I thought Momentum was great as well. Lifeline was the first prog album Neal did on his own that wasn't a concept album, and although I could be dead wrong, it kind of felt like he wasn't sure what he wanted to do and lacked direction and focus. To me, Momentum took the things Lifeline did well and just felt more focused and comfortable. But on the flip side, I also feel that maybe just as a fan, *I* was a bit thrown off and uncomfortable by Neal not doing a concept album, and may just be projecting my own feelings onto Lifeline. And, by extension, since Momentum was the second non-concept album, *I* may have simply become more comfortable at that point with Neal not doing a concept album, and projected that onto the music. Not sure. But it is what it is.
I hate to do rankings for the sake of rankings, but just to give a feel for where I put these albums in relation to each other and why:
1. One: Could be my favorite album of all time from anyone (which is saying something since I am definitely more of a metal guy; other than this and The Whirlwind, all my top albums would be more in the metal vein). It definitely has some dips and lulls. But overall, it's just so solid. And the concept makes the whole greater than the sum of its parts, so the few dips are easily forgotten and swallowed up by the role they play in being pieces of the bigger picture.
2. Sola Scriptura: Great music. Great message that transcends the biography of Martin Luther himself. Paul Gilbert's solo in The Door is my favorite guitar solo ever. Prior to release, I knew of Martin Luther only in general terms, and wasn't expecting to have such a connection with this album, but it really works for me.
3. Testimony: Holds a special place in my heart for reasons I have already discussed elsewhere in the thread. But the high esteem I have for this album isn't just emotion. I feel the music and writing are solid, and definitely justify the ranking. In the Middle -> Storm Before the Calm is one of my favorite musical passages ever.
4. The Similitude of a Dream: I can't help but feel like there is something wrong with ranking this album fourth. It is so good. There is nothing in it that I find objectively inferior to my top three Neal albums. I just connect ever so slightly more with those top 3.
5. The Grand Experiment: This iteration of the band feel like they injected new life into Neal. Everything about this album is fantastic.
6. Momentum: A bit of a dropoff from the top 5, but not much. I really feel like I need to revisit this album, as I haven't really listened to it in awhile. Interestingly, the shorter songs are the ones I like and remember most (Momentum, Smoke and Mirrors, Weathering Sky, and Freak).
7. Testimony 2: Some stunning moments. When I found out he was doing Testimony 2, my response was "Why?" But the music answers that question. This album is solid. It is a well-done follow-up to the original, and worthy of being in the Neal discography, even if it might not be as consistently good as his other works.
8. ?: The biggest drop-off for me occurs with this album. There are some stunning moments. But as a whole, this album has never done much for me.
9. Lifeline: Not a "bad" album. But with all the good music out there, this album never stood out to me and begged to be listened to like others in the discography. I like the title track and So Many Roads. But other than Leviathan, which I have never liked, none of the other songs made enough of an impression on me that I can really remember much about them.