Greatest Hits

To celebrate The Beach Boys' tumultuous 50-year career, Capitol Records has released remastered editions of their albums and a few greatest-hits collections. This one is a 20-song snapshot, as opposed to the self-explanatory 50 Big Ones. Beginning with The Beach Boys' most recent hit—the title track to their 2012 studio album, That's Why God Made the Radio—and following with 19 of their best-known songs, Greatest Hits lives up to its title. Listeners interested in a more comprehensive overview should seek out the 50-track collection, but for those who want just the highlights, there's no arguing with an album that includes "California Girls," "Sloop John B," "Wouldn't It Be Nice," "Surfin' U.S.A.," "Don't Worry Baby," "God Only Knows," and "Good Vibrations." Under the leadership of songwriter Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys were simply the most inventive pop group of the era, consistently finding new ways to express pop themes with harmonies that broke the rules. An inspiration to Paul McCartney and countless musicians in the ensuing decades, The Beach Boys are an American institution.