10 PERFECT Classic Rock Albums With No Bad Songs
3. Pet Sounds - Beach Boys
Throughout the early 60's, the Beach Boys were known as the safe choice for most rock and rollers. While other bands were going down the musical rabbithole at the time, you could pretty much count on these guys writing songs about girls, cars, and surfing in sunny California. After Pet Sounds though, the game had changed.
As Brian Wilson went into the band's next project, he was absolutely reeling from hearing the Beatles album Rubber Soul, which showed the moptops going in a more mature musical direction. Determined to make a record good enough to rival the Fab Four, Wilson set up a residence in the studio with the Wrecking Crew and created some of the boldest pop tunes of his career.
Aside from the music, the lyrics behind these tracks are some of the greatest declarations of teenage romance in the rock canon on tracks like "Wouldn't It Be Nice" and "God Only Knows," the latter of which might be the greatest love song in rock, period. The album was so incredible that Paul McCartney fired right back with the Beatles' later conceptual masterpieces.
When your album is so good that a Beatle is trying to one-up it, you know you're doing something right.