I'm not gonna list off everybody I think is a genius, but yeah, Zappa qualifies.

Comparing The Piper At the Gates of Dawn to Sgt. Peppers is pretty unfair I'd say. I mean I can turn around and go "Well Sgt. Peppers doesn't have shit on Beetoven" in an attempt to make Sgt. Peppers look bad but is that really fair of me? I love both albums (Piper more than Peppers) and I don't see what's wrong with that.

I also think if you're going to examine Syd Barrett's music you should examine how creative and different it was and not just focus on the lyrics. I mean I personally love the lyrics but they're not for everyone. Besides since when is lyrical depth the only criteria for being talented?

Would Sgt Pepper have sounded the way it did had Lennon , McCartney & Harrison not spent 1966 & 67 going down the UFO club checking out Pink Floyd.

I wonder.

Early Pink Floyd was different yes, in the sense that they were one of the first English Psychedelic rock acts. Jefferson Airplane and other US bands were already doing Barretts kinda thing a few years earlier.

Barretts discography is very small. And while theres some excellent songs in there like See Emily Play and Astronomy Domine and Octopus. Theres nothing in there that suggests to me this man was a genius, and certainly not a bigger talent than Waters, Gilmour or even Wright.

Post Syd Floyd had a lot of songs I think overall were more brilliant than anything Barrett has done, like Echoes, Dogs and Shine On You Crazy Diamond.

Sgt. Peppers dosen't sound anything like Pink Floyd, maybe they inspired it somewhat. But I think Sgt Peppers owes more to Pet Sounds and Freak Out than anything else.

And, let's face it, Freak Out! is better than The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and Pet Sounds.

Hahahahahahahaha.

Nah. Absolutely not, on all counts. They're all masterpieces. But.

Sgt Peppers
Pet Sounds
Pipers
Freak Out

I actually think something like Bike (Which I know you hate :) ) is much closer to the stuff on Sgt Pepper than anything Zappa did thats on there. But then I don't really like the album and haven't heard it in years so I may be wrong.

Um, wrong?

Wrong.

Freak Out!
Pet Sounds
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Boo Boo Bike is my favorite Pink Floyd song and I've heard Animals, Wish You Were Here, Obscured by Clouds, Meddle, The Wall and others :(

I don't think they were playing Bike before Piper, which was recorded and released after Sgt Peppers. I might be wrong though.

Freak Out was influencial on Sgt Peppers more for its flow and themes than its sound, while Pet Sounds influenced the albums production style and use of unconventional sounds and instrumentation, though Pet Sounds in turn was influenced by Rubber Soul. Either way The Beatles cited both as influences on that album, sure they raved about Floyd, but they never cited Floyd as being a big influence Sgt Peppers, at least that I know of.