Beach Boys Albums Ranked Worst to Best

[drbeachboy]

It's my personal treatment, is all. I know it's considered their album. It is a bit weird where you don't sing one lead on your own album. Just odd that during C50 they included it, but not SIP.

I'm pretty sure they didn't -- my recollection is that the cover images covered neither 90s album.
That said, one reason to include Stars & Stripes and not SIP would be that the former featured Brian and the latter didn't.

I know the program from the C50 Tour featured every Beach Boys album cover, except SIP, and included S&S. 

Maybe Brian's management insisted that SIP be left out of the program. 

No matter the reason, it is still playing revisionist history. It was made, with their name on it, and should have been included.

[rogerlancelot]

I finally did it after years of really listening to all 30 studio albums not including Stars And Stripes Vol. 1 and made a list that I think is best to worst in my opinion:

01) SMiLE (disc 1 of TSS)
02) Pet Sounds
03) Sunflower
04) So Tough
05) Smiley Smile
06) Surf's Up
07) Love You
08) 20/20
09) Holland
10) Friends
11) Today
12) LA Album
13) All Summer Long
14) Wild Honey
15) That's Why God Made The Radio
16) Shut Down Vol. 2
17) The Beach Boys (1985)
18) Summer Days (And Summer Nights)
19) 15 Big Ones
20) Surfer Girl
21) Keepin' The Summer Alive
22) MIU
23) Little Deuce Coupe
24) Surfin' USA
25) Christmas Album
26) Stack Of Tracks
27) Still Cruisin'
28) Summer In Paradise
29) Party!
30) Surfin' Safari

Interesting list. At what point in the list (if any) do you start to 'not like' the albums?

Surprisingly, there are not really any albums that I do 'not like' on here. I thought about how often do I play them, therefore Smiley Smile gets played by myself slightly more than Surf's Up but that doesn't mean that the latter is not a better album than SS. It just all in how often I play them. I play So Tough a lot more than say Holland so that's why the list is why it is. The only BB related albums that I do 'not like' would be solo ventures like Looking Back With Love and Going Pubic.

[Disney Boy (1985)]

I'm afraid to say I've actually given this far more thought over the years than is probably healthy (and I've got very exact reasons as why each album ranks where it does, especially the first 21, all of which I love to varying degrees of obsessiveness). No Smile though coz it was never properly finished and for me it's all about the sessions...

1. Pet Sounds
2. Surf's Up
3. Today!
4. Smiley Smile
5. Sunflower
6. Summer Days...
7. All Summer Long
8. Friends
9. Wild Honey
10. Holland
11. 20/20
12. Love You
13. Surfer Girl
14. Shut Down Vol 2
15. Carl & The Passions
16. Surfin' USA
17. L.A. Light Album
18. Little Deuce Coupe
19. Party!
20. Christmas Album
21. The Beach Boys (85)
22. That's Why God Made The Radio
23. Surfin' Safari
24. 15 Big Ones
25. MIU
26. Keepin' The Summer Alive
27. Still Cruisin'
28. Summer in Paradise
29. Stars & Stripes

[Lee Marshall]

Hey Doc...I get that their name is on it.  But it isn't revisionist history with me because I ALWAYS considered it to be just a well done tribute lp which they contributed to ONLY.  If NOT ONE Beach Boy sings so much as one lead...

That'd make Guess I'm Dumb a song by the Beach Boys.  Surf and Drag Cities too.  'T'ain't the Beach Boys no matter what they printed on the cover/disc.

[drbeachboy]

Hey Doc...I get that their name is on it.  But it isn't revisionist history with me because I ALWAYS considered it to be just a well done tribute lp which they contributed to ONLY.  If NOT ONE Beach Boy sings so much as one lead...

That'd make Guess I'm Dumb a song by the Beach Boys.  Surf and Drag Cities too.  'T'ain't the Beach Boys no matter what they printed on the cover/disc.

No, you misunderstood me. I agree with you with S&S. I was referring to SIP not being represented, as revisionist.

[Toursiveu]

1.  Pet Sounds
2.  Sunflower
3.  Smile
4.  Friends
5.  Holland
6.  Summer Days and Summer Nights
7.  Wild Honey
8.  Surf's Up
9.  Today
10. 20/20
11. Carl and the Passions
12. All Summer Long
13. Little Deuce Coupe
14. Surfin' USA
15. Surfer Girl
16. That's Why God Made the Radio
17. Party
18. Shut Down Vol 2.
19. The Beach Boys
20. Smiley Smile
21. Surfin' Safari
22. Keepin' the Summer Alive
23. Christmas Album
24. 15 Big Ones
25. MIU
26. Light Album
27. Love You
28. Summer in Paradise
29. Still Cruisin'
30. Stars and Stripes, Vol. 1

[TimeToGetAlone]

I would say the placings I really don't get are Keepin' the Summer Alive/Surfin' Safari being so high and Love You/Carl and the Passions so low.  Most of the rest I can understand more or less.

My rankings, spaces added for general groupings...

1. Pet Sounds
2. The Smile Sessions
3. Sunflower
4. Today!

5. Surf's Up
6. Friends
7. Love You

8. Holland
9. 20/20
10. Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)
11. All Summer Long
12. Wild Honey
13. Smiley Smile
14. Carl and the Passions "So Tough"
15. Surfer Girl

16. Shut Down Volume 2
17. Surfin' USA
18. That's Why God Made the Radio
19. Party!

20. 15 Big Ones
21. Little Deuce Coupe
22. Christmas Album
23. The Beach Boys
24. M.I.U. Album
25. L.A. (Light Album)

26. Still Cruisin'
27. Surfin' Safari
28. Keepin' the Summer Alive

29. Summer in Paradise
30. Stars and Stripes, Vol. 1

[Lonely Summer]

S&S has to be absolute rock bottom for me. There's no reason to listen to this album again. At least SIP has a few good Carl vocals to lure me back to it.

[KDS]

Hey Doc...I get that their name is on it.  But it isn't revisionist history with me because I ALWAYS considered it to be just a well done tribute lp which they contributed to ONLY.  If NOT ONE Beach Boy sings so much as one lead...

That'd make Guess I'm Dumb a song by the Beach Boys.  Surf and Drag Cities too.  'T'ain't the Beach Boys no matter what they printed on the cover/disc.

No, you misunderstood me. I agree with you with S&S. I was referring to SIP not being represented, as revisionist.

Dr.

I agree with you that leaving off SIP is revisionist to a degree.  For better or for worse, it is a Beach Boys album. 

[Peter Reum]

I am not one to slag The Beach  Boys, but I am not disposed to rank all the various albums, but I'll do a top 5 and bottom 5

Top 5:

Smile
Pet Sounds
Wild Honey
Sunflower 🌻
Today


Bottom 5:

Summer In Paradise
Stars and Stripes
Beach Boys '85😜
Best of the Beach Boys  (1st in a series of Capitol  vapid and pointless reissues) 
Best of the Beach Boys  2 (Second of the ridiculous reissues)