History's Best Selling Music of 1964

Revisiting 1964 presents a grand parade of music history, marked by Space Age wonder and counter-culture flair and enduring fan favorites. Unrivaled hits including Meet the Beatles!, Shut Down Volume 2, and A Hard Day's Night took top honors in living rooms and storefronts alike. Master craftsmen from industry leaders like The Beatles and The Beach Boys led the vanguard, engineering high-caliber releases that spurred a pop-culture revolution across the nation. Dive into the full historical rankings below to see which standout creations won the day.

1. Meet the Beatles!

   Released in 1964 by The Beatles

   On January 20, 1964, Capitol Records released *Meet the Beatles!*, an album that served as the official commercial starting gun for the cultural phenomenon known as Beatlemania in the United States. Timed just weeks before their historic appearance on *The Ed Sullivan Show*, this specific release date marks the moment the British Invasion truly began its conquest of the American music market, transforming The Beatles from a British sensation into global superstars and forever changing the course of popular music.

2. Shut Down Volume 2

   Released in 1964 by The Beach Boys, Capitol Records

   On March 2, 1964, The Beach Boys released "Shut Down Volume 2," their fifth studio album, at the zenith of their early surf rock and car culture fame. The album's release came at a pivotal moment, just as the "British Invasion," led by The Beatles, was beginning to dominate American airwaves. This album served as a powerful statement of American youth culture, filled with anthems about cars, surfing, and teenage life. It captured a specific, idealized vision of Southern California that resonated across the country and solidified the band's status as America's premier pop group, capable of holding their own against the new wave of music from across the Atlantic.

3. A Hard Day's Night

   Released in 1964 by The Beatles, United Artists Records

   Released on June 26, 1964, two weeks before the film's American premiere, the U.S. version of "A Hard Day's Night" served as the official soundtrack album, capitalizing on the peak of Beatlemania. Unlike its UK counterpart, this release by United Artists was a true film soundtrack, mixing eight Beatles songs with four orchestral instrumentals of Lennon-McCartney tunes arranged by George Martin. This strategic release gave American fans their first taste of the new music, sending the album straight to number one on the Billboard charts. It held that position for 14 weeks, making it one of the biggest-selling albums of the year and solidifying the band's unprecedented domination of the American market.

4. Beatles for Sale

   Released in 1964 by The Beatles, Parlophone, Capitol Records

   On December 4, 1964, at the absolute peak of global Beatlemania, The Beatles released their fourth studio album, "Beatles for Sale." Dropped just in time for the lucrative Christmas shopping season, the album was a testament to the band's relentless work ethic and the immense pressure they were under. It was their fourth LP in just 21 months, recorded in brief spells between a grueling world tour, television appearances, and filmmaking. This release captured a band in transition, showcasing a burgeoning weariness beneath the cheerful pop exterior, providing fans with a more complex and fatigued-sounding Beatles than they had heard before.