Top 10 Beatles songs by number of streams
In just under ten years before their breakup in 1970, The Beatles managed to release about a dozen studio albums and more than three dozen singles. Their records sold hundreds of millions of copies worldwide, and the band still holds a place on the list of the best-selling artists in history. But what’s more interesting is this: in the streaming era, the Liverpool four are listened to as if the 1960s never ended.
Why The Beatles Are Still Popular
The Beatles’ catalog appeared on streaming platforms only on Christmas Eve 2015. Rights holders long resisted digital distribution, and the band was one of the last major catalogs to arrive on the platforms. Nevertheless, in 11 years of streaming, The Beatles have accumulated impressive numbers. The band has over 35 million monthly listeners, and that’s on Spotify alone — while the platform’s core audience is significantly younger than the songs themselves.
Amusingly, the streaming rankings differ greatly from what one might expect based on the 1960s charts. The most-streamed songs today aren’t necessarily the most commercially successful singles of that era. Times have changed — and so have tastes.
Below is a top ten of the legendary band’s most popular songs based on Spotify and YouTube activity. The ranking is compiled using current 2026 figures and includes one honorary bonus track.
10th Place — Something: George Harrison’s Most Popular Song
Opening the top ten is the only George Harrison song ever released as an A-side single by The Beatles. Something was released as a double A-side single alongside Come Together and became the only Harrison track to top the American chart during the band’s lifetime. On Spotify, the song has accumulated nearly half a billion streams, plus another 148 million views on YouTube.
9th Place — I Want to Hold Your Hand and the Start of the British Invasion
This single made history upon its release: it knocked the Beatles’ own previous single — She Loves You — off the top spot. The Beatles became the first group to replace themselves at the top of the British chart. And in the US, I Want to Hold Your Hand became their first number one and effectively launched the “British Invasion” of 1964. On Spotify — 525 million streams.
8th Place — In My Life: Why This Song Is Considered the Beatles’ Best
In My Life was never released as a standalone single — it was recorded for the album Rubber Soul. Nevertheless, the song regularly ranks high in various retrospective lists, and Mojo magazine in 2000 even named it the greatest song of all time. On streaming, the track has accumulated 615 million streams on Spotify alone.
Many songs that were never released as singles became streaming leaders
7th Place — Twist and Shout: The Beatles’ Most Popular Cover
Curiously, this is not even an original Beatles song but a cover of a rock-and-roll standard. Twist and Shout was recorded for the debut British album Please Please Me in 1963 and later appeared on the American debut Introducing… The Beatles. The Beatles’ cover version has accumulated over 670 million streams on Spotify — more than many of their original hits.
6th Place — Blackbird: How a Non-Single Became a Global Hit
Another track that was never released as a standalone single. Blackbird was recorded for the 1968 “White Album,” where it held a modest spot in the middle of the second disc. Despite this, the song is widely regarded as one of the best in the band’s catalog and has accumulated over 680 million streams on Spotify.
5th Place — Hey Jude and The Beatles’ Billboard Chart Record
Hey Jude was the first release on the Beatles’ own label — Apple Records. The song reached number one on both sides of the Atlantic and spent nine weeks atop the Billboard chart, matching the then-record for the longest stay at number one. And its runtime — 7 minutes and 11 seconds — made Hey Jude the longest chart-topper in Billboard history at the time. The record held for four years until it was broken by Don McLean’s American Pie.
On Spotify, the track has surpassed the 750 million streams mark, while on YouTube it has garnered 445 million views.
4th Place — Yesterday: The Most Covered Beatles Song
Paul McCartney’s melancholic and universally known masterpiece was written for the album Help! and became the band’s tenth American chart-topper. Interestingly, in their native UK, Yesterday was not originally released as a single — the first version to enter the British chart was a cover by Matt Monro.
On Spotify, the song has accumulated 855 million streams, plus another 108 million views on YouTube. Yesterday is among the most covered songs in pop music history.
Yesterday — one of the most covered songs in world pop music
3rd Place — Let It Be: The Band’s Last Big Hit
The title track of the Beatles’ final album also became the band’s last single before McCartney announced his departure. Let It Be had the highest debut for a Beatles song on the Billboard chart — entering straight at number six — before climbing to number one in April 1970. As of 2026, the track has accumulated 942 million streams on Spotify and 108 million views on YouTube.