Revolver (2009 Remaster)

An almost unbearably gorgeous album, crafted in the white heat of creativity at a time when the pressure of simply being the Beatles had almost destroyed the group, Revolver represents the first mature flowering of the Beatles' songwriting and instrumental prowess.

Nearly every track here amazes: the austere, lovely ballads "Here There and Everywhere" and "For No One"; the proto-psychedelia of "I'm Only Sleeping" and "Tomorrow Never Knows," by turns poignant and frightening; the R&B groove of "Got to Get You into My Life" and its wonderfully concise guitar solo; and even hints of the metal to come in the otherwise sad and despairing "She Said, She Said."

Next stop was the greatest two-sided single of all time ("Penny Lane"/"Strawberry Fields") and Sgt. Pepper, the album that would change the world for several highly interesting minutes.