I picked the red & blue compilation Beatles albums because they are the definitive ones from the 70's & much better than 1 any day.  

I think the Red & Blue Albums have a better selection, but I would have to say No1 purely from my own experiences.

No1 was what got me into the Beatles.
My Cousin/Aunty was playing it in the car - her favourites were Let It Be & Get Back ...and the music was just so fresh and alive ... it blew me away. I had heard these songs as a child but never really taken notice.
After that initial listen ..I totally absorbed No1 ... listening to it over and over and over I had no idea who the Beatles were as people ... no images (bar the CD booklet) and no idea of their albums & films etc
Those couple of months of just listening to No1 was some of the best moments I've had listening to music.
Obviously when I started to listen to the albums ..the music got better .. but I can imagine alot of people like myself were awakened to the Beatles through No1.

Ah, that's such a neat story, Indica! Perhaps that's why I love the Anthology so much; that was my introduction to the Beatles. I don't even remember buying the red album, which I own, but I know it was part of my post-Anthology "must get some Beatles in the house" phase. Now my shelf bulges with Beatles books and albums. The boys are addictive! Cheers.

I was introduced to the Beatles music through 1 too. To discover, buy and listen that album was a magical experience. It's like your little treasure, just 1 CD with some of the best music ever written and recorded. That's because I love it so much, because it's like a tiny piece with huge talent, work and creativity into it. And the booklet is soooooo good, I love all those colours, single covers ('Les Beatles', 'Los Beatles', hehe). The design is simply fantastic, using exclusively the Helvetica font (my favourite ever), even the George Martin introduction is beautiful.

I like '62 - '66 and '67 - '70 best, I like the mixing of single and album tracks. I think though that the design of the inner gatefolds could have been better, I would have liked to have seen collages and essays.

Quoted from wingsman

I was introduced to the Beatles music through 1 too. To discover, buy and listen that album was a magical experience. It's like your little treasure, just 1 CD with some of the best music ever written and recorded. That's because I love it so much, because it's like a tiny piece with huge talent, work and creativity into it. And the booklet is soooooo good, I love all those colours, single covers ('Les Beatles', 'Los Beatles', hehe). The design is simply fantastic, using exclusively the Helvetica font (my favourite ever), even the George Martin introduction is beautiful.

I was introduced to the Beatles music through 1 as well.  

I understand the Red+Blue albums contain more material than '1'. But that's obvious. Because Red+Blue are 2 Double Albums released during the LP era, and '1' is just 1 single-CD album, released during the CD era.
I'm sure that if I say that '1' is more accomplished as a 1-CD compilation than 'Red+Blue' as 2 double albums, nodoby would be against of that.  

the Red and Blue albums, along with the ameican Rock n Roll compilations were the first beatles albums i owned!  

The best Beatles' hits album would be one that contained their twenty-six UK A-sides. You can make this easily yourself by dropping 'Yesterday,' 'Eight Days a Week,' and 'The Long And Winding Road' from 1 and adding 'Please Please Me' and 'Strawberry Fields Forever,' and by substituting the Ringo version of 'Love Me Do' for the Andy White version. That's my version of 1, anyway.

Alternatively, Dr Ebbetts' collection of the UK singles, complete with the B-sides, is terrific, too.

Quoted from Geoff

Alternatively, Dr Ebbetts' collection of the UK singles, complete with the B-sides, is terrific, too.

Makes a good set with the Dr. E. EP's. I also have the American singles, though I'm not so fond of the sound.

Quoted from BlueMeanie

Makes a good set with the Dr. E. EP's.

It does indeed; both sets have remained on my hard drive since I downloaded them (thanks, by the way). I haven't downloaded the US singles set yet, but I think I will this weekend and maybe I'll see if I can find  "Meet The Beatles" and "The Beatles' Second Album" somewhere to go along with it. I doubt that even Dr Ebbetts (or God) could do anything with the sound on "Second Album," but it'll be interesting to hear it in its tin can echo chamber/reverb laden glory again anyway. The stereo version of "Thank You Girl" on PC's first "With The Beatles" disc is a prime sample; it's taken from "Second Album" (with I think, some substantial re-EQing, if my memory of the old vinyl disc is reliable), which was- I believe- the only record that ever contained a true stereo of the song.

Quoted from Geoff

The best Beatles' hits album would be one that contained their twenty-six UK A-sides.

Welcome to the forums.
Your idea is not bad, but it's hard to replace "Yesterday" or "The Long And Winding Road", I think.
Great idea, though. It would be called "The British Hits 1962-1970".

Quoted from wingsman

It's hard to replace "Yesterday" or "The Long And Winding Road", I think.
Great idea, though. It would be called "The British Hits 1962-1970".

Great point; ideally there should be separate US and UK compilations. I understand why they made the compromises they did in order to get all the biggest highlights on one disc; but as a hopelessly anal perfectionist I get irritated every time I hear somebody's copy of 1 breeze right past "Please Please Me" or "Strawberry Fields Forever;" and I would have insisted on the Spector-free version of "The Long And Winding Road," too. But this is where bootleggers like Dr Ebbetts and your own CD burner can really help you. Mine's certainly been busy.

I've never owned the Red and Blue albums, and never seen the point. There have been times when I've nearly bought them, just from a completest point of view. I doubt they'll be re-issued with the remasters.

Quoted from BlueMeanie

I've never owned the Red and Blue albums, and never seen the point. There have been times when I've nearly bought them, just from a completest point of view. I doubt they'll be re-issued with the remasters.

Your first two sentences describe my position exactly. But... heh... Apple being what it is, watch the Red and Blue albums turn up in the remastered series instead of anything interesting.