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

[TheGreatPretender]

30: The Glass Prison
I think the entire AA Suite kicks ass. The Glass Prison shines in many ways, most of them instrumental. Even before the vocals start, Petrucci graces us with badass guitar shredding solo. And thus begins what I would say is DT's best suite even if it will most likely never be performed live. In any case, what I like about The Glass Prison is the changes. It goes through some very different movements and a great instrumental. My only gripe with this song, the one factor that keeps me from placing it higher are the vocals, or more specifically the lyrics. First, we have a verse that goes, "Fatal descent spinning around, I've gone too far to turn back round," and then "Way off in the distance I saw a door I tried to open. I tried forcing with all of my will but still, the door wouldn't open." Now, I'd expect 50 Cent to use the same word twice and expect it to be considered a rhyme, but not someone in DT. As far as I'm concerned, good lyrics involve either rhyming two different syllables or not rhyming at all. Rhyming the same word is bad enough, let alone doing it twice. But aside from that, it's an awesome song.

29: This Dying Soul
Ironically, my favorite part of This Dying Soul are precisely the lyrics and the vocals. Everything from the main parts to LaBrie's fast raps is completely stellar. Of course, that is by far not the only thing I like about this song. Being from Train Of Thought, naturally DT cranked the 'metal' up and gave this song an amazing energy. But the song really is packed with vocals and I enjoy every bit of them. Of course, right at the end, we're treated with a kick ass instrumental breakdown that actually cranks the energy up even more than the song started with. Love it!

28: Constant Motion
There are not many things I dislike about Constant Motion, to be honest. Everything from the main riff that starts the song off, to the kick ass solo by Jordan Rudess. My by far favorite part of this song though has to be the second verse. While I'm not the biggest fan of Mike Portnoy hogging the microphone for the past few years in DT history, that back and forth between him and LaBrie was pure awesome. Nuff said.

27: Caught In A Web
Caught In A Web is just one of those Dream Theater songs that, truth be told, I wasn't too crazy about at first. It's also one of those songs that, the more I listened to it, the more I fell in love with it. It's not the most extreme case (that's coming up later), but it went from being one of my least favorite DT songs to... Well, 27, which is damn good. What can I say about it? I love the heaviness of it and the vocals are nothing short of amazing.

26: Endless Sacrifice
Endless Sacrifice follows a song structure that Dream Theater has done a fee times. It starts out structured like a normal song, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, and then, all hell breaks loose and it goes into an amazing instrumental breakdown. My favorite thing about this song though is the fact that it's very melodic, but still retains the heaviness and the power of Train of Thought. Of course, after the instrumental section passes, we're treated to another verse structured very differently and brings a hell of a lot of energy. So yeah, basically, this song has everything I like about Dream Theater: Melody, Power and crazy instrumental section.

[BlobVanDam]

It is great to see some love for Constant Motion, although I can't possibly condone it being at all above TGP, DT's best heavy song.

A fairly similar grouping of heavy songs, which is interesting.

[Jaffa]

A fairly similar grouping of heavy songs, which is interesting.

This.  Definitely a very metal set of songs here.  Which I'm not complaining about, by the way; they're all great songs, though none of them are where I would rank them. 

I'm always happy to see some love for Caught in a Web.   

[Ruba]

Constant Motion is bad, others are good. Especially The Glass Prison and Caught in a Web.

[Mladen]

Always awesome to see love for Caught in a web. 

[Silver Tears]

Always awesome to see love for Caught in a web. 

Yes! 

[Tomislav95]

Always awesome to see love for Caught in a web. 

Yes! 

And Endless Sacrifice

[BlackInk]

Glass Prison and Dying Soul are to low. The rest are fine.

[RuRoRul]

The Glass Prison, This Dying Soul, Endless Sacrifice    Too low of course but it's just good to see them.

Like both the other two, they're maybe a bit higher than I'd rank them though. But a great bunch of picks there.

[Lolzeez]

Endless sacrifice is too low

[Flacracker]

Always awesome to see love for Caught in a web. 

Caught in a Web is definitely their best single and radio song. Even good enough to be placed this high.

[TheGreatPretender]

Caught in a Web is definitely their best single and radio song. Even good enough to be placed this high.

In a perfect world it would've brought them more mainstream success than Pull Me Under. But of course, in a perfect world, bands like DT would be topping the charts and Bieber wouldn't even be good enough for the Disney channel.

[TheGreatPretender]

Alrighty, here's the next batch:

25: The Count Of Tuscany
For some reason the tune in The Count of Tuscany reminds me of summer time. That said, I usually listen to this song a lot more in the summer time. It's like my summer theme. Most people don't really care for the lyrics in this song, but honestly, I think it tells a very interesting story, which actually happened, if I understand correctly. Musically, I think this song is great, particularly the last part, there's nothing I dislike about it. The vocals are cool, the melodies are melty and yummy. All in all, it's one of my favorite songs on an album that I felt was a little under par for DT.

24: Blind Faith
I think a lot of people appreciate this song, and truth be told, I didn't always like this song. The biggest problem with it is that the intro is a little too dragged out, but it's by far not the most extreme case for Dream Theater, so it's not that bad. And once the song gets going, it's all great. The melodies are beautiful, particularly the piano solo in the instrumental breakdown. It's always a welcome surprise when a badass metal instrumental quiets down for some solemn piano.

23: Scarred
For me, Scarred is the most extreme case of a song that I completely didn't care for growing into one of my favorites. Honestly, when I first heard Awake, I'm pretty sure I tuned this song out, and considered it complete filler. I think I heard some people referring to it as lacking direction. And I sort of agree. Usually if I don't really care for a song and then I start liking it, chances are, something or someone gave it a little push. In this particular case, it was an interview with James LaBrie where he mentioned that this was one of the songs he considers the most fun to sing. Once he said that, I started paying attention. Now, it's on my playlist quite often.

22: Surrounded
Surrounded was one of those songs I fell in love with almost instantly. There really isn't much to say about it. The keyboards are majestic, the heavier parts are... Exciting, for the lack of a better term, and the vocal performance was one of LaBrie's best. I love it.

21: Misunderstood
Misunderstood is definitely my favorite song on Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence. The guiatar is great, the melodies are awesome, the outro is funky and pretty trippy. But my favorite part of this song is definitely the vocals. The lyrics are simply beautiful, some of John Petrucci's best, and the vocals are varying and expressive, yet not so crazy that I can't reach the highest notes when I sing along.

[Jaffa]

Definitely a great bunch of songs.  Not where I'd rank them, necessarily, but great songs nonetheless.  Interesting to see how much your opinion has changed on Scarred since you first heard it. 

Also, Misunderstood.   

[BlobVanDam]

Aside from Scarred, they're all great songs. I'd maybe put TCOT a bit higher, and probably place BF several places higher too. But basically, they're all in a deserving spot, aside from Scarred, which wouldn't make my top 200 DT songs.

[Jaffa]

Aside from Scarred, they're all great songs. I'd maybe put TCOT a bit higher, and probably place BF several places higher too. But basically, they're all in a deserving spot, aside from Scarred, which wouldn't make my top 200 DT songs.

But Blob, there are only 111 Dream Theater song- Oh, you.   

[Mladen]

Scarred 

[Pols Voice]

Scarred, Surrounded, and Blind Faith are totally awesome, and the other two are also cool.

[TheGreatPretender]

If a person likes Scarred and they want to show their appreciation for it, would they say, "Scarred for life"? 

[BlackInk]

Blind Faith is awesome. Nice choice.

[54_diplomats]

Scarred should be much higher. Amazing song.

[Ħ]

Surrounded <3

[Ruba]

Scarred should be much higher. Amazing song.

Yes.

Nice set of songs, especially Blind Faith and Misunderstood are great.

[Elite]

Scarred should be much higher. Amazing song.

As should

Surrounded <3

Nice batch! Misunderstood and Blind Faith are awesome too, but I don't really care for TCOT.

[Nekov]

That was a really good batch. Great choices. Some of those rank higher for me.

[TheGreatPretender]

20: Scene Eight: The Spirit Carries On
The Spirit Carries On is one of the most uplifting songs I've ever heard. A definite must play at my funeral. Even though the last verse pertains to the story of the album, I really think this song can easily be listened to and interpreted in any given way (I mean, Peruvian skies references someone named Vanessa, doesn't mean that people can't connect with the lyrics in spite of that). And I think someone here mentioned, that overall, the chorus is so worldly. I mean, "The spirit carries on"? What does it mean? Who knows. It could mean reincarnation, but it could also mean going to heaven, or whatever else version of afterlife in any given religion. (Sorry atheists. No spirit for you.) Musically, this song is amazing. LaBrie goes from singing softly, to his powerful, high voice. Petrucci shows off some kick ass guitar solos. The choir fits nicely and adds even more power to it. And to top it all off, the last verse references "Regression" which brings the whole album full circle (with Finally Free being the tail end that musically sums the whole thing up.) Just beautiful.

19: Lie
I hate this song... Actually, that's a lie. As I recall, there was a riff in Lie that was supposed to be a part of The Mirror, and when LaBrie heard it, he told JP that it should just be a song in itself. And damn it, he was right. This song is one of the coolest Dream Theater songs, IMO. I mean, in that rawk out, heavy metal way. The riffs are totally badass, the keyboards really compliment the music nicely without making it sound too proggy. The lyrics are very interesting. The vocals are totally badass. And just, everything about this song... Damn it, it should've been a hit.

18: Under A Glass Moon
Under A Glass Moon, yet another song that I kind of considered filler until relatively recently. (not as much as Scarred, but I was still fairly lukewarm about it). What pushed me to pay more attention and grow to love this song was the demonstration of the guitar solo by John Petrucci, without the accompaniment. Once I heard that solo, I was like, "Okay, that's pretty cool." But then, the next time I listened to the song, once that solo came on, it immediately popped at me and since then, it's become the most iconic part of that song. Then, once I started paying attention, I familiarized myseld with its structure, which is cool, the vocals and lyrics are great, and now I see how it fits into the masterpiece that is Images and Words.

17: As I Am
As I Am is my favorite song off the Train of Thought album. It's a little reminiscent of Metallica. But if Metallica had the kind of 'Dream Theater spark' that this song has, I'd probably listen to them a lot more. In any case, in spite of that, it's still very much got a Dream Theater vibe. And once again, just like Lie, this song is just very Metal. The keyboards mostly fill in the atmosphere and give it a sinister feel, and frankly, I think they need that every once in a while. Sometimes I just want to hear a pure guitar riff without a whole underlying keyboard melody underneath. The vocals on this song are pretty awesome, very confrontational. And just like with Under A Glass Moon and Lost Not Forgotten, I think this is one of Petrucci's most memorable guitar solos. All in all, this song is totally badass, very metal and isn't more than it needs to be.

16: In The Presence of Enemies Pt. 2
I don't know why I decided to keep Six Degrees together, yet separate In The Presence of Enemies, but to me, In The Presence of Enemies does feel like two separate entities. Like Metropolis Pt. 1 and SFAM, sort of. In any case, I love them both. Dream Theater isn't a stranger to building up songs from slower, more quiet intros. However, sometimes, it can drag on a little (as is the case with The Great Debate imo), but that is very much not the case with In The Presence of Enemies Pt. 2. Right away, we get this haunting, sinister keyboard melody and it draws me in right away. The vocals are beautiful. From the slow intro to the badass group of little rap verses, to the recurring themes from Pt. 1. And I know that JP took the words from a manga, but still, I love the lyrics. They're very well put together, so much so that it's not just copying and pasting words from somewhere else, but everything sounds like it fits the music just right, and I'm sure it's a much more powerful experience hearing them in song form, than reading them off a page. The music is great too. I really think Dream Theater doesn't have enough of these types of songs. Really minor and dark, but still melodic and progressive.

[BlobVanDam]

Love 'em all except Lie, which I've always considered The Mirror's mentally challenged inbred cousin.

Great to see TSCO so high, as that would be one of my favourite individual songs from SFAM. And very nice to see As I Am and ITPOE pt 2 get some love. I wouldn't rank ITPOE pt 2 as high, but I would for As I Am, maybe even a bit higher.
And UAGM is...... well, UAGM. Enough said.

[Zydar]

Love 'em all except Lie, which I've always considered The Mirror's mentally challenged inbred cousin.

[Nekov]

Love 'em all except Lie, which I've always considered The Mirror's mentally challenged inbred cousin.

Thanks for putting in perfect words what I've always thought about that song.

[Jaffa]

(Sorry atheists. No spirit for you.)

In theory, if a person touches the lives of the people around him, then when he dies his 'spirit' will live on through them regardless of what happens to him when he dies.  ... I know this is beside the point, but I thought I'd mention it.  =D

Anyhoo, cool songs.  I've never been a big fan ot TSCO, but I understand why people love it, so I have no objection to seeing it this high.  Cool to see As I Am and Lie this high, and they rarely seem to get much love.  Same goes for ITPOE 2, really.  And it goes without saying that I love UaGM; if anything, you've got it a few spots too low.  Great song.   

[Ħ]

As I Am is great. Glad to see it so high.

[Pols Voice]

I love seeing Lie this high. All good picks except for ITPOE 2.

[BlackInk]

Under a Glass Moon and In the Presence of Enemies Part 2 deserves these spots, they're great songs.

[Ruba]

Love 'em all except Lie, which I've always considered The Mirror's mentally challenged inbred cousin.

.

They're like hot, unidentical twins.

Under a Glass Moon and In the Presence of Enemies Part 2 deserves these spots, they're great songs.

The both should be higher.

[Mladen]

Lie is average, As I am is also kinda OK.  The other three, however, just plain rule.