History YMMV / TheBeachBoys

** This isn't helped by the fact that Brian Wilson co-wrote several of their songs, and even provided backing vocals for "Surf City". And the fact that the Beach Boys covered one Jan and Dean hit, "The Little Old Lady from Pasadena", on their first live album does nothing to clear up the confusion with regards to ''that'' song.

* AndTheFandomRejoiced - The ''Smile'' sessions [[http://www.billboard.com/news/beach-boys-lost-smile-album-to-see-release-1005070202.story are finally coming out!]]

* HighOctaneNightmareFuel - "Fire", aka "Mrs. O'leary's Cow", from the ''Smile'' sessions. At the time it was made, Brian Wilson was convinced that the song was somehow causing fires that had been happening around the studio it was recorded at.

* ArchivePanic - ''Twenty-seven'' studio albums (nineteen if you don't count ''15 Big Ones''-onward), a massive supply of unreleased songs and outtakes, hours of studio sessions, a frankly absurd amount of ''Smile'' material (absurd given that the album was never finished), and an endless deluge of illuminating footage of concerts, interviews, promos, and other assorted segments. And people keep discovering new stuff all the time.

* SugarWiki/MomentOfHeartwarming - Any of their ballads, especially "Don't Worry Baby" and "God Only Knows".

* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoment - Any of their ballads, especially "Don't Worry Baby" and "God Only Knows".

* {{And The Fandom Rejoiced}} - The ''Smile'' sessions [[http://www.billboard.com/news/beach-boys-lost-smile-album-to-see-release-1005070202.story are finally coming out!]]
* {{Archive Panic}} - ''Twenty-seven'' studio albums (nineteen if you don't count ''15 Big Ones''-onward), a massive supply of unreleased songs and outtakes, hours of studio sessions, a frankly absurd amount of ''Smile'' material (absurd given that the album was never finished), and an endless deluge of illuminating footage of concerts, interviews, promos, and other assorted segments. And people keep discovering new stuff all the time.

* {{Broken Base}} - The albums the band recorded prior to 1967 are pretty much universally agreed to be great, and the ones after 1977 are agreed to pretty much suck. The quality of the ones in between, however, is widely and fiercely debated. Some fans regard them as feeble and tired attempts to stay relevant while other fans consider them to contain some of the best work the Beach Boys have ever done.

* {{Covered Up}} - The Beach Boys did not write "Barbara Ann"- it was a cover of a song by a band called The Regents. Nor did they write "Sloop John B", which was actually a reworked version of a West Indies folk song.

* {{Crowning Moment of Awesome}} - A good 38 years after ''Smile'' was aborted, Brian Wilson finished it.
* {{Crowning Moment of Heartwarming}} - Any of their ballads, especially "Don't Worry Baby" and "God Only Knows".
* {{Crowning Music of Awesome}} - ''Pet Sounds'' and ''Smile''
** "Good Vibrations", at the time it was produced, was already being hailed as one of the greatest pop singles ever recorded. More than 40 years later, its reputation hasn't faded one little bit.
** For each individual member:
*** Brian Wilson: "Good Vibrations"
*** Carl Wilson: "Trader"
*** Dennis Wilson: "River Song"
*** Mike Love: "Big Sur"
*** Al Jardine: "California"
*** Bruce Johnston: "Disney Girls"
** The 1997 remaster of Pet Sounds improves its mix like you wouldn't believe. There's just ''so much more'' you can hear in the music compared to the comparably crap mix that came before. In particular, the descending trombone on the chorus of Here Today is much, much more prominent. And is just one of the greatest things ever.
* {{Dork Age}} - The band's recorded output from the ill-conceived Mike Love-led ''M.I.U. Album'' onward.
* {{Ear Worm}} - "Wouldn't it be nice!"
* {{Ensemble Darkhorse}} - Dennis Wilson, transitioning from pretty-boy drummer to highly sophisticated songwriter in nothing flat.

* {{Face Of The Band}} - Mostly averted. Brian and Mike were the most visible members, and the two most likely to be mentioned whenever the Beach Boys are discussed, but Carl and Dennis both had a lot of fans.

* {{Funny Aneurysm Moment}} - The 1964 AlbumFiller track "Cassius Love vs. Sonny Wilson" features Mike and Brian playfully insulting each other and mocking each other's singing styles. Not so funny in light of the real life hostilities that would eventually develop between the two.

* {{Germans Love David Hasselhoff}} - During the mid-to-late 60's when the band was tanking in America, they found much greater success in England. For example, "Do It Again" peaked at #20 in the states, and #1 in the UK.
* {{Growing The Beard}} - ''The Beach Boys Today!'' marked the point when they moved from simple surf songs to something more sophisticated, a transition that would reach its fullest flower with ''Pet Sounds''.

* {{High Octane Nightmare Fuel}} - "Fire", aka "Mrs. O'leary's Cow", from the ''Smile'' sessions. At the time it was made, Brian Wilson was convinced that the song was somehow causing fires that had been happening around the studio it was recorded at.
* {{Magnum Opus}} - ''Pet Sounds''
* {{Memetic Mutation}} - AH-UUM-BOP-DIDDIT, AH-UUM-BOP-DIDDIT...

* {{Misattributed Song}} - You have to feel sorry for [[JanAndDean Jan and Dean]]. Even though they preceded the Beach Boys, they were ultimately overshadowed by them, and even worse, many of their hits are often erroneously assumed to be Beach Boys songs.

* {{Mis Blamed}} - People blame Mike Love exclusively for the collapse of ''Smile'', when in reality the cause was much more complicated, with factors including not just Mike Love, but also Van Dyke Parks, Capitol Records, the other Beach Boys, a royalties lawsuit, and Brian Wilson's own ailing psyche.

* {{Most Wonderful Sound}} - You'll never hear anything more angelic than Brian Wilson's voice in your life.

* {{Reality Is Unrealistic}} - A lot of the facts about the Beach Boys's history are so out-there that one might not believe them if they were told. For example:

* {{Rescued From The Scrappy Heap}} - Mike Love and Al Jardine came ''so close'' to this on ''Holland''; Mike penned "Big Sur", and Al penned "The Beaks of Eagles" and "California". All three of these songs are sublimely beautiful, melancholy, and poetic, but the two never wrote anything like them since.

* {{The Scrappy}} - Mike Love is mostly remembered for either being the primary factor in the collapse of ''Smile'', perpetuating The Beach Boys as a corny nostalgia act even to this day, or both.

* {{Seinfeld Is Unfunny}} - In spades. When most people think of The Beach Boys, they do not think "one of the greatest and most influential bands of the last 50 years" as much as they think "oldies group".
* {{Tear Jerker}} - At least 1/3 of all their songs qualify due to their sheer ''beauty'', even if the subject matter [[LyricalDissonance isn't necessarily sad]].
** "Til I Die"
-->''I'm a leaf on a windy day''
-->''Pretty soon, I'll be blown away''
-->''How long will the wind blow?''
-->''How long will the wind blow?''
-->''[[DespairEventHorizon Until I die...]]''
* {{Too Cool To Live}} - Dennis.
* {{Vindicated By History}} - Despite having a hit single with "Sloop John B", ''Pet Sounds'' was not a big seller initially. Years later it would be recognized as one of the greatest pop albums of all time.
* {{The Woobie}} - Brian Wilson, in every possible way.
* {{WTH Costuming Department}} - Mike Love's a legend when it comes to clothing, particularly his [[http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,1990.msg116121.html#msg116121 many hats]].
** The group were still donning their trademark candy-striped shirts as late as 1967, which did absolutely nothing for their hipness quotient at the time.

* {{Small Name Big Ego}} - Mike Love
** Very much averted with Brian Wilson; a famous quote of his is "I'm not a genius, I'm just a hard-working guy".

** The pre-'67 era of the band can itself be divided between the earlier surfing/cars/girls hits and the more sonically and thematically ambitious (if still pop-oriented) ''Today''/''Pet Sounds'' stuff. The former accounts for most of the group's airplay on oldies radio and attracts audiences to the Mike Love-led touring band, while the latter is the basis for most of the group's critical acclaim and the inspiration for indie-rock revivalists like the Elephant Collective bands.

* [[DarthWiki/DethroningMomentOfSuck Dethroning Moment of Suck]] - Mike Love's appearance at the group's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction was an absolute debacle; he rambled on nonsensically, insulted other musicians, cursed out [[TheRollingStones Mick Jagger]] (who had praised the Beach Boys on British TV in the '60s), and before delivering his speech ''jerked the microphone away from Brian when he was trying to deliver his speech''. It was so bad that EltonJohn said afterward, "Thank fuck he didn't mention me!"
** Don't take my word for it, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZSAQX2uuUY watch it yourself]].

* {{Dethroning Moment of Suck}} - Mike Love's appearance at the group's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction was an absolute debacle; he rambled on nonsensically, insulted other musicians, cursed out [[TheRollingStones Mick Jagger]] (who had praised the Beach Boys on British TV in the '60s), and before delivering his speech ''jerked the microphone away from Brian when he was trying to deliver his speech''. It was so bad that EltonJohn said afterward, "Thank fuck he didn't mention me!"
** Don't take my word for it, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZSAQX2uuUY watch it yourself]].
** To single out a moment from their recording career, look no further than their 1992 album ''Summer in Paradise''. The album as a whole [[{{Understatement}} is not their best]], but why oh why did they remake Dennis Wilson's beautiful composition "Forever" with ''[[FullHouse John Frickin' Stamos]]'' singing lead?

* VindicatedByHistory: Despite having a hit single with "Sloop John B", ''Pet Sounds'' was not a big seller initially. Years later it would be recognized as one of the greatest pop albums of all time.

* {{WTH Costuming Department}} - Mike Love's a legend when it comes to clothing, particularly his [[http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,1990.msg116121.html#msg116121 many hats]].

* EarWorm - "Wouldn't it be nice!"