my $0.02: the best albums are Rubber Soul, Revolver, Abbey Road, the White Album, Let It Be. the next 'tier' is Help and A Hard Day's Night. the real early stuff is fun and all, but nowhere near the middle and later periods. Anthologies 2 & 3 are definitely worth owning, very thoughtfully put together. one idea which has been getting a lot of attention lately is that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to really master something (see 'Talent Is Overrated' by Colvin) - and Lennon/McCartney really started to shine at something like that point in their collaboration. and yes, you could read tons about how the Beatles fit into their times, but I'd say that Lennon/McCartney were a uniquely creative phenomenon, in the same way that people like Rembrandt can't be defined by their 'era'.