Although not quite as popular as their LP counterparts, reel tapes are certainly gaining in popularity and appreciation among collectors as they are the most popular area to collect of all the tape formats. The challenge, as with records, is to find them in near mint or better condition. Unlike an LP, the shrink wrap had to be completely removed to use the product, and therefore most of the tape boxes were exposed to wear. They were never stored in protective bags, and usually stacked in piles with other tapes. Some boxes were tight and hard to open, resulting in tears on the edge around the thumb tab cut-out. As well, most of the boxes on the heavier 7½ ips tapes seem to have at least some seam splitting due to the heavier reel floating around inside. Very few copies turn up in factory sealed condition.

The following is a list of all known Beatles and Solo Beatles reel to reel tapes released in the U.S. from 1964-1984, including variations and reissues. Most titles were released in the 7" reel format, using two different playback speeds. Three titles were released in the 5" format - Meet The Beatles, Yesterday And Today, and Paul's Give My Regards To Broadstreet Audio Press Kit.

Until mid-1969, Capitol manufactured their own tapes. By the time Abbey Road was released, Capitol had sub-contracted the tape manufacturing to Ampex Tapes, who produced tapes and packages for Capitol for many years hence. Capitol-manufactured reel tapes are usually found in brown boxes with the title/photo slicks adhered to them. The reels themselves may be clear transparent or pink opaque plastic. The pink opaque style for 7" tapes are the most common. All Capitol-manufactured tapes were recorded at the slower 3¾ ips speed, except for Revolver, which for some unknown reason was issued in both 3¾ ips and 7½ ips versions - the latter being one of the rarest of all Beatles reel tapes. Only one known promotional copy of a Beatles reel-to-reel tape exists - Rubber Soul, issued on a 3" reel and housed in a plastic clam-shell mailer. It was numbered one digit below the commercial release and is extremely rare.

Beatles tapes released from Abbey Road on were issued in blue boxes with clear transparent reels. Later ones have green transparent reels. The sound quality was enhanced on these blue-box versions when the tapes were recorded for playback at 7½ ips. This, of course, made for twice the tape length and a heavier reel for the same amount of musical material. One album, Help! was only issued in the Ampex format and did not appear on the earlier brown box 3¾ ips format.

There were at least fourteen reel tapes issued commercially of solo Beatles and related titles, including the promotional Broadstreet. Both of George's triple albums, Concert For Bangla Desh and All Things Must Pass were issued as single-reel sets, and thus were recorded at the slower 3¾ ips speed. All of the Ampex releases were issued in blue boxes. The values listed are for strictly graded near-mint copies of the tape/label and box. Values drop fast for lower grades, with vg copies selling for perhaps 1/3 the NM value.