Using Chart Alt-Metrics to Find the Transcendent Beatles Singles By Bill Carroll May 26, 2017 marked the 50 th anniversary of the release of the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. In its day, critics were split on its musical value, and they still are; but it was and remains a milestone. An album so iconic that it dominated the marketplace and yet yielded no contemporaneous 45 rpm singles. In those days, popularity for individual cuts was measured by singles’ sales and Top 40 radio station airplay. Sgt. Pepper effectively took its contents out of both categories (FM and underground radio was, at most, nascent) relying solely on the album charts. It’s no surprise that the 50th anniversary has spawned backward looks at the album and the Beatles’ portfolio. A recent review ranked all Beatles’ cuts critically from "worst to best." Individual critical opinions are important, but does “worst and best” need to...