Create your own "Best Of DT Album." However, you must follow the rules.

[don_waka]

Saw this somewhere and decided to share it with you.

Here are the rules:

1. Because Dream Theater has released 13 studio albums, your "Best Of" album must have 13 songs on it.
2. Each album must be represented (therefore, only one song per album).
3. Each song must be in the same track space that it's in on its respective album (example: if you choose to have The Glass Prison on      your album, it must be your first song, since it's the first song on 6 Degrees).
4. Because The Astonishing is their only album with more than 13 songs on it, you may place any song from TA in any position on your chart - however, you may not use any other song from any other album that has the same position (for example, if you choose to have A New Beginning as your TA song, and you choose to put it in the 6th position on your album, you cannot use any other song that was 6th on its respective album (such as The Count Of Tuscany); that space is now occupied).
5. There are no time restraints.
6. NO COVER SONGS

[don_waka]

Example:

On The Backs Of Angels (ADTOE)
Blind Faith (6DOIT)
The Ytse Jam (WDADU)
The Dark Eternal Night (SC)
Metropolis Part 1 (I&W)
The Count Of Tuscany (BC&SL)
In The Name Of God (TOT)
Octavarium (8VM)
Illumination Theory (DT12)
Scarred (Awake)
Trial Of Tears (FII)
Finally Free (SFAM)
Our New World (TA)

[krands85]

Surely the only place the track from The Astonishing can go in is #13? If you put it anywhere else, you have to find another song that's in 13th position on it's respective album, but there aren't any unless you don't count 6DOIT as one song (also, if you don't count 6DOIT as 1 song, Finally Free will be position 12 by default too). Maybe I'm missing something obvious 

Anyway....

1. The Glass Prison (6DOIT)
2. Forsaken (SC)
3. Endless Sacrifice (TOT)
4. The Killing Hand (WDADU)
5. Bridges in the Sky (ADTOE)
6. The Count of Tuscany (BC&SL)
7. Sacrificed Sons (8VM)
8. Learning to Live (I&W)
9. Illumination Theory (DT)
10. Scarred (Awake)
11. Trial of Tears (FII)
12. Finally Free (SFAM)
13. A New Beginning (TA)

I could also shuffle a few tracks around and have Take the Time at #3, In the Name of God at #7 and Octavarium at #8. Or ITPOE Part 1 at #1 and Blind Faith at #2. So many possibilities when you get below position 9!

[SebastianPratesi]

Surely the only place the track from The Astonishing can go in is #13? If you put it anywhere else, you have to find another song that's in 13th position on it's respective album, but there aren't any unless you don't count 6DOIT as one song (also, if you don't count 6DOIT as 1 song, Finally Free will be position 12 by default too). Maybe I'm missing something obvious 

Exactly what I was thinking! In fact, I don't even consider "Finally Free" as song #12, but song (or 'scene') #9. However, the task is impossible to me if I do so, so I'll just pretend. So yeah, I guess it depends on what exactly you consider a 'song' on Scenes and Six Degrees.

Anyways, interesting game! Besides rule #3, which limits a lot the possibilities for songs 10 - 13.
This would be mine:

Disc 1 (66:38)
01 "A Nightmare To Remember" (16:10)
02 "Blind Faith" (10:21)
03 "The Ytse Jam" (5:46) (so that lead vocals on the compilation are by James only)
04 "Honor Thy Father" (10:11)
05 "Repentance" (10:14)
06 "Under A Glass Moon" (7:03)
07 "Surrender To Reason" (6:53)

Disc 2 (73:14)
08 "Octavarium" (24:00)
09 "Beneath The Surface" (5:26)
10 "Scarred" (11:00)
11 "Trial Of Tears" (13:07)
12 "Finally Free" (12:00)
13 "A New Beginning" (7:41)

[Progmetty]

Rule #3 makes this needlessly silly and complicated at the same time, for me at least. I'll be checking on the replies though.

[DragonAttack]

As I Am
The Enemy Inside
Constant Motion
Hollow Years
Metropolis Pt. 1
The Count of Tuscany
Sacrificed Sons
Breaking All Illusions
To Live Forever * (from WDADR....or just five seconds of silence from WDADU)
Scarred
The Spirit Carries On
Brother, Can You Hear Me?
Grand Finale (Losing Time)

I had much better results doing this with the Queen catalogue.  Interesting 'game'.

[erwinrafael]

I'll play. Double Disc titled "13":

Disc 1 (1 hour 9 minutes 2 seconds)

In the Presence of Enemies Pt. 1
Blind Faith
These Walls
The Shattered Fortress
Metropolis Pt. 1
Afterlife
In the Name of God

Disc 2 (1 hour 15 minutes)

Breaking All Illusions
Illumination Theory
Scarred
Trial of Tears
Finally Free
Our New World

I would like to note that the rules are unnecessarily forcing Finally Free to be the only choice at the 12th spot.

[Adami]

Rule #3 makes this needlessly silly and complicated

Which is like crack for DTF.

[Prog Snob]

Okay, I'll bite.

1. The Glass Prison - it's their best album opener.
2. This Dying Soul - Love the darkness of this song
3. Ytsejam - We need at least one instrumental....
4. This is the Life -  ....and one power ballad
5. Metropolis Part 1 - of course
6. The Count of Tuscany - I wanted to choose 6DOIT but I have a better choice for that one
7. The Ministry of Lost Souls - this song has grown on me over the years.
8. Octavarium - tough choice between this and LTL.
9. Illumination Theory - This was a tough choice with LSOAD and DOE to choose from as well.
10. Scarred - Either this or Anna Lee and well...duh.
11. Trial of Tears - it's either this or Space-Dye Vest, but since there aren't a lot of great songs to pick from on FII, I'll use this one.
12. Finally Free - obviously
13. A New Beginning - tough choice to decide on one of The Astonishing songs.

Fuck you, I'm cheating.

*Japanese bonus track
14. A Change of Seasons 

[IDontNotDoThings]

I made the worst one I could (because why not), but even that didn't yield completely awful results:
1. As I Am
2. Status Seeker
3. Wither
4. I Walk Beside You
5. Disappear
6. Prophets Of War
7. Wait For Sleep
8. Along For The Ride
9. Beneath The Surface
10. Anna Lee
11. Space-Dye Vest
12. Finally Free
13. Whispers On The Wind
Length: 75 minutes

[shredd]

This is by no means the songs which I think are the best on each album but given the restrictions I believe it to be the most acceptable outcome

Disc 1
As I Am
The Enemy Inside
Constant Motion
The Killing hand(WDADRU version with James coz the rules don't say no live versions )
Metropolis Part 1
The Count Of Tuscany.
About To Crash

Disc 2
Octavarium
Lifting Shadows Off A Dream
Beneath The Surface
Trial Of Tears
Finally Free
The Path That Divides

Approx length: 128:04

[IDontNotDoThings]

BTS is a track 9, not a 10

[Mosh]

Disc 1
As I Am
Build Me Up, Break Me Down
The Looking Glass
The Dark Eternal Night
Metropolis
The Count of Tuscany

Disc 2
The Mirror
Only A Matter of Time
The Dance of Eternity
Scarred
Trial of Tears
About To Crash (Reprise)
Our New World

[Adami]

Disc 1
As I Am
Build Me Up, Break Me Down
The Looking Glass
The Dark Eternal Night
Metropolis
The Count of Tuscany

Disc 2
The Mirror
Only A Matter of Time
The Dance of Eternity
Scarred
Trial of Tears
About To Crash (Reprise)
Our New World

I think you're only allowed 1 song per album. Though I'm always cool with over representing Awake. 

[Mosh]

Oops. Well, I'm too lazy to fix it so I'm going to leave it. 

It is missing Octavarium representation, throw the title track on there as a bonus. 

[shredd]

BTS is a track 9, not a 10

@IDontNotDoThings
Thanks for pointing that out! My bad hahaha

[link2tau]

Here goes nothing.

1. The Glass Prison (because duh)
2. Status Seeker (because it's the last slot remaining and I don't prioritize WDADU much)
3. Endless Sacrifice (because it's the only song I really truly like on ToT)
4. The Dark Eternal Night (because it's alright)
5. Panic Attack (because BAL took 8VM's spot, and this song is still awesome)
6. The Count of Tuscany (because it's my favorite song)
7. Wait for Sleep (because why not)
8. Breaking All Illusions (because it's my second favorite song)
9. Illumination Theory (because it's my third favorite song)
10. Scarred (because of constraints)
11. Trail of Tears (because it's lovely)
12. Finally Free (because of constraints again)
13. Ravenskill (because it's perfect)

[romdrums]

Trying to come up with something very different:

Regression (SFAM)
The Answer Lies Within (8V)
Wither (BCSL)
Enigma Machine (DT12)
Vacant (ToT)
Prophets of War (SC)
Wait for Sleep (I&W)
Only a Matter of Time (WDADU)
Beneath the Surface (ADTOE)
Anna Lee (FII)
Space Dye Vest (Awake)
About to Crash Reprise (SDOIT)
Descent of the Nomacs (TA)

[Ben_Jamin]

I think people forgot about rule 4. Which helps with the variety.

[ChuckSteak]

1- Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
2- The Enemy Inside
3- The Ytse Jam
4- The Dark Eternal Night
5- The Best of Times
6- Stream of Consciousness
7- Sacrificed Sons
8- Learning to Live
9- Beneath the Surface
10- Scarred
11- Trial of Tears
12- Finally Free
13- A New Beginning

Not very happy with the list though. The restrictions make it hard.

[MirrorMask]

This could never be a best of because of the limitations, but here's what some compromises led me to:

01 The Glass Prison
02 Forsaken
03 Endless Sacrifice
04 The Killing Hand
05 The Bigger Picture
06 The Count of Tuscany
07 Wait for Sleep
08 Octavarium
09 Beneath the Surface
10 Scarred
11 Trail of Tears
12 Finally Free
13 Ravenskill

[Outcrier]

1- Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence

As far as i know, The Glass Prison is the 1st track of SDOIT (and the title track is the 6th).

Since it's two discs, i could be wrong though.

[ChuckSteak]

1- Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence

As far as i know, The Glass Prison is the 1st track of SDOIT (and the title track is the 6th).

Since it's two discs, i could be wrong though.

Disc 1:

1- The Glass Prison
2- Blind Faith
3- Misunderstood
4- The Great Debate
5- Disappear

Disc 2:

1- Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence

If it was song number 6, there wouldn't be a second album. So there are two nr. 1 songs on SDoIT.

[Prog Snob]

The point is to have one song from each album, hence there being 13 tracks. Having your logic would make it 14 albums then. There is an extra disc because a CD can only fit so much information. It's all one release because it's all released under the same title.

[Ben_Jamin]

Well, disregard the last post. Upon doing this I snapped it's true.

[ChuckSteak]

The point is to have one song from each album, hence there being 13 tracks. Having your logic would make it 14 albums then. There is an extra disc because a CD can only fit so much information. It's all one release because it's all released under the same title.

Just because an album is double, it doesn't make the disc 2 an "extra" album. DT has 13 studio records, but in them there are 15 cds. It doesn't mean 15 albums. If my logic doesn't make sense, neither does the "SDoIT is the 6th song" logic. SDoIT is one album with two discs, therefore there are two songs with the number 1. So it would be wrong to choose SDoIT (the song) as the 6th track. I think it makes sense that you could choose either SDoiT (the song) or The Glass Prison. The same is valid for The Astonishing. It is either that or being unable to pick any song of the disc 2.

[Ben_Jamin]

Isn't it the 6th song though, according to the booklet.

[Prog Snob]

The point is to have one song from each album, hence there being 13 tracks. Having your logic would make it 14 albums then. There is an extra disc because a CD can only fit so much information. It's all one release because it's all released under the same title.

Just because an album is double, it doesn't make the disc 2 an "extra" album. DT has 13 studio records, but in them there are 15 cds. It doesn't mean 15 albums. If my logic doesn't make sense, neither does the "SDoIT is the 6th song" logic. SDoIT is one album with two discs, therefore there are two songs with the number 1. So it would be wrong to choose SDoIT (the song) as the 6th track. I think it makes sense that you could choose either SDoiT (the song) or The Glass Prison. The same is valid for The Astonishing. It is either that or being unable to pick any song of the disc 2.

In regards to The Astonishing, I suppose you didn't read the rules properly. He states quite clearly how to go about choosing a song from those CDs. Nobody else here seems to have a problem understanding that SDOIT is the SIXTH song on the release. It might be the first song on disc 2 but it's still the sixth song on the album Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence. 13 songs from 13 releases. It's not rocket science.

[OpenYourEyes311]

1. Pull Me Under
2. A Rite of Passage
3. These Walls
4. The Dark Eternal Night
5. The Bigger Picture
6. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
7. In the Name of God
8. Only a Matter of Time
9. Beneath The Surface
10. One Last Time
11. Space-Dye Vest
12. Speak To Me
13. Our New World

[TheCountOfNYC]

01: Pull Me Under
02: A Rite of Passage
03: Constant Motion
04: Honor Thy Father
05: Panic Attack
06: Afterlife
07: The Mirror
08: Along for the Ride
09: Beneath the Surface
10: Anna Lee
11: The Spirit Carries On
12: Solitary Shell
13: Our New World

This is very hard to do considering their most successful songs generally occupy the same tracks (Pull Me Under, As I Am, and On the Backs of Angels for track 1 for example). There was no way I could leave Pull Me Under out with it being a greatest hits album. Most of their albums being 9 songs or less doesn't help matters either.

[TheOutlawXanadu]

I would do something like:

1. Another Won (Score version)
2. Metropolis
3. The Silent Man
4. Trial of Tears
5. Through My Words / Fatal Tragedy
6. Misunderstood
7. Vacant
8. These Walls
9. In the Presence of Enemies, Pt. I
10. Wither
11. Breaking All Illusions
12. Surrender to Reason
13. Our New World

I know, I know... I broke a lot of rules, but I think that playlist is a nice combination of the short and the long, the simple and the complex, the light and the heavy. I might even give it a try later today and let everyone know how it goes.

[matthewmatt]

What should I do with ITPOE (seriously, I must have it there)? Are those two songs for the purpose of this thread? If they are, then is SDOIT also 8 songs? Or is it one song and we can choose whether it's track no. 1 or 8?

[MirrorMask]

My opinion: In the Presence of Enemies are two tracks, respectively 1 and 8, and Six Degrees can be counted as a single track but as track 6.

[phi]

Made an Excel Sheet to work on this. 
Kind of unfair rules IMO... Especially regarding TA.

1. A Change of Seasons (A "Best Of" can't miss this song! Don't even say it is against the rules.  )
2. Overture 1928
3. Endless Sacrifice (thought of The Ytse Jam first, but too many instrumentals and no one elso from TOT to pick...)
4. Erotomania
5. Metropolis
6. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
7. Lines in the Sand
8. Octavarium (probably the toughest, not because of 8V, but too many good songs...)
9. Illumination Theory
10. CANNOT FIND WITHOUT REPEAT AN ALBUM
11. CANNOT FIND WITHOUT REPEAT AN ALBUM
12. CANNOT FIND WITHOUT REPEAT AN ALBUM
Just to prove the nonsense of rules... 
13. Our New World

Missing Albums: WDADU   , SYC, BC&SL, ADTOE (which I just really miss the first one  )

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

I can't do this. I mean, most of these lists are amazing but I couldn't listen to them through one sitting. It's way too much.  I would balance the whole 'let's put in all the epics' thing with songs like Hollow Years or The Spirit Carries On. Flow and pacing are very important to me, and I don't think there's too much of that in piling all of DT's grand epics into one big piece.

I would do something like:

1. Another Won (Score version)
2. Metropolis
3. The Silent Man
4. Trial of Tears
5. Through My Words / Fatal Tragedy
6. Misunderstood
7. Vacant
8. These Walls
9. In the Presence of Enemies, Pt. I
10. Wither
11. Breaking All Illusions
12. Surrender to Reason
13. Our New World

I know, I know... I broke a lot of rules, but I think that playlist is a nice combination of the short and the long, the simple and the complex, the light and the heavy. I might even give it a try later today and let everyone know how it goes.

This is awesome, TOX. Sounds like something I would enjoy.