Best of the RoadRunner Albums.

[54_diplomats]

It's between ADToE and DT12 for me. First time I'll ever put an album practically on par with each other, I don't particularly prefer one over the other. These 4 albums are definitely my least favorite in DT's discography too. I guess I'll pick ADToE since I really like Bridges in the Sky.

[Grizz]

SC beats Black Clouds? DT beats ADTOE?
I hate you people

[jammindude]

I love that DT12 is winning this so handedly.  Best DT album in a very long time. 

[yeah_93]

I love that DT12 is winning this so handedly.  Best DT album in a very long time. 

Just 5 votes. Come on... But then again, it's not as if I like ADTOE much more than DT12.

[Outcrier]

I would rank like this:

Decent at best:

DT12
ADTOE

Some of their weakest albums:

SC
BCSL

[TheOutlawXanadu]

1. DT12
2. ADTOE
3. SC
4. BC&SL

[Grizz]

BC & SL
ADTOE
DT
SC

[a51502112]

Hey! What about Raw Dog?

[hefdaddy42]

Hey! What about Raw Dog?

Best of the RoadRunner Albums.

[Kotowboy]

Raw Dog feels like an album


If we were going on production value alone :

1. BC&SL - Great Production but most mediocre songs apart from a couple, maybe three.
2. DT12 HD Mix
3. SC - It's hot and dry but it's punchy and has a certain charm.
4. ADTOE - Not a terrible but fairly weak drums and bland mix overall.

[Sir Walrus Cauliflower]

DT12
ADTOE
SC
BCASL

[King Postwhore]

ADTOE
DT12
BCASL
SC

[The Dark Master]

DTXII by far.  That album is easily in their top 4.

ADTOE is also a solid, upper-middle tier album.

SC and BC&SL are the bottom of the barrel of the DT discography for me, although they are still very good, far above average records by my standards for rock music in general.

[Kotowboy]

DTXII by far.  That album is easily in their top 4.

I'd say it's DEFINITELY in their Top 4 RoadRunner albums. 

[PolarizeMe]

DT12
ADTOE
BC&SL
SC

Haven't listened to either SC or BC&SL in a long time, but from what I last remembered I liked BC&SL a bit more ever so slightly...

[wolfking]

Dream Theater

[emtee]

I have to go against the grain a bit.

BC&SL
SC
DT12
ADToE (only because of sonic issues)

[emtee]

BTW guys, wasn't during SC that MP said that they spent almost $500K on production? does anybody else has other numbers?

That sounds familiar, probably either on the Chaos in Progress or Chaos in Motion DVDs. I don't recall them giving any other numbers.
I think that number is mostly the amount of time they spend in the studio writing and recording, rather than impacting the quality of the mixing and mastering.

I remember it being $500K for studio time overall.

[cramx3]

ADToE
BCSL
DT12
SC

[BlobVanDam]

BTW guys, wasn't during SC that MP said that they spent almost $500K on production? does anybody else has other numbers?

That sounds familiar, probably either on the Chaos in Progress or Chaos in Motion DVDs. I don't recall them giving any other numbers.
I think that number is mostly the amount of time they spend in the studio writing and recording, rather than impacting the quality of the mixing and mastering.

I remember it being $500K for studio time overall.

Actually now that I think about it, I think that figure was just for Starbucks.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

ADTOE
DT12







BC&SL



SC

[Randaran]

I'd say it's DEFINITELY in their Top 4 RoadRunner albums. 

[OpenYourEyes311]

When I read the topic, I thought this was going to be about putting together a "Best of..." from the last 4 albums... so that's what I did!

Dream Theater: Best of 2007-2014
1.   In the Presence of Enemies Part 1 9:00
2.   Forsaken 5:35
3.   On the Backs of Angels 8:42
4.   The Enemy Inside 6:17
5.   The Looking Glass 4:53
6.   Enigma Machine 6:01
7.   The Dark Eternal Night 8:53
8.   Along for the Ride 4:45
9.   Breaking All Illusions 12:25
10.   The Shattered Fortress 12:49

Tough to fit it all into one disc, had to cut some important songs (Constant Motion, Count of Tuscany, Illumination Theory). I think it came out pretty good, though. Even if this is my least favorite era of the band, they are still putting out great music!

On topic: I'd say DT12 is the best of the four, then Black Clouds, aDtOe, and lastly SC.

[Mladen]

I'm not gonna to a ''the best of'', but I'll do the simple thing and collect the singles (including the stuff that was officially released on youtube as promo), while trying to put them in a cool order.

1. On the backs of angels
2. A Rite of passage
3. Constant motion
4. The Dark eternal night
5. Along for the ride
6. The Enemy inside
7. Build me up, break me down
8. The Looking glass
9. Forsaken
10. Wither
11. Pull me under (Live at Luna Park)

I don't know if it would be a draw for casual or new fans to get such a release - but hell, I'd buy it. 

[jammindude]

hmmmm.... a compilation, huh...

1. A Nightmare to Remember (16:10)
2. The Looking Glass (4:53)
3. Wither (5:25)
4. The Bigger Picture (7:40)
5. Bridges In the Sky (11:01)
6. The Dark Eternal Night (8:53)
7. Behind the Veil (6:52)
8. Breaking All Illusions (12:25)
9. Beneath the Surface (5:26)

Total Time - 78:45

You know what?  That's not half bad considering I kinda came up with it on the fly.   (and considering that I was forced to omit the absolutely brilliant Illumination Theory for time restraints)

[Zook]

Yeah, in order to make a decent size track list, the epics would all unfortunately have to be omitted.

[JayOctavarium]

ADTOE
SC


BCSL

DT

[TheGreatPretender]

Fine, if we're doing this:

1. In The Presence of Enemies Pt. 1 (9:00)
2. Enigma Machine (6:00)
3. Forsaken (5:35)
4. The Bigger Picture (7:40)
5. Bridges In The Sky (11:00)
6. The Dark Eternal Night (8:50)
7. Beneath The Surface (5:25)
8. The Shattered Fortress (12:50)
9. Surrender to Reason (6:35)

Total: 72:55 of epic awesomeness.

[Miss Bangkok]

ADTOE, by a long shot. SC and BC&SL are crap overall, and DT12 is garbage smothered in crap.

[Evermind]

Yep, I'll try this thing too.

1. In The Presence of Enemies Pt. 1 (9:00)
2. Forsaken (5:35)
3. The Looking Glass (4:53)
4. This Is The Life (6:57)
5. On The Backs of Angels (8:42)
6. Surrender To Reason (6:35)
7. Breaking All Illusions (12:25)
8. Beneath The Surface (5:25)
9. The Count of Tuscany (19:16) or 9. In The Presence of Enemies Pt. 2 (16:38)

Total length: 78:48 or 76:10

It's obvious I rate SC and ADTOE higher than two other albums, but DT12 makes its presence with TLG and STR. I included TCOT only to feature BC&SL here, because I actually like ITPOE more.

[Scorpion]

Haven't we already done this a million times? Here's how today's looks for me:

1. The Enemy Inside
2. Bridges in the Sky
3. This Is the Life
4. Behind the Veil
5. Breaking All Illusions
6. The Ministry of Lost Souls
7. The Count of Tuscany

~78 minutes

[Mosh]

False Awakening Suite
The Enemy Inside
Constant Motion
On the Backs Of Angels
The Looking Glass
Bridges in the Sky (Edit with intro removed, starts at the main riff)
The Dark Eternal Night
The Count of Tuscany

77 Minutes

Not necessarily my favorite songs, but a good look at each album and sorta accentuates the heavy nature of the roadrunner albums.

[Eldomm]

ADTOE..Easily.

[ChuckSteak]

ADToE, imo.

[LCArenas]

For me it goes
1. ADToE
2. DT
3. BCSL
4. SC