Name(s): The Beatles / The White Album
Release Date(s): November 22, 1968

The Beatles were the band that got me into music, much like many people. When I was a kid, I was surrounded by commercial boy bands and pop punk and just assumed I wasn’t into music as much as everyone else. Then I discovered The Beatles, played the ever-loving hell out of them, and eventually moved on to new things that would excite me in the same way.

Naturally, nothing could compare to the magnitude of the band that first got you into music. It’s the journey of finding the closest thing that compares that makes listening to new music so much fun. Always searching for that next artist or album that will take your music taste in a new direction and change your life for the better.

The Beatles have many great albums, so why do I choose their self-titled album for my favorite? For a simple reason: just look at the title of the album. This is The Beatles. Everything The Beatles are and were is encapsulated in this double album. Their entire career from R&B influenced youths, to folkist Dylan-worshippers, to pioneers of psychedelia and beyond. Pieces of all of those stages are on this album, making this the only album to be a complete portrait of who The Beatles were. That’s not to undermine their other fantastic albums, but this is as closest to a portrait of The Beatles as any of their studio albums.

Many complain that due to the album’s length, the quality of each individual song suffers. I have to disagree. There are so many songs I enjoy on this album that I wouldn’t have it any other way. Despite how many times I’ve heard it, each song being a radically different departure from the last never stops exciting and surprising me. With the “White Album” I can relive my experience with The Beatles and the memories and emotions they gave me all in one sitting.