If there’s any animal that ought to inhabit your island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, it’s sheep. Ever since the Wooloo from Pokémon Sword and Shield was debuted, sheep fever is at an all-time high in the gaming world, but adorable rams have been a beautiful mainstay of Animal Crossing history for much longer.
There have been about 15 sheep in the series from the Gamecube to the Switch, but some of them are undoubtedly better than others. It’s time to stack them all together into an adorable wooly tower to determine which is truly the best sheep.
15 Cashmere
Cashmere is the worst sheep entirely because of her face, which resembles a turtle more than any sheep in the world. Her originality doesn’t mean she’s not beautiful, but if you want a sheep on your island she isn’t exactly most sheep-like.
Besides her face, what makes her hard to love is that she has a snooty personality. When you have a less-typical appearance, it’s important to wear it well and be positive, but Cashmere is not on a high horse to be judgy or unpleasant to others. As a result, she must remain at the back of the list.
14 Pietro
The only thing saving Pietro from being the actual worst sheep is that his character is that he’s at least more interesting than your average villager. Having a smug personality helps him too, as it makes him far more emotive than your typical villager.
At the end of the day, though, he’s an unemployed ram dressed in clown makeup. He would unquestionably be one of the most terrifying things to see wandering your island late at night.
13 Frita
While there isn’t anything inherently wrong with Frita, her default outfit is something to be somewhat unsettled by. Few villagers dress like food, but the idea of dressing up like a hot dog is either a boldly impressive fashion choice or a serious misstep.
Either way, having a villager with this ambitious look makes her more of an effort than a pleasure. You shouldn’t need to work to make a villager fit your Island’s style, and Frita is simply a burden who may need to help to not stand out too much.
12 Willow
From here onward, most of the sheep in Animal Crossing are a huge step up, and comparing them becomes much more difficult. In the case of Willow, there is far from anything wrong with her besides being a snooty villager, and even then there’s nothing wrong with a little abrasiveness.
What puts Willow this high on the list is that her bright colors, though gorgeous, are not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. While having bright yellow wool will make her a treasured villager to some players, it would be unfair to say everyone should adore this palette.
11 Curlos
While Curlos’s outfit contains all the colors of a Rastafarian Flag and his eyes are half-shut, any marijuana stereotype would be unfair to him. In fact, Pietro is the sheep who has a birthday on April 20th. These sorts of jokes would be impolite towards any Animal Crossing villager, but especially to this lovely brunette.
That false assumption aside, Curlos is a fairly smug and cranky villager. With such a relaxed face it’s easy to imagine being caught off guard by Curlos. That uncertainty makes him hard to appreciate, and not something that’d be fun to experience when you’re having a bad day.
10 Eunice
Eunice is one of the plainest sheep in the series, and that is more than okay for this lovely blue sweetheart. Her eyes are some of the biggest of her peers, her sweater is warm and fashionable, and to add to her classiness, her favorite song is K.K. Waltz.
Otherwise, there’s not much about her that makes her an outright standout. She has a simple color palette that makes her a good fit for any town, but not an exceptional villager and not likely to be anyone’s favorite.
9 Timbra
Timbra is a strict upgrade from Eunice, having an extremely tasteful and neutral look with just a little more flair to make her more pleasant to have in your village. Between her light brown wool and some gorgeous teal eyeshadow, she suits her snooty personality perfectly in a way that’s hard to dislike.
What holds her back is that her name is one of the least sheep-like of her peers. Rather than a human name or a clothing-based name, Timbra stands out as relating to wood and trees. Even if her green horns suit it, it’s a bizarre name that doesn’t roll off the tongue well enough.
8 Muffy
After the terror that is Pietro, you might be opposed to sheep with makeup, but not all decorated sheep are in the same boat. Muffy the goth sheep is colorful in a significantly more appealing way, having a consistent palette that isn’t too loud while still standing out just enough. Plus, her sisterly personality also helps her be more sweet than scary when you get to know her.
Muffy might be an acquired and spooky taste among lamb enthusiasts, but her appeal is made wider by her fashionability. Alongside any outfit is some well-applied lipstick and a silver hairpin to make her horns look like earmuffs, showing a dedication to fashion that not many villagers have before you meet them.
7 Wendy
Speaking of colorful sheep, Wendy comes with a brighter fashion and fur that brightens up the day, and carries a peppy personality that suits her appearance nicely. That, alongside some cute blush and buck teeth, makes her a great inclusion to any town or island.
That said, it’s unfortunate to see someone so lovely with such a horrible choice of fashion, as her go-to shirt in New Horizons is a clashing red watermelon tank top. This looked much better in earlier games where sheep wore scarfs rather than clothing, but when given a chance to upgrade her fashion she hasn’t changed her style at all over the years.
6 Woolio
Woolio is the only of the few sheep not coming to visit in New Horizons, and given his appearance, it’s an absolute shame. Between his polka dot scarf and sunglasses, he’s an absolute rockstar compared to the other sheep of the series.
Rather than music, though, Woolio’s passions surround fitness with his jockish personality, and someone who dresses this gorgeously is a wonderful person to have as a bodybuilding friend. If he weren’t too cool to move to an island, he’d be right at the top of this list.
5 Vesta
Vesta is one of the longest-running sheep of all, having been in every single game in the Animal Crossing series and sporting her deep purple skin and vanilla ice cream wool. She’s not the best sheep, but is one of the most iconic throughout all of the game’s history.
Besides her fame, though, her face is potentially scary enough to keep her from being a widely-beloved favorite. It’s not covered in makeup like Pietro, but her simplicity makes her look somewhat drawn in a way that’s a tad unnatural. Some people might find it cute, but if you woke up and saw that face beside your bed you might not care for Vesta so much anymore.
4 Étoile
This pale purple sheep looks like someone who walked right out of Angelic Pretty with an armful of lolita dresses. She’s the only sheep with this kind of soft purple wool and button-eyes, but most importantly are the sparkles on her wool and her starry headband, both of which cement her look as a beautiful sheep.
Just like Woolio, she isn’t coming to your island in New Horizons, but someone this beautiful would likely not fit the island lifestyle. This sheep belongs in a town or a city, with streets full of beautiful clothing stores to spend her days in.
3 Stella
When you look at this sheep, you’d be right to confuse her with a stuffed animal. Her mix of purple wool and soft pink skin makes her look exceptionally soft, and her mouth is so small compared to her blush that you’d confuse it for a nose.
Stella is the kind of sheep you’d wish to see jumping over a fence to help you fall asleep, and is sure to put a soft smile on your face whenever you see her chubby face roaming around.
2 Dom
Dom is one of the newest sheep, and he is more than welcome to the club with one of the most realistically-colored sheep yet. With soft pink skin and white wool he’s easily the most cute and pettable sheep so far, and so long as you ask nicely would probably let you do it.
He might not have the fashion style of Étoile, but Dom lights up a room all the same, and with his deep dark eyes you just want to spend the weekend with him. Just make sure to keep your island clean so his white hooves don’t get too dirty.
1 Baabara
Baabara comes out as the top sheep on every level, from her style to her face to her name. While slightly more dog-ish than sheep-ish, her mouth and button nose look perfectly natural, and sports some beautiful lashes to compliment them. She might be snooty, but with her pale blue and purple style she’s not someone who’ll ever make you feel bad.
Most importantly, though, her name is easily the best of the pun-names, embracing her identity as a sheep more than any other. Even her catchphrase, “daahling,” is meant to reference the sounds her species make. This wannabe esthetician is, without question, the ideal sheep.