User Score
Generally favorable reviews- based on 522 Ratings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 398 out of 522
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Mixed: 39 out of 522
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Negative: 85 out of 522
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Aug 20, 2023I enjoyed listening to the album. It reminded me of old rock albums. I think it is definitely a timeless album that will never get old.
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Jun 11, 2022It took a while for me to really "get" this album, but when it did I was speechless.
Better than Seargent Pepper? Absolutly, this is a masterpiece.
Way better than I thought it would be, I am stunned. -
Nov 18, 2021Smile is simply one of the greatest albums of all time. There's something that really warms my heart when I listen to this. Wilson's old yet smooth voice is relaxing to say the least. Please, listen to this album.
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Sep 2, 2021Really emotional, a brilliant masterpiece. Take a moment of your time to listen this album, don´t listen this album as your background sound, you will miss a lot of excellent stuff and ruin your entire experience.
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Aug 15, 2021
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Apr 2, 2019A missing Beach Boys album that could have just become a holy grail of lost content if not for Brian Wilson's reimagining much later. Great on its own the layered accapella vocals are near perfect beach music.
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Aug 9, 20169.0
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz -
Oct 22, 2014
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Sep 17, 2014
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Apr 9, 2012Surf's up is possibly the best song ever made and Smile is possibly one of the best albums ever made/not made. 2nd only to Pet Sounds, Smile in its newest most complete incarnation is ecstasy.
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Feb 24, 2012Smile was and is a landmark in pop music. Building on his masterful work on Pet Sounds, Brian Wilson creates a complex, moving and bewildering flow of music.
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Nov 10, 2011
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Oct 2, 2011
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Sep 29, 2011
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Mar 21, 2011The greatest album of all time. Without a doubt. Despite being 37 years old, and with Brian's voice not being anywhere near what it used to be... it's is still astonishing. A tapestry of sounds, imagery, words, ideas and spiritual energies. You have to be fairly bright to "get it".. but my god, if you do.
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Jan 24, 2011
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FeidoVApr 12, 2010A great album.
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BrianEMar 26, 2010Perfection in Sound
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AnthonyLMar 26, 2010Best album ever.
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HankBMar 2, 2010More of a triumph than anyone could have expected. Still, it's a bit tragic that the world didn't get to hear this finished piece in '67 with the original Beach Boys.
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KamilKFeb 23, 2010"SMiLE" is the best album of 00`s & One of the greatest off all time. Definitely.
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LuisIFeb 10, 2010Pop orchestra, brilliant sound, brian wilson and a legendary record.
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ChrisLFeb 9, 2010Pristine.
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JohnYJan 19, 2010
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GlynnM.Jan 18, 2010Reignited my faith in music and rediscovery of the Beach Boys.
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DriJan 15, 2010Classic album of a genius.
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RobertB.Jan 8, 2010I love this album. He makes it all seem so easy. Don't think I have ever listened to a pop record that is this far ahead of the game.
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BillWDec 31, 2009I think it's the album of the decade. I love it more as the years roll on. I listen to it more now than ever. When I hear people dis it I get confused, how can this music not move you? THis is not even "my kind of music" yet when it's on I am in a semi-meditative state and it's one of the few peices of music that can stop my in my tracks.
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ConradC.Dec 16, 2009Worth every minute of the wait!
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MikeA.Nov 20, 2009A true masterpiece of sound and emotion. It was well worth the wait!
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ruggeroruggeroNov 16, 2009
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JamesH.Nov 7, 2009This is probably my favorite album to turn to at any time. I just love the songs and how they roll from one to the next. I can just hit play on the iPod and have an hour of total indulgence.
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TiagoA.Sep 18, 2009A great album, this have soul and it's brilliant.
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AdamSSep 8, 2009Sounds like a good album, but 97! I think this score may have been boosted by critics nostalgia trips.
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ShivaM.Aug 25, 2009Well worth the wait. It is definitely one of the best albums of the decade. Anyone not affected by this piece of art is probably just a 20 year old idiot with no taste at all.
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DavidH.Jul 27, 2009A perfect composition.
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JoeS.Jul 18, 2009'Tis very good, yeah!
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SethG.Jul 13, 2009I've listened to this album so much. At least once a week, sometimes much more. It's so good!
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ToddSMay 9, 2009Absolute perfection!
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KimMMay 2, 2009Simply superb.
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patf.Jan 30, 2009Best thing i have heard in years! surfs up, h&v, cabinessence the list of great songs is very impressive.
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ChrisSJan 12, 2009
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peterJan 6, 2009Beautiful and haunting. I cant imagine how anyone could walk away from this unchanged.
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PlatoSDec 23, 2008
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KjellBNov 13, 2008
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CarlPNov 7, 2008
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YaronS.Oct 6, 2008
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SteveSep 23, 2008
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PhilipD.Sep 22, 2008
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JonathanW.Sep 19, 2008No originality? Maybe I'll post more later, but for now I'll just listen to "Surf's Up" one more time, i.e. my favorite song.
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JonathanF.Jun 18, 2008Such a beautiful wondrous album so different to pet sounds yet strangely familiar and instant classic in 2004 although i fear it may be released for many year people giving it 0 out of ten im sure would not have if this was released in 1967 and i wish it was as i think pop music today would be a little (if not alot) different.
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AndyD.Jun 8, 2008Truly stunning music. Love it!
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MikeL.May 31, 2008Godhead!
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TimothyM.May 28, 2008The best American album ever.
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SameerV.May 7, 2008This is one of the greatest albums. I think it's up there with pepper. Sure, it probably would sound better if all the beach boys were on it and this was 66', but it's still great. It takes a couple of listens. Keep in mind, most of this was written in 66'. If it came out then, I think people would have appreciated it more.
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ThomH.Apr 26, 2008This is the single most important work of musical art that has ever been produced. Thank you Brian Wilson.
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MartinPApr 25, 2008I haven't listened to this album but i find the fact that some people are rating it 10 to counter the people who rate it 0 which are countering the general reviewers.
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TerryApr 8, 2008A masterpiece. Good for you, Brian.
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dhFeb 20, 2008Perfect. Only comparable to the Lonely Hearts Club Band.
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AlexTFeb 12, 2008
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nickm.Feb 8, 2008This isn't the highest rated album on metacritic. The highest rated is London Calling by The Clash, which scored a 100. My score is just the avg, this isn't my actual score.
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JustinBDec 29, 2007Wondrous!
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AbrahamR.Nov 8, 2007
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MichaelT.Nov 3, 2007This album more than lives up to its own hype. The only slight dissapointment is I don't think the vocal harmonies are as good as the original Beach Boys whould of been but I think his new group do a stella job anyway.
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lonnieMOct 10, 2007Smile..... A masterpiece in many ways.... to many ways to put into words.... Listen to the album alone, without distraction, and any negative thoughts of the record will disappear..... I'm just glad I had the experience of Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks seeing this vision through. The record is and always will be ahead of it's time.
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LeeC.Sep 23, 2007i think, this is better than 'pet sounds'.
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ScottW.Aug 20, 2007Now here as an album that should put a smile on your face. Not just because of its fun and catchy songs, but because your hearing what would have been classic Beach Boy tunes. This was a lost album for almost forty years, from one of the best rock bands. Brian Wilson gives us a true classic and a must have.
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AlexanderB.Aug 6, 2007For me Smile is the greatest album of all times! Period.
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SophieJul 31, 2007A really wonderful album, with some very slight faults. If only we had the original with us.
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JoséLuisSJul 28, 2007The best of the best... Brian Wilson is a true genius!!!
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PeterDJul 21, 2007An American classic. Like psychedelic Gershwin.
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liorsJul 13, 2007it's really wonderful , buy this album if you have listened to "pet sounds" before, buy this album if you are willing to give "smile" a chance to be finished and not stay an inflated myth. do not buy this album only because it got a good rating on metacritic , music is a matter of taste not grades.
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DaveMJul 12, 2007BRILLIANT!!!!! It took me back twenty years, then forward the same. A true work of art. It definitely left me with "Good Vibrations".
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kevinkJun 22, 2007all of to say is pretty much what the last three people have said except the exact opposite. in the world of pop music brian wilson is god SMiLE is the bible
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EvanWJun 16, 2007
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RoccoSJun 12, 2007
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EliEMay 29, 2007Any flaws you could point out in Brian's vocals compared to the original tapes are drastically outweighed by the faithful attempt at reconstructing this greatest of lost pop albums.
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chirsMay 25, 2007are you people insane? this album is amazing. it's wonderfully weird and genius.
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TedGMay 21, 2007What's so impressive about this album is how ahead of it's time it is today, 40 years since it's conception. The Polarized reviews speak to this. The album beautifully details American mass culture, with both ideas deep and adult, as well as childlike and innocent.
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SanderVMar 17, 2007Altough the original tapes sound warmer, the real winning point for this version is its cohesiveness. I never thought it could be pulled of, but it works and it's brilliant. It's a trip, from beginning to end.
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DarylSMar 10, 2007
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RickFeb 19, 2007
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RogFeb 12, 2007Outstanding music - for any era.
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stephjJan 19, 2007music does not get better than this. kudos to Brian Wilson. If only there was music of this caliber today.
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danhJan 11, 2007This album is better than pet sounds. It is amazing but would have been better if the other living beach boys were on it.
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KitSJan 5, 2007
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RichardKDec 15, 2006This album is good, but how it got its ranking I'll never understand. I'm obviously missing something. On the other hand, why do some people give 1's and 2's? Is it just to offset the misplaced 10's? Metacritic's ratings always tend to the extreme.
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EvaBNov 29, 2006
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ChrisBOct 30, 2006The most artistic album of all time. This proves that Brian does not need those coat-tail riding, freeloading Beach Boys. Here is a group of dedicated musicians doing justice to some of the most original American music since Copeland. God Save Brian Wilson!
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JackHOct 23, 2006Simply the best album since Abbey Road.
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Mr.XOct 17, 2006So Andy McD must think the crap that those retard rappers and pop artists put out is music. Today's music is such a de-evolution when it comes to musical progress that it makes me sick! It is a good thing I have Brian Wilson's Smile as my medicine. What an excellent album! Great musical and vocal arrangements.If you want to hear real music purchase this album.
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AndrewFOct 3, 2006One of the top 5 albums of all time. His voice is a little different, but certainly not bad, and the backing band is better musically than the beach boys. The only thing it is missing, is Carl, Mikes, Brian (in his 20s) voices. Only albums ahead of it are Pet Sounds, Revolver, Highway 61, and Sgt. Peppers.
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RobertASep 24, 2006So good!
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DaleBSep 23, 2006When you listen to the arrangments, not just the music, but the vocal arrangments, this album towers above any other piece of pop music I have heard. You really need to watch the DVD concert video to take in all that is going on with this musical materpiece. SMiLE is brilliant! And to think Brian and Van Dyke did this at age 23? Mindboggeling!
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BenSep 17, 2006It would have been a disapintment if released earlier... simply not comparable with pet sounds or any beatles records
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JohnLAug 19, 2006
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MikeLoveJul 18, 2006
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RaleighRJun 28, 2006
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IainSJun 23, 2006Saw this track by track in 2004, had the experience of Pet Sounds before that TWICE; Brian Wilson is THE living pop genius. If you can't appreciate the genius of Pet Sounds, Smile or Brian Wilson then there really is no hope for you :)
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MeatMuffinJun 10, 2006The people who are giving this album a 10 seem to be generally smarter than the ones who are giving it lower scores. Just read the reviews below this one.
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Awards & Rankings
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Smile is quite simply the greatest triumph in the history of pop music.
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Smile's post-adolescent utopia isn't disfigured by Brian's thickened, soured 62-year-old voice. It's ennobled--the material limitations of its sunny artifice and pretentious tomfoolery acknowledged and joyfully engaged.
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Los Angeles Times"Smile" emerges as a beautiful and cohesive work, at times deeply moving, at others oddly whimsical, at still others eerily disturbing but celebratory. [27 Sep 2004]