DT Albums Tier List

[Buddyhunter1]

From the band's twitter / facebook:

So we hear these 'tier lists' are all the rage right now... Visit the link and reply to this tweet with your list!

https://tiermaker.com/create/dream-theater-albums-19064

Thought it might be fun to share ours here, even though we had a rankings thread recently.

Here's mine.

[CharlesPL]

[Ninjabait]

A Change of Seasons is C because it really only has one song on it, Liquid Tension Experiments 1+2 are B tier.

[zappafrank2112]

So glad this is confined to a thread.

Everyone over on the DT reddit is making one and adding it as a main post, so it's all you see and have to scroll through dozens of them

[lovethedrake]

I cant seem to load mine here so Ill say my tiers:

S - SFAM, I&W, SDOIT

A- Awake

B- DOT, FII

C- TOT, TA

D- BC&SL, DT, WDADU

E- Octavarium, SC, ADTOE

[Cool Chris]

Is "S" a new grade I've never heard of?

[Ninjabait]

Is "S" a new grade I've never heard of?

Yeah, it comes from competitive video gaming. S-tier is basically the top, god-tier stuff. The kind of characters and stuff that tend to dominate metagames and such because they're so good. If it helps, think of it like an A+ or a 5/5 or 10/10.

[Sebastián Pratesi]

Yeah, it comes from competitive video gaming. S-tier is basically the top, god-tier stuff. The kind of characters and stuff that tend to dominate metagames and such because they're so good. If it helps, think of it like an A+ or a 5/5 or 10/10.

Thanks! I had the same doubt.

Also: why does that ranking/grading system not include "E"? (Where I live, we don't grade with letters.)

[krands85]

Something like this I guess:

[The Walrus]

[The Walrus]

Yeah, it comes from competitive video gaming. S-tier is basically the top, god-tier stuff. The kind of characters and stuff that tend to dominate metagames and such because they're so good. If it helps, think of it like an A+ or a 5/5 or 10/10.

Thanks! I had the same doubt.

Also: why does that ranking/grading system not include "E"? (Where I live, we don't grade with letters.)

That's just how it is over in the USA, at least. We don't use S in academic grading, but we do skip E. A D is like barely passing, F means you failed. In terms of numbers, a D is usually in the 60-70% range, anything below that is F.

[TAC]

I can't figure out how to save it..

[robwebster]

Kerpow!

[TAC]

[Max Kuehnau]

mine doesn't load either, so you'll have to make do with it written down (my criteria of choice is the technical level and precise execution of the drumming on them, and of course personal taste as well. Had it been songwriting, the list would have been somewhat different. This will be a controversial one.)

S: ADTOE, DT12

D: TA, D/T (thanks PBD, otherwise it would have been an F)

F: everything else

I may make another one based on the songwriting.

[Sebastián Pratesi]

That's just how it is over in the USA, at least. We don't use S in academic grading, but we do skip E. A D is like barely passing, F means you failed. In terms of numbers, a D is usually in the 60-70% range, anything below that is F.

Thanks! This reminds me of that cool scene in Arrested Development:

George-Michael: Will this go toward my grade?
Donnie: (Chuckles.) We don't have grades here. A student either learns and gets an "L," or they fluctuate in their learning.
George-Michael: What do we get for that?
Donnie: An "F."

https://arresteddevelopment.fandom.com/wiki/Transcript_of_S.O.B.s

[Max Kuehnau]

So great. I fell about laughing when that one came up (thanks for recommending it to me mate)

[Phoenix87x]

S rank I worship
A Rank I love
B Rank I enjoy a lot

The F ranked albums are there because I've never made it through a full listen more than once, and never have any interest in listening to

[Snow Dog]

Here's mine. I obviously favor the earlier material as they started to slip from ToT onward. D/T was a very refreshing return to form. SDOIT would be top tier if not for Disc 2. And I've listened to TA, but only the first half of Disc 1, and what I heard didn't really draw me back to try again. I can't give it a fair shake on a less than full listen.

[ytserush]

 

S -   When Dream And Day Unite, Six Degrees, Octavarium

A- Images And Words, Awake, Falling Into Infinity, The Astonishing

B-   Scenes From A Memory, Black Clouds, A Dramatic Turn Of Events, Dream Theater, Distance Over Time

C-  Train Of Thought

D-

E- Systematic Chaos

[jammindude]

Too lazy to post a pic.

S - Octavarium, SFAM, IAW

A - Awake, DT, SDOIT, D/T

B - TOT, ADTOE

C - TA, FII, WDADU

D -

F - BCSL, SC

Note - albums within the grades are listed from strongest to weakest.

[Zydar]

[Ben_Jamin]

This is how I enjoy each album. I have songs I enjoy in each album, and this reflects the amount.

Tiers S and A I like the entire albums, Tier S is my favorites tier.

[Progmetty]

https://m.imgur.com/gallery/bT02mc9

[JLa]

[BeardedGentlemanHistorian]

[gzarruk]

Nobody noticed the DT12 artwork is wrong?

[ThatOneGuy2112]

Seen a lot of these tier lists going around lately. So why not

EDIT: url on Imgur won't load image here for some reason so I'll just type it out:

S: SFAM, I&W, 6DOIT

A: Awake, 8V

B: ToT, FII

C: D/T, ADTOE, DT12, SC

D: BC&SL, WDADU

F: TA

[TheCountOfNYC]

I'm having trouble posting the picture of my tier list so I'll just type it out.

S: Scenes From a Memory, Octavarium, Images and Words
A: Distance Over Time, A Dramatic Turn of Events
B: Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, Awake, Train of Thought
C: The Astonishing, Black Clouds & Silver Linings, Dream Theater
D: When Dream and Day Unite, Systematic Chaos, Falling Into Infinity
F: N/A

[nattmorker]

Mine:

[pg1067]

Adding the "S" level makes no sense to me because it makes "A" not mean what it usually means.  My only hesitation with these rankings is I haven't really settled on where DOT ranks yet.  It's a little like grading a sports team's draft only a few weeks into the first season after the draft.

TOP TIER:  I&W, SFAM, SDOIT

SECOND TIER:  Awake

THIRD TIER:  TOT, 8VA, ADTOE, DT12, DOT

FOURTH TIER:  BC&SL, WDADU, FII

FIFTH TIER:  SC, TA

[54_diplomats]

S: Awake, I&W, SFAM
A: TOT, 6DOIT, FII, 8VM
B: ADTOE, WDADU
C: DT12, SC
D: DoT
F: Astonishing, BC&SL

Surprising amount of love for WDADU on here. Was expecting almost every list to put it in F tier.

[TAC]

Surprising amount of love for WDADU on here. Was expecting almost every list to put it in F tier.

I rank it quite high for the songs. I don't really consider Charlie and the production.

[Zook]

[H2]

My understanding for how a tier list like this is supposed to work is (i) that there is a minimal qualitative difference between albums within a given tier, (ii) that there is a substantive qualitative difference between albums across tiers, and (iii) that belonging to a low tier != being a bad album (i.e., the albums are ranked relatively to each other, not relatively to the albums of other artists).

My justification for my tier list:

SFAM are IAW are both magnum opuses of two different sides of DT (the "classic" side and the "epic" side). These albums are untouchable, IMO. Regarding SFAM, sure, you can nitpick that the individual songs like "Through My Words" on SFAM aren't necessarily mindblowing on their own, but this is SFAM we're talking about. It's a concept album that's meant to be listened to as a whole. "Through My Words" understood in context balances the bridge between "Strange Deja Vu and Fatal Tragedy" very well. The whole thing is a ride.

Regarding IAW, this is classic DT with delightful melodies, riffage, funky proggyness, soaring and crisp vocals, great lyrics, balanced songwriting. The only flaw I can think of is the production value (especially the triggered snare), but even this has become endearing over time.

SDOIT is amazing as well but does suffer from a handful of elements that hold it back, particularly a few less-than-stellar songs and questionable songwriting. As a whole it is incredible despite its imperfections. I think the same can be said of Awake, SC, and TA.

TOT and Octavarium are sister albums, I feel, one showcasing DT at their heaviest, the other at their proggiest. But there are some real flaws holding both of these albums back. TOT has these long and frankly kind of stale instrumental sections and Octavarium has a set of really average songs. They are mostly pretty good albums though.

BCASL and FII have songs which are hit-or-miss, which is why I can't rank them among DT's better albums. I don't think any song on BCASL is bad per se, and as a whole I do like the album quite a bit, but the quality between and within its songs is inconsistent. For example, you have AROP, which is really unimpressionable, standing next to ANTR and TCOT. Or you have ANTR with its awful outro verse. FII is more obviously bad in the same respect, though it does have its stellar moments.

D/T, ADTOE, and DT12, the three albums which represent "new DT's" approach to songwriting, are honestly just kind of dull in the songwriting department. There are great moments but I never feel like I want to listen to them out of anything but fan obligation. D/T is fresh and interesting and better than the other two, but I could see it feeling just as stale as them in a few years. 

WDADU is honestly their one truly bad album, which can be overlooked, as they were just finding themselves. I can understand why DT fans find the album interesting as a curiosity, but there's no doubt it's a bad album. There are some sweet moments, but on the whole the production quality, Dominici's weak vocals, and hit-or-miss songwriting make me confident it belongs in F tier.