Surfin' U.S.A.
by The Beach Boys

Surfin' U.S.A. by The Beach Boys
Year: 1963
Release date: 1963-03-04
Overall rank: 4,563rd   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
69/100 (from 189 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 20 albums of 1963 (20th)
Award Top albums of of the 1960s (366th)
Award Best albums of all time (4,563rd)

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Availability

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The Beach Boys "SURFIN' USA" Capitol Records, T1890, High Fidelity Untested
Condition: Used


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Surfin USA by The Beach Boys (CD, 2012)
Condition: Very Good


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The Beach Boys - Surfin' USA - 1966 Rock - VG - Ultrasonic Clean
Condition: Used


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The Beach Boys bestography

Surfin' U.S.A. is ranked 14th best out of 76 albums by The Beach Boys on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by The Beach Boys is Pet Sounds which is ranked number 12 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 37,225.

The Beach Boys album bestography « Higher ranked (4,552nd)
Surfin' Safari
This album (4,563rd)
Surfin' U.S.A.
Lower ranked (5,359th) »
20/20

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

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Surfin' U.S.A. rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 4,563rd | 1960s rank: 366th | 1963 rank: 20th

Surfin' U.S.A. collection

Surfin' U.S.A. ratings

Average Rating: 
69/100 (from 189 votes)
  Ratings distribution Help Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

Showing latest 5 ratings for this album.  | Show all 189 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
75/100
 !
37 hours ago mrmcrook  Ratings distribution  1,09677/100
 
95/100
 !
04/13/2026 10:40 Leginlists  Ratings distribution  3,61883/100
 
60/100
 !
12/20/2025 16:49 Exist-en-ciel  Ratings distribution  12,58770/100
 
60/100
 !
12/18/2025 18:44 FrancK  Ratings distribution  52083/100
 
70/100
 !
12/15/2025 06:03 juanr1096  Ratings distribution  6,17978/100

Rating metrics: Help Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)

This album has a Bayesian average rating of 68.5/100, a mean average of 67.4/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 68.3/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.0.

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Surfin' U.S.A. favourites

Showing all 10 members who have added this album as a favourite

Surfin' U.S.A. comments

Showing all 7 comments |
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Rating:  
75/100
From 37 hours ago | #315030 | TOP COMMENT
They'd improved and started to solidify their sound so this is better than the debut. There's quite a few instrumentals on this in the twangy surf guitar style which I quite like. 12 songs on this with an overall run time of 25 minutes. Short, sharp, twangy joy.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 03/31/2016 16:01 | #163056 | TOP COMMENT
The ultimate beach boys surf album. It's a definite improvement on their debut, in terms of quality. The title track is a fun reworking of Chuck Berry's sweet little sixteen. Other standouts are the absolutely beautiful lonely sea, Brian's fist great ballad, and, noble surfer. There's quite a few instrumental surf tunes on here, and they really add to the fun. Entertaining.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 06/15/2015 19:04 | #143878 | TOP COMMENT
This was the first Beach Boys album I ever listened too, and it will remain as one of my favorite. Call me crazy, but I enjoy this album more than Pet Sounds. This album is just the perfect surfing music and there's something about that I really dig.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 02/07/2015 02:27 | #134233 | TOP COMMENT
It's alright. Pretty random Miserlou appearance. I can dig it.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 06/29/2013 18:37 | #80075
Lonely Sea is top.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 04/26/2013 03:30 | #74474 | TOP COMMENT
As an album, standing alone on it's merits this is a fairly average surf album showing off a young Carl's chops on guitar. The beginnings of the harmonies just coming into there own. As a fan (ok, major fan) the album jumps up a notch. An indispensable document in the Beach Boys history.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 03/21/2013 06:47 | #69298
1, 3, 4, and 5 stand out, the rest is ok.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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