Dream Theater Top 100 countdown - 2024 Version! (#01 Up!)

[nobloodyname]

I'd gather that most/all of the Nomac songs wouldn't.  There's a few others that aren't actually songs (eg, Regression), some that are generally considered not good (Raw Dog), and others that don't have a lot of broader knowledge (Awake Jam).

Regression made my list. I think it's a great little track.

[pg1067]

Well...I did it.  Very hasty, and I will find decisions I'm not really happy with, but oh well.  Thank you, Reaper!

WDADU - 8 (highest ranked - 15; lowest ranked - 94)
I&W - 8 (highest ranked - 2; lowest ranked - 89)
Awake - 10 (highest ranked - 7; lowest ranked - 86)
FII - 7 (highest ranked - 38; lowest ranked - 93)
SFAM - 10 (highest ranked - 6; lowest ranked - 81)
SDOIT - 4 (highest ranked - 4; lowest ranked - 45)
TOT - 6 (highest ranked - 8; lowest ranked - 100)
8VM - 7 (highest ranked - 5; lowest ranked - 99)
SC - 6 (highest ranked - 18; lowest ranked - 96)
BCSL - 5 (highest ranked - 16; lowest ranked - 95)
ADTOE - 8 (highest ranked - 12; lowest ranked - 98)
DT12 - 9 (highest ranked - 13; lowest ranked - 90)
TA - 1 (80)
DOT - 7 (highest ranked - 28; lowest ranked - 70)
View - 3 (highest ranked - 48; lowest ranked - 65)

Other - 1

Portnoy era got 72; Mangini era got 28

I added some information above.

- I'm betting that at least 47 songs in my top 50 will make the consensus 100.

- I'm betting that at least 82 songs from my top 100 making the consensus 100.

- I'm betting that 1 of the consensus top 10 will not be in my top 100.

- I'm putting the over/under at 5.5 for songs in the top 100 on which I am the top ranker (I'm also betting that I'm the top ranker for at least 3 songs that don't make the consensus 100).

[ReaperKK]

To be honest, I wasn't even considering the NOMACs tunes while expressing that wish.

On the other hand Regression is a song, Raw Dog could have a lovely RawDoghouse in someone's yard somewhere, and I suspect lack of broader knowledge could not be an issue with this forum.

You may say I'm a dreamer.

I believe Raw Dog will make the countdown.

I've done my bit for Raw Dog. Great song.

I really like Raw Dog when it came out but I gave it another list and while I still enjoyed the song, it sounded very dated to my ears.

[bosk1]

I don't hate it.  But there are easily over 100 Dream Theater songs that are better.

[pg1067]

I don't hate it.  But there are easily over 100 Dream Theater songs that are better.

I think I had heard it twice before today.  I gave it another listen.  My immediate thought was that it sounded like something that wasn't good enough to make the cut on TOT.  The drop A tuning in the intro was off-putting to my ears.  I honestly wanted to stop after a minute.  I'm halfway through, and there's nothing interesting or memorable.  Just a bunch of riffing and soloing.  I started skipping forward a bit.  The part at around 5:05 was pretty interesting, but it took 5 minutes to get there.  Then we have a variation on the Weebles circus theme that JR likes.  Now more random low-A riffing.  And then just some random, cut-off ending?  WTF was that?  I suppose if I played video games like God of War I might like having that playing in the background, but yeah...this is definitely a bottom-of-the-barrel DT song.

[bosk1]

^That about sums it up.  I mean, I'd listen to it on repeat for 3 hours before spending that time watching a Vikings v. Bills Super Bowl, but that's not saying much.

[hefdaddy42]

I don't hate it.  But there are easily over 100 Dream Theater songs that are better.

I think I had heard it twice before today.  I gave it another listen.  My immediate thought was that it sounded like something that wasn't good enough to make the cut on TOT.  The drop A tuning in the intro was off-putting to my ears.  I honestly wanted to stop after a minute.  I'm halfway through, and there's nothing interesting or memorable.  Just a bunch of riffing and soloing.  I started skipping forward a bit.  The part at around 5:05 was pretty interesting, but it took 5 minutes to get there.  Then we have a variation on the Weebles circus theme that JR likes.  Now more random low-A riffing.  And then just some random, cut-off ending?  WTF was that?  I suppose if I played video games like God of War I might like having that playing in the background, but yeah...this is definitely a bottom-of-the-barrel DT song.

Funny thing is that it wasn't even featured in the game like that.

[Stadler]

170   The Astonishing
171   Other
172   The Astonishing
173   The Astonishing
174   A View From The Top Of The World
175   The Astonishing
176   The Astonishing
177   The Majesty Demos
178   When Dream And Day Unite

[Lonk]

170   The Astonishing
171   Other
172   The Astonishing
173   The Astonishing
174   A View From The Top Of The World
175   The Astonishing
176   The Astonishing
177   The Majesty Demos
178   When Dream And Day Unite

Curious to know what they are.

I didn't bother ranking songs I knew where not going to make the top 100, just to make my life easier. I think I ranked 127 songs in total, so I have no idea how the bottom would've look except for the last song, which I expect it to make an appearance somewhere between rank 50-80.

[Animal]

I'll add my 2 cents with predictions:

1) No more than 3 songs will make all the lists. Actually, if I were a betting man, I would bet at zero being the winning number.
2)All DT songs except Nomac tracs will make at least one list.
3)Contrary to some posters' expectations, Lost not Forgotten will make Top 100 by a comfortable margin.
4)This thread will surpass Mike Portnoy¨s return thread in length by the time we make it to the Top 50. It will end up being at least 120 pages long.

[pg1067]

170   The Astonishing
171   Other
172   The Astonishing
173   The Astonishing
174   A View From The Top Of The World
175   The Astonishing
176   The Astonishing
177   The Majesty Demos
178   When Dream And Day Unite

Curious to know what they are.

I didn't bother ranking songs I knew where not going to make the top 100, just to make my life easier. I think I ranked 127 songs in total, so I have no idea how the bottom would've look except for the last song, which I expect it to make an appearance somewhere between rank 50-80.

Same.  I had 129 songs put into the ranking engine before I decided to make my rankings without using it.  Had I used it, I'm confident I'd have generated a different list and might have had more than one TA song in the top 100.

I'll add my 2 cents with predictions:

1) No more than 3 songs will make all the lists. Actually, if I were a betting man, I would bet at zero being the winning number.
2)All DT songs except Nomac tracs will make at least one list.
3)Contrary to some posters' expectations, Lost not Forgotten will make Top 100 by a comfortable margin.
4)This thread will surpass Mike Portnoy¨s return thread in length by the time we make it to the Top 50. It will end up being at least 120 pages long.

1. I think the number will be a bit higher, but not much.
2. If this excludes the Majesty demos and the live-only songs, then I probably agree.
3. I have zero doubt LNF will make the top 100.
4. 120 seems really long, so I'd take the under on that one.

[Lonk]

I'll add my 2 cents with predictions:

1) No more than 3 songs will make all the lists. Actually, if I were a betting man, I would bet at zero being the winning number.
2)All DT songs except Nomac tracs will make at least one list.
3)Contrary to some posters' expectations, Lost not Forgotten will make Top 100 by a comfortable margin.
4)This thread will surpass Mike Portnoy¨s return thread in length by the time we make it to the Top 50. It will end up being at least 120 pages long.

I would say you are right, except about #1 and #4. Last time we ran this, I believe 7 from the top10 made every list. Of course this time is different, but I would guess at least 5 of the top 10 will make every list, and at least 10 in total, since some outside of the top 10 made every list as well.

[jingle.boy]

I wish Kev was here to validate how many songs made all 26 lists last time around.  I think I was doing the mental math wrong on some of my predictions.

[bosk1]

So what you are saying is that you were not right, mentally?

[pg1067]

I wish Kev was here to validate how many songs made all 26 lists last time around.

I just checked the prior thread.  Nine songs (marked in bold below) appeared on all 26 lists.

1. Learning to Live (#1 on 4 lists)
2. A Change of Seasons (25/26) (#1 on 4 lists)
3. Octavarium (#1 on 4 lists)
4. Metropolis Part 1 (#1 on 2 lists)
5. Voices (#1 on 1 list)
6. Breaking All Illusions
7. Trial of Tears (#1 on 1 list)
8. Home (25/26)
9. Scarred (24/26) (#1 on 1 list)
10. Finally Free
11. In the Name of God (#1 on 2 lists)
12. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (23/26) (#1 on 2 lists)
13. The Glass Prison (23/26) (#1 on 1 list)
14. The Count of Tuscany (24/26)
15. Surrounded (25/26)
16. Bridges in the Sky

Everything from 17 and below fell short of 26.  The other four #1 song votes went to The Spirit Carries on (#28), This Dying Soul (#51), 6:00 (#54), and Beneath the Surface (#67).

[OpenYourEyes311]

Surrounded being in the top 15 is crazy and awesome

[Jamesman42]

That is a worrisome list.

[OpenYourEyes311]

At least one of those songs in the top 10 did not make my top 100. It landed at 150. One of those "I don't get the love for this song" kind of things.

[Cool Chris]

I was going to track down that thread. I didn't save my list from that countdown, though I remember what my #1 was. One of those songs wasn't on my list then and isn't on my list now.

[bosk1]

Since all the cool kids are doing it, my album breakdown:
-WDADU:  5
-I&W:  6
-Awake:  6
-FII:  6
-SFAM:  7
-SDOIT:  6
-TOT:  5
-8VM:  6
-SC:  4
-BCSL:  3
-ADTOE:  7
-DT:  8
-TA:  12  (I was surprised by this number)
-d/t:  9
-View:  7
-Other:  3


I was interested to see my top 10 breakdown by album as well, so:
-WDADU:  -
-I&W:  2
-Awake:  1 
-FII:  -
-SFAM:  1
-SDOIT:  2
-TOT:  -
-8VM:  1
-SC:  -
-BCSL:  -
-ADTOE:  1
-DT:  -
-TA:  -
-d/t:  1
-View:  -
-Other:  1

Other fun facts about my list, without getting too spoilery:
-As of my #48, all albums were represented. 
-It took until #96 for an album to have ALL songs represented.
-Taking just my top 4 or top 5 albums (it comes out the same either way), 78% of the total number of songs made my list.

[Jamesman42]

My top 10

IaW: 1
ACOS: 1 (where does this get labeled, other?)
SDOIT: 2
TOT: 1
8VM: 2
BCSL: 1
ADTOE: 2

[Cool Chris]

Top 10

I&W: 1
Awake: 1
Non-Album: 1
SFaM: 1
SDoIT: 1
ToT: 1
8VM: 2
SC: 1
ADTOE: 1

[OpenYourEyes311]

All albums but one are represented in the top 40 of mine. The top 10 has only one repeated album.

[jammindude]

My top 10:

IAW - 1
Awake - 2
FII - 1
SFAM - 2
SDOIT - 2
8V - 1
Other - 1

[Cool Chris]

The lowest ranking song representing the highest rank from an album (did that make sense?) is #70.

[porcacultor]

My top 10:

WDADU - 1
I&W - 1
Awake - 4
FII - 1
SDoIT - 1
ToT - 1
Octavarium - 1

And now for the full album breakdown:

WDADU - 6
I&W - 7
Awake - 10
ACOS - 1
FII - 10
SFAM - 9
SDOIT - 6
TOT - 6
Octavarium - 8
SC - 6
BC&SL - 3
ADTOE - 5
DT12 - 8
TA - 7
DOT - 4
AVFTTOTW - 2
Other - 2

MP era: 74
MM era: 26

After I submitted, I realized a bunch of TA tracks didn't get a fair shake. Maybe next time with DT16 battling for spots as well 

[Animal]

I'll add my 2 cents with predictions:

1) No more than 3 songs will make all the lists. Actually, if I were a betting man, I would bet at zero being the winning number.
2)All DT songs except Nomac tracs will make at least one list.
3)Contrary to some posters' expectations, Lost not Forgotten will make Top 100 by a comfortable margin.
4)This thread will surpass Mike Portnoy¨s return thread in length by the time we make it to the Top 50. It will end up being at least 120 pages long.

I would say you are right, except about #1 and #4. Last time we ran this, I believe 7 from the top10 made every list. Of course this time is different, but I would guess at least 5 of the top 10 will make every list, and at least 10 in total, since some outside of the top 10 made every list as well.

IMO, this time will be very different. Instead of just 26 lists, there are 65 or so. A lot more diversity in tastes. The chances of there being at least one Stadler for a massively popular song are much higher.

[twosuitsluke]

It's the 5th!!

My top 10, if everyone is doing it...

I&W - 5
ASFaM - 2
8V - 1
BC&SL - 1
D12 - 1

[Animal]

Now that we are doing Top 10 album breakdown...

WADADU - 1
Awake - 4
Scenes - 1
BCSL - 1
ADTOE - 1
DT12 - 1
Non-album - 1

[Zydar]

Top 10?

I&W - 6
SFAM - 3
Six Degrees - 1

[Evermind]

Top 10:

I&W - 2
Awake - 1
SFAM - 1
ToT - 1
8VM - 1
SC  - 1
ADTOE - 3

[Puppies_On_Acid]

Top 10:

I&W - 2
Awake - 1
SFAM - 1
ToT - 1
8VM - 1
SC  - 1
ADTOE - 3

Ooh, I got this....

I&W - Another Day, Wait for Sleep
Awake - Puppies On Acid 
SFAM - Regression
TOT - Vacant
8VM - The Answer Lies Within
SC - Prophets of War
ADTOE - Build Me Up, Break Me Down, Far From Heaven

[nobloodyname]

1 A Dramatic Turn of Events
1 Black Clouds
1 Falling Into Infinity
1 Images & Words
1 Non-album
1 Octavarium
1 Scenes
1 Six Degrees
2 Train of Thought

Not a bad spread, that.

[SwedishGoose]

Top 10

Images and Words -  4
Awake - 1
Falling Into Infinity  - 1
Scenes from a Memory  - 1
Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence  - 1
Octavarium - 1
Other - 1

[Evermind]

Top 10:

I&W - 2
Awake - 1
SFAM - 1
ToT - 1
8VM - 1
SC  - 1
ADTOE - 3

Ooh, I got this....

I&W - Another Day, Wait for Sleep
Awake - Puppies On Acid 
SFAM - Regression
TOT - Vacant
8VM - The Answer Lies Within
SC - Prophets of War
ADTOE - Build Me Up, Break Me Down, Far From Heaven

I like how Build Me Up, Break Me Down counts for two.