Awake.
Classic DT, amazing follow up to Images & Words. I don't know how they did it, but I guess with I&W and Awake DT made the blueprint for their musical style. I can hear the styles of both albums coming back, time and time again.
I don't think Awake is better than I&W, or vice versa. Let's attempt an album list for old times' sake:
1. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence - Dream Theater, but with a new found drift to experiment with sounds and songs.
2. Images & Words / Awake - Dream Theater, majestic and sentimental (these albums make me feel sentimental). Songwriting-wise and atmospherically speaking, these are the albums that make this band unique.
3. Scenes From a Memory - A DT classic for sure, no words can do this album justice. The perfect concept album, and definately a new kind of musical high for the band.
4. Black Clouds and Silver Linings - A perfection of the 'modern' DT sound. This record is convincing, even though we've kind of heard it before.
5. Falling Into Infinity - A more commercial record, but the grooves they got going on Lines in the Sand, New Millennium and Trial of Tears are kind of ground breaking for the band. The record has IMO the best sound production of all DT records, but maybe not the most suitable sound.
6. Octavarium - A refined focus on songwriting here. Great record but Never Enough doesn't rock hard enough. Of course, the title track is among the band's best.
7. Train of Thought - Monolithic and heavy. Maybe this deserves to be higher, because it scores serious points with its consistency and focus throughout. I'm glad this album exists, it's great to have a DT record with a full-on metal approach.
8. Systematic Chaos - I appreciate the effort, but DT didn't really grab me with this one.
9. When Dream and Day Unite - Great start of a great band, but DT without JLB isn't DT for me.