In Chris Smith's 2009 book "101 Albums That Changed Popular Music", "Pet Sounds" is evaluated as "one of the most innovative recordings in rock" and as the work that "elevated Brian Wilson from talented bandleader to studio genius". In 2016, commentator C.W. Maloney mused: "The songs on "Pet Sounds" are great, but you have to wonder, given all the hype and mythology and our love of shallow nostalgia, what we mean when we call it a classic or Wilson a genius. Consider what was doing in 1966, to say nothing of ]. Wilson's high reputation is evidence of our obsession with childlike innocence and the victory of boring poptimism." Wilson himself felt bemused by the album's continued acclaim. In a 2002 documentary about the album, he commented, "It keeps going back to "Pet Sounds" here in my life, and I'm going, 'What about this "Pet Sounds"? Is it really that good an album?' It's stood the test of time, of course, but is it really that "great" an album to listen to? I don't know."