How to respond nicely to someone who says Pet Sounds is the most over-rated album in the world?

Definitely this.

Saying something is overrated to me while acknowledging it obviously deserves all its adoration, is light years different than "This is overrated period" then stomping away in a disgusted huff just because others find positive value in it.

And unfortunately the latter is almost always the case and the former almost never.

Like most things it speaks more of the person using the term rather than the thing that is allegedly "overrated".

It reminds me of those who scoff at sales yet apparently their lone opinion on why "Led Zeppelin IV" is overrated is supposed to hold more merit or "educated" weight than the 24 million who have been giving their "monetary opinion" of it for over 50 years.

As often the case, many just have a hard time keeping perspective on their own tastes or opinions. That it's okay to acknowledge that art is rated exactly as it should be while at the same time keeping your own free right to like or dislike it. And it's hard to take anyone's opinion seriously when they expect us to put their idea of "overated" above the existing reality of what it actually is.

Nothing in art is overrated or underrated. Everything is rated exactly as it should be. For if it weren't, then it wouldn't be.

If "Led Zeppelin IV" was "meant" to be more like a 7 platinum album rather than 24, then it would be a 7 platinum album.

Everything is "rated" exactly as it should be. You or me liking or disliking that reality doesn't change it.

As I always say with art, I think people just take this stuff way too seriously.

No matter what you feel about overated or underated, just enjoy. Life is short!

 

How to respond nicely?

You could perhaps cite the Big Lebowski:

“Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man.”

 

"Which world are you referring to?"

 

LOL, there is so much about that movie that is great!

 

There's and idea!

 

I always find it funny how you need it to be known that you don't rate Abbey Road very highly. Honestly, I'm not trying to be sarcastic here. I see your point.
Me, I think Abbey Road is the antithesis of Revolver in the Beatles catalogue. Both are generally very highly regarded; Revolver as a collection of songs and Abbey Road as an album, as in a whole listening experience from start to finish.
From an audio quality perspective, I think Abbey Road is miles above any other album of theirs. As a collection of songs, it's rather weak. But as a whole piece of work, I definitely love it. And together with the White Album and Let It Be, as weak as that last one may be, they are the records that seem to hold up better today with younger people. For some reason they don't sound as dated to them.

 

I would like to state right now that in no way, shape or form am I trying to turn this into a Beatles thread. I was just reacting and responding to previous posts and I won't say anything else about this issue in absence of my attorney.

 

I don't know what it is about me that I don't get upset over stuff like this, at least not to the point of being speechless over someone's stupid take. Some dude hates the Beach Boys - he's probably sick of hearing about them and venting about it. I can remember when someone started a thread here about Lou Reed's opinion of The Beatles. Forum members were fainting left and right. The thread had to be removed and wiped from the servers. Counseling was offered to the victims.

To answer the question: There's no need to respond, nicely or otherwise. It's just somebody's opinion.

 

What was Reed's opinion about them? It's for a friend... his name is Just Not Me.
I suspect it was in line with Van Morrison's...

 

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard about Radiohead being overrated. I like them, but could care less if someone feels that way. It’s their opinion.

 

What was Van Morrison's opinion?

 

I'm not a fan of the beach boys, I find their music boring.

 

I don't have the link to the source right now, but in an interview he seemed to be very annoyed by a question regarding pre and post Beatles music. Like their influence in popular music was overestimated and such. He's definitely not a fan.

 

Interesting.

 

The correct response is:

"Oh yeah? Well kiss my shiny metal ass!

 

It’s definitely “whom” in that sentence.

 

There’s a definitive, declarative air to saying something “is overrated”… which comes across as arrogant.

 

I can stop you there. This forum has a lot of members, a portion of whom are bound to be arrogant, as a matter of statistics.

 

Starting threads with “album x is overrated” is against forum rules, as that is a negative thread.

 

Not to me it doesn't. But everyone's different.

Forcefully stating any opinion, without all sorts of caveats and provisos and indemnity clauses, risks being called arrogant. So what should people do? Keep their mouths shut?

 

Respond with "No. That would be Sgt. Pepper."

 

Or (adapted for current context) you could use Lebowski to argue both sides: "Man, come on I had a rough night, and I hate the ****ing Beach Boys, man."

 

Saying something is overrated is not a mere opinion, though. This has been explained in multiple posts by multiple people already, so I’m not going to keep circling this dead horse…

The “but everyone’s different” attitude, at some point, renders a language useless.

 

It's not about language though, if someone tells me something I like is overrated I don't feel that person is being arrogant - I'm actually struggling to imagine feeling that way - but I'm not sure I'm allowed to think they're simply wrong, because wouldn't that be arrogant too? I mean, who am I to think I'm right and they're wrong?