Favorite 3-album run?

[snapple]

Images/Awake/Falling. Those are my three favorite DT albums.

[Pols Voice]

I will never understand how SDOIT became so popular over the years. For me, it started a gradual downward slide for the band. I don't remember it getting so much love back when it came out.

[RuRoRul]

SFAM / SDOIT / TOT.

Contains two of the top three albums, and I think I'd rank SFAM ahead of Octavarium so this gets my vote over SDOIT / TOT / Octavarium.

[Another_Won]

I voted for SFAM/6DOIT/TOT.  Probably could include 8V in there too.  Pretty hard to get 3 good ones in a row.  I&W and Awake are pretty good but I'm not too fond of either album before or after this set.

I'm hoping the ADToE is the start of a new contender for 3-album run.

[yorost]

SFAM/6DOIT/TOT  That's 2 fantastic albums and 1 album that is a great first disc with a meh second disc.

Awake/FII/SFAM isn't far behind for second, but each of these two options are far ahead of any of the other choices.

[wasteland]

Honestly, I must say that I am quite surprise to see IAW/AW/FII so far behind the leading trio.

[tofee35]

SFAM/6DOIT/TOT

A friend of mine summed it up best for my preference: "Before SFAM, DT wrote great songs. But, since SFAM, they've written great albums." I agree with this opinion and I can't argue that my favorite great albums are SFAM/6DOIT/TOT. It's only a coincidence that they're back to back to back.

-tof

[perfey]

It has to be IAW/AWAKE/FII. The first two is 1# and 2# respectively. FII only has one clunker, You not Me, the rest of the album is amazing. I really like the things Derek brought to that record, and even though WDADU has Moore, FII is stronger in the vocal department in James, so got to vote on that subsequent run.

[TheGreatPretender]

"Before SFAM, DT wrote great songs. But, since SFAM, they've written great albums."

[Jarzombek]

SFAM/6DOIT/TOT

[Full Speed]

IAW/Awake/FII closely followed by SFAM/SDOIT/TOT

Never really liked SFAM too much which is what puts the first one a head for me.

[bosk1]

I will never understand how SDOIT became so popular over the years. For me, it started a gradual downward slide for the band. I don't remember it getting so much love back when it came out.

Then you either don't remember well, or just didn't spend much time as part of the larger DT community.  After the initial shock of just how heavy some of the material was, the album was VERY well received.  I think part of the evidence for that was how packed the shows were on this tour, which VERY prominently featured about an hour's worth of material from the album.


As for my 3-album run, it's a tough call.  It would definitely have to include SFAM->SDOIT.  The problem is, while I like both FII and TOT, I consider both of them to be lower-tier DT albums.  I guess I have to go with FII as part of that run.  Despite some weaker moments, I think it is a slightly stronger album overall than TOT, and going from FII to SFAM to SDOIT shows an overall upward trend, whereas SFAM to SDOIT and then to TOT implies a peak and decline. 

[lyfeternl]

SFAM/6DOIT/TOT for me

Live at Budokan was what made me drink the DT Kool-aid

[Bolsters]

I still haven't voted. Fuck this poll and fuck my indecisiveness.

[KevShmev]

I will never understand how SDOIT became so popular over the years. For me, it started a gradual downward slide for the band. I don't remember it getting so much love back when it came out.

Then you either don't remember well, or just didn't spend much time as part of the larger DT community.  After the initial shock of just how heavy some of the material was, the album was VERY well received. 

I think it following Scenes didn't help it initially either, as it is hard to follow up an album as universally worshipped by the fanbase as Scenes was.  Once many got past that, they realized how great it was.

[bosk1]

I will never understand how SDOIT became so popular over the years. For me, it started a gradual downward slide for the band. I don't remember it getting so much love back when it came out.

Then you either don't remember well, or just didn't spend much time as part of the larger DT community.  After the initial shock of just how heavy some of the material was, the album was VERY well received. 

I think it following Scenes didn't help it initially either, as it is hard to follow up an album as universally worshipped by the fanbase as Scenes was.  Once many got past that, they realized how great it was.

Yeah.  And while Scenes definitely pushed some boundaries, it sounded overall like what fans expected a Dream Theater album to sound like.  Six Degrees was definitely a departure.

On another note, I find it interesting (and pretty cool) that every era has gotten at least one vote.

[KevShmev]

Yep.  But honestly, while the heaviness threw some at first, I don't think it was why the album wasn't totally well-received at first.  I remember on the forum back then everyone raving over immediately at how awesome and heavy both The Glass Prison and The Test That Stumped Them All were.   I think some of the more experimental tunes are what had some fans (but not me!) scratching their heads at first.

[Elite]

although SFAM/6DOIT/TOT is clearly in the lead.

Which sucks, since it has ToT included.

I&W/Awake/FII it is.

My #1, #2 and #5. WDADU is my #6, so the first option is a close second.

[Perpetual Change]

Kinda amazing how the fandom has shifted. I fully expected IW/A/FII to win, but looks like SFAM/SDOIT/TOT is way ahead.

For reference, I got into DT just as TOT was being released. At that time, most fans considered Images and Awake to be the best, but Scenes was mostly well-regarded and SDOIT a little bit less so.

[TheGreatPretender]

Kinda amazing how the fandom has shifted. I fully expected IW/A/FII to win, but looks like SFAM/SDOIT/TOT is way ahead.

For reference, I got into DT just as TOT was being released. At that time, most fans considered Images and Awake to be the best, but Scenes was mostly well-regarded and SDOIT a little bit less so.

Yes, but I don't think anyone ever held FII in extremely high regards. I mean, yes, it has gained popularity over the years, but clearly so did 6 Degrees.

[Perpetual Change]

FII has been held in just as high regards as most other DT albums. It was still a hard pill to swallow after SDOIT came out, but after that, DT released four albums of equal or lesser quality, so it's gone up in overall DT rankings. Not really because people like it better than they once did, but because the lowest common denominator fell much lower than it had been from TOT-BC&SL. Same goes for WDADU. It used to be a shoe-in that either that or FII were the worst DT albums, but then ToT and 8v and then SC and BC&SL. Production issues aside, WDADU basically blows TOT, SC, and BC&SL out of the water in terms of being a more "pure" progressive metal album.

[KevShmev]

FII has been held in just as high regards as most other DT albums. It was still a hard pill to swallow after SDOIT came out, but after that, DT released four albums of equal or lesser quality, so it's gone up in overall DT rankings. Not really because people like it better than they once did, but because the lowest common denominator fell much lower than it had been from TOT-BC&SL. Same goes for WDADU. It used to be a shoe-in that either that or FII were the worst DT albums, but then ToT and 8v and then SC and BC&SL. Production issues aside, WDADU basically blows TOT, SC, and BC&SL out of the water in terms of being a more "pure" progressive metal album.

Bingo.  Basically, in 2001, DT only had five studio albums, one of which was ignored by many for a while, and three of the four everyone knew were pretty much put in god tier by most fans, so Falling into Infinity was seen as the weakest link, but now that they have 11 albums, like you said, it has moved up in the eyes of many, simply because they have done nearly a handful of albums not as good as it.

[Pols Voice]

I will never understand how SDOIT became so popular over the years. For me, it started a gradual downward slide for the band. I don't remember it getting so much love back when it came out.

Then you either don't remember well, or just didn't spend much time as part of the larger DT community.

Well, it must be #1. But I'm pretty sure it wasn't thought of as DT's best by tons of people at the time. It seems that Awake used to be more popular, but over the years SDOIT rose a lot in stature. I wonder if it depends on when someone became a fan. I've been a fan since 2000, and I still like the earlier albums more, although ADTOE was a great return to form IMO. My opinion of SDOIT has actually lessened over the years. Still, The Glass Prison and Blind Faith are great!

[KevShmev]

I've been a part of the DT community for nearly 13 years now , and I don't remember Disc 2 of 6DOIT really being loved as a whole that much until they played all of it with the orchestra at the Score show.  After that, it's like people came out of the woodwork to praise it. 

[Pols Voice]

I've been a part of the DT community for nearly 13 years now , and I don't remember Disc 2 of 6DOIT really being loved as a whole that much until they played all of it with the orchestra at the Score show.  After that, it's like people came out of the woodwork to praise it.

Ironically, the studio version is better.

[TheGreatPretender]

Ironically, the studio version is better.

I wouldn't say so. Not by a long shot.

[Pols Voice]

Ironically, the studio version is better.

I wouldn't say so. Not by a long shot.

At least it doesn't have an under-rehearsed orchestra.

[TheGreatPretender]

At least it doesn't have an under-rehearsed orchestra.

The orchestra was much better than the synthesized 'orchestration' of the studio version. I rarely listen to the album version anymore.

[Pols Voice]

At least it doesn't have an under-rehearsed orchestra.

The orchestra was much better than the synthesized 'orchestration' of the studio version. I rarely listen to the album version anymore.

That's cool. But I almost always prefer studio versions of songs anyway, because they're more polished and have no crowd noise, etc.

[Scorpion]

The orchestra sounds really out of tune, though, in the overture, and I really prefer the intro to Goodnight Kiss on the guitar.

Though I rarely listen to Six Degrees as a whole anyway.

[CrimsonSunrise]

Without a doubt 100%, I&W/Awake/FII.  Also...and yes it's an EP, ACOS was during this span of time.  Whether allowed in the mix or not for this poll, in reality when making my decision, It couldn't be ignored.  Also, I guess I never got the general disdain for FII, it's an awesome album to me. 

[wolfking]

Scenes/6/TOT

[TheGreatPretender]

That's cool. But I almost always prefer studio versions of songs anyway, because they're more polished and have no crowd noise, etc.

I totally agree with you. Six Degrees is a rare exception, as well as JLB's live recordings of WDADU songs. Everything else, I'll mostly listen to studio versions of.

[The Stray Seed]

I&W/Awake/FII.

[Meatrose]

BC&SL/ADTOE/DT12

There, I said it...


Nah, but if I had to pick one of the alternatives it would probably have to be SFAM/6DOIT/TOT. The funny thing is that (to me) each 3-album run is "ruined" (for the lack of a better word) by one record. I love Images but when it comes to 3-album runs it's effectively cock-blocked by WDADU and FII respectively. It was kind of easy to narrow it down to two of the alternatives, Scenes is my favorite DT record and Six Degrees is my second favorite one. So, I had to decide between two albums that don't do very much for me at all; FII and TOT.