Everyone knows who Pink Floyd is. This doesn't need any sort of introduction, if anyone has ever heard music; they know who Floyd is and why they are famous. Tracks like “Another Brick in the Wall, pt. 3,” “Comfortably Numb,” and “Money,” to name a few. It's no secret that their two biggest albums, "Dark Side of the Moon" and "The Wall," are two of the best-selling records of all time. But what many people don't know is that there was a different Pink Floyd before this famous and, I would argue, better one. If more people heard about the original Pink Floyd, I'm sure they would agree. The casual music listener doesn't really care about what goes on behind the closed doors of a band, all most people care about is the quality of the music they make. These people would agree that although David Gilmour sang for the band during their "glory years" and helped give the band great chemistry and a real frontman that the rest of the band could support, the music the band made at the time Originally when Syd Barrett was their singer and was so superior to Gilmour's work that the problems the band had with Barrett as frontman paled in comparison to the sound they were producing. Each of these guys played with the band that included Nick Mason on drums, bassist Roger Waters, and pianist/keyboardist and occasional vocalist Richard Wright, but Barrett and Gilmour themselves were anything but similar. The main differences between the two musicians lie in their musical influences, their guitar and lyrical style, as well as their personality. The first thing that makes Barrett and Gilmour so different is their upbringing and influences. They actually had many similarities in their youth, both living in Cam...... middle of paper ... and eventually caused an irreparable chasm between the group. Few people blame Gilmour for this disagreement, as it wasn't really in his personality to jeopardize his friendships for personal gain. That being said, while the band may have had more commercial and personal success with Gilmour in the lead, it doesn't matter. That's not to say they were as good as they were with Barrett. Because they weren't. In an era of great talents such as McCartney, Bowie, Townshend, Page and Keith Richards, Barrett is right up there with them in terms of musical skills. The reason he's not that well known is that he only recorded one album with Pink Floyd, made before they went mainstream. He is truly one of the most underrated musicians of all time. The fact that one man can influence so many people through the techniques he popularized is a remarkable feat that deserves more recognition..