Reply #2: Interesting that you lead off with two Beatles albums...

[regnaD kciN]

...since Paul McCartney is on record (pun not intended) as holding that "Pet Sounds" is one of the greatest albums ever. Might Paul be "the esoteric and inaccessible cultural critic, in an obscure article, to see if the public are as impressionable as he thinks we are" you're thinking of? :eyes:

And, besides, concerning your insistence that "Smile" is not that good: it's kind of hard to tell, since it's never been released.