Who's your favourite Beatle?

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

So I know I posted another Beatles poll not that long ago, but I'm a little curious about this.

I know Lennon has his fans, especially for stuff like 'Imagine' and 'Working Class Hero', but he is far and away my least favourite Beatle. I just can't get into his stuff the way I can with the other three.

Ringo comes in third for me, simply because his voice isn't *that* great, he can't really write a good song, and he's really only letting his Beatles fame run his life (including the All-Starr band). Bonus points, however, for Thomas the Tank Engine.

Then I'm down to just George and Paul, and it's a very close choice. Paul's music might not be as good (from a critic's point of view) as ANY of the others', but there's no denying that he knows how to make commercially-successful albums better than anyone else - and he still manages to pull out a decent song every few years. George, on the other hand, had the 'better' music, and was content to live with a smaller fanbase - but he was also seemed to be simply a lot more fun, and the only Beatle who would ever agree to play second fiddle on any post-Beatles project.

It's a toss-up, but I'm going with George over Paul. How about you?

[Rashid]

Paul's 4th for me. He has a great voice, but I really don't like his song writing at all. With a few exceptions, his songs have poor-to-mediocre lyrics.

Ringo's 3rd. He isn't the best drummer in the world by any means, but he's great at making really simple and memorable rhythms. And I'm quite fond of his voice.

George and John are probably tied, but if I had to choose one over the other, John barely wins. George is my favourite singer in the group, and he's a very good songwriter. John's my favourite songwriter in the group, and he's a very good singer.

Overall, I really like all four members. My 4 favourite Beatles songs are actually 'I Am The Walrus', 'Penny Lane', 'Octopus's Garden', and 'Here Comes The Sun', so basically one song from each member.

[GoGo Yubari]

... can I just say Not Paul McCartney and leave it at that? I mean. George is probably third, I think, because I preferred Lennon's music and Ringo's general schtick, but after that I have a hard time choosing.

If this were a Most TALENTED Beatle thing, though, Ringo would be in fourth and then it would become a matter of whether you meant post-Beatles, during the Beatles' existence as a group, or all around.

[Matt]

Ringo, because his voice is sexy and he does Thomas the Tank Engine voice-overs.

[TheCrippler]

Can I just start by saying that after the split, I don't really rate any of The Beatles that highly.

So...

4 - Paul McCartney - Mull of Kintyre/Frog Chorus. 'Nuff said.

3 - John Lennon - Overrated. He's written a few good tunes, but for every good song he writes he writes one that is absolute drivel. Give peace a chance makes me want to kick him in the head, which I really don't think is what he was aiming for with that one.

2 - George Harrison - Never really rated him on his own, but I think he was the glue that held the beatles together really. An unsung gluey hero.

1 - Ringo - Thomas the Tank Engine + Octopuses Garden = Numbah One Beatle.

[gunnar hendershow]

Toss-up between John and George for me. But at the end of the day, it comes down to quantity. John simply has more songs I love than George does. Paul would come in 4th and Ringo 3rd, but at the end it is only because Ringo wrote "Octopus's Garden", my personal favorite off of Abbey Road.

[stokeriño]

Ringo, because his voice is sexy and he does Thomas the Tank Engine voice-overs.

QFT

[Jeff Jeffries]

I voted for John Lennon for obvious John Lennon fan reasons.

[GRIFT]

George Harrison is my number one. I listen to side one of my vinyl copy of All Things Must Pass in its entirety at least twice a week. The whole album is a knock out and by far Harrison's best work. Even statistically it is the most successful post-Beatles, as it went 6x Platinum making it the best selling album by a solo Beatle.

[ROC]

Ringo, because his voice is sexy and he does Thomas the Tank Engine voice-overs.

QFT

[thatshortguy]

Ringo, because his voice is sexy and he does Thomas the Tank Engine voice-overs.

QFT

I thought it was Shining Time Station?

Indeed it was Shining Time that he did voice work for.

Hardly his best work, however...as he was also the Duck Brothers in "Courage The Cowardly Dog", thus vaulting him to my favorite Beatle, non-musically speaking. Harrison will probably always be my favorite musically.

[YI]

Ringo. Has the coolest name. Will outlive them all, didn't marry a one legged freakshow, or a chink. Was the voice guy on Thomas the Tank.

Edited September 12, 2007 by YI

[apsham]

McCartney

Harrison

Starr

Lennon

Lennon is at the bottom because he serves as an image more than anything. Harrison edges out Starr for having a more amazing Simpsons cameo. McCartney puts on a frggin' amazing show.

[Thatz]

George has always been my favorite Beatle. I think that his work with the group was often under-appreciated when compared to Lennon/McCartney, and I like his solo stuff the best. John's and Paul's solo careers are hit and miss with me. I absolutely LOVE some of the things that they do, but other things I just...I dunno, I just don't enjoy it so much. I just love everything that George does.

Ringo isn't bad, but I don't like him as much as the others.

[Cadet Ember McLain]

Ringo. Has the coolest name. Will outlive them all, didn't marry a one legged freakshow, or a chink. Was the voice guy on Thomas the Tank.

[ClaRK! Kent]

Seeing as MPH seemed to be suggesting this was a poll based on their solo work - George Harrison.

He had far and away the best, if not necessarily the most successful, solo/post-Beatles career. Hell, if I'd made All Things Must Pass, I'd probably have rested on my laurels forever. But no, George continues on and makes Dark Horse, probably the most catchy tune of the entire 1980s (I've Got My Mind Set On You) and then contributes to making Bob Dylan bearable for the first time since about 1978 with the Travelling Wilburies.

The man was easily the best of the solo Beatles, however cool Ringo's band were for kitsch value, and however fun his Thomas the Tank Engine voiceovers were.

I don't hate Lennon's solo work, I actually adore it, but sadly he didn't have enough time after the band split up to really get into the groove, what with being a house-husband and retreating from music for much of the decade. That said, his last album before his death was awesome and it's a shame we won't get to hear 'elder statesman' Lennon, as 'young Lennon' and 'middle-aged Lennon' were both awesome in their own ways.

As for McCartney... meh. People love to bash on about Mull of Kintyre and the Frog Chorus, which is fair enough 'cos they're bloody awful, but they forget that Macca and Wings had consistently some awesome albums and awesome songs - Band on the Run, Live and Let Die, even Pipes of Peace had its moments. He definitely went more twee/pop than the others once the Beatles broke up, but he did that very well.

Mind you, if we're talking who was the best Beatle DURING the Beatles run, Lennon wins hands-down, if nothing else for his performance in A Hard Day's Night.

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

Not necessarily based on solo work - but it's hard to tell how much of the group stuff John could have done without Paul, or vice-versa.

Part of that above sentence is based on argument, part on general dislike of John.

[ClaRK! Kent]

You're a swine.

[Iain76er]

Billy Preston.

I actually voted for Paul. Ringo is just rubbish, George is sorta just there and John neglected one of his kids. Paul wins by default.

[Skummy]

Ringo's not worth mentioning, really. I can't stand Macca at all, none of his solo/Wings stuff has ever appealed to me, and he always seemed to be the more "happy clappy moptop" one of the lot, and with the exception of Live At The Star Club, that side of the band was always the part that most gets on my nerves.

George's solo stuff is mostly dull, but I've got a soft spot for the Travelling Wilburys, and always will do, so he has the sheer awesomeness of "Handle With Care" to his credit, but that's not enough to win it for him.

I never used to like Lennon, because of all the "Oh my God, "Imagine", such a legend, peace and love, world peace, hippy bullshit that goes with it, and all the Oasis fans and idiots that worship him on the basis of "Imagine" and little else. But having more recently heard songs like "Mother" and especially "Cold Turkey", he's just got more of an edge to him than any of the others, so he probably wins.

Not going to look at who did what within the band itself, because I don't really know enough about all that.

Also; Pope John. Pope John Paul. Pope John Paul George. Pope John Paul George Ringo.