Yeah I agree with you here. It's a good enough album but Revolver, Rubber Soul and parts of the White Album have had a bigger effect on the future of music in my opinion. To be honest I think the reason why the album gets so much praise is because of its iconic album cover and the band image around the time of that album rather than the music itself.

There's no way the cover had a bigger impact than the music.

I honestly feel of these three 'Are You Experienced' is the only one that isn't massively overrated.

But on a side note:

Pet Sounds - Extremely interesting means to accomplish extremely generic music... I'm not the biggest Beatles-o-phile, but I always felt that Pet Sounds sounds extremely weak in comparison to Sgt. Pepper, White Album, and Abbey Road.

I honestly think all albums above mentioned also profit off of the Rock Myth. I mean, I think what a lot of Jazz musicians like Mingus, Coltrane, Sun Ra, Ornette Coleman, and Cecil Tailor were doing a lot more in moving music into more complex, and abstract directions at the time.

Piper At The Gates Of Dawn (Pink Floyd) was being recorded at the same time and in the same studios as Sgt Pepper and is far more influential IMO.

how many stuff these days actually sound like Pet Sounds besides the High Llamas?

and i personally actually think Carl & The Passions' So Tough is the best BB album

Brian Wilson is extremely overrated

I absolutely love Pink Floyd (they are the only band who rivals the Beatles in my favorites list), but I disagree that Piper was more influential than Sgt.

I was talking about Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, not the Beatles as a whole. Although I do give in to the idea that their impact on popular music isn't a good thing when looking at where music went as a result of their popularity.

Look where it went? Uh uh, Abbey Road is an excellent album.

I think the only way anyone could appreciate what Sgt. Pepper's did for music is to have been around when it was released. Can you find albums with stronger/more enjoyable songs? Sure. That's not the point. What they did in the studio and how bands recorded and approached songs changed completely after that album. Yes, Pet Sounds was released as a response to Revolver but then the Beatles took it a step further on SP. Brian Wilson entered a heavy depression after he heard it. Even though he tried to top the song writing on Revolver (I don't really think he succeeded), the Beatles took things to the next level. Just remember that it may sound tired now, but at the time it was some of the most original pop music around.

I agree with everything you said with the exception of Sgt sounding tired. I realize you're not saying that you personally think it sounds dated. I don't see how any fan of music can hear Sgt and not realize its value. Not only does it have great songs (Lucy, Mr. Kite, Good Morning, A Day In The Life), but as you say, it also had a big impact on recording techniques.