Double post =(
Its a shame I'm the only one yammering on in this thread, but after working my way through all the remasters I wanted to give my final thoughts on the subject.
I don't want to be a snob or tell you how to listen to stuff, whether you want to listen to this on your stereo, headphones, tv speakers, whatever isn't important (even stereo or mono.) What I think is important is the order. Sure you could listen in the release order presented, but I think you'd be missing out on some of "the story." If you really want to hear the story of the Beatles (which if you bought a box set you do)you should tinker with the running order a bit. Listening up to MMT, swap the places of Yellow Submarine and the White Album and then swap the places of Let it Be and Abbey Road. When I was little I was always confused why the Beatles made a rock record (White Album) and then made another psychedelic record after it, just to make two rock records afterwards. This way you hear the true progression of the band and when you get to the last "side" of Abbey Road, the medley, its the sound of a great band gearing up and belting one last one for the end.
After all the stereo v. mono strife on the rest of the net, I think you should just get the more widely available stereo versions if you can only get one. Honestly, if you're limiting yourself to Tomorrow Never Knows, She Said, and the post-Revolver stuff to mono you are doing yourself a disservice. These songs to me just sound cramped and dustier to their stereo compadres. The stereo remasters just sound more "remastered," clearer, with more space between the instruments. Some of the mono mixes are interesting, but ultimately stereo is the way to go. I don't get caught up in the "way they intended." Yes, all 4 Beatles were there in the mixing room of Sgt Pepper mono, but its not like they got complete strangers to mix it in stereo either.
On that note, some may point to the fact that the earlier albums on stereo (I find With the Beatles to be the biggest offender here) have all the instruments on the left and the vocals on the right which is kind of weird. If it bothers you that much, track the monos on ebay of those albums. Howevva, I think the trade off is favorable for the latter mixes.
That said lets talk about some obscure songs that caught my ear this time around. "Its all too Much" kicks ass. Actually I think the four exclusive Yellow Submarine tracks are really underrated (Hey Bulldog tends to get it's credit these days tho.) The Spector vers of Long and Winding Road and Across the Universe are miles better than the 87 cd versions. Universe especially was a muddy mess. Here I dare I say it rivals my fav version of the song (Naked ver.) That said, I'll still take Naked. (There's just something about the chatter... However, Anthology 3 Dig a Pony is the way to go.)
I laughed that I listened through Revolution 9. If it comes up on shuffle, how are you not gonna skip it? Howevva, if you're listening to disc 2 of the White Album I can't bring myself to skip it entirely. Skipping straight to Good Night feels like somethings missing. I like to play the first 1-2 mins, then skip to the last minute that way I get that edge and nice segue into Good Night.
For Beatle-philes that want to know way too much about everything I found
this site which explicates a bunch of musical stuff that's over my head, but still a fun read.
The mini-docs are cool, if fluffy. But what do yo expect, George to say "Yeah, Paul really pissed me off" in the Let it Be doc?