100 Best Beatles Songs an Informed Fan's Guide

by Stephen J. Spignesi, Michael Lewis

Organized by ranking order from Number 1 to Number 100, this illustrated celebration of the best songs by the boys who revolutionized rock-and-roll includes expert commentary, historical context, interview material, and lots of great sidebars (including "best" lists from some of today's pop music powerhouses).

The authors are pop culture experts and lifelong Beatles aficionados whose enlightening commentary sheds new light on the subject. The book is profusely illustrated with great photos of the band at work and play, and all of the memorable album cover art that has come to represent a generation. Appendices include a complete song list, discography, videography, and bibliography, making it a one-stop source of Beatles facts and figures.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Biography

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Joy Navarro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have not finished it yet but it is a fascinating read. I doubt any one will agree 100% with their choices but either way you'll learn some new things about some great songs by a great band.

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

I guarantee that Beatles fans will have issues with some of the placings in this survey of their top 100 songs. Still it's great fun reading about all of these songs, with various tidbits that even long time fans have never picked up on. Steve and Mike offer their opinions, agree or disagree away.

[Deirdre Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A couple of fans dissect the songs, adding recording infiormation minutiae and fab phtotos of the Fabs! One of my Beatle bibles.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The authors did an amazing job on sifting thru & analyzing all The Beatles songs to cull the 100 Best Beatles songs! (I certainly couldn't pick the 100 best Beatles songs - I can't even agree with myself on my favorite Beatles song, much less try to decide which one should be considered the "#1 Best" Beatles song.)
I initially disagreed with a few of the authors' choices, but after reading their views & opinions, I came to agree with them.
I do completely disagree with two of their choices & everything they authors said didn't change my opinion - maybe because the 2 songs are 2 of my all time least liked songs by The Beatles & nothing the authors shared changed my opinions of those two songs.
I did learn some new, interesting facts about The Beatles - that is an amazing feat!

[Donald J Potts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, you will disagree with the rated list of songs and grouse that some of your favorites did not even make the cut. Yes, you will disagree (with many) of the interpretations of the lyrics. But if you are a Beatles fan, there are enough facts, anecdotes and recording-session notes to satisfy the die-hards amongst us. A pleasant read is guaranteed for all.

[Andres Mario · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many books about the Beatles and sometimes information is repetitive but there are some of them with new information that helps us to understand many different things about the Beatles

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of course, anything pertaining to the Beatles is 5-star with me. The authors rated what they believe to be the top 100 songs written and performed by the Beatles. All told, the Fab Four wrote 206 songs. A few pages are devoted to each of the 100 songs. The authors explain the subject of each song, why it made the list (songwriting quality, musicianship, production, and lyrics), little known facts about the making and recording of the song, the players and instruments used in each song, and what the authors really liked about the song. I skipped over the more technical information. I'm sure musicians would enjoy reading the technical part and the lists of instruments used in each song. The end of the book provides interesting lists: "The Fans' Top 10," a list of the 206 Beatles' songs, and a Discography (year-by-year list of the songs and albums produced in the years 1962 to 1996). The book includes lots of great photos.

[Jose Luis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Este libro me gustó, no llegó al grado de entusiasmarme como otros pero si entretiene, mostrar las 100 mejores canciones según su criterio pues no es la única lista que hay por ahi.
Lo interesante son los comentarios de los propios Beatles en cada una de sus canciones así como las fechas de grabación al realizarla.

Buen libro, varios lo recomiendan pero para mi es un buen libro y ya.

Ahh si buscan conocer cuales son esas 100 mejores canciones; no las pondré aqui.
Lo más sencillo es que cada uno haga sus propias 100 canciones según sus gustos.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got this book as a present from my girls. There is a plethora of Beatles stuff on the market. If you are a fan, you could do much worse than choose this book. I liked the setup, lots of pics, what the song is about, why it was chosen to be in the top 100, fun facts, quotes by the Beatles about the songs, and a really cool rundown of the recording session for each song and the players on the track. The number one song was..

[Sofia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the variety of information they give! Even though I am a huge fan, they wrote with a bit of a bias, which is completely undertandable given the title (a fan's guide, and let's face it, we all have different tastes). It was fun, and they take a fun lighthearted approach, quite refreshing when usually I find very particular interpretations and information.

Highly reccomend it for a Beatles fan!

[Mike Sheehan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just from reading the first song on the list you know exactly what you're getting into: why it's in the top 100, song meaning, trivia, recording log/history, and the 2 authors commentary for each song. If you don't like how it's set-up, don't bother reading the rest of it. It's great for what it is: a nice near-half-discography encyclopedia on Beatle's songs.

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Excellent Beatles Fan Book
More info than you can imagine, until you start reading it!
I have been hopscotching through it looking up the songs I want to know more about.
If you are a fan of many years or just learning about the "Fab Four"
I Think you would enjoy this book!

[Btlesluvr · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG!!! Has soooo much stuff I did not know about the Beatles official best songs. Fascinating, and a must read for Beatleologist, die hard fans, and people who would like to know more, so basically anyone.

[Steve Chasen · Rating 5 out of 5]

If your into Beatle trivia, this is the book for you. Learn the history of the songs, the personnel on the songs, and the recording of the songs. In addition, the authors explain why they selected the song for the list.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you've ever wondered about that one Beatles song that you just weren't sure about? Was it about a girl or a bird? Were there really Strawberry Fields or is that supposed to be an analogy?

Look no further.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of course I disagreed with a lot of their picks, but I enjoyed reading their reasons for ranking things the way they did and I liked the information they included about each song.

[Lucas · Rating 3 out of 5]

trivia about fabs songs...cool reading

[Maigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was VERY informative and quite funny in parts. I'd read it over and over again. Great pictures, too.

[lkhamsuren amarjargal · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you a Beatlemania, must have a book. Every song is beautifully annotated.