First single that is your favorite song from the album

[Madman Shepherd]

I think it's obvious that record labels typically choose the most mainstream song for the first single to try to appeal to the broadest audience.  It appears that this tends to turn off the most hardcore fans but Dream Theater is a bit of an exception because for the most part, their most mainstream songs are barely mainstream in the general sense. 

Still, I was thinking about how their opening single stacks up with the other songs on their albums and realized that maybe with one exception, I think their first single of any given album definitely not my favorite. 

For the purpose of this poll, you can choose as many options as fit the description though it would indeed be insane if there is a single fan out there that likes every single the best from every album.  Also, I don't believe there was a single for Six Degrees or Octavarium so mods, if I am wrong feel free to edit the poll.

Heres how mine stack up:

Status Seeker - Definitely my least favorite of all of the singles.  It's not a bad song in the sense that I can listen to it without throwing up but I don't believe I have ever had the desire to listen to this just for the hell of it. 

Pull Me Under - Not my favorite on the album but certainly a great track.  I am kinda tired of it but I don't blame DT in the least for still throwing it at the end of the setlist.  It is a great closer with a great sing-a-long chorus. 

Lie - I love this song and I wish they would bring it back into the setlist but I would put it at about the midway point for the album. 

Burning My Soul - I think this may be the most criticized song on the album with the exception of You Not Me but I quite like it but it can't stack up to some of the other great songs on the album.   

Home - This might be my favorite but I didn't vote for it because after some thought, there are just too many songs which work perfectly back to back or at the end of the album. 

As I Am - Once again, I love this and it is a great concert opener but in the scheme of things, it is in about the middle

Constant Motion - Another mid-ground rocker.  In fact, even though I absolutely LOVE this song, it may be one of my least favorites on the album. 

Rite of Passage - I may be the only one here, and please admit it if you agree with me, but this is the best song on the album.  I know musically it cant match up to TCOT but i think every song on this album has some lyrical issues and for me that is a huge part of why I like music.  RoP however, is absolutely perfect for what it is.  It has a cool riff (which someone mentioned MP actually wrote himself) and the lyrics are cool, it has a great chorus you can sing along to, the subject matter is somewhat typical in the sense that they aren't mind blowing beautiful lyrics, and I think the music video is actually pretty badass. 

On the Backs of Angels - Aside from Far From Heaven it is definitely my least favorite on the album.  Great song but gets boring kinda quick. 

The Enemy Inside - Yet one more that is my least favorite on the album.  The whole roll out of this album was underwhelming.  The lyrical video followed by their very worst music video.  I think i may lighten up about this when i hear it live but until then, I sadly skip this song most of the time

[KevShmev]

Home quite possibly, although that and The Spirit Carries On are usually neck-and-neck for my favorite from Scenes.

Status Seeker, Constant Motion, A Rite of Passage, and On the Backs of Angels are all my least favorite songs from their albums.  And actually, even though I love both tunes, so are Pull Me Under and Lie.

[namgalsipsclar]

Constant motion is the only one that fills the criteria for me. Burning my Soul and A Rite of Passage are the only ones I don't really like though, the others are pretty great

[TheGreatPretender]

I just realized something: Lie Awake... Hehehe...

But yeah, I chose Lie and As I Am. Those are actually my favorite tracks from their respective albums, or at least tied for favorite. Lie is definitely a consistent favorite for me, whereas all my other favorite songs on Awake tend to kind of fluctuate, whether I'm in the mood for Caught in a Web, Voices or Scarred.
And on TOT, As I Am and Endless Sacrifice are definitely my two favorites, and I would really hate to have to choose between them.

[Sycsa]

Nope, but Home and As I Am are close. Both are around the second place, Home is beaten by Beyond This Life and on some days by OT1928/SDV and FT. I really don't like rating SFAM songs isolated, as it works best as a whole and I think of it as a suite. As I Am is only second to Endless Sacrifice.

[nightmare_cinema]

Home, I guess. It's hard to say. For 8 years I really didn't have a favourite Dream Theater song, or a particular favourite from each album, they all just kinda merged into one massive pool of awesomeness. I know which songs I love and which I think are average and which I dislike but other than that once I 'love' them it's all often pretty equal.

Having said that, I think Home might be my favourite track on SFAM. And SFAM is my favourite album of all time. And yet Home isn't my favourite DT song, Lines in the Sand has ended up taking that title, totally out of my control, over the recent years. And my favourite song of all time isn't even by Dream Theater.

Stick that in le pipe and smoke it.

[mikeyd23]

Interesting idea for a poll!

As I Am and Home are close, but I had to vote that none of those songs are my favorites from the albums.  I would say most days Beyond This Life and The Spirit Carries On beat out Home and Endless Sacrifice definitely beats As I Am in my book. 

Most of the others aren't close to being my favorites, CM, AROP, and Lie are actually weaker tracks in comparison to the rest of the songs on each of their respected albums.

[Crow]

None of them. Home is the only one that's close but it's still not the best on the album. Plus the single version blows.

[Setlist Scotty]

Home is the only song that fits the criteria for me.

[Zydar]

None, although Home comes close.

[?]

None, although Home comes close.

[krands85]

Nope, none of them are my favourite from their respective albums. Not especially surprising, since I generally prefer the longer DT songs that aren't as suited to being singles.

My thoughts:
Status Seeker -  WDADU has 4 good-to-great songs and 4 that I don't care for. Status Seeker is one of the latter and I rarely listen to it.

Pull Me Under - Brilliant song, but it's never going to be my favourite from an album that includes LTL, Metropolis, TTT and UAGM!

Lie - Enjoyable song, but probably in the lower half of Awake rankings for me.

Burning My Soul - One of the few DT songs I really dislike.

Home - This is a great track and comes close to being my favourite on Scenes, but BTL is still just ahead of it and FF I think.

As I Am - Great way to open my 2nd favourite DT album. Great energy, awesome JP solo, but there are still 2 or 3 better tracks on the album.

Constant Motion - Similar story to AIA - lots of energy and an awesome guitar solo, but it's not in the same league as ITPOE or even TMOLS. I do like it more than most seem to though.

Rite of Passage - It's OK I guess, but it's pretty forgettable. Just feels pretty uninspired to me and suffers from being too long like a lot of the songs on BC. As usual though, I do enjoy JP's solo.

On the Backs of Angels - Always loved this song, can't believe I haven't tired of it yet, despite so many listens both before and since ADTOE was released. Still not my #1 from the album though, it's behind BAI and BITS.

The Enemy Inside - I really like this, but it's on the same album as Illumination Theory, so it never stood much chance of being my favourite from the new CD  Still trying to decide if it beats STR as my #2 behind IT.

As for Octavarium and 6Degrees, I doubt they'd have chosen to release Octavarium or The Glass Prison as singles and those are my favourites from those 2 albums 

[RuRoRul]

I didn't know Home was the first single for SFAM. It's the best song from that album, though I don't know if the single edit would be.

I thought The Enemy Inside would be the closest, as my second or third favourite. As I Am and On The Backs Of Angels are the best of these (apart from Home perhaps), but they come from very good albums so they only rank 6th and 4th respectively.

[KevShmev]

KSHE-95 here in St. Louis played the shit out of the Home edit for months. In fact, my brothers and I heard it before Scenes was even released, and even though it was only the single, we loved it, and it only increased our anticipation of the Scenes CD.

[Madman Shepherd]

Home, I guess. It's hard to say. For 8 years I really didn't have a favourite Dream Theater song, or a particular favourite from each album, they all just kinda merged into one massive pool of awesomeness. I know which songs I love and which I think are average and which I dislike but other than that once I 'love' them it's all often pretty equal.

I pretty much agree with this.  I'm not one to make lists because everything is so subjective from day to day.  I still don't even know what criteria to classify songs as my "favorite" because probably 80% are on a level playing field. 

That is one of the reasons I didn't choose "Home" as my favorite because I would say the first five tracks and the last on SFAM are just as great but pack more of a punch being the openers and enders. 

When people ask me what my favorite album of all time is i usually just say King Diamond's The Graveyard of Ozzy's Diary of a Madman because they were the first two albums that really hit me when I got into music as a 13 year old. 

Rite of Passage - It's OK I guess, but it's pretty forgettable. Just feels pretty uninspired to me and suffers from being too long like a lot of the songs on BC. As usual though, I do enjoy JP's solo.

Even though I am the only one so far to admit to Rite of Passage as my favorite from the album, I would agree that it is uninspired song.  I don't know why I didn't think of using that word to describe it.  Then again, songs don't need to be inspired for me to love them.  As I said I think it is just a great sort of run of the mill metal song about a dark and mysterious topic.  Then again, if that song were on Systematic Chaos or most others it would be at the very bottom. 

[54_diplomats]

Home is easily my favorite of the bunch.

Status Seeker - I love WDADU but I hate this song. One of my least favorite in DT's discography.

Pull me Under - Great song but it's my least favorite off I&W. Images is that good lol.

Lie - Similar to Pull me Under, I like it but it's my least favorite song on Awake.

Burning my Soul - Decent song. Not bad, not great. Nowhere near favorite on the album.

Home - Fantastic song. Love it to pieces, favorite song on SFAM

As I Am - Great song, one of the best songs on ToT.

Constant Motion - Possibly my least favorite DT song. I don't like it at all.

Rite of Passage - Decent song.

On the Backs of Angels - It's alright. I loved it at first but not so much anymore.

The Enemy Inside - Love it. One of the best songs on DT12.

[bosk1]

Home is the only one that qualifies as my favorite on a given album.  I really like some of the others.  But I don't consider any of them to be the "best" on their respective albums.  Quick breakdown:

Status Seeker - WDADU is hit and miss for me.  It took me a long time to appreciate this song.  I like it considerably now, but there are a couple of others I like more.

Pull me Under - Great song, but Metropolis, Learning To Live, and Wait For Sleep are better.

Lie - LOVE it.  But Scarred and the Mirror are slightly better.

Burning my Soul - Don't care for it.  But I'm convinced it is probably a great live song, and I would love to hear it played someday.

Home - Favorite song on SFAM.  Would be perfect if it didn't have porn in it. 

As I Am - Not bad, but doesn't really grab me.  And can't touch the 1-2-3 punch of Vacant, SOC, ITNOG.

Constant Motion - This one was actually close.  I think it may have been my favorite song on SC at one point in time.  But while I still love it, I just find myself more drawn to ITPOE and Forsaken.

A Rite of Passage - I cannot point to a single bad thing about this song.  Well, actually, yes I can:  bebot solo.  But otherwise...    While there isn't anything bad about the song, it just doesn't really connect with me either.  I will listen to it and enjoy it if it comes on.  But I would never seek it out either.

On the Backs of Angels - VERY good song.  It's just that there are 3-4 songs on the album that are better.

The Enemy Inside - Similar to AROP.  I like it, but I don't love it, and never find myself saying, "Oh, let's listen to DT12 so I can hear The Enemy Inside!"  It's not bad at all, but it is my least favorite of the non-instrumental songs.

[Outcrier]

The closest one is Home.

[wolfking]

No.

The closest one is Home.

This.

[Lucien]

None. I wish they would release better songs for their singles.

[BlobVanDam]

The singles are usually among my favourites from the album, at least from the more recent albums. As I Am would be 2nd, CM would probably be 2nd, and TEI would be an easy 2nd or 3rd too. None of the singles are quite my favourite though.

And for the record, Home wouldn't be close to my favourite from SFAM.

[wolfking]

I think DT pick adequate songs for singles.  I hate when bands release a single and it's either the best song on the album by far, or it's not a fair representation of the album.  DT always pick a safe option IMO and that works fine.

[BlobVanDam]

DT go with the more mainstream song, and I think that's the right choice.
Anybody who is already into prog metal is either already into DT, or has already given DT a shot. The singles are to bring in the more general metal fans, to ween them onto the more typical DT stuff. If you released some of the 10+ minute songs unedited as singles, you're not pulling anyone new in.

I know as a fan you want a song that is more representative of the album, but no single song is really going to achieve that regardless, and we're getting the album either way!

[wolfking]

Also, LOL @ the single edit for Home.

[Unlegit]

Actually, the lead single is probably one of the weaker songs off the album. Home is one of my favorites from Scenes, but everything else is in the lower half, aside from The Enemy Inside.

[Ruba]

I can't decide whether OTBOA or Outcry is my favourite from ADTOE.

Others aren't my favourites.

[Bolsters]

Also, LOL @ the single edit for Home.

Yeah, a laugh is about the only thing it's good for.

[nikatapi]

OTBOA. It really is my favorite song from ADTOE, and i think one of DT's best in general.

[ZirconBlue]

Also, LOL @ the single edit for Home.

Yeah, a laugh is about the only thing it's good for.

I actually think the radio edit is pretty cool, considering how much was cut out.  It's almost like a completely different song.

[The Letter M]

Going with the majority here - none of these songs are my favorite from their respective albums. I am a prog man, and I love epics, and there's no way the longer songs would ever be singles, even edited down, so having all of these shorter songs (well, some as long as 8-9 minutes) as singles doesn't really make them a favorite of mine.

Of these, though, I'd say "Home", "Pull Me Under" and "On The Backs Of Angels" are high up there on their respective albums, at least the top half...but not my favorite.

-Marc.

[Lucien]

Only a Matter of Time, Metropolis, Voices, Hell's Kitchen, The Spirit Carries On, Misunderstood (edited to appease the hatred of the ending), In the Name of God (edit), These Walls, The Ministry of Lost Souls (HUGE edit), The Count of Tuscany (edit), and Bridges in the Sky (edit) should have been DT's singles. Imagine the difference of people that would have gotten into Dream Theater through them.

[jakepriest]

Only a Matter of Time, Metropolis, Voices, Hell's Kitchen, The Spirit Carries On, Misunderstood (edited to appease the hatred of the ending), In the Name of God (edit), These Walls, The Ministry of Lost Souls (HUGE edit), The Count of Tuscany (edit), and Bridges in the Sky (edit) should have been DT's singles. Imagine the difference of people that would have gotten into Dream Theater through them.

If you gutted any of these songs they would be quite horrible.

[aurorablind]

Home!
I love that song, and it´s the song i´ve allways wanted to hear live. I´ve seen DT live four times, and the ONLY time i missed them after becoming a fan was in 2005 in Oslo, and they played it...
Hooking up with a couple of friends in 2014 in London to see them at Wembley, so i beg them to play it!

[Daso]

I think I'll go with Home. I'm not quite sure if it's my favorite song on the album because I love Fatal Tragedy as well, but those two are definitely up there, and since Home is the single that's my pick  The Enemy Inside is maybe my 4th favorite on DT12, so that one is pretty good for me too. Didn't vote for it, though.

[jayvee3]

Yea, like the majority here. some good songs, but none are quite my favorite from the respective albums. The Enemy Inside, Constant Motion, As I Am and Home would be the closest, but still not quite.

And I actually thought Hollow Years was the single from FII, with a vid shot for it and everything. No one else has said anything, so I'm obviously wrong.. Guess you learn something new every day..