Most UNDER-rated Dream Theater Abums

[chaossystem]

I think that the band has put out a few albums that are as good as the most popular ones, but they often seem to get disparaged, overlooked or ignored by a lot of people on here.

I look forward to learning which albums you feel need more love and support than they appear to be currently getting, or have gotten in the past.

My three would be:

1) Systematic Chaos
2) Falling Into Infinity
3) Octavarium (The ALBUM, not the SONG!)

If you only have one or two choices, that's fine.

And if you want to mention other albums beyond your three votes, great!

Bring it ON!

[fischermasamune]

I went with DT12 and BC&SL.

DT12 has some very vocal critics, and it's a great, consistent album (not the best, though), released at a point where the band already has a bunch of material to be compared to (and it stands well).

BC&SL rarely gets the praise it deserves. I think it is fairly superior to anything from 2003-2007. I'm not sure which would be the weakest song of BC&SL. Maybe Wither, which is not bad. I put BC&SL in the same category as DT12, among the 3rd and 6th best, depending on the day. (My top 6 include also I&W, Awake, SFAM and SDOIT, constantly shifting positions.)

[Mosh]

Gotta go with Octavarium or Train of Thought. I think ToT was executed perfected and is heavy DT at its best. The riffs on this album are crushing and I love JP's solos. Octavarium doesn't get enough credit for it's excellent songwriting. Some really brilliant melodies and overall a fun album. I love the production too, lots of dynamics and room for the music to breathe.

[ToT-147]

Clearly Systematic Chaos..

They did something really different on that one, and very cool at the same time.. At first I didn't like it either.. But then I DISCOVERED it... e.g., TDEN, the MP's vocals were always like distracting me of the rest of the song, and the non-great-chorus it has, but then I was able to hear the whole thing: the hell of instrumental they created in that song, one of the best parts of the album.. The same happened with TMoLS, at first I didn't like so much the verses/chorus part, and if I listened to the song was by its instrumental part, but then I ended up not just liking, but loving the vocal parts.. Something slightly different with ItPoE.. I discovered this one by playing it on my guitar, trying to do a cover of it..   

But yeah, besides my personal experience with the album, I think it's the most underrated album.. Near by Train of Thought, Octavarium, and Black Clouds..

[CharlesPL]

WDADU
FII
DT12

[425]

1. Black Clouds & Silver Linings – One of my favorites and one of the forum least favorites. Bookended by two top ten tracks, which would be enough, and everything in the middle is pretty good too.

2. Falling Into Infinity – Not exactly hated here, at least not as much as in the fanbase at large, but definitely deserves more love. Like BCSL it has two top 15 tracks in Trial of Tears and Lines in the Sand. Hollow Years is also EXCELLENT, and Take Away My Pain and New Millennium are underrated. Not a bad track on here (before any of you express disagreement or possibly concern for my sanity, I want to tell you that's alright, I'm okay, it happens every single day, it's all the same, but I'm not blind).

3. Dream Theater – Could have gone with WDADU here, because I really do like that one, but I think the forum rates it appropriately (I rate it #11), so it wouldn't make much sense for me to put it. DT12 does make sense for me to put here, because this one was actually underrated by me until about a month ago. I didn't give this album the credit it deserves for the longest time, but just a little while ago it worked its way into being one of my favorites. One of the most consistent albums, which I think is also true of ADTOE. DT12 doesn't reach the same peaks as some of DT's albums, but it is one of their best because of its quality throughout.

[JiM-Xtreme]

WD&DU, ToT and BC&SL. Easy for me!

[Prog Snob]

Six Degrees - While recently the praise for these CDs have increased, I still think it deserves more. The title track alone comprises just about every aspect of DT's style.
Some Highlights: Blind Faith, The Great Debate, Goodnight Kiss guitar solo

A Dramatic Turn of Events - Lots of criticism for this one but I viewed it as a breath of fresh air after the MP-forced previous two releases.
Some Highlights: Breaking All Illusions, This Is The Life, Lost Not Forgotten intro

DT12 - Ignoring the sound quality. Back to writing straight up songs, there are quite a few shining moments on this CD.
Some Highlights: The Bigger Picture, Surrender to Reason, Illumination Theory (masterpiece!) 

[The Presence of Frenemies]

Systematic Chaos is on par with anything else DT's ever done. I can't for the life of me understand how it catches so much crap on this forum. Funny thing is, most other DT fans I run into in a non-DTF context seem to really revere SC as well.

TOT and BCSL are better albums (for me, of course this is all completely subjective) than, say, Awake and the last two, so voted for them too, but SC is by far the album that defines this for me.

[ThatOneGuy2112]

While I think every DT album is more or less rated appropriately on DTF, I'll go with:

Falling Into Infinity - I think the forums have a large and justified appreciation for it, rightfully so, but the fanbase outside DTF doesn't necessarily see it so similarly.

Train of Thought - I've seen that it's regarded as a middle of the ground DT album, which is just fine since that's where it falls for me as well, but I still get tons of enjoyment out of it.

[BlobVanDam]

My three would be:

1) Systematic Chaos
2) Falling Into Infinity
3) Octavarium (The ALBUM, not the SONG!)

I'm a little scared that I completely agree with this list.

FII has been getting a better reputation lately, so it does get its fair share of love, but I rank it 4th just behind the big 3 of SDOIT/SFAM/IaW, so I still consider it very underrated. The long tracks get plenty of love though.

Octavarium is rated pretty low by most people here as an album, and it does have a few duds, but overall I think the album is a whole lot stronger than people give it credit for. So many underrated songs, and even the title track gets vocal hate despite it being overall very liked.

And of course SC stands out as the obvious one. Pretty much nothing but hate around here, but I still love it a whole lot more than anything they've done since. A lot of it has to do with the direction they went in for that album, but I like it for being different and unique among their albums. I still consider it one of DT's weaker albums, but it still deserves much better than the constant shit it gets flung its way.

[krands85]

I went with Train of Thought and Systematic Chaos. ToT seems to have a pretty decent reputation, but I've always really loved it and it's my #2 album, so I rank it much higher than the average and that's why I went with it. SC isn't a great album by any means and is in the bottom half of my album rankings, but it gets quite a lot of hate - not only as an album as a whole, but there are also individual songs that take a bit of a battering which I quite like.

[hefdaddy42]

I think all their albums are rated just about correctly.

[?]

Most of my favorite albums get a fair amount of love around here, so I only voted for WDADU. I think it's really good for a debut album, even with its shortcomings, and has a bunch of songs that I consider some of the best DT has ever released (Afterlife, TOWHTSTS, The Killing Hand).

[JediKnight1969]

Falling into infinity & Systematic Chaos.

[TheCountOfNYC]

Octavarium without hesitation. It gets a fair amount of hate around here but I think it's one of their best albums and contains their best song.

[?]

According to these polls Octavarium is the most overrated AND underrated DT album

[Prog Snob]

Well split my ass in two

[hefdaddy42]

According to these polls Octavarium is the most overrated AND underrated DT album

Some people don't know how to DTF

[Prog Snob]

I'm always DTF. 

[Mladen]

SC and BC&SL. Two great albums.

[Zydar]

I'm always DTF. 

[mike099]

I will go with DT12 and TOT.  DT12 is a straight up rock album with shorter songs with the exception of IT.  DT fans for the most part want more progressive and less metal, but I do not see DT going back to a more progressive sound.  I love TOT because the album is heavy.

[Juular]

When Dream And Day Unite. Yes, the production is not great but the songs are and I don't mind Charlie's vocals either.

[JayOctavarium]

I went with WDADU... because

When Dream And Day Unite. Yes, the production is not great but the songs are and I don't mind Charlie's vocals either.

But also SC comes close too... I do love the album.

[aprilethereal]

Gotta go with Octavarium or Train of Thought. I think ToT was executed perfected and is heavy DT at its best. The riffs on this album are crushing and I love JP's solos. Octavarium doesn't get enough credit for it's excellent songwriting. Some really brilliant melodies and overall a fun album. I love the production too, lots of dynamics and room for the music to breathe.

I agree on those two, they're my second and third favorites and both amazing albums that get way less credit than they deserve.

[chknptpie]

BC&SL - the instrumentals are some of my favorite songs, so beautiful
FII - I absolutely enjoy this album

[Cable]

WDADU
BC&SL
TOT

[jammindude]

Octavarium with a bullet.  It's my #1 album, and I cannot understand at all why it gets so much hate.   The "concept" to me is even stronger than SFAM.   Fantastic aural experience from start to finish.   That album is, to me, DT perfection.   My only minor flaw with it is that the lyrics to TALW sounds like they just tore open 30 fortune cookies and wrote down what they found....but the music is strong enough to compensate.    Everything else on the album is perfect. 

The other two were a bit tougher.   I went with FII and DT12.    FII deserves more love.  It is actually a really solid album, it's just that when it came out, we didn't have dreck like Systematic Chaos to compare it to.   It was DT's first "ok" album...and since we had waited three years for it, it seemed a bit of a disappointment.    But it is actually a really solid album. 

DT12 absolutely did what everyone had been complaining about since SDOIT....it trimmed the fat and made more concise songs...and *STILL* people bitched.   Even though it does get high praises, I think it gets more criticism than it deserves.   

[KevShmev]

Octavarium with a bullet.  It's my #1 album, and I cannot understand at all why it gets so much hate.   The "concept" to me is even stronger than SFAM.   Fantastic aural experience from start to finish.   That album is, to me, DT perfection.   My only minor flaw with it is that the lyrics to TALW sounds like they just tore open 30 fortune cookies and wrote down what they found....but the music is strong enough to compensate.    Everything else on the album is perfect. 

 

Hate is a strong point, but it has what has to be one of their least popular mini-epics ever (Sacrificed Sons) and several songs which most fans don't seem crazy about (Never Enough and The Answer Lies Within).   It's obviously a very diverse album - it has a little bit of everything - but the songwriting itself is not even close to be their best, collectively speaking, IMO.

[rumborak]

I think all their albums are rated just about correctly.

I have never understood people's obsession with under-rating and over-rating.

[Kotowboy]

Octavarium. it's by far my favourite.

[TAC]

And of course SC stands out as the obvious one. Pretty much nothing but hate around here, ... A lot of it has to do with the direction they went in for that album, but I like it for being different and unique among their albums. I still consider it one of DT's weaker albums, but it still deserves much better than the constant shit it gets flung its way.

I agree with this 100%.

[Outcrier]

I think all their albums are rated just about correctly.

This.

My album ranking is similar to the general consensus.

[Rodni Demental]

Pretty much without even needing to think about it, these are the albums that I rate higher than what I see on others' rankings, and so I consider underrated:
- BC&SL
- SC
- WDADU