thanks everyone for the welcoming words, and the great advice. I'll start looking into these albums.

Hello everyone,
    I'm a growing Beach Boys fan. I got Pet Sounds in high school, hated it on the first listen, then loved it the second time. But for some reason I never bought anything else--I think I was a little unsure where to go. After I saw "Love and Mercy" I had to hear more, so I got the Smile Sessions, and gradually started buying up their late 60s-early 70's work. I'm blown away by how great this music is (even if some of the albums have some weak points), and how unappreciated it was at the time. My 1.5 year old daughter is already a huge fan, and my wife is getting into it.
    What brought me to this site was an interest in collecting their earlier work. It's good stuff, but I'm not sure I want to buy the albums before Today (I have Today and Summer Days already). So I was hoping to find the best compilation for the early stuff that doesn't overlap too much with the later 60s work. I wasn't sure the best way to ask that (or if I'm even allowed to start a topic yet).