Ah, another of those Sacred Cows. If you had to choose between between Sergeant Pepper and Pet Sounds… me, I'd take neither. If I wanted an album from 1966/67, I'd go with John Wesley Harding, partly because it goes against the grain of that period. If I wanted an album that captured psychedelia and flower power, I'd probably sooner go with Surrealistic Pillow. And if I wanted an album to show off smart and witty production techniques, I'd go with Hit to Death in the Future Head. I know that last one is especially heretical, but I don't particularly care that Brian Wilson or The Beatles did it first and without them there would be no Future Head; and I don't particularly care that messing around with innovative ideas in the studio was vastly more labour-intensive in the '60s — I just find the results with Future Head more enjoyable and witty.
But if I had to choose between between Sergeant Pepper and Pet Sounds, I'd choose Pet Sounds, mainly because its glowing embers haven't been raked over quite as much, or quite as nauseatingly, as Pepper's.
MusicBrainz entry for this album
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