"Abbey Road" is the last album recorded and the second-to-last album released by the Beatles. It was recorded as part of their attempt to get "back to basics" and eliminate over-dubbings. The band went into the project knowing that it would be their lastRolling Stone: Abbey Road ReviewNovember 1, 2003, and they agreed to set aside their differences to make the best album possible.

"Rolling Stone" magazine listed "Abbey Road" as the fourteenth greatest album of all time, and had this to say about the album: "That the Beatles can unify seemingly countless musical fragments and lyrical doodlings into a uniformly wonderful suite, as they've done on side two, seems potent testimony that no, they've far from lost it, and no, they haven't stopped trying. No, on the contrary, they've achieved here the closest thing yet to Beatles freeform, fusing more diverse intriguing musical and lyrical ideas into a piece that amounts to far more than the sum of those ideas."Rolling Stone: Abbey Road ReviewNovember 1, 2003

The Beatles had been through hard times in the two years leading up to this album: the death of their manager, numerous drug busts, and "creative differences." McCartney and Harrison were unhappy about John Lennon bringing Yoko Ono into the studio during recording, and, in turn, Lennon was unhappy that they didn't welcome Ono as gladly as he thought they should. Meanwhile, Ringo Starr felt neglected and unappreciated as a budding songwriter, while on the other end of the spectrum, George Harrison had written dozens of songs, but was still only being given two songs per album. Tensions had been high during the "Get Back" sessions a year earlier with Lennon, Harrison and Starr all threatening to leave the group at some point. For "Abbey Road" the Beatles put aside their conflicts to produce an excellent album. Studio out-takes from this era provide a glimpse into what must have been a relaxed, calm and peaceful atmosphere that would go on to help create "Abbey Road."

The album cover of "Abbey Road" played a significant part in the "Paul is dead" rumor. Conspiracists note that Paul McCartney is the only one who is walking with his right foot in front of his left. He is also walking barefoot; in Italian culture, the dead are buried barefoot. Some have also said that the other three Beatles are symbolically playing a part in the funeral procession. John, dressed all in white, is the priest. Ringo, dressed in black, is the executor. George, dressed in denim, is the grave digger.