Expert: James Michael Anderson - 10/14/2009

Question
I would also like to know which pressing of each official Beatles release (U.K./U.S. I'm thinking) would be the best to purchase for the purpose of having the best possible recording.

What I mean is, I'm looking to first simply acquire the best sounding vinyl pressings of each album.  What are the versions of each album that are recommended by audiophiles?

Again, I'm not necessarily interested in their value (unless value is correlated with fidelity), rather in getting the ideal pressing for a fan looking to get his first copy of each record.

Any other advice would be equally appreciated!

Answer
The generally agreed best sounding vinyl pressings are found in the Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MFSL) pressings which came out in the 1980's.  You can generally find these either as a complete set or in individual albums.  These were mastered in analogue at half speed from the original master tapes.
Another aspect to consider is whether you are looking for the US or UK releases and in either mono or stereo.  The Beatles themselves really only considered the mono mixes and the UK versions defininitive up until Yellow Submarine.  However vinyl versions of the mono albums for Sgt. Pepper, Magical Mystery Tour and the White album are extremely hard to come by and were never mastered in MFSL.