In what order did you first hear each album?

[Chino]

I heard Metroplis
Saw DT in concert.
Bought LSFNY
Downloaded the entire discography. (listened to everything randomly)
Eventually purchased all studio and live releases.

[ZirconBlue]

I bought I&W in '92, after hearing "Pull Me Under" on the radio.  Prior to FII, I didn't know when anything was coming out, so I'd just periodically check the local record stores to see if anything new from my favorite bands had come in.  But I learned about the Ytse Jam Mailing list from the liner notes from ACoS, so I was able to get everything after that as soon as it was released.


Images & Words
When Dream And Day Unite
Live At The Marquee
Awake
A Change Of Seasons
Falling Into Infinity
Once In A Livetime
Scenes From A Memory
Live Scenes From New York
Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence
Train Of Thought
Live At Budokan
Octavarium
Score
Systematic Chaos
Chaos In Motion
Black Clouds & Silver Linings
[/quote]

[ReaperKK]

Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
Metropolis pt. 2
Images and Words
Train Of Thought
Falling Into Infinity
A Change Of Seasons
Awake
Systematic Chaos
WDADU
BC&SL

[kennedymichael]

I also heard PMU on the radio in '92, so the order starts like this:

1.  Images and Words
2.  Awake
3.  A Change of Seasons

For whatever reason I kinda lost track of DT.  Don't know why beacuse these 3 albums were my favorite at the time.

Fast forward to 2009 and I stumbled upon a YouTube video of SoC from Budokan.  I then discovered that this band I used to love back in the 90's had a huge library of albums.

Next I started coming here to find out which order I should listen. LOTS of good recomendations - thanks guys!

So the order continues. . .

4.  Black Clouds & Silver Linings (because it was the newest)
5.  Train of Thought (Awake was my favorite of the first three)
6.  Systematic Chaos (It was actually only an impulse buy because I saw it in the store)
7.  Scenes
8.  Six Degrees
9.  Octavarium
10.  When Dream and Day REUnite (knew I wouldn't like the original)
11.  Falling into Infinity (I don't think this one is as bad as everyone thinks)

[Raoul Sanchez]

Scenes was first. After that I think TOT was the second I heard all the way through, but I was familiar with a few songs doted around by then.

[kennedymichael]

Im Old so I have heard then as in order of year they were released LOL

so you started with WDADU?  I'd be curious to hear the story behind that.

[RuRoRul]

Train Of Thought
Octavarium
Systematic Chaos
Black Clouds And Silver Linings
Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence
Scenes From A Memory
Images And Words
Awake
Falling Into Infinity

To be honest though lots of those I heard at around the same time, or heard different songs first and then got the rest later. Started out with Train Of Thought plus a few songs from Octavarium and SC that my brother introduced me to, then heard the rest of those albums, then I bought BC&SL and SDOIT at the same time. I already knew a few songs from I&W and SFAM so I got them next.

I think the order you hear them in can affect how much you like them. It's easier for a song or album to become your favourite when it has nothing to compete against, rather than if you already have one you really love and you have to think "This is good, but is it better then when I first listened to that album and thought it was amazing?"

[Dublagent66]

I&W
Awake
FII
WDADU
SFAM

The rest chronologically...

[Dream Team]

I think I still remember this.

1 - I & W in summer 2003
2 - Awake & ACOS in autumn 2003
3 - Scenes & 6DOIT & Live Scenes in autumn/winter 2003/2004
4 - TOT in early 2004
5 - FII spring 2004
6 - Live at the Marquee & Live in Tokyo/Once in a Livetime summer 2004
7 - WDADU autumn 2004
8 - Everything else upon release

I think the order of listening had a big impact on me, if I hadn't heard Images first and loved it so much I might not have kept investigating the band. It's also probably one reason why I like it far better than all the others, to me it was how they "should" sound and as a result Awake for example was very hard to get into at first.

[wkiml]

Images and Words
A Change of Seasons
Awake
When Dream and Day Unite
Falling into Infinity
Scenes from a Memory
Six Degrees of Inner Turbulance
Train of Thought
Octavarium
Systematic Chaos
Black Clouds & Silver Linings

[JasonScandopolous]

SFAM
BC&SL
FII
SC
I&W
8VM
SDOIT
ACOS
Awake
WDADU

Having not started with I&W and Awake for 15 years before hearing some of the other ones, I am slightly confused as to why they are held by some to be on a level of their own, above all of the other material.  I've got SDOIT and SFAM at the top, then I&W BC&SL awake... etc. a nice mixture.  the traditional bottom feeders, WDADU/SC/FII, are still at the bottom for me, despite having heard the discography somewhat in reserse of chronological order.

[Global Laziness]

Let's see if I can remember this...

1) Awake (Summer 2006)
2) Images and Words (December 2006)
3) Octavarium (Jan/Feb 2007)
4) Falling into Infinity (Spring 2007)
5) Train of Thought (Spring 2007)
6) Scenes from a Memory (Spring 2007)
7) Systematic Chaos (June 2007 on release)
8) Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (September 2007)
9) When Dream and Day Unite (January 2008)
10) Black Clouds and Silver Linings (June 2009 on release)

I'm a bit foggy on 4-6 but it's something like that.

[sfam2112]

Let's see. I believe it was something like:
Falling into Infinity (on release)
Images and Words
Scenes From A Memory (on release)
Awake
A Change of Seasons
When Dream and Day Unite
Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (on release)
Train of Thought (-------)
Octavarium
Systematic Chaos
Black Clouds and Silver Linings

[chrisgazpacho]

I saw an add for When Dream and Day Unite that said for the first time in a long time it's about the music.  Then read a review when they were still Majesty that said it was a cross between Rush and Metallica so it was an instant buy.

[TheSilentHam]

1.  Awake
2.  Train Of Thought
3.  Images & Words
4.  Octavarium (on release)
5.  Scenes From A Memory
6.  Falling Into Infinity
6.  A Change Of Seasons
7.  6DOIT
9.  Systematic Chaos (on release)
10. Black Clouds & Silver Linings (on release)

When Dream And Day Unite - Still yet to hear it.

[Dream Team]

Let's see. I believe it was something like:
Falling into Infinity (on release)
Images and Words
Scenes From A Memory (on release)
Awake
A Change of Seasons
When Dream and Day Unite
Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (on release)
Train of Thought (-------)
Octavarium
Systematic Chaos
Black Clouds and Silver Linings

Wow, that's interesting. You must have been blown away hearing I&W after first hearing FII and forming an opinion about the band based on that . . .

[juice]

Score
Scenes From a Memory
Octavarium
Systematic Chaos


Falling Into Infinity(last)

and I forget the rest of the order.

[purpleplanet10]

Images and Words (the day i saw the video on MTV i went out bough it.. so 1992)
Awake (on release)
A Change of Seasons (on release)
Falling into Infinity (on release)
Scenes from a Memory (on release)
Six Degrees of Inner Turbulance (on release)
When Dream and Day Unite (on re-release of the album 2002)
Train of Thought (on release)
Octavarium (on release)
Systematic Chaos (on release)
Black Clouds & Silver Linings (on release)

[carl320]

FII
SFAM
Awake
I&W
WDADU
ACOS
6DOIT
And upon release since then.

[Zydar]

Images & Words
Awake
Octavarium
Systematic Chaos (became a fan after the release of this)

I can't remember the rest since I bought the others all at once, basically.

[Nefyn]

I&W
8VM
TOT
SFAM
6DOIT
SC
Awake
FII
BC&SL
WDADU




ACOS 

[CrimsonSunrise]

First heard DT when Awake was a new release so..

Awake
I&W
WDADU

the rest in sequence 

[Jaffa]

I'm still pretty new to Dream Theater, and have thus far only heard half of their albums in their entireties.  But, my order so far:

1. Systematic Chaos (impulse buy, it was on sale)
2. Octavarium
3. Images and Words
4. Scenes from a Memory
5. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence

So far I don't think the order has impacted my opinions.  My opinions seem to pretty much replicate DTF's opinions of these albums: I&W > SFAM > 6DOIT > 8VM > SC, ish.  

[sfam2112]

Let's see. I believe it was something like:
Falling into Infinity (on release)
Images and Words
Scenes From A Memory (on release)
Awake
A Change of Seasons
When Dream and Day Unite
Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (on release)
Train of Thought (-------)
Octavarium
Systematic Chaos
Black Clouds and Silver Linings

Wow, that's interesting. You must have been blown away hearing I&W after first hearing FII and forming an opinion about the band based on that . . .

Indeed. I was pretty impressed with both, though. 

[ddtonfire]

Images and Words
A Change of Seasons
Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
Scenes From a Memory
Awake
Train of Thought (on release)
Falling into Infinity
When Dream and Day Unite
Octavarium (on release)
Systematic Chaos (on release)
Black Clouds and Silver Linings (on release)

[climberboy]

cant really remember any order but it started with the Budokan live CD, not a bad way to get introduced to a band eh 

[xShammas]

1. Octavarium
2. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
3. Train of Thought
4. Images and Words
5. Black Clouds and Silver Linings
6. A Change of Seasons
7. Scenes From a Memory
8. Awake
9. Falling Into Infinity
10. Systematic Chaos

Still haven't really listened to WDADU, just Ytse Jam and A Fortune in Lies.

[jsem]

BCSL
8vm
FII
ToT
IAW
Awake
WDADU
SDOIT
SC
WDADU
SFAM

If I can remember it correctly.

[ytsejamon]

I´m new in this forum but I listened ( and buyed ) all discs on release,since I&W.

A friend of mine who listened the same type of music like me: Queensryche, Rush, Fates Warning....... in 1990 play me a LP from a new band with the title : WHEN DREAM AND DAY UNITE
The next day I buyed the LP from a mail shop
...and this story begun.
I´m from Spain and always DT went here, I went to the concerts.  (First visit in 97 FII Tour)
SFME(sorry for my Engrish)
saluDTs 

[DP_Gumby]

Train of Thought
Live at Budokan
Images & Words
Awake
A Change of Seasons
Falling Into Infinity
Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
Live Scenes from New York
Octavarium
When Dream and Day Unite
Once in a LiveTime
Score
Systematic Chaos
Chaos in Motion
Black Clouds and Silver Linings
Live in Tokyo

[tgstk2]

I heard  images 2 months after its release bought the album, got hooked and but all other albums in seq of release

[Pantherize]

Pull Me Under was the first song I heard when the video was being played on MTV. While I liked it a lot, I didn't really investigate the band until a friend of mine who had a metal show on a local radio station convinced me to buy Awake. Was hooked from that moment and could be why Awake remains my favorite of theirs. Then went back and got I&W and WDADU. After that, all followed the order they were released.

I still have a strong preference for Awake, I&W, Scenes and SDOIT. But I really wouldn't have a problem liking a new album more. A bad DT album is still better than most, but, the more recent albums to me have "filler" content. Not a ton, but enough to put them a notch below the gold standard albums for me. I am really hoping for a breakthrough, totally kick ass album with MM and a new energy.    I would love nothing more than to have Awake rank #2 after DT11.  

[Tunnel Vision]

1. Octavarium
2. Scenes
3. Awake
4. Train of Thought
5. Images and Words
6. Six Degrees
7. Falling Into Infinity
8. When Dream and Day Unite
9. Systematic Chaos
10. BC&SL

Live at Budokan was the first cd I heard in its entirety from DT tho.

[toro]

1.- SFAM (From LSFNY)
2.- I&W
3.- Awake
4.- 8VM(Because of release date, I actually bought 8VM, I&W and Awake at the same time)
5.- TOT
6.- 6DOIT
7.- SC
8.- FII
9.- WDADU
10.- BC&SL

[Lowdz]

In order from the release of WDADU. I loved them from that moment.