A.K.A. “The complete list of CDs you have to buy to get all the material the Beatles ever released”

Having bought “Past Masters” volumes I and II today, I was reminded of the confusion regarding the official, complete Beatles discography. Between the myriad non-album singles, EPs, and differing album versions, it’s difficult to tell what exactly makes up the ‘canonical’ list of ‘official’ Beatles releases.

Here, as best I can figure from Wikipedia, it is:

• Please Please Me
  The Beatles’ first album, as released in the UK. Roughly equivalent to “Introducing… The Beatles” in the US.
• With The Beatles
  The second UK release. The tracks in this album were spread over the (despite the title) second and third US releases, “Meet The Beatles” and “The Beatles’ Second Album”, along with several non-album singles.
• A Hard Day’s Night
  The third UK release. One album side contains the film soundtrack, the other side contains songs not featured in the film. The US release had the film soundtrack side, plus several instrumental renditions used in the film.
• Beatles For Sale
  The fourth UK release. Songs from this album could also be found on the US releases Beatles ‘65 and Beatles VI
• Help!
  The fifth UK release. Like “A Hard Day’s Night,” the first side was the film soundtrack, the second side the non-film portion. Also like “A Hard Day’s Night,” the US release featured the film soundtrack side plus instrumental tracks heard in the film.
• Rubber Soul
  The sixth UK release. Roughly equivalent to the US release, but the US release omits some tracks, later published on the US-only “Yesterday… and Today”
• Revolver
  The seventh UK release. Again, the US omits some tracks, which are also on “Yesterday… and Today”
• Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
  The eighth UK release. From this album on, the US versions had the same tracklisting as the UK versions.
• The Beatles
  The ninth UK release, commonly referred to as “The White Album” for its nondescript white cover
• Magical Mystery Tour
  The US release is the ‘official’ version of this album for a change. The UK version was actually a double EP; the US version is a full album, with the EP tracks from the UK plus several non-album singles.
• Yellow Submarine
  The soundtrack for the film, the A-side contains six Beatles recordings (two of which were released previously), the B-side containing George Martin’s instrumental score for the film.
• Abbey Road
  The eleventh UK album, and second-to-last released, though the last recorded.
• Let It Be
  The twelfth and final UK album, though actually recorded during the aborted recording session preceding Abbey Road. John Lennon gave the raw studio tapes to Phil Spector, who mixed a full album out of it. Years later it was remixed into a new version, sans Spector overdubs, as “Let It Be… Naked”
• Past Masters
  Two volumes comprising all singles, B-sides, and other material not released on any of the ‘official’ releases listed above.

Note that this only includes the ‘original’ album and single releases during the band’s tenure, and not the Anthologies, compilations, and other material released years after the breakup.