Details of the rankings below:

• S1E01 – Pilot
  • Steve Franks says “we don’t talk about this one”, but it started the whole adventure: it setup the format, the backstory, the reason for the fake psychic façade, all the relationships, and the silliness of Shawn and Gus. As an hour and 6 minutes long (or 1:18 for the international version), it takes its time, does not feel rushed, and is a great way to get new viewers into the show.
  • Points of interest
    • No Maggie Lawson yet, big minus.
    • Shawn had 57 jobs since high school!
    • According to The Psychologists are In podcast with Maggie Lawson and Timothy Omundson, Sage Brocklebank (officer McNab) was only supposed to be a one time actor in the pilot, but when Lassiter asked “C’mon, who’s buying this” and he raised his hand as an improv, Steve Franks saw that he had good comedic instincts and kept him on.
    • Gus running away from the crime scene with a long scream – this was iconic (or psyconic, as Tim and Maggie like to say).
  • Despite no Maggie Lawson and the low density of jokes, this episode sets the whole series in motion. S-tier

• S1E02 – Spellingg Bee
  • Solid episode. First of the regular season, but actually filmed second (after “Speak Now…”). Solid, funny, good start to the season. A tier

• S1E03 – Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Piece
  • Another solid episode. Filmed before Spellingg Bee. Gus in hallway with shaving cream on head is hilarious. A tier

• S1E04 – Woman Seeking Dead Husband: Smokers Okay, No Pets
  • Great plot twist, fun with Shawn proving he is psychic by using mirrored surfaces. A tier

• S1E05 – 9 Lives
  • Great concept with the cat. Lots of funnies, and a great scene when Gus is pretending to be sad to call the helpline and:
    • a) gets the worst advice possible
    • b) realizes he is actually a bit depressed
  • The Dazzle and Stretch song!
  • Would have put it on S-tier, but the murderer's reasoning really didn't seem plausible at all. A+ tier

• S1E06 – Weekend Warriors
  • Great all around. "That's not a notch, thaat's a notch" - little homage to Crocodile Dundee.
  • Maggie was aparantly bitten by a bug on her leg right before being pushed out of the tent, making the acting even more admirable.
  • Lassie's facewig!
  • Henry Spencer engraving the watch, and being a cheapskate. Funny scene.
  • The Lieutenant Crunch joke!
  • Almost put this in S-tier. In fact, I might do so in the future. A+ tier

• S1E07 – Who Ya Gonna Call?
  • Ok episode. The boys show great compassion for the multiple personalities of the murder suspect.
  • Frank Whaley turned in a great performance as a man with multiple personalities.
  • Outstanding line: "Collecting donations for the policeman's ball?" "We don't have balls".
  • The silent treatment with cell phones is a funny bit as well.
  • But overall, it just wasn't as great of an episode when compared to the previous ones, or the next one. B tier

• S1E08 – Shawn vs. the Red Phantom
  • Another great episode.
  • George Takai was brilliant!
  • Magic Head!
  • Overall, almost S-tier, but the extremely obvious handwriting clue just kept it out. A+ tier

• S1E09 – Forget Me Not
  • The McTock improv was hilarious.
  • An ok episode. Aside from the McTock thing, it just wasn't all that funny.
  • The competition for the daughter (Trish) seemed forced, unnecessary, and just a bad way to end the episode.
  • Overall, it could have been A-tier, but the ending and a bit of a tedious plot keeps it out. B tier

• S1E10 – From the Earth to the Starbucks
  • Drunk Lassie!
  • Stealth Mode!
  • The origin of the Pluto joke!
  • The planetarium demo!
  • Richard Kind was brilliant in his role.
  • Nicole Lyn was brilliant in her role.
  • Loved the subplot about all of them banding together to boost Lassie's confidence, and help him without him knowing.
  • Nothing to complain about in this episode. Easy S tier

• S1E11 – He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, He Loves Me, Oops He’s Dead!
  • Good episode, some good jokes.
  • Hilarious scene where Gus takes a date to Henry's house.
  • Nice Jules and Shawn beginnings of romance there.
  • Solid A tier

• S1E12 – Cloudy… With a Chance of Murder
  • Although the cast didn't think it was all that good (and remade it with more jokes in season 8), I thought it was quite engaging.
  • Michael Weston turns in a great performance as the least accomplished of the Hornstocks.
  • Gus was pre pre-law in 6th grade!
  • Even with fewer jokes, the plot was fun to follow, and the audience naturally roots for the youngest Hornstock.
  • Solid A tier

• S1E13 – Game, Set… Muuurder?
  • The main plot was somewhat forgettable.
  • However, sub-plots and jokes were great.
  • Shawn's first Tim curry "No". Two of em!
  • All the excuses to get Gus out of the company retreat were hilarious.
    • "Why was an 87 year old woman with a broken hip attending a line dancing class?"
      "Attending? She was teaching!"
  • Deana Sirtis - I just realized this a mashup of Mariana Sirtis and her character Deanna Troy on Star Trek TNG.
  • Later referenced with Gus saying Shawn was "sensing a disturbance in the space-time contiuum".
  • "...as he beat ... a discrete ... retreat". While Shawn was standing on the seat. Super silly.
  • Lassiter and Henry fishing together, Kassie can't stand Henry, understands Shawn a bit better.
  • Block of cheese about the size of a housecat!
  • Gus don't be a gooey chocolate chip cookie!
  • It's hard to rank this one - all the Shawn zaniness, jokes, sub-plots. All great. But the main plot, and some of the moments fell a little flat. A tier, but just barely.

• S1E14 – Poker? I Barely Know Her
  • Not bad, but not great. Quite forgettable. B tier

• S1E15 – Scary Sherry: Bianca’s Toast
  • Initially I was going to put this into A+ tier, but because of the following:
    • I've seen it both ways
    • the first Gus mistakenly identified as Bud on the Cosby show
    • Carlton on being paired with Goochberg
      • Mercedes Ruel as Goochberg was brilliant. Just hilarious. Every sentence is more ridiculous than the last.
      • Carlton has a moment of introspection when Goochberg lets him know how people percieve him.
    • Mrs. Pickles makes another appearance.
    • Gus and Shawn panicking from the scary house.
      • Super funny that Gus can't unlock his car, then sticks his hand through the open window.
    • Juliet is hilarious as an undercover sorority girl.
    • Just every second is either hilarious, suspenseful, or driving the plot forward.
  • Absolutely S-tier.

....annnnndd that's all for this one.

A note on my tier list levels - S tier is reserved for something special, something extraordinary. The default Psych episode tier is A. A better than average Psych episode is A+. Something that doesn't quite live up to the high standards of most Psych's is set to B or C tier. C tier will only show up if needed. And none of these tier lists have D or F grades, because I just couldn't do that to a Psych episode.