None of the Beatles' solo catalogs is flawless. But John Lennon's may be the most frustrating of the four, as you'll see in our list of the Best Song From Every John Lennon Album.

Like his bandmates, the earliest records under Lennon's name were conscious attempts to break from his past. But we've excluded the three experimental albums he made with Yoko Ono before he launched his solo career in earnest with 1970's John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, because, seriously, how does one choose between "Two Virgins Side One" and "Two Virgins Side Two"?

Still, things don't get any less complicated after those bumpy starts. Plastic Ono Band, for all of its critical acclaim and significance, is a cathartic soul-cleansing for the former Beatle, who pretty much worked through every issue that burdened his mind during the first three decades of his life. Not exactly what his old fans wanted to hear.

So he gave them the more accessible Imagine the next time around, and then followed that with the politically messy and abrasive Some Time in New York City LP before trying to restore some ground with his next two albums. Then he finally assembled a throwaway covers record that had been sitting around before he disappeared for five years.

When Lennon finally returned in 1980, he was in a better place, as Double Fantasy – a collaboration record with Ono – set him up as a happy husband, father and adult-contemporary star. It all ended soon after that.

One more record followed: 1984's Milk and Honey, made up of leftover songs he and Ono were working on at the time of his death. That album is included on our below list of the Best Song From Every John Lennon Album, because it gives closure to the career of one of the 20th century's most significant artists, as well as to a solo catalog that can be as maddening as it is enlightening.

The Best Song From Every John Lennon Album

One of the 20th century's most significant artists had a solo catalog that can be as maddening as it is enlightening.

Gallery Credit: Michael Gallucci

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