The main weakness with "Surf's Up" is that Dennis did NOT contribute; his songs were dropped. Toss out Mike's "Student Demonstration Time" and put in Dennis' "4th of July," and you have almost a perfect record.

Sunflower is number one for me. Still sounds astonishing 50 years on - and yet at the same time it is SO evocative of the year 1970. All I Wanna Do - what a rich and celestial sound. Such a DEEP band.

I'm just listening to 20/20 for the first time....It's so damn good.

Summer Means True Love...can't forget THAT one!!!Your Summer Dream(Surfer Girl)and Girls On The Beach(Shut Down vol.2)..Beautiful!!!!

Seeing that " Friends" is only 25 minutes long you must have heard it about 100 times on your trip up north. Like your list a lot. I love the Smile album Brian finally completed around 2004. A sonic delight. Still listen to that endlessly to this day. My top three BB albums are 1. Pet Sounds 2. Beach Boys Love You 3. Friends. Whenever I get a chance to see Brian in concert I always hope he will sing Solar System from Love You. Still waiting. A personal favorite Beach Boys song of mine is "All This Is That" from Carl And The Passions : So Tough. It was great to hear them do it live on their 50th anniversary tour.

Great top 10 Mine would be: 10. Smiley Smile 9. Summer Days and Summer Nights 8. Holland 7. Wild Honey 6. Smile Sessions 5. Surf's Up 4. Beach Boys Today 3. Friends 2. Sunflower 1. Pet Sounds

Wild honey is one of the most underrated albums ever Here comes the night!

I think its ironic the Beach Boys recorded a song called Dont go near the water ..i believe its on their Surf's up album

The Sunflower album is actually my favorite Beach Boys album of all time, with Pet Sounds at number 2. Call me crazy I guess, lol. I just think that the production of the album is kinda just okay. The tracks all have a lot of treble and distortion sometimes on vocals. It does have a very unique sound that had never been replicated before that I do kinda like, just not the overdose of treble. Also, listen to any song that Bruce sings. Not just on Sunflower, but on any Beach Boys album that Bruce sings. Even on Bruce's solo album, Bruce always some sort of effect on his vocals. He never has just clean vocals. There's always some sort of heavy phasing that make the vocals sound like they're sunk into the mix or the vocals just go left and right due to phasing. Any song Bruce sings on. Tell me you hear it. It helps to wear headphones too.

Don’t forget David Lee Marks! He was a beach boy from 1962 to 1963.

Mine: 1. Good Timing 2. God Only Knows 3. I Can Hear Music 4. Don’t Worry Baby 5. Do You Wanna Dance? 6. Surfer Girl 7. Cottonfields 8. Break Away 9. Sloop John B 10. In My Room

My top 10 would be : 10. Carl and the Passions 9. 20/20 8. Today 7. Wild Honey 6. SMiLE 5. Surf's up 4. Friends 3. Love You 2. Sunflower 1. Pet Sounds

1. Sunflower 2. Pet Sounds 3. Today! 4. Holland 5. Wild Honey 6. 20/20 7. Friends 8. Surf’s Up 9. Carl and the Passions 10. Beach Boys In Concert 1973

Great Band! One of my favourites

The train horn in background - echoes of Pet Sounds

Agree. "Friends" is a classic album. One of my favourites. I feel the Beachboys at their height were in a different league to most other bands of those times and today.

Thank you very much for this video. Love the Poster! Keep on doing. By the way, love burning backwards!

1. Pet Sounds 2. Today 3. Sunflower 4. Holland 5. Surf's Up 6. Smile 7. All Summer Long 8. Summer Days and Summer Nights 9. Wild Honey 10. Surfer Girl

Very cool reviews. Appreciate the fun opinions. So much musical wonder to choose from.

It's no surprise to anyone that Pet Sounds is at the top of the list. I liked your top 10, I love "Friends" too, this album is absolutely enchanting and soft to the ears, like slippers on a cold day. I missed "Beach Boys Today!", from 1965. This album has acquired a surreal importance in my life in recent months, especially with its B-side, as a harbinger of Pet Sounds to come...

I still have so much to learn about The Beach Boys. It is a joy to hear & learn more & more about their catalog. Thus far, Surfs Up & Friends are my personal favorites.

Fantastic video. Brings back a lot of memories. After I get through relistening to my Jayhawks albums, I'll probably do Beach Boys next. (If you don't know The Jayhawks Brian, I highly recommend them.)

Great video mate 👍 my top ten are: 10: Surf’s Up 9: 20/20. 8: Adult/Child. 7: Wild Honey. 6: Smile. 5: Beach Boys Love You 4: Sunflower. 3: Beach Boys Today! 2: Pet Sounds. 1: Friends

Interesting selection. Sunflower is a very popular album amongst beach boys fans. Great vid

Smile is a beautiful collection of songs. I listened to the live concert of Brian wilson and the newer band playing the album and was blown away

I love your passion for the beach boys, I have a growing beach boys collection, over 150 pieces, I used to make vinyl videos but can't find the time anymore..the 20/20 album eye chart was a play on words...20/20 as in 20/20 vision, that was their 20th album...

Cool story about your wedding. Very creative !

Great video! I'm trying to get into the Beach Boys more, since they're so important to the history of music and audio production.

Hi Brian.! I’m late to your channel, I became a Beach Boys fan about 4 years ago, Pet Sounds and SMiLE sessions were my first two introductions, life changed then, there music has helped me out and still is, through all kinds of good and bad times. The Beatles are my number one of all time too, but The Beach Boys are now in my top 5 all time favorites artists, it’s been a journey discovering all there albums, for me, my top 5 are, as of this moment. Pet Sounds SMiLE Sessions Sunflower Friends Wild Honey

I knew what was coming next every time spot on!

I’d say my top ten would be: 1. Pet Sounds 2. Sunflower 3. SMiLE Sessions 4. Today! 5. Smiley Smile 6. Surfs Up 7. Wild Honey 8. Summer Days ( and Summer Nights) 9. Friends 10. 20/20

surfer girl is one of my favorites.

Great video. Some interesting choices here

You're really lucky to have found what you found in your partner! I'm wishing you both the best and also, huge respect for you standing behind LA Light Album like that! - Jay

i'm going to vote before watching your videos 1) sunflower 2) Friends 3) Surf's Up 4) Pet Sounds 5) wild honey. just the top 5

Love how Beach Boys have sooo many different era of music. So many great albums. I am going to listen to the “ Love You” album again

If you could pick one more I would choose the first concept album Little Duece Coupe no filler, and songs like "a young man is gone" and "spirit of america" are worth the price of admission

I enjoyed watching this video. Most of fans hate or Ignore L.A.(Light Album). But you save it. My Top 10 (Nobody agrees, but I seriously choose) #1 Party #2 All Summer Long #3 Love You #4 Sunflower #5 Still Cruisin' #6 15 Big Ones #7 Today #8 Shut Down Volume 2 #9 Keepin' The Summer Alive #10 M.I.U. Album

Great list! Today and Surfin USA are also high up there for me. Their youthful energy and innocence on tunes like The Lonely Sea, Farmer's Daughter and The Surfer Moon are just too much!

What do you think about "Carl and the Passions - So Tough" ? It's one of my favorite

And believe it or not, what got me interested and curious in them, was when I watched the Love and Mercy film, I didn’t know anything about them before I watched that, hence why my first proper introductions to the music was Pet Sounds and SMiLE, since that film focused on those era’s heavily. Say what you want about the film, but I say thank you, without it, I wouldn’t be where I am now with The Beach Boys and Brian Wilson. Thought id share, nice to meet you Brian. I dig your channel.!

Hi, I really enjoyed the video and all the personal mentions about the albums. My favorite albums of them would probably be Pet Sounds, Sunflower, Smile Sessions and Wild Honey, which although it is very short is very very good in my opinion (the same I think of Friends). I always thought The Beach Boys had made Pet Sounds and then back to their classic style, but recently I heard Wild Honey, which was surprisingly good, and after that Sunflower, which I like to call "The Beach Boys' Abbey Road. ". It's my favorite after Pet Sounds for its hippie and mature sound, and Dennis's Forever is ... Incredible. Right now I started listening to their 70's albums, and one that interested me was Holland, because I already knew their first song, Sail On Sailor. It is an excellent album in my opinion, very different from all their previous works and the California Saga of Mike and Al surprised me. Sorry for the long comment, it is that I was very pleased to find a channel that spoke of one of my favorite bands, and not just Pet Sounds or the surf-rock stage.

1. The Smile Sessions 2. Pet Sounds 3. Friends 4. Love You 5. Sunflower 6. Smiley Smile 7. Wild Honey 8. Holland 9. Surf's Up 10. Today

Interesting video. I will listen to some of these that I maybe have not given enough attention to. I tend to keep with Pet Sounds, Smile and the run from Sunflower to Holland, maybe I should cast my net a bit wider.

I'm the outlier, because my favorite Beach Boys album is Stack-O-Tracks, the instrumental compilation, which I originally bought on used LP in the esrly Eighties and began playing heavily after seeing them live made me super sentimental. I have listened to it just to study the bass and percussion parts.

honestly surprised how many people in the comments are putting Smile (relatively speaking) low, imo Pet Sounds and Smile reign supreme, towering over even their number 3 (either Friends or Love You imo)

1 Pet Sounds sessions - 2. Smiley Smile stereo - 3. Surf´s Up - 4. Holland - 5. Sunflower - 6 .20/20 - 7. Friends - 8. Carl & the Passions. ❤

Happy to see you do Beach Boys stuff, keep up with your great content

Lady Lynda was a big hit here in the UK, Reached number 6.

Agreed. Surfs Up (the song) is one of the greatest things i have ever heard! and a rather recent discovery for me.

1 sunflower 2 pet sounds ( my mind changes between 1st and 2nd) 3 surfs up 4 Smile sessions 5 La light (very underrated) 6 thats why god made the radio 7 beach boys self titled (underrated) 8 holland 9 beach boys today 10 beach boys love you

L.A. and Keepin' the Summer Alive are my top 2!

Great video man!

i remember growing up in the northeastern u.s. early 80s I would mention I really liked pet sounds and no one even heard of it unless they were real die hard music fans. Now it's like sgt pepper. I think a lot of non beach boy fans jumped on the pet sounds train only when it was getting recognition in the last 30 years.

1. Pet Sounds 2. Smiley Smile 3. Surf's Up 4. The Beach Boys Today! 5. Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) 6. All Summer Long 7. Sunflower 8. Wild Honey 9. Friends 10. Surfer Girl

Good interesting list. About "This Whole World"; a great song but I always felt like it seems incomplete, like it needs another chorus at its regular tempo. I believe if that was added it may have been considered as a single and maybe a hit. 20/20 is very much worth a listen and is a fun album. I had one of those Brother/Reprise 2-LP editions with Wild Honey. Pet Sounds is probably one of the greatest albums of all time because you can listen to it multiple times and hear different musical things. Yeah, it's that good. The standard mono version of this album is the way to go here but I'm also one of those rare fans who also enjoys the Duophonic version of this album.

this whole world chords are all over the place, crazy stuff indeed

Really good content

Brian Wilson didn't really have much to do with the "Holland" album itself. But my copy, bought in 1973, included a 7-inch EP which is almost all Brian. It's a 12-minute suite, called "Mount Vernon and Fairway (A Fairy Tale)", about a magic transistor radio (ask your grandparents, kids). Just wondering if you have it or have heard of it, since you didn't mention it in your countdown.

Nice man, your english is very easy to understand, to me that dont speak a perfect english... My top 5 1 Pet sounds 2 Wild honey 3 20-20 4 Smile 5 friends

20/20 & Surfs Up . Funky Pretty from Holland also.

If you checked out my Ritual Saturday Listening list today on my Facebook page, you would have noticed that "Sunflower" was one of my picks for today. I posted most of the songs from it a bit later. Yes, I always wondered why the album sounds so unusually different and good. Thanks for the explanation. "The Beatles Second Album" was also on today's Saturday Ritual list, in addition to The Anchor + Bear "Raindrops and Gold" (which I also later posted in its entirety.) I noticed that's a Stereo pressing of "Pet Sounds" you have there, which obviously is not a Capitol pressing, but perhaps from Analogue Productions? Do you now prefer "Pet Sounds" in Stereo? I was working in a Record Store when "Love You" came out. Man, what a hard sell that one was. A year and a half later we couldn't even give away cut out copies marked $1.99. Agreed, it certainly is a weird one, and deserves to be more recognized.

Wow Brian, you showed some restraint in putting together a Beach Boys top ten list and not including any pre-1966 albums. Pretty cool! Are you going to be picking up the "Feel Flows" box set when it comes out later this year?

1. Smile 2. Pet Sounds 3. Today 4. Surfs up 5. Sunflower 6. Friends 7. Summer days 8. 20/20 9. Shut down vol.2 10. Smiley Smile

Nice video! Very thoughtful picks.. I’m so glad that you picked “L.A.(Light Album) in your top ten - I thought that I was the only person in the world that liked it, and I am going to put it on my personal list as runner up at number eleven - my picks are.. 10. “Surfin’ USA 9.) “All Summer Long” 8.) “Summer Days” (And Summer Nights) 7.) “The Beach Boys Christmas Album” 6.) “Surf’s Up” 5.) “Friends” 4.) “Smiley Smile” 3.) “The Beach Boys Today!” 2.) “The Beach Boys Love You” 1.) “Pet Sounds”

I would have to include Endless Summer or another compilation of the early hits...and the Today album ❤✌

My top 5: (5) Sunflower (4) Smile (3) Holland (2) Surf’s Up (1) Pet Sounds

Friends is a beauty, probably my #2 after Pet Sounds. I also actually really like all their early surf shit too.

Happy LA made top 10. Thanks

Beach Boys trivia: everyone stresses the first word when they say PET Sounds, when in fact you should stress the second-Pet SOUNDS. Brian Wilson would say that the sounds he created in the studio were his pets, and that’s what the title of the album refers to. Pet SOUNDS. Like his pet dogs or his pet turtles. His pet sounds.

Great Choice ! Though I would put Surfer Girl In Place of ‘ Love You ‘ I love the raw emotional singing and upbeat songs on that Album ,Les instruments which helps you listen to the beautiful voices more clearly.Your Summer Dream ‘ a great example

Lady Lynda is a gorgeous songs, the harmonies on the final part of the song is gorgeous.

1. Pet Sounds 2. Today! 3. Sunflower 4. Summer Days 5. Love You 6. Friends 7. Surfs Up 8. All Summer Long 9. Surfer Girl 10. Wild Honey

Friends is my absolute favorite album by The Beach Boys! Wish it was a little longer though.

Cool clock!

My List : 10. Friends 9. Surfer Girl 8. 20/20 7. Summer Days and Summer Nights 6. All Summer Long 5. The Beach Boys Love You 4. Sunflower 3. Wild Honey 2. The Beach Boys Today! 1. Pet Sounds

How come the pre-1966 albums get no love from you? Look, I'm no fan of their 1962-63 concept albums dedicated to cars and surfing, either---but I think you should at least give a listen to the creative spark Brian had in the 1964-65 period,, with "Today", "Summer Days and Summer Nights", and the single "Little Girl I Once Knew". I still think that 1965 was when Brian's brain really turned on and he was at his most creative stride because he was trying to fight off the British Invasion alone and i think he did a brilliant job even before he got to "Pet Sounds" and "Smile"---and you can thank the Beatles for making him competitive

Have been a massive Beach Boy fan since 1964. Here is my list of what I "objectively" think are their top LPs, Surf's Up being the one I have personally love the most: 1. Pet Sounds 2. Smile (my 12 song version, though the 2011 version is also terrific) 3. Sunflower 4. Surf's Up (might have been #1 if it had Wouldn't It Be Nice to Live Again and 4th of July) 5. Holland 6. Today (would have been #5 if it Guess I'm Dumb had replaced Denny's Drums) 7. All Summer Long (would have been better if I Do was included in place of the comedy piece). 8. Summer Days and Summer Nights (would have been better if Sandy had been included). 9. Landlocked - My version of 13 songs recorded from Jan 1969-Aug 1970, 12 outtakes plus one 45 (Lady). Ten are traditionally associated with the LP but it excludes the three Surf's Up songs and adds Games Two Can Play, Back Home (1970 version) and Seasons in the Sun. 10. Reverberation - My version of 13 songs recorded from June 1968-Nov 1969, 10 outtakes + 3 Capitol Singles. As the last two are cheats I will add two more official releases - Friends and then Wild Honey. Though Surfer Girl, Shut Down Vol II and That's Why God Made the Radio could all have replaced Wild Honey for the 10th spot. Love You is the only other one that people usually place in their top 10 but it is not even on my top 20.

A lot of Beach Boys fans love Sunflower. It makes my top 10, but not top 5. 10. Today 9. Summer Days 8. Sunflower 7. Holland 6. Pet Sounds 5. Love You 4. Wild Honey 3. Surfs Up 2. Friends 1. Smile

Hot take….the self titled album from 85 has more standouts than the light album and keepin the summer alive. BUT I will say that “Goin’ On” is one of the greatest beach boys songs of all time

Not a big fan of LOVE YOU, but it's a great list. I'd add TODAY to the list, and maybe jettison LIGHT ALBUM and put on THAT"S WHY GOT MADE THE RADIO, if only for the last three BW songs on the record as well as a couple of others. The other amazing thing about "This Whole World" is the song's structure. Incredibly complex song in terms of that. Can't pick a favorite song on SUNFLOWER. Too many, like "Add Some Music," "Cool Cool Water," "Forever," "At My Window," Dennis' rockers, etc. Nice that you mentioned Desper's engineering. It's one of the warmest records you will ever hear. Wish others had recorded records that way.

My top 10 BB albums: 10 The Beach Boys Love You 9 Summer Days (And Summer Nights!) 8 Friends 7 Smiley Smile 6 Surfs Up 5 Wild Honey 4 Sunflower 3 Today! 2 SMiLE Sessions 1 Pet Sounds

Lol I pretty much have the exact opposite opinion on LA: Light Album! The tracks he isn't keen on are the ones I love and vice versa! :) Ultimately, I agree it's the most overlooked Beach Boys album

Thoughts on Ding Dang?

what about "Today!" ?

1. Sunflower. 2. Holland. 3. Surf's Up. 4. Pet Sounds. 5. Friends. 6. Today. 7. Smiley Smile. 8. 20/20. 9. Wild Honey. 10. Summer Nights.

Surf’s up came out in 1971

Nice video. Interesting list. You may be the only person to say something good about the L.A. Album. I would have placed Today! somewhere on my list. Had it not been for the closing track "Bull Session With Big Daddy", I think Today! would almost be as good and (nearly) as important as Pet Sounds.

Good info for a old guy who had them mostly on 45 rpm. May have to look for friends on 8 track my 68 Ford has a factory tape player be a good era fit .

No "Beach Boys Today!"? 😩

In no exact order, All Summer Long Surf's Up Carl and the Passions The Beach Boys Love You The Beach Boys Pet Sounds Wild Honey Sunflower Friends Today! Holland I left out the Christmas album because it's hard to rank holiday albums in with stuff that you listen to all year.

Pet Sounds was above& beyond any Beatles album. All summer long-Today-Summer Days too....3/4 of Sunflower-Surfs up-Holland pretty close.

Shut down Vol 2 !

1. The Smile Sessions 2. The rest

Great selection, I agree with many of your choices, except 'Love You'. I could never get into that album, it just sounds extremely dated and never struck any chords with me.

Surfs up Is honestly a top 10 song of all time

Love L.A.

If "Smile" had been finished, it would've been my number one. Might still be to be honest

right now my top 10 would go something like 10. Carl and the Passions - So Tough 9. Sunflower (indisputably gorgeous and an excellent showcase for their talent as a group, but as a whole it just feels, I dunno- too... sunny and flowery? for my tastes to make it any higher. It's almost a reverse-concept album for me- where the overall 'vibe' being a little too sugary detracts from the essential beauty of the individual tracks rather than elevating them) 8. Love You 7. Surf's Up (Student Demonstration Time doesn't exist) 6. Holland 5. Wild Honey 4. The SMiLE Sessions (if you wanna count it) 3. Pet Sounds 2. Today 1. Smiley Smile (this was sort of the soundtrack that got me through a rough time in life, and... I dunno, it just sorta takes me to a quiet place, nothing I can explain in more substantial terms) If The SMiLE Sessions don't count, bump everything up and throw The Beach Boys' Christmas Album (yup) at 10 Their earlier stuff sorta bleeds into one another for me, that being said All Summer Long would be my pick of the 'surf/cars/girls' era albums. 20/20 would be one of their absolute bests if you changed the sequencing, dropped the creepfest that is Never Learn Not to Love and threw in a finished version of Can't Wait Too Long. The demos/alternate versions of some of the Friends tracks make it obvious to me that that album was, to an extent, pared down deliberately- whereas on Smiley Smile and Wild Honey it was done out of necessity- and the result's a little less compelling for me. I get it, I just don't dig it as much.

So yeah i have surfs up