Friends
by The Beach Boys

Friends by The Beach Boys
Year: 1968
Release date: 1968-06-24
Overall rank: 1,824th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
76/100 (from 317 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1968 (33rd)
Award Top albums of the 1960s (177th)
Award Best albums of all time (1,824th)

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Product Details
Availability

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Friends by The Beach Boys (CD, Jul-1996, Capitol/EMI Records)
Condition: Good


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The Beach Boys - Friends / 20/20 - The Beach Boys CD WYVG The Cheap Fast Free
Condition: Very Good


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Friends The Beach Boys 8-Track Cartridge - Untested
Condition: Good


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The Beach Boys bestography

Friends is ranked 7th 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 11 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 38,210.

The Beach Boys album bestography « Higher ranked (1,350th)
Sunflower
This album (1,824th)
Friends
Lower ranked (2,292nd) »
Wild Honey

(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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Friends rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 1,824th | 1960s rank: 177th | 1968 rank: 33rd
Filter Filter
Sort Sort by
YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026 CA DreaminTop 50 Music Albums of the 1960s38/505
2026lanadeleswiftTop 100 Music Albums of the 1960s16/10017
2026martinthoTop 100 Music Albums of the 1960s2/10020
2026 RockyRaccoonTop 100 Music Albums of 196867/1002
2026LittleM1971Greatest Music Albums: 601-70057/100 -
2026 flamingyesdeptTop 100 Music Albums of the 1960s73/1006
2026 LeonardTop 88 Music Albums of 196852/882
2026LittleM1971Top 76 Music Albums of 196810/764
2026matterhornriderTop 56 Music Albums of 196836/562
2026 AAL2014Top 75 Music Albums of 196834/753
2026saltysurpriseTop 37 Music Albums of 196827/371
2026LittleM1971Top 100 Music Albums of the 1960s57/1009
2026 TamthebamTop 100 Music Albums of 196811/1005
2026 bertrandu*All Time* Psychedelic Pop Albums13/100 -
2026martinthoTop 55 Music Albums of 19682/555
2026bonnequestionTop 31 Music Albums of 196824/311
2026Cheboygan74Top 14 Music Albums of 196810/142
2026Exist-en-cielTop 60 Music Albums of 196852/601
2026 TamthebamTop 100 Music Albums of the 1960s56/1009
2026 DommeDamianTop 31 Music Albums of 196826/311
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 201
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 921
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

Friends collection

Friends ratings

Average Rating: 
76/100 (from 317 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 317 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
100/100
 
03/01/2026 21:14 Bunzer  Ratings distribution  15176/100
 
70/100
 
02/26/2026 15:11 CA Dreamin  Ratings distribution  74270/100
 
85/100
 
02/17/2026 20:45 Sup3rCondor  Ratings distribution  2589/100
 
100/100
 
02/15/2026 03:34 Devilwoac  Ratings distribution  91997/100
 
70/100
 
12/19/2025 04:30 Exist-en-ciel  Ratings distribution  7,79370/100

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 is rated in the top 6% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 75.8/100, a mean average of 74.9/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 75.9/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.3.

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Friends comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 14 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

Rating:  
80/100
From 08/14/2022 12:23 | #288476
Pretty nice, psyche era BB. Unconventional for them..
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
60/100
From 07/02/2021 23:21 | #271281
The album is just too short. There is so much potential in almost every single song that it makes the album a frustrating listen at times. You can see exactly what the songs could have become if given the time and were allowed to flourish properly. There is still a lot of beautiful lyrics and music on display that make the album both worth a listen and an essential listen.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 07/24/2020 23:35 | #256169
Pleasant yet brief. Friends definitely doesn't overstay its welcome, and the songwriting isn't anything to scoff at either.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 06/16/2018 00:20 | #216844
So tender and soft...
Fav tracks: Busy Doin' Nothin', Little Bird, Meant for You and When a Man Needs a Woman.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
60/100
From 01/25/2017 21:50 | #184279
Friends captures a gentleness that evidently originated from Brian, making it one of the last Beach Boys albums dominated by his vision. There are two different schools of thought about this album – either it’s one of the most coherent and unified albums in The Beach Boys catalogue, full of charm and melody, or it’s relatively lightweight and insubstantial. I’m part of the second camp; while Beach Boys’ strengths like warm vocals and strong melodies are present here, so are weaknesses like ridiculous lyrics (‘Anna Lee, The Healer’), and no single song individually measures up among the groups’ best.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 10/20/2016 20:53 | #177229
One of the best Beach Boys album. It's great!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 08/09/2016 21:07 | #172605
This is the first Beach Boys album that made me realize they're more than just Pet Sounds. But I do agree with comments below; every song feels too short like it is cut off prematurely. Little Bird is my favorite non-Brian Wilson Beach Boys song by a landslide
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 03/28/2016 15:37 | #162865
This really is a lovely album, short and sweet. That certainly is the charm of the album, but it's also frustrating because of it. Opener, meant for you, is beautiful, but it fades out before it even reaches the 40 second mark, it's just a waste of a lovely melody. Other tracks aren't quite so short, but I wish they could have extended them a bit. Having said that, the album is fine. Dennis' two contributions, little bird, and especially, be still, are excellent. The title track is nice, as is wake the world. As I said, it's lovely, just wish it went on a bit longer.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +8 votes (9 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 09/23/2014 22:32 | #122528
A very charming, short LP. Brian's called it his favorite, and that makes sense. It's a very solid album.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 05/06/2014 02:35 | #110940
In one word: pleasant.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1968
1. The Beatles (The White Album) by The Beatles
2. Electric Ladyland by The Jimi Hendrix Experience
3. Astral Weeks by Van Morrison
4. Odessey And Oracle by The Zombies
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6. Beggars Banquet by The Rolling Stones
7. White Light/White Heat by The Velvet Underground
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9. Music From Big Pink by The Band
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16. Cheap Thrills by Big Brother And The Holding Company
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18. Wheels Of Fire by Cream
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20. S.F. Sorrow by The Pretty Things
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