For me 1963 and 1964 are the essential years of surf music. This is when the music and the whole fad were at its peak, and things around surf music were rolling most heavily.

I know some people would say that even the first years 1961-62 were the years when surfers in the So Cal area really labelled it "their" music, while the later years the whole thing took a more commercial turn.

However I think we can agree that 63-64 were the most prolific years, where the most surf-records were released. But two years is actually a lot of time when you have new things happening every week.
So what's the best year of the two?

Personally I doubt more and more the more I look at the records that were made in the respective years. 63 had a lot of the typical obscure singles made by kids that were devoted to the Dick Dale sound, while 64 has a somewehat broader spectrum of records with more different types of sound, and more and more concept albums being released. You could hear more organs in 64 releases than in 63 for instance.
When I look at the songs that we play with the Mobsmen there's a big majority of songs from 64 for some reason.
However 1963 is baptised THEE year for surf music, not least because of the British Invasion taking place in 1964, with the Liverpool-sound taking up more and more of the space.
Nonetheless 1964 gave us Mar Gaya, Burnin Rubber, Gear, Deuces & Eights and all of the Hondells/Super Stocks, all of which I regard very highly. But Squad Car, Surf Party, Hava Nagila, Bombora, High Tide doesn't make a bad match either.

I think I'm a bit split in half right now, maybe with a slight preference for 1964.

63:
Astronauts:Surfin with LP, Surf Party
Beach Boys: Surfin USA LP
Challengers: Surfbeat LP
Chantays: Pipeline LP
Chandelles: El gato
Chevell`s: Let there be surf, Riptide
Crossfires: Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, Fiberglass Jungle
Dick Dale: Hava Nagila, The Wedge
Eddie & the Showmen: Squad Car, Mr Rebel
Illusions: Jezebel
Lively Ones: Surf Rider, High Tide, Goofy Foot
BruceJohnston: Surfin Round the World LP
Dave Myers & the Surftones: Hangin Twenty LP
Nevegans: Russian Roulette
New Dimensions: Cat on a hot foam board
Original Surfaris: Surfari, Bombora
Pyramids: Penetration 45
Surfaris: Play LP
Truants: the Truant

64:
Astronauts:Competition Coupe LP
Dick Dale: The Victor, The Eliminator, Spanish Kiss
Jan Davis: Snow surfin matador
Eddie & the Showmen: Lanky Bones
Fender IV: Mar Gaya
Jades: Surfin Crow
Hustlers: Inertia
Jim Messina the Jesters: Dragsters LP
Gene Moles & the Softwinds: Burnin Rubber
Dave Myers & the Surftones: Gear
New Dimensions: Deuces and Eights
Novas: Take 7, The Crusher
Original Surfaris:Torchula, Psyche-Out, Gum Dipped Slicks
Pyramids: Penetrations LP
Readymen: Disintegration
Rondels: On the Run
Surfaris: Hit City 64, Fun City USA LP
Super Stocks& Hondells: Surf Route 101, School is a drag, Go Little Honda, Hondells LPs
Trashmen:Surfin Bird LP
Vulcanes: Moon Probe

guitarist, The Mobsmen

I think the fact that you actually had quite a couple of bands who continued to play surf through 64 (and even into 65) says a lot about how cool surf music is.
And the bands who were "late-hitters" offered some resistance to the Beatlemania, making the surf sounds from that year as good as the earlier records.

guitarist, The Mobsmen

BillAqua
February 1964 the Beatles land at JFK airport and all of a sudden it's not cool to play offset Fenders through Fender piggy back amps. 1964 marks the beginning of the end for me, no matter what great songs came out that year.

I feel the same way.

Yikes!

We thought about calling ourselves the Glaciers until we fell down on Mobsmen. Strange. What does it sound like?

guitarist, The Mobsmen

I understand the question, but question the reason or the want to ask.
When I hear or put on a song or cd, I listen to the music, the intruments, the sound of the room, the quality of the recording equipment, etc. I don't really give any thought to when it was recorded or put out. If it moves me it's good, what does it matter
the release date???

Jeff(bigtikidude)

Jeff(bigtikidude)

I like the music from '64 the most, althought '63 does house Eddie and the Showmen and The Truants.

I would say in general that the 60s has so many time-specific sounds and productions that the date of a recording matters a lot. Much more than now.
A friend of mine has a very good ear of spotting the year of a 60s recording, and he's right in more than 90% of the cases, simply because things were happening so fast, and the dynamics between new trends, the music industry and the production professionals gave each little time-period a distinct sound.

guitarist, The Mobsmen

I don't know much about the equipment they used myself. As a matter of fact that wasn't really the focal point here anyway.

To separate 63 and 64 you need to put up a line somewhere. I guess New Years Eve is appropriate for this even though 15. december 63 and 7. january 64 probably have more in common than 7. january and 6. october 64. Then again Chicago is closer to Canada than it is to Texas, even though the name of the country is more similar in Texas and Chicago than in Chicago and Canada.

Years are necessary to make it operalizationable, even though it wouldn't have made it very much different if 63 started two months earlier or such. Often records have years printed on them for instance. Makes it easier to put it in the "bag" of that year, giving it the image of that year.

guitarist, The Mobsmen