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

[Scorpion]

Blind Faith! Top 10 for me, definitely.

And just no to TDEN. This song is abomination, one of the few DT tracks that I actually dislike.

[Jaffa]

Hmm, interesting choices.  I don't really agree with your placement of any of these.     Nevertheless, good songs.  I probably don't give Raise the Knife enough credit simply because I don't listen to it all that often.  I like Blind Faith less than most people do, but it's still a great song.  The Silent Man is good, though nothing special for me.  Awesome to see some love for TDEN - not a favorite of mine, but an underrated song that will always hold a special place in my heart.  And Wither is wonderful. 

[Ħ]

Blind Faith is great.

[FlyingBIZKIT]

Blind Faith is the fucking definition of defining definitive badassery in prog metal HOLY SHIT carry on

[TheGreatPretender]

Dark Eternal Night is awesome, but not quite as awesome as most of the other songs on Systematic Chaos.

[BlobVanDam]

All great songs. BF and TDEN deserve to be higher. TDEN is waaaaaaaaaay underrated. An amazing heavy track.

[theseoafs]

All great choices, except of course for The Dark Eternal Night which should be burned.

[Elite]

I really don't get why people don't like it, for it's awesome.

[hefdaddy42]

Blind Faith is great.

This.  One of DT's best.

[Mladen]

Raise the knife 

[senecadawg2]

A couple choices I disagree with, but not so bad.

[Ben_Jamin]

I really don't get why people don't like it, for it's awesome.

Because the lyrics. I enjoy it, although the distorted vocals are a bit too distorted.

[Elite]

But to me that's part of the fun of the song.

also; Vocals =/= Lyrics

[theseoafs]

I really don't get why people don't like it, for it's awesome.

I really don't think so.

[Tomislav95]

I really don't get why people don't like it, for it's awesome.

I really don't think so.

[FlyingBIZKIT]

There are many songs I love that many don't like 

[TheGreatPretender]

I really don't get why people don't like it, for it's awesome.

Agreed. Didn't make my list, but it's definitely awesome.

[Elite]

Time for the next couple. 5 tracks from 3 albums, here we go:

35. 6:00
Klakakatataketabatabouftaba. Boom. Yeah. The drumfill that opens my second favourite Dream theater albums and one of my favourite albums ever has become such an iconic thing for me. Awake was the second Dream Theater album I deliberately listened to and I was instantly a fan by this first song. I don't see how anyone could find the samples annoying or anything, to me they just add that much more to the song. Based on a keyboard motif and some cool guitar riffs, this song does absolutely nothing wrong. it's catchy, entertaining and James completely rips it. I was very when this song was included in the last tour and went crazy when they played it. Everything about the song is awesome and it sets of the sound and tone for Awake very well. I love it. And also: MELODY WALKS THROUGH THE DOOR 

34. Far From Heaven
This is the best ballad Dream Theater has done in the past couple of years. Yes, I'm serious. At first listen I wasn't too impressed, but that was mainly because of the other overwhelming stuff on the latest album. However, once I listened to this song on its own with my headphones on I heard the pure beauty and softness of this song. This is a song worth crying to and for in my opinion. It's beautiful, Jordan Rudess' piano work and James' vocal work complement each other really well and the lyrics are also really nice. Stunning work.

33. Another Day
A lost gem on the Images & Words album. Nah, not really lost, but it's surrounded by 7 other songs that are awesome and amazing and therefore could get overlooked. Probably the most simple song on the whole of Images & Words, but it's definitely not less awesome because of that. James' vocal work on this track is amazing, as is Petrucci's guitar work. What propels this song into 'instant favourite' though is the saxophone. I love the sound of it on this track and I don't think they could have chosen a better instrument for those melodies. Amazing work and a beautiful song is the result. Wow.

32. Caught in a Web
This is one of the heaviest songs DT have done and it is absolutely amazing. I will probably always regard Awake as Dream Theater's heaviest album and that's because of songs like Caught in a Web. It works wonders when played live and it's got a great flow and rhythm and such. I don't actually know why I like it this much, but I do. Once again, just like on 6:00 for instance, James completely rips it and the aggressive edge in his voice makes it even better. Although it's a pretty straightforward, simple song, to me it's one of Dream Theater better works.

31. On the Backs of Angels
When this song was released last summer, I couldn't have been happier. After 4 albums I could never fully appreciate, I heard this song and it got my hopes up for the album. The album delivered as well, definitely and the first track turned out to be one of the best. Though it's not entirely a 'return to roots' as it has been dubbed by many, On the Backs of Angels is a very, very solid song and one of the best songs they have done in the past years.

[SeRoX]

I'm perfectly OK with those five song.

[Scorpion]

I'm perfectly OK with those five song.

Same here. Even though your ranking is very different from mine, at least this time, all the songs are good ones.

[54_diplomats]

Good choices, I'd have 6:00 a bit higher though and OtBOA a bit lower. I agree with your write up of Far from Heaven, at first i didn't like it but after around 2 more listens I was like "This is simply beautiful..."

[Tomislav95]

Great picks

[senecadawg2]

Another great 5 songs

[Jaffa]

Cool songs.  You said a couple of things in your write-ups that I cannot bring myself to agree with, but overall, I agree with your opinion on these songs.

Also, always good to see love for Caught in a Web.

[BlobVanDam]

All good songs. About where they should be.

[TheGreatPretender]

34. Far From Heaven
This is the best ballad Dream Theater has done in the past couple of years. Yes, I'm serious. At first listen I wasn't too impressed, but that was mainly because of the other overwhelming stuff on the latest album. However, once I listened to this song on its own with my headphones on I heard the pure beauty and softness of this song. This is a song worth crying to and for in my opinion. It's beautiful, Jordan Rudess' piano work and James' vocal work complement each other really well and the lyrics are also really nice. Stunning work.

Well, technically, Dream Theater only releases an album every couple of years, so it's one of the only ballads they released in the past couple of years. Although, I very much prefer Beneath The Surface.

[Elite]

Haha, yeah well, what I meant was *again* since Six Degrees. I see that album as a major change in style for some reason, since I love pretty everything that came before it and don't explicitly like everything that came afterwards. That said, A Dramatic Turn of Events is fantastic.

[BlackInk]

Those ones are fine I guess. All of them a bit to high for me.

[iamtheeviltwin]

I have always felt that 6:00 was one of the best album openers in the DT catalog.  The song clearly shows what the tone and feel of the album is going to be. 

All good choices in this group.

[Mladen]

All great ones, what can I say? 

[Ruba]

Another great 5 songs

Yes.

6:00, Caught in a Web and On the Backs of Angels  .

[Elite]

Overdue update with the next 5 songs!

30. Another Won
Probably the weirdest inclusion in my whole top 50. Yes, I actually do love this track off of Dream Theater's Majesty demos. Though of course it must be said the version on the demo itself actually isn't that listenable, but on Score the band plays this song with so much self-confidence that it bring across the brilliance of the song itself. Dislike it all you want (I don't remember seeing it in anyone's top 50 here), but I really think this is a great track. It's a shame the production and the vocals on the Majesty demos are downright shitty, but the song structure, the riffs, the ideas and the melodies are awesome. Oh, did I mention how much I love the Score performance? It was the first time I heard this track and it shows that even that early in their career, Dream Theater was up to something big, combining the metal of Iron Maiden with the progressive elements of Rush and the like into one awesome song, that probably would have been forgotten, if not for Score. I really love it that much.

29. Wait For Sleep
The shortest song out of Dream Theater's first four albums, but boy is it beautiful. Purely driven by piano melodies in odd time signatures, both Kevin Moore and James LaBrie shine on this wonderful track. It is primarily vocally driven, but the piano can't be underestimated, as is the same with the lyrics. A brilliant soothing piece of music to warm you up for the epic closer of the album, which actually gives a reprise of the main melody. As far as (really) short Dream Theater songs go, this is probably my favourite.

28. The Killing Hand
My favourite song from the debut. Yes, we won't see anymore songs from this album in my top 50. The Killing Hand actually isn't that special on the album itself, but the performance on the Live At The Marquee CD is absolutely fantastic. It truly shows of the song's potential and adding the sort 'Another Hand' before it actually really helps in building up the song's momentum. This can actually be seen as Dream Theater's first epic, because on the album it's split into different movements. Anyway, on to the LATM performance. It might not be 'truly' live, but regardless, James completely owns the song in every single respect. As with Another Won this song showcases Dream Theater's talent and is a foreboding for all of their awesome music that was to come. I am the Killing Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand. Goosebumps. Every.fucking.time.

27. The Root of All Evil
And after eliminating one album, another one makes its entry. The first track from Octavarium is also the first one to appear in my top 50 from that album. Dream Theater does not have a better album opener than The Root of All Evil. There, I said it. Out of all the album openers, The Root of All Evil is the best song. Though 6:00 sets a better tone for the album as a whole, as a song The Root of All Evil outdoes it in every way. The main riff is probably John Petrucci's greatest accomplishment as a metal riff-writer and the whole song is just pure awesome. Based on some great riffs and melodies, the song is actually pretty straightforward, but that doesn't detract it from its awesomeness at all. I might make some people angry here as well, but I also think the solo is one of Petrucci's best. Though not extremely fast or technical, it does something very well, and that's adding something to the song, something I can't say about all his solos. I suppose it's a bit redundant to say, but this is my favourite part of the AA Suite. It's really good.

26. Misunderstood
One of Dream Theater's more oddball songs. This is unlike ANY of their other songs. Starting out as kind of a ballad, the song quickly switches to some avant-garde weirdness. I do not have the exact timestamp handy at the moment, but this song also contains one of my favourite drumfills by Mike Portnoy within Dream Theater. I love it, and while I get that some people dislike the ending (yes, it IS weird) I love the fact that Dream Theater are going out of their comfort zone to create something that's much different from most of their other work. A song that's misunderstood by lots of fans, I actually love the irony in that. It's an amazing song and one of my favourites.

[Jaffa]

Weird batch.   

Cool to see some very rare love for Another Won, though.  And I adore Misunderstood. 

[Scorpion]

Good ones, though TKH is too low. Great to see some love for Another Won, probably the best off the Majesty Demos. Not even close to my Top 50, but a very good track nevertheless.

Oh, and I must say that I very much enjoy your write-up style. Keep it up! 

[54_diplomats]

I love the Root of all Evil. Nice spot for it too. The rest are cool too.