The title song here hit #14 on the pop charts in 1962 and was followed by “Surfin’ USA,” which mapped out Wilson’s vision: to combine Chuck Berry’s rock & roll guitar with the intricate vocal harmonies of the Four Freshman.  

 Listening to the Beach Boys’ early material is a thrill—you can hear Wilson’s confidence and abilities grow with each new song.  

 The delicately melancholy “In My Room” and the yearning ballad “Surfer Girl,” both from this 1963 record, hinted at a heavy undertow pulling below the group’s frothy surface. 

 Early hits like “Surfin’ USA” provided a road map to ’60s suburban California kicks, and put dreams of riding the waves at Doheney, Del Mar, Tressles, and Laguna in the minds of kids who’d never even seen the Pacific Ocean. 

 “I Get Around,” with its handclap rhythm, surf guitar riff, and Wilson’s wild falsetto, is a career high point. 

 the mediocre Beach Boys Christmas Album is memorable for Wilson’s use of studio orchestration—something that would come to mark his brilliant mid-Sixties productions. 

 “Don’t Worry, Baby” and “The Warmth of the Sun” are among the most lush and wonderful songs the Beach Boys ever recorded. 

 The music of Today! (especially the second side) is orchestral, idiosyncratic, and revealing—a direct line into Wilson’s troubled romantic soul. “Kiss Me, Baby” and “Please Let Me Wonder,” in particular, are as complex and personal as any pop music ever made. 

 The Beach Boys rushed out Summer Days, notable mainly for the stellar single “California Girls,” before Brian went back to the studio to finish Pet Sounds. 

 A mostly acoustic “live” album recorded with friends (including Jan and Dean) in the studio. It sold much better on the strength of its #2 single, “Barbara Ann.” Also notable are three Beatles covers and a version of Dylan’s “The Times They Are a-Changin’.” 

 Inspired by the Beatles’ Rubber Soul, Pet Sounds was Brian Wilson’s attempt to make an entire coherent, emotionally honest record—a song cycle of loneliness, hope, and the search for love. It was also his most elaborate production, for which Wilson… 

 This album features “Good Vibrations,” released as a single in 1966. Recorded in three studios over six months, it is one of the most densely woven songs ever recorded—a “pocket symphony,” Wilson called it, in which he layered vocal track upon vocal… 

 A rougher album of California soul, on which Carl contributes his finest vocals on the excellent “Darlin’” and “I Was Made to Love Her,” a tribute to Stevie Wonder. 

 If you can get past sappy wannabe-hippie tracks like “Transcendental Meditation,” the album is gorgeous, with standout moments including “Meant for You” and Brian’s “Busy Doin’ Nothin’,” a samba shuffle in which Wilson details his homebound life. 

 This is essentially a Beach Boys karaoke record containing just instrumental backing tracks that “you can play along to”—fascinating for Beach Boys obsessives, perhaps, but unnecessary for anyone else. 

 This record features excellent vocals by Carl on songs such as “I Can Hear Music” and “Time to Get Alone,” as well as Dennis’s sweet “Be with Me” and another of Brian’s stay-at-home gems, “I Went to Sleep.” 

 The epitome of Seventies California cool. Songs such as “This Whole World,” “Add Some Music to Your Day,” “Forever,” and “Cool, Cool Water” are filled with crisp melodies, delicate harmonies, and a mood of hope and sunshine. 

 The four-minute title track is like the hangover to all the group's early surf-song highs. The album also features the excellent "Long Promised Road," "Feel Flows," and Brian's heartbreaking "'Til I Die." 

 This is one of The Beach Boys weaker efforts from the era, with a few standout cuts such as “You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone” and “Marcella.” 

 This is a mess of an album recorded mainly in Holland without Brian, but features a pair of his excellent songs, “Sail on Sailor” and “Funky Pretty” (both sung by drummer Ricky Fataar.) 

 This great Beach Boys two-record compilation helped put them back on the map after their Sixties slide. 

 15 Big Ones, featuring mostly covers, was an attempt to capitalize on Brian’s return to the band – a return that didn’t last. 

 One of Wilson’s most overlooked works, essentially a Brian solo album, with gentle piano melodies in songs that show a man who’s been damaged but not destroyed. 

 Produced by auxiliary Beach Boy Bruce Johnston. 

 Part of a string of inconsequential albums. 

 Abysmal. 

 Even casual fans will find plenty to love on this behemoth set, which includes key parts of all the group’s albums, plus an excellent selection of alternative takes, a capella tracks, and demos.  

 A painstakingly compiled five-disc collection (with a 125-page explanatory booklet) that includes the first ever stereo mix of Pet Sounds (Brian recorded in mono, because he was deaf in one ear), as well as bonus tracks, in-progress studio sessions, vocal-only tracks, and alternative takes. 

 A basic introduction that breaks down the group’s major songs chronologically. 

 Two discs of leftovers, alternate versions, studio clowning, and other arcana—nothing essential but lots of fun. 

 A hits-only comp perhaps modeled after The Beatles 1, a massive success. Sounds of Summer is not nearly as impressive—unlike the Beatles, the Beach Boys’ best stuff often wasn’t the hits, but the secret treasures. 

 No match for the extensive box set, but the two-disc set includes both mono and stereo mixes of the album. Also included is a documentary DVD with interviews about the sessions with Brian Wilson, lyricist Tony Asher and studio bass player Carol Kaye.