Holy three - this barely changes at all. On these albums, everything is just right, and there is magic.
1) Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
2) Images & Words
3) Awake
These albums have everything balanced out right. Atmosphere, DT-ness, cool instrumental work, awesome vocals, and I feel they have the most soul of all DT albums. The emotions are feeling real to me.
The Identity Crisis - On these albums, DT are evidently trying to figure out what's a good sound for them.
4) Train of Thought
5) Octavarium
I'm all for change, and indeed ToT sounds DT wants to get heavier. That had some very positive but also some less inspiring side effects. Same goes for 8VM being a little more restrained and symphonic.
The middle one - a signature DT album, but somehow missing a spark to it that other DT albums do have.
6) Black Clouds & Silver Linings
Overall, I think of BC&SL as a very good DT album. It's DT sounding extremely confident about their genre of music. That's what makes it almost a bit cliche. But I'm very happy with it, fairly strong songwriting - they improved on vocal melodies a LOT, coming from SC. And the instrumental work is great, balanced between tastefulness and craziness. The vocals themselves I regard as JLB's finest performance since Six Degrees. Not the incredible highs, but a very professional and mature delivery.
The glorious return - The album they'll be remembered by.
7) Scenes from a Memory
Used to be my #1, it's possibly DT's masterpiece from a compositional standpoint. But I've heard it so much, I just get bored when I hear it. And over time, I've come to realise that I find certain sections and especially vocal melodies which are not sounding that good to my ears. This is without a doubt my least favorite JLB vocal performance, coupled to their most impressive instrumental workout and concept.
The underdog - The album that regained some fan respect over the years.
8) Falling Into Infinity
I've ranked it higher in the past, possibly because I was overwhelmed by the standouts of the album. There are a few songs that belong to my rare list of DT songs I don't care about. Adding to that, I feel that the album doesn't flow well at all. The good tracks are DT classics nonetheless.
The promise - The album that was exciting when it came out, but went on to be a slight disappointment.
9) Systematic Chaos
A very entertaining, fun album. But nonetheless I rarely have a desire to listen to it. The songs don't have enough staying power, and I can't relate to the fantasy lyrics that much. My favorite songs are 'ITPOE pt. 1' and 'The Ministry of Lost Souls'. But I can think of tons of DT songs I like better than those songs.
The stranger - The album I never really listen to.
10) When Dream and Day Unite
I have tried to listen to WDADU so many times, but it just doesn't appeal to me, except for some cool instrumental parts (Stuff they arguably improved on a lot on later albums. Wait, not even arguably.)
I'm not ranking the EP 'A Change of Seasons' for obvious reasons, but the title track is a top 10 DT song for me. The production of the track is awful, though.
A special mention goes out to the bonus disc of BC&SL, that's just so much fun. And JLB absolutely rules on 'Stargazer'!
Topic: DT album ranking (Read 210304 times)
