The Beach Boys are unquestionably one of America’s biggest legacy bands, but music nerds of a certain variety know they’re also way more than that. They weren’t just a fun-in-the-sun band that churned out hits in the early ’60s and lived off of them for the rest of their career; they were a challenging pop band who broke boundaries and released music that still sounds vital today. Forget Beatles vs Stones; when it comes to all-time groundbreaking pop, it’s Beatles vs Beach Boys.

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Pet Sounds is their obvious classic, and it. The band’s mastermind Brian Wilson is playing the album in full that hits Red Bank in NJ,, in Spain, and many more spots. Update: Brian added a Pet Sounds show at, and the band is the album. The great and storied (and eventually released) Smile was supposed to follow that, but was aborted after Mike Love’s objection to it and the label’s demand for a deadline. Brian’s mental health also got in the way.

Their power was in more than just those two albums though. There are hardly any Beach Boys albums that don’t have at least one worthy song, and as far as this list is concerned, they’ve got 28 albums. (We’re counting Smile and not counting Stars and Stripes Vol. 1, as it’s just re-recordings of older songs. No compilations, live albums or strictly-covers albums either.) Even by The Beatles’ breakup, The Beach Boys had released more, and they’ve currently put out more than The Rolling Stones. They were an unfuckwithable force in pop music into the early ’70s, and a few moments of greatness even existed after that.

With this list, we attempt to rank the discography of one of pop’s greatest bands from worst to best. Let us know how you agree or disagree in the comments, and read on — 28. Summer In Paradise (1992) This is the only Beach Boys album with no redeeming qualities. It’s not coincidentally the only album without Brian Wilson, and it’s also the one where they actually allowed Full House‘s John Stamos to sing. The music sounds like a parody of The Beach Boys with dated early ’90s production. Avoid at all costs.

Still Cruisin’ (1989) This just beats Summer In Paradise for having “Kokomo.” Of course that song is also not written by Brian Wilson and sounds like a Beach Boys parody (though at least it was co-written by the great John Phillips and Scott McKenzie), but it’s also undoubtedly the most memorable Beach Boys song of the ’80s. And for good reason. You probably agree as much as I do how much of an embarrassment it is to their prime era, but 27 years later it’s still a catchy song and a fan favorite in their live sets. And as much as I wish it wasn’t true, the song bests the album’s only Brian Wilson contribution, “In My Car.” Considering the rest of the album is old songs, a cover of “Wipe Out,” and throwaways, “Kokomo” is oddly its saving grace.

15 Big Ones (1976) It wasn’t really necessary for The Beach Boys to put out an album largely made up of early rock ‘n’ roll covers in the mid-’70s, but given that covers have at times been essential parts of their albums, it wasn’t entirely out of character. It’s not a great album, but it has some solid moments. Strangely enough, the star of the album is kind of Mike Love.

The Love-fronted cover of Chuck Berry’s “Rock and Roll Music” is fairly in line with early Beach Boys, and the lush, Love-penned “Everyone’s In Love With You” is the album’s prettiest original. The Brian-penned, Al Jardine-sung “T M Song” isn’t half bad, and those classic Beach Boys harmonies are still usually on point. Mostly though, the throwaways outweigh the good moments. Album (1978) The Beach Boys were still struggling to come out with good stuff in the late ’70s, but M.I.U. Album is at least better than a covers album. Some classic Brian comes through on his co-written (and Mike Love-sung) “Belles of Paris,” and “My Diane” comes close to his trademark melancholy. Dennis Wilson’s voice on that one was mostly shot by then, sadly, but the harmonies make up for it.

Opener “She’s Got Rhythm” isn’t particularly great and it’s certainly dated, but Brian’s falsetto remains angelic. (Light Album) (1979) This one is basically interchangeable with M.I.U. Album, but it gets one slot higher for a couple reasons. One: Brian’s opening track with his brother Carl (which Carl sings), “Good Timin’,” actually manages to sound like classic Beach Boys. Two: It has an 11-minute disco remake of “Here Comes the Night” from 1967’s Wild Honey.

Say that out loud once again. They took this ’60s song and added vocoder vocals, a funky bassline, and extended jams that aren’t a thousand miles away from James Murphy’s (maybe it’s not a coincidence that those collaborations yielded a song called “Here Comes the Night Time”).

It’s a little more incredible that it exists than how it actually sounds, but still. This song is wild. As an added bonus, “Baby Blue” ain’t too shabby of a Dennis Wilson ballad. The Beach Boys (1985) I said in the intro that there are hardly any Beach Boys albums that don’t have at least one worthy song. I’ve mentioned a few highlights on the previous albums, but starting here, every album has a handful of worthwhile tracks.

Brian wrote or co-wrote three songs on this one, and horribly dated production aside, you can still hear some of his magic. All three of Brian’s contributions have melodic changes that ever so slightly hint at his better days, and even the songs that aren’t penned by him have those Beach Boys harmonies that still no other band has been able to master.

It didn’t produce any real Beach Boys staples and it didn’t break any of the ground that their best releases did, but it’s too straight-up enjoyable to fully hate. Especially given the sort of ’80s pop revival that goes on today, these songs could be very fashionable right now with a little tweaking. Dev Hynes would probably love to write a song like “Crack At Your Love.” 22. Carl and the Passions – “So Tough” (1972) This is the followup to their last truly excellent album, and the first to feature Blondie Chaplin and Ricky Fataar. Blondie’s contributions would improve significantly on the next album, Holland (more on that one in a bit), but here his harder rock tendencies feel out of place and often hold the band back.

Brian doesn’t take lead on any songs and only contributes a bit of songwriting (including the highlight “Marcella”), but the real star on this album is Dennis. His ballads “Make It Good” and “Cuddle Up” are as good as most anything he’s written.

The Beach Boys’ Christmas Album (1964) One of Brian’s favorite albums of all time is the immortal holiday album A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector by his hero Phil Spector, so it’s no surprise that he’d make a holiday album of his own. And opener “Little Saint Neck” is as enduring as anything on Phil’s album. Brian takes a few songs that Phil also did on his album, including “White Christmas,” which he gives a breathtaking performance of. The unbeatable mid-’60s harmonies of The Beach Boys are in full effect on this album, and even if you may only play this stuff at one specific time in the year, it’s still worth coming back to over half a century later.

Keepin’ the Summer Alive (1980) The band sort of hit a weird stroke of genius with 1980’s Keepin’ the Summer Alive. They were just coming off two mediocre ’70s albums, they hadn’t yet adopted comically-’80s production, and they managed to churn out these songs that were highly spirited and don’t exactly sound like any other album in their catalog. The title track is downright fun, and not in the way that their early songs were, and Brian’s songwriting contributions feel less awkward than they had on the last two albums. My first time hearing this album was when a friend in college handed it to me and said, “Everyone told me The Beach Boys were washed up by the ’80s, they said don’t bother with Keepin’ the Summer Alive. It’s awesome.” He was not wrong. That’s Why God Made the Radio (2012) The Beach Boys’ most recent album and their first in 20 years proved to be a pretty major success.

All but one song was co-written by Brian, and he mostly tapped into the kind of sunshine pop that made up their most essential releases. This shouldn’t be too surprising; by this point Pet Sounds was a certified all-time classic and even Smile had finally been released and cherished by the public. Their harmonies still sound untouchable, and 50 years into their career they prove that none of the copycats can do it quite like The Beach Boys do it.

They played some of these songs on their and they fit right in next to the ’60s classics. That’s pretty amazing for any band that far into their career, let alone one with the massive roadbumps this band had. Surfin’ USA (1963) This is the lowest-ranking of the (non-holiday) early albums. Not because it doesn’t have any definite classics (it has two: the title track and “Shut Down”), but just because it doesn’t have any major milestones for the band and most of the others do. Five of its tracks are instrumental, three of which are covers, and there isn’t much besides the singles that’s still worth playing today.

One exception, however, is Brian’s early ballad “Lonely Sea” that had major hints of what he would soon achieve. Little Deuce Coupe (1963) This one was neck and neck with Surfin’ USA, but it gets the edge for a few reasons.

It shares “Shut Down” with that album (and “409” with the debut), so taking repeats out of the equation it has two classic singles to Surfin’ USA‘s one (“Little Deuce Coupe” and “Be True to Your School”). It’s also got two brilliant Brian ballads (“Ballad of Ole’ Betsy” and “Spirit of America”), which again, are often the most rewarding parts of these early albums. When you hear the early stuff at first, you may just hear flimsy pop songs, but when you’re listening with Pet Sounds and Smile in mind, it’s often the ballads that reveal the blueprints for those albums. Love You (1977) Admittedly, I like Love You more in concept than in actuality, but the story behind it and the weirdness of its existence keep it interesting. After Brian had retreated from much of the band’s writing and recording, he took most of Love You on by himself (it was originally intended to be a solo album). It hearkened back in spirit to Pet Sounds and “Good Vibrations,” but it was recorded largely with synthesizers before that approach became commonplace.

Theoretically, Love You is what Animal Collective and Panda Bear have spent the last nine years doing (though in reality, they’ve bested this album a few times). It’s a total outlier in the band’s catalog, a highly underrated album of the late ’70s, and a rare moment where Brian took control of songwriting during that era. It’s the first must-hear album on this list. Surfin’ Safari (1962) This is where it all started. Like with The Beatles, once you’ve explored their more adventurous material, you start to realize they were showing hints of brilliance from the beginning. This is clear from the first two seconds you throw on this record. The verses in the opening title track may be standard rock ‘n’ roll, but the intro/chorus already shows Brian’s ability to craft atypical melodies and complex harmonies.

And also like The Beatles, these early albums aren’t just curios for superfans. The simpler songs are fun and enjoyable in their own right.

Just like sometimes you’d rather hear “I Saw Her Standing There” than “Strawberry Fields Forever,” sometimes you’re just in the mood for “Surfin’ Safari,” “409” or “Surfin’,” all of which appear here. They also do Eddie Cochran’s “Summertime Blues” six years before Blue Cheer did and eight years before The Who did. (The Who’s version is probably the best, but this one has its merits too.) There are some major throwaways, like there’s no real reason to revisit their take on the nursery rhyme “Ten Little Indians.” Also Brian hadn’t developed his falsetto yet and Mike Love sings lead on most of the songs, two things that would have to change for the band to reach their greatest potential. Nevertheless, Surfin’ Safari had them coming out of the gate strong. 20/20 (1969) This one has an uneven and often disappointing side A, but side B is almost flawless. Side A kicks off with “Do It Again,” an obvious throwback to their early days in sound and song title, which felt like a major regression coming right after the band’s most creative period. Brian co-wrote it with Mike Love, and it’s always seemed like the moment Brian finally gave in to Mike’s three-year-long pleas to return to this sound.

Side A also has the hard rocking “All I Want to Do,” a sound that’s never suited them well, and Bruce Johnston’s pretty but mostly-unnecessary instrumental “The Nearest Faraway Place.” At least those are balanced out by Dennis’ quality ballad “Be with Me” and a fine Carl-sung version of The Ronettes’ “I Can Hear Music” (honoring the band’s Phil Spector influence once again). Side B begins with a cover of blues legend Lead Belly, and only gets better from there. The psychedelic waltz “I Went to Sleep” is up there with Brian’s best work and “Time to Get Alone” isn’t far behind. (They were also both reportedly written before the 20/20 sessions, which is not surprising.) Then comes Dennis’ masterful “Never Learn Not to Love,” which was based on a song given to him by his then-friend Charles Manson (despite Manson being a truly horrific person, it is difficult to deny his musical talent). And they’re less necessary in this context now that The Smile Sessions exist, but the album closes with two of the very best songs from the then-abandoned Smile, “Our Prayer” and “Cabinessence.” 13.

Holland (1973) After Blondie Chaplin struggled to fit in with the band’s sound on Carl and the Passions – “So Tough,” he ends up being the strongest part of Holland. Blondie takes lead vocals on opener “Sail On, Sailor,” a song Brian had written with Smile collaborator Van Dyke Parks that was given to the other band members (and a few co-writers) to finish. It’s the album’s best song, and remains their most memorable ’70s single. Some of the Wilson/Parks song cycles also must have rubbed off on Mike Love and Al Jardine, who offer the three-part “California Saga,” one of Love’s finest moments in the band. There isn’t much contribution from Brian on this one, but all the members are on their A game and it’s really a progressive record.

There are no throwaways or silly covers or needless instrumentals, and no throwbacks to their early days or misguided hard rock songs. It may have been unable to compete with The Dark Side of the Moon or Quadrophenia or Houses of the Holy when it came out, but today it sounds like a gem of that era. Shut Down Volume 2 (1964) Like most of the early albums, this one is still a mix of filler, covers, instrumentals and undeniable hits, but the hits on this one really hit. You may be sick of hearing “Fun, Fun, Fun,” but there’s a reason you know every word to it and there’s a reason this 50+ year old song wins over generation after generation. It’s pure pop magic. “Don’t Worry Baby” is just about as magical, and the Brian-sung cover of Frankie Lymon’s 1956 single “Why Do Fools Fall In Love” is a fine version.

As far as stepping stones to Pet Sounds are concerned, the most important moment of this album is “The Warmth of the Sun.” It’s one of Brian’s early melancholic ballads where he and his falsetto are the stars, and it’s one of the first examples of him toying with the standard rock chord progressions. All Summer Long (1964) “The Warmth of the Sun” may have hinted at the balladry of Pet Sounds, but the first time we hear Brian attempting the multi-layered complex pop is “I Get Around.” It was All Summer Long‘s lead single, opening track, and The Beach Boys’ first U.S.

The song sounded enough like a fun-in-the-sun pop song to fit in with stuff like “Fun, Fun, Fun” and “Surfin’ USA,” but Brian knew it was so much more. The way he brings in the overlapping vocal harmonies in the intro was some of his most complex work to date. And though he had worked with members of The Wrecking Crew before (the group of session musicians who Phil Spector also worked with), this was the first time he teamed with them to give The Beach Boys his own spin on Spector’s. If you’re making a list of milestones leading up to Pet Sounds, this song is a major one. The album’s title track, “Wendy,” and “Don’t Back Down” are three more stone cold classics of the early era; and “We’ll Run Away” and “Girls on the Beach” are two more of Brian’s excellent falsetto-led ballads. Both of them show how essential the group’s lush harmonies would be to those types of songs in their psychedelic period.

Surfer Girl (1963) As important as “I Get Around” is to the development of Pet Sounds and Smile, the best album of the band’s early period is their third album, Surfer Girl. Most importantly, it’s the first album where Brian was the album’s sole producer, which would be one of his most crucial roles a few years later. “Lonely Sea” on Surfin’ U.S.A. Hinted at it, but Brian’s first truly great ballads are on this album. The opening title track was the most gorgeous song he had written yet. (And if you’ve never checked out the version from the 1967 bootleg, you should.

They strip it down and make it hazy enough to fit in on Smiley Smile.) But the album’s best song and the best song of the early era in general, is “In My Room.” The first time we realize Brian excels as a personal songwriter is here. Add in the production flourishes of Pet Sounds, and it’d fit right in on that album.

It’s a perfect song. “Catch A Wave” is another of their better surf pop songs, and “Surfer Moon” and “Your Summer Dream” are both great showcases for Brian’s talent as an individual. It’s an early album so there are still a few skippable tracks, but the highs are very high. (1965) This is the first Beach Boys album that I no longer consider the “early era,” though it’s not yet the psychedelic era or the peak of their creativity either. It came out three months after Beatles for Sale, which was The Beatles’ first album after Bob Dylan had introduced them to pot. The transition that album makes is undeniable, and likewise Today!

Is Brian’s first album after being introduced to pot and it’s the first one that you can’t call surf pop. Side A still has a foot in the earlier material and contains two of that era’s best songs: their cover of the Bobby Freeman-penned “Do You Wanna Dance?” and their first version of “Help Me, Ronda.” But otherwise this album comes in at #9 on this list for side B. All of the songs (not counting the final jokey spoken word track) are ballads, fleshed out more than ever by The Wrecking Crew who at this point are as important to the band’s sound as Brian himself.

Brian sings lead on four of them (Dennis takes the fifth), and he’s really diving into the introspective lyrical approach that would define Pet Sounds. Brian wasn’t quite ready to write his masterpiece yet, but you can hear on side B of Today! How close he was.

Wild Honey (1967) Wild Honey was released just two months after Smiley Smile, the scrapped-together home recordings of songs from the aborted Smile album, and this one was done in a similar way. The band were no longer using studio musicians, Brian stepped down from his role as producer, and they abandoned the extreme advances in production they had made on Pet Sounds for rougher recordings in Brian’s home studio. Free Flight Planning Software Downloads.

It certainly wasn’t a commercial success, and hardly any songs from it became staples in live sets or on greatest hits albums, but it remains a thrilling part of their late ’60s psychedelic era. The opening title track brings back the theremin they used on “I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times” and most famously on “Good Vibrations,” giving it an edge that feels distinctly Beach Boys. A lot of the songs — “Aren’t You Glad,” “Country Air,” “I’d Love Just Once to See You,” “Here Comes the Night” and “Let the Wind Blow” — are the kind of quirky lo-fi-ish pop songs that made Smiley Smile so intriguing, and this often feels like a companion to that album. (It makes sense that the reissue was packaged that way.) The only actual connection to Smile though is “Mama Says,” which is a reworked part of “Vega-Tables.” Sometimes I actually prefer this weird a cappella version.

Sunflower (1970) After the 1960s ended, The Beach Boys had another creative boost. They weren’t doing weird lo-fi recordings anymore, and they successfully moved past the indecisive 20/20 to write another classic album.

An early highlight is Brian’s “This Whole World” that sounded more spirited that he had in a while, and he and Carl sound great singing it together. “Deirdre,” “All I Wanna Do,” and “Our Sweet Love” have remnants of the psychedelic era, and they’re three of the band’s most gorgeous ’70s songs.