The Beatles may have broken up in 1970, but that didn’t stop the Fab Four from continuing their chart-topping success.
In May 1973, the legendary British band’s two-LP 1967-1970 compilation, also known as the “Blue Album,” spent a week atop the Billboard 200. Then, in December 1995, The Beatles had a three-week run at No. 1 on the albums chart with Anthology 1, the first of three archival rarities collections released in conjunction with the TV documentary series The Beatles Anthology.
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Thirty years ago, on April 6, 1996, Anthology 2 also topped the Billboard 200. It knocked Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill from the top spot for a week before the Canadian singer’s album regained the No. 1 position.
Anthology 2 was released in the U.S. on March 19, 1996, as a two-CD set and three-LP package. The 45-track collection features a variety of rarities, outtakes, and live performances. It spanned from the sessions for the 1965 album Help! until recording the band made before traveling to India in February 1968 for a spiritual pilgrimage.
Anthology 2 was certified four-times Platinum by the RIAA for sales of 4 million units in the U.S.
More About the ‘Anthology 2’ Compilation
The Anthology 2 collection includes several previously unreleased Beatles compositions. Among them were “12-Bar Original,” an instrumental dating back to the Rubber Soul sessions; and “If You’ve Got Trouble” and “That Means A Lot,” which both were recorded while the band was making Help!
The compilation also features in-progress versions of tracks from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and Magical Mystery Tour. Also appearing are early versions of the tunes “Only A Northern Song,” “You Know My Name (Look Up The Number),” and “Across The Universe.”
In addition, Anthology 2 includes “Real Love,” a track created around a 1970s demo recorded by the late John Lennon to which surviving members Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr added new parts. The song was released as a single, and peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Similarly, Anthology 1 features “Free As A Bird,” another song built around a 1970s Lennon demo that the other Beatles finished for the Anthology project. “Free As A Bird” reached No. 6 on the Hot 100.
More About The Beatles’ ‘Anthology’ Project
The Anthology 3 compilation was released in October 1996. It also topped the Billboard 200, for a week in November of that year.
In November 2025, remastered versions of the Anthology compilations were released as part of the Anthology Collection box set. The box set also included a newly compiled Anthology 4 two-CD set, which was made available as a standalone release as well.
The Anthology Collection was released in conjunction with an updated and expanded version of The Beatles Anthology docuseries. The nine-part series premiered in late November on Disney+.
The Beatles’ Other Post-Breakup Chart-Topping Album
After the three Anthology compilations, The Beatles scored one more chart-topping album on the Billboard 200. The 1 compilation was released in November 2000, and marked the 30th anniversary of the band’s breakup. The 27-track collection featured almost every Beatles song that topped either the U.S. or the U.K. singles charts.
1 spent eight non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 between late December 200 and early February 2001.
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