Well, whose theory? If you wanna see some deep stuff, look no further than Al-Farabi. But if you want more tempered things that feed into the achievement cultur

Well, whose theory? If you wanna see some deep stuff, look no further than Al-Farabi. But if you want more tempered things that feed into the achievement culture, this thread is full of good suggestions. You could also go to a used book store and just read old fake books. They usually had a primer or two as to what's going on. As for the good Western harmony? I personally just watch Ted Greene geek out on the guitar. You could pick up his book Modern Chord Progressions and try a few of his voicings--they're angelic. Chick Corea and Barry Harris have also published extensively on different aspects of music theory. Both have monster ears and an elegance for explaining. I also dig the whole Almir Chediak "Songbook" series published by Lumiar editions. He's literally the guy that transcribed the book on Brazilian music. Stephen Feld's explanation of the "lift-up-and-over" prosody of Kaluli weeping ceremonies may, however, just give you a sense of the many beautiful theories of music might you or I learn.