Is ‘Rubber Soul’ the Beatles’ Best Album? The Answer to That is as Malleable as the Shifting Track Lists, but This ‘Super Deluxe’ Is Super Essential: Boxed Set Review

By Chris Willman

Chris Willman

Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic

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What is the Beatles‘ best album? “The one you’re listening to right now” is always the correct answer, of course, and that could encompass “Meet the Beatles” or “Let It Be” at any given moment. But for most fans who aren’t just being sentimental about their first point of entry, it’s usually going to come down to a pick among five — “Rubber Soul,” “Revolver,” “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” “The Beatles” and “Abbey Road” — with the first-mentioned there sometimes being the last-cited, because that 1965 transitional LP isn’t as fully ambitious in scope as those that followed. “Rubber Soul” is undoubtedly among the most influential albums ever released, make no mistake. Yet it was arguably the last Beatles record (at least until “Let It Be”) that was tossed off reasonably casually, on deadline, and not consciously aiming at being some kind of tour de force.

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