Best general recommendation for the first-time listener...

[Gabo]

Generally I wouldn't laugh off Shut Down Volume 2, only it's a very overrated album.

Sure, it's got Warmth of the Sun, Don't Worry Baby, Fun, Fun, Fun. Then you get total crap like Denny's Drums and Louie Louie.

It's still quite a good album, only I just don't see the appeal to it. Give me All Summer Long anyday!

[Micha]

Either 20/20, Sunflower, Surf's Up, CATP or Holland.

In particular the rockers from this period make for an excellent introduction to the Beach Boys. And Surf's Up and CATP in particular have been received quite well with the people I've showed them to so far.

The people I played CATP to said it lacked punch and is boring.

Maybe it's subjective. I've played CATP to several people and they've all really liked it.

Why, of course it's subjective! And both of us played CATP to totally different people. AND we both are right in our tastes although we disagree completely!

Still say I'd recommend any album from 20/20 to Holland. Can't go wrong with those choices!  

You can go wrong!

[Gabo]

Still say I'd recommend any album from 20/20 to Holland. Can't go wrong with those choices! 

The problem with Holland and CATP is that they sound nothing like The Beach Boys. Some nice cuts, but not representative of the other 99.9% of their music.

[bluesno1fann]

Generally I wouldn't laugh off Shut Down Volume 2, It's a quite good album.

Sure, it's got Warmth of the Sun, Don't Worry Baby, Keep An Eye On Summer. Then you get total crap like Denny's Drums and Louie Louie.

It's still quite a good album, Warmth Of The Sun and Don't Worry Baby easily redeem the crap. Still, give me Carl And The Passions anyday!

[bluesno1fann]

Wait... wait, I think somebody just said "Girls on the Beach" is "Total Crap".  I must actually be in a film discussion forum, because there's no way in HELL somebody said that in a music related forum...

Great song. Love Denny on the bridge!

I really don't care for the song. For once the singing is not up to the Beach Boys standard; Surfer Girl, In My Room, Lonely Sea, Little Girl, Warmth Of The Sun, Don't Worry Baby and Keep An Eye On Summer are much better songs, and the Denny part is actually the worst part.

All IMHO of course. For a lot of people, such as yourself, Ron and Rab, it's a great song. For me, it really brings down All Summer Long.
I would never consider it to be one of the Beach Boy's worst, but I still generally dislike the song.

[bluesno1fann]

Still say I'd recommend any album from 20/20 to Holland. Can't go wrong with those choices!  

The problem with Holland and CATP is that they sound nothing like The Beach Boys. Some nice cuts, but not representative of the other 99.9% of their music.

Same with their early Surf/Car stuff. But though they may be different to the usual BB's sound due to Blondie and Ricky, it was still an excellent time. Awesome music, brilliant live performances!
I'd rather show CATP and Holland to non-Beach Boy fans than the early Surf/Car stuff

Still say I'd recommend any album from 20/20 to Holland. Can't go wrong with those choices! 

You can go wrong!

I don't see how. All great albums!

[southbay]

All Summer Long

[JK]

Then you get total crap like Girls On The Beach

You should buy and read a copy of Philip Lambert's 'Inside The Music Of Brian Wilson' - he wrote 2-3 pages on this song alone - the basis of it being that this song was the first sign of Brian's "new focus on innovation and structural cohesion."

You may not like it, but it's definitely not crap.

He also said the perfectly pleasant 'Carl's Big Chance' was total crap as well... I'd hate to think what adjectives he uses to describe, say, Barbie Girl by Aqua or anything by Robbie Williams.

Total crap? "A modest instrumental ... It may be filler material but the Boys deserved a break, and Carl Wilson fans deserved a treat." (p. 156)

"Girls On The Beach" is awesome. Robbie ain't bad either.

[Freddie French-Pounce]

Count me in the crowd that dislikes Girls On The Beach.

I dislike Surfer Girl sometimes too.

They're essentially the same some afterall

[Sheriff John Stone]

I like "Girls On The Beach". It was essential on Endless Summer, but on an overall greatest hits comp, I could see it getting bumped.

"Girls On The Beach" is a borderline great song, but I always thought the mix was a little off. It's a little shouty, Brian sounds slightly sharp (maybe?), and I don't think Dennis exactly nails his part. I would've preferred Mike or Brian singing Dennis' part; I assumed Brian was trying to get Dennis more involved. But, I really like the song. It makes me feel good.

[Ovi]

To each his own, but 'Girls On The Beach' would easily make my top 5 Beach Boys songs ever. I can't even begin to say how much I love it.

[bringahorseinhere?]

'girls on the beach' is musically clever and exciting too.... great use of chords and the key changes..... just 'outta sight'

RickB

[Pacific Coast]

Wait... wait, I think somebody just said "Girls on the Beach" is "Total Crap".  I must actually be in a film discussion forum, because there's no way in HELL somebody said that in a music related forum...

Great song. Love Denny on the bridge!

I really don't care for the song. For once the singing is not up to the Beach Boys standard; Surfer Girl, In My Room, Lonely Sea, Little Girl, Warmth Of The Sun, Don't Worry Baby and Keep An Eye On Summer are much better songs, and the Denny part is actually the worst part.

All IMHO of course. For a lot of people, such as yourself, Ron and Rab, it's a great song. For me, it really brings down All Summer Long.
I would never consider it to be one of the Beach Boy's worst, but I still generally dislike the song.

I love Denny's out-of-sync double-tracking on the bridge. Totally charming.
I also love when the song transposes in the middle of the last verse. Awesome songwriting.

[rab2591]

Wait... wait, I think somebody just said "Girls on the Beach" is "Total Crap".  I must actually be in a film discussion forum, because there's no way in HELL somebody said that in a music related forum...

Great song. Love Denny on the bridge!

I really don't care for the song. For once the singing is not up to the Beach Boys standard; Surfer Girl, In My Room, Lonely Sea, Little Girl, Warmth Of The Sun, Don't Worry Baby and Keep An Eye On Summer are much better songs, and the Denny part is actually the worst part.

All IMHO of course. For a lot of people, such as yourself, Ron and Rab, it's a great song. For me, it really brings down All Summer Long.
I would never consider it to be one of the Beach Boy's worst, but I still generally dislike the song.

I love Denny's out-of-sync double-tracking on the bridge. Totally charming.

It's quite brilliant: After two verses of classic Beach Boys harmony, Denny alone gives a mournful/heartbreaking lead vocal, then all the guys come back in with their pitch-perfect vocals. It's a great example of how talented these guys were.

[retrokid67]

actually my favorite part of the Girls on the Beach movie was the intro  (actually all the musical numbers were except for the Crickets  )  too bad YouTube snatched it, the movie was starting to grow on me

[Gabo]

To each his own, but 'Girls On The Beach' would easily make my top 5 Beach Boys songs ever. I can't even begin to say how much I love it.

[Ron]

To each his own, but 'Girls On The Beach' would easily make my top 5 Beach Boys songs ever. I can't even begin to say how much I love it.

Yeah,... I'm in the mood tonight to let other people have their asine, completely wrong, stupid opinions   So I'll humour that somebody doesnt' like the song.  I just can't understand why. 

Now is it my favorite?  No.  ... but I don't see how the guy above said that vocally it isn't there.  It sounds amazing!  Just the intro is incredible, and it's that super thick, over the top, syrupy Beach Boys harmony that although they did SO well, they really only did this thick on just a few tracks.  it's a full song, with FULL 4 or 5 part harmony, all the way through.  Fairly rare for the Boys, and shows off just how great they could sing in my opinion.

To each his own.  Live and let live.  Cest La Vie

[bluesno1fann]

Then you get total crap like Girls On The Beach

You should buy and read a copy of Philip Lambert's 'Inside The Music Of Brian Wilson' - he wrote 2-3 pages on this song alone - the basis of it being that this song was the first sign of Brian's "new focus on innovation and structural cohesion."

You may not like it, but it's definitely not crap.

He also said the perfectly pleasant 'Carl's Big Chance' was total crap as well... I'd hate to think what adjectives he uses to describe, say, Barbie Girl by Aqua or anything by Robbie Williams.

Total crap? "A modest instrumental ... It may be filler material but the Boys deserved a break, and Carl Wilson fans deserved a treat." (p. 156)

"Girls On The Beach" is awesome. Robbie ain't bad either.

Not familiar with Robbie Williams at all, so I can't comment on that.

Girls On The Beach and Carl's Big Chance are bad. But Barbie Girl is one of the most wretched, horrid, and downright asinine songs I have ever heard in my entire life. Even when I was little, I fucking hated it. Oh, and DAMN YOU FOR REMINDING ME OF THAT GOD-FORSAKEN "SONG"!!!

Agreed with Freddie on Girls On The Beach. Disagree with what he said about Surfer Girl 

Oh, and as I said earlier the Denny part is the worst part of Girls On The Beach. Cringe-worthy to the extreme. All IMHO though

[metal flake paint]

Here's an alternate version of Girls On The Beach, sans Denny's contribution

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpXYO6KdY0s

[JK]

Barbie Girl is one of the most wretched, horrid, and downright asinine songs I have ever heard in my entire life. Even when I was little, I fucking hated it. Oh, and DAMN YOU FOR REMINDING ME OF THAT GOD-FORSAKEN "SONG"!!!

Oh come on! Anyone who isn't genuinely moved when Ken sings "Come on Barbie let's go party" must have a heart of stone.  

Wonderful to see "GOTB" getting some kudos and not just crap thrown at it.  

[ThyRavenAscend]

I'm going to respectfully disagree with the entire premise.  Nothing turns people off to music quicker than someone who's really passionate about the music trying to get them to listen to it and notice every little thing that's great about it. 

The best approach, if you were attempting to get a friend to get 'more' into the Beach Boys, is to talk to them about songs of the Beach Boys they already like.  If they claim they don't like one, ask them about Good Vibrations or Little Deuce Coupe or something. 

The question wasn't posed as the "best way to get a friend into the Beach Boys"--it's about sifting through the Beach Boys' massive canon to come up with a single album that has the best chance at playing out well to a general pool of  first-time listeners.
A scenario where this "methodology" might be useful (albeit, an entirely unlikely scenario): you have a room with 100 people who have never listened to the Beach Boys and who are picked at random (so you don't know their ages, genders, personalities, etc.); you get to play for the whole room one Beach Boys album--which do you pick?  That's more what I'm thinking for this question.    Just like how there are good reasons to point a first-time reader of the Bible to the Gospel of Mark than to Judges (even while both are of great value, and even admitting that Judges might be a better read for a few of these people than the Gospel of Mark), so there are good reasons to point a first-time listener of the Beach Boys to Album X instead of Album Y.

With that said, my answer is...

this guy's answer:

Today. It's got a helping of the 'hits' but the amazing emotion of the 2nd half gives a great snapshot of the deep deep soul of this band. It really is a milepost in the band's career me thinks.

I couldn't agree more.  If the goal of a general recommendation is to provide something most people can connect with, I can't think of a better Beach Boys' album that people can connect to lyrically because the lyrics are timeless (being about relationships...and dancing...as opposed to cars or surfboards).  If the goal is to cultivate a desire for continued listening/exposure, then Today! makes sense as it is, IMHO, the bridge of the Beach Boys' canon: if the listener likes the "oldies" feel of Today!, they may want to go backwards in the discography; if they like the "artsy" feel, they may want to go forwards.

Although Pet Sounds reigns over Today! for most of us, in short, I think it would probably go over many people's heads.  Maybe this is just my personal experience though, for I connected immediately with Today! whereas Pet Sounds took me awhile...

[Ron]

What do you mean by, Pet Sounds would "Go over many people's heads" ?

[Rocky Raccoon]

What do you mean by, Pet Sounds would "Go over many people's heads" ?

It was the album that got me into them, I thought it was the album that got most people into them as well (that is if thy weren't already fans in the 60s and 70s).  It's not a complicated album, yeah it's sophisticated for its time but it's still very much a pop album and a very accessible one at that.  I'd say it's more accessible than some of their early albums which while good are certainly dated.  One of the strengths of Pet Sounds is that it stands the test of time.

[job]

In Concert

[Alex]

Cocaine Sessions!