The USSR, Blackbird, etc., and became one of the most quoted and most influential albums by The Beatles. It was released in 1968 and sold 16 million copies.
3 Rubber Soul – 16.5 Million Copies Sold
Rubber Soul is the Beatles’ sixth studio album. It was released on December 3, 1965, and had very positive reviews and has over 16.5 million copies sold. It was even at the top of the charts in the United Kingdom for several weeks.
It was a huge success in the US as well, where it was released with a slightly different playlist. It was recorded in less than five weeks so that it could arrive in time for Christmas. Rubber Soul was recorded over a continuous period, while previous albums were recorded during breaks between tours.
2 Revolver – 27 Million Copies Sold
For the first time, four-channel mixes, as well as compression and sound filtering methods, were used with the mixer. Revolver holds third place on Rolling Stone`s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and has 27 million copies sold.
1 Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – 32 Million Copies Sold
Sgt. Pepper Lonely Hearts Club Band is a legendary Beatles album that is widely regarded by music critics as the best rock music album ever. It has sold over 32 million copies. As much as it is subjective and subject to something as fragile as personal taste, that second qualification – the most important and influential rock music album – is almost indisputable.
The album was released on June 1st, 1967, a year after the Beatles finished their American tour, decided to take a break from live gigs and dedicate themselves to working in the studio. The album received four Grammys in 1968, including one for Album of the Year as the first rock album to ever make it, and thus formally entered among the most significant accomplishments of contemporary music.