Official DT Top 50 Thread Mark II (bss4life15 up now - starting page 79)

[wolfandwolfandwolf]

Did you guys know that Blob doesn't like Scarred very much?

Did you guys know that it's actually ok to express an original opinion without getting singled out every. single. fucking. time?

Hey buddy, I was just teasing.  There are loads of DT songs that a lot of people love that I can't stand.  The fact that I like it doesn't mean that I think your opinion is invalid.  Just some good-natured ribbing is all.  My apologies.  You are as free to hate Scarred as I am to hate almost all of SFAM.

[BlobVanDam]

Did you guys know that Blob doesn't like Scarred very much?

Did you guys know that it's actually ok to express an original opinion without getting singled out every. single. fucking. time?

Hey buddy, I was just teasing.  There are loads of DT songs that a lot of people love that I can't stand.  The fact that I like it doesn't mean that I think your opinion is invalid.  Just some good-natured ribbing is all.  My apologies.  You are as free to hate Scarred as I am to hate almost all of SFAM.

Sorry, it just gets tiring to get something like this every time I say anything about Awake, so that was a reaction in general, and not meant to take it all out on you.
If we can't hate things, why even have a forum at all?

[Lolzeez]

Lines in the sand is too low.

[TheGreatPretender]

Well, it's definitely good to see some love for In The Presence of Enemies. As far as Dream Theater's heavier epics go, I'd say ITPOE is their best.

[MoraWintersoul]

I absolutely can't get into ITPOE.

[IdoSC]

10. Finally Free

Like I said earlier when I mentioned The Spirit Carries On – as much as I love that ballad, I'm so glad it wasn't the album closer.

This song has so much into it, it easily features some of the most beautiful vocal melodies in the album, it manages to describe the final thoughts and feeling of each character perfectly well whether you focus on the music, the vocal melodies or the lyrics, and I absolutely love the reference to One Last Time.

The one thing that I love the most about this song, though, is the moment where Nicholas gets shot and the "cassette" sound in the end of it. That section blew my mind when I first heard this song, catching me completely by surprise, and it sends me shivers every time I listen to it...reminding me of the first time

9. The Best of Times

Originally I didn't like this song that much. The intro and the lyrics were very, very cheesy. I did like the instrumentation in most of the song and I absolutely loved the solo in the end of the song, not to mention that it was the only softer moment in Black Clouds which wasn't a ballad.

But then, as ironic as it may be, when my uncle turned really sick this song started to grow on me. Suddenly I could relate to the lyrics much more easily, I could "grasp" some of the melodies that bothered me at first, and basically the awkward qualities of this song stopped bothering me altogether.
I love the way it flows and sounds, I like how both the instrumental melodies and the vocal melodies sound like something that could be written in Dream Theater's early days, and I love how for the first time since Train of Thought, MP just sings without any stunts and effects.

Some songs may handle everything this song tried to do better. To me, it's up here because it's a cheerful and very hopeful song, that is very easy to relate to after a while. Sentimental value matters to me just as much as any parameter.

8. Breaking All Illusions

While every song in A Dramatic Turn of Events was a great return to form for this band, at least as far as I see it, this song just amazed me from the very first listen. So many classic DT elements that I love and appreciate so much simply popped up out of nowhere...it wasn't like DT followed their own on playbook on how to create masterpieces – they rewrote it.

Also, lyrics by John Myung. Your argument is now invalid.

7. The Killing Hand

One of the first thought that completely got me hooked when I first listened to this band. I originally heard it in its Live at the Marquee edition, and this version (along with any possible bootleg from that era) makes me wish that they rerecorded the entire album with James in the studio every time I hear it.

As for Another Hand, I don't care either way – both versions have their strengths and both are great to hear. My favorite version of the song though, surprisingly, is the one from When Dream and Day Reunite – the old intro sounds even better in that setting, James' soft voice and some of the modified vocal melodies fit each other perfectly, and it's easily the most beautiful moment in the live version of WDADU.

6. Beneath the Surface

A Dramatic Turn of Events is an album that, in my opinion, combines Progressive Rock and Heavy Metal better than any other album post-SFAM.

So it always surprises me how my favorite song in this album is not a Progressive song, nor a Heavy Metal song. I remember the first time I heard the new album – just when I thought that the most important parts of the album are behind me, and now I have some short ballad similar to Wither and then it's done and over with...that absolutely wasn't the case. Every second of this ballad is fantastic. The minor changes in the chorus's lyrics, the vocal harmony of James and John, that weird solo and OF COURSE the most beautiful vocal passage I've heard from LaBrie in a while in the end of the song...it's just amazing. Love this song.

[BlobVanDam]

A strange batch, and none that I rank too highly at all, although Finally Free is great.

[Scorpion]

I rank all these songs quite highly, except for Finally Free, which I still enjoy from time to time, but it never really grabbed me.
I would rank all of them a little lower, especially TBOT, which would be around 35 or so for me.

[wasteland]

Very good to see BAI, BTS and The Killing Hand so high! They deserve all the glory they get!

[Nekov]

A strange batch, and none that I rank too highly at all, although Finally Free is great.

[54_diplomats]

Very strange group of songs. Out of all of those I only really like BAI and The Killing Hand but I'd rank them lower. I never listened to Finally Free so I can't comment on that. I don't like BTS at all so it wouldn't even make my list.

[iamtheeviltwin]

BAI and BTS are probably in my top 10-15, the second and third best songs on ADTOE.  BTS is probably the penultimate DT ballad.  The Best of Times is a song I don't rate as highly, but I have always loved the sentiment and emotions in the song.

The Killing Hand however is a showcase of everything that is wrong with the vocal melodies and phrasing on WDADU.

[TheGreatPretender]

The Killing Hand however is a showcase of everything that is wrong with the vocal melodies and phrasing on WDADU.

I'd much sooner give that to The Ones Who Help To Set The Sun. I actually think in terms of vocals, The Killing Hand is one of the better songs on the album.

[senecadawg2]

Interesting spot for the Best of Times...

[Fourth Horseman]

I actually have BAI at #8 as well. 

TBOT is a cool and interesting choice.

[hefdaddy42]

That's a really weird spot for The Best of Times.

[IdoSC]

5. Metropolis Pt. 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper

It feels so weird to say that I actually have "favorite moments" in Images and Words. This album is just fantastic from start to finish, and unlike Scenes From a Memory, not a single song in this album gets any "extra credit" from me because it's better in the context of the album, or because it has a specific role in said album – in Images and Words, every single song is a (fantastic) individual, complete song.

Metropolis Pt. 1 in particular has so much going for it. It took me a few listens of Scenes From a Memory to realize how much this song rocks, because after those listens, I've noticed all the riffs that were later referenced or expanded upon a few albums later, and I realized this song really does have enough different ideas and moments going to make a whole album out of it. The writing in every aspect is ingenious, and that's one of these cases where DT amazes me by writing a piece of music that I NEVER get tired of. After hundreds of listens.

4. Disappear

That's my favorite ballad of Dream Theater, and quite possibly my favorite ballad of the same genre of all time

I love the way it takes the "sinister", depressing feeling of Space-Dye Vest, and builds on it with Jordan's odd-sounding riffs and the rest of the band's instrumentation. I love how James actually goes higher towards the end of the song, but it doesn't sound too out there and actually fits. I absolutely dig the lyrics and the idea behind them...everything about this song is just great.

3. A Change of Seasons

This song was my personal turning point, in the sense that before I heard it for the first time, Dream Theater was a great band to me but I still couldn't relate to them as much as I do now. Ever since that first time, they're easily my favorite band.

Before I mention anything else, I give this song a massive amount of credit for introducing me to Dead Poets Society, which is now one of my favorite movies of all time. The song, just like the movie, comes with a message behind it, and it handles it so well both musically and lyrically.   While I can find myself enjoying the lyrics of The Best of Times, when you compare these two songs, it almost seems like MP lost his talent in writing lyrics, because these are just so great.

Everything about the music itself in this song is Dream Theater at their best. I find myself enjoying every single section in this song, time after time, and it doesn't matter if it's an instrumental section or if James is up there (singing flawlessly by the way, especially in live versions).

[BlobVanDam]

I've always considered ACOS hugely overrated, but I guess that was expected. I love both Metropolis and Disappear though.

Can't wait to see the top 2!

[Nekov]

Disappear is one of my least favorite DT songs so it being so high is a little baffling to me. The other two are fantastic songs and deserve a spot in the top 10.

[Scorpion]

Three fucking great songs, though I'd rank ACOS a bit higher and Disappear a bit lower. Really excited for the Top 2... I'm guessing there's Take the Time somewhere, and (hopefully) Trial of Tears.

[IdoSC]

Three fucking great songs, though I'd rank ACOS a bit higher and Disappear a bit lower. Really excited for the Top 2... I'm guessing there's Take the Time somewhere, and (hopefully) Trial of Tears.

I've already listed both
And ACOS was originally number 2 in my original list, but I changed it a few weeks ago as the current 2nd song in the list grew on me a little more

[Scorpion]

Three fucking great songs, though I'd rank ACOS a bit higher and Disappear a bit lower. Really excited for the Top 2... I'm guessing there's Take the Time somewhere, and (hopefully) Trial of Tears.

I've already listed both
And ACOS was originally number 2 in my original list, but I changed it a few weeks ago as the current 2nd song in the list grew on me a little more

Really? I didn't remember... well then, I'm at loss as to what your Top 2 could be... hold on! Did you list LTL already? If not, then that's pretty much a given.

[Elite]

2. Octavarium
1. Learning to Live

Called it.

[wasteland]

Disappear in the top ten is a worthy event

[Zydar]

2. Raw Dog
1. You Not Me

Called it.

[MoraWintersoul]

Disappear in the top ten is a worthy event

Yes.

[Ben_Jamin]

Well, MP had lots of time to work on the lyrics.

[IdoSC]

Well, MP had lots of time to work on the lyrics.

They're good enough for me on the demos too

[TheGreatPretender]

I wouldn't put Disappear that high, but it's good to see a ballad.

Everything else is 

[senecadawg2]

3 excellent songs, all top-5 worthy.

[SeRoX]

Seeing Disappear in the top 10. 

[Ben_Jamin]

Nice to see Disappear so high.

[Lolzeez]

2.Learning To Live
1.Octavarium

Called it.

[Elite]

2.Learning To Live
1.Octavarium

Called it.

You just took mine and inversed it.

[FlyingBIZKIT]

2. Rock Juice
1. The Canadian Rap