Hello. Some of you may or may not know who Piero Scaruffi is. For those of you who do, it is usually a love hate relationship. For those of you who don't, he is a renowned thinker in many fields, one of them being music and music theory.

He has a lot of notoriety for not giving sparkling reviews to bands who seem to be above criticism (i.e. The Beatles). However, I never took his tastes for being obscure just for the sake of obscurity (he loves the Doors, for Jah's sake). His tastes can be hit or miss for me, as well, but at times I have found out about amazing bands from his reviews that I never would have known of otherwise.

His top 25 list is a unique one to say the least (zomgz no Beatles, Led Zeppelin or Rolling Stones zomgz). I had heard about half of these before I started compiling the list, and I have listened to almost all of the ones I hadn't so far. He has some really great choices on here and I'm glad I decided to do this little project. All of these should be required rock listening at some point. You can say what you want about the guy's tastes, but you can't say that he isn't a good writer or that he doesn't have interesting choices.


Piero Scaruffi's Knowledge Base

So without further ado:















t-25 Gong - Flying Teapot (1973) - Progressive, psychedelic, space rock

http://www.mediafire.com/?0w5ekb1oe59














t-25. Third Ear Band - Self Titled (1970) - Eastern, folk, experimental

http://www.mediafire.com/?ynwzym4i2dd














t-25. Husker Du - Zen Arcade (1984) - Hardcore punk, alternative rock

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?jziyjwwtgyx















24. Vampire Rodents - Lullaby Land (1993) - Industrial, experimental

http://www.mediafire.com/?6tmjlwzndg9














23. Pop Group - Y (1979) Post-punk, punk-jazz

http://www.mediafire.com/?ytbnivnmbvx














22. The Residents - Not Available (1978) Experimental rock, avant-garde

http://www.mediafire.com/?dcyyympwnrm














21. Van Morrison - Astral Weeks (1968) - Folk rock

http://www.mediafire.com/?9tiy9jmbzpd















20. Suicide - Self Titled (Remasted 2 disc version) (1977) - Proto-punk, no wave

Disc 1 - http://www.mediafire.com/?izlty00i4fv

Disc 2 - http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?xmgjgm8bebz














19. Foetus - Nail (1985) - Industrial, experimental

http://www.mediafire.com/?dqthzfvb9ww














18. Neu! - Self Titled (1972) - Krautrock, proto-punk, art-rock

http://www.mediafire.com/?miwtxdnzede














17. Bob Dylan - Blonde On Blonde (1966) - Folk, blues, rock

http://www.mediafire.com/?7zzzgwzy22t














16. Morphine - Good (1992) - Alternative, indie, jazz-rock

http://www.mediafire.com/?m442zfwddmn














15. Lisa Germano - Geek The Girl (1994) - Alternative, dream pop

http://www.mediafire.com/?blpwg4m1buz














14. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Good Son (1990) - Rock, post-punk, blues

http://www.mediafire.com/?f0g1drn2wdg














13. Klaus Schulze - Irrlicht (1972) - Electronic, new age, trance

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?2m0mgj3ygyo














12. Red Crayola - Parable of The Arable Land (1967) - Psychedelic, experimental

http://www.mediafire.com/?em0mejzidnz














11. Tim Buckley - Lorca (1970) - Jazz rock, folk rock, avant-garde

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=28P7DCHN














10. Nico - Desert Shore - (1970) - Avant-garde folk

http://www.mediafire.com/?zybrzt99zxl














9. John Fahey - Fare Forward Voyagers (1973) - American primitivism, folk, avant-garde

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?nydtydit0im














8. Royal Trux - Twin Infinitives (1990) - Rock

http://www.mediafire.com/?am0witwjdwf














7. Pere Ubu - The Modern Dance (1978) - Avant-garage, post-punk

http://www.mediafire.com/?9z0wzmz0oj1














6. Popol Vuh - Hosianna Mantra (1972) - Ambient, space

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?ode4mmebnd2














5. The Doors - Self Titled (1967) - Psychedelic rock, acid rock, blues

http://www.mediafire.com/?ym3dba1n445














4. The Velvet Underground - and Nico (1967) - Rock and roll, proto punk

http://www.mediafire.com/?55o2yz54ill














3. Faust - Self Titled (1971) - Krautrock, prog-rock

http://www.mediafire.com/?i11t4umy0xg














2. Robert Wyatt - Rock Bottom (1974) - Progressive rock

http://www.mediafire.com/?eytbzrjwxww



and coming in at #1......drum roll.......


















1. Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band - Trout Mask Replica (1969) - Experimental rock, psychedelic, blues

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=DYIGUEPH



So, that's all folks. I hope you enjoy. Thanks again to cyanidebreathmint, who provided me with the John Fahey and Popol Vuh links.

If you want a recommendation on where to start or want to leave your own recommendations, please do so in the comment box.

You can read the reviews of all of these albums on Piero Scaruffi's website linked above.

-G