Rank the members (old and current) of DT by their non-DT work

[Nick]

8. John Myung - The Jelly Jam and Platypus have some cool stuff, but all in all I could never listen to those albums again and I wouldn't be feeling too bad about it. Still, it is nice when John occasionally does something outside of DT as it is a rare occurrence.

7. Derek Sherinian - I have a ton of Planet X and solo Sherinian stuff, and however much I generally enjoy it I don't find myself reaching for it all that often, and the general lack of diversity through most of it doesn't help. I still need to check out Black Country Communion.

6. Kevin Moore - I *love* the first two OSI albums, but Blood was a bit of a letdown for me and I haven't really dug what other material from Kevin I've heard. While I doubt I'd enjoy much of his work more than the previous two people on the list, the simple fact is neither of them have come close to making albums I enjoy like OSI or Free.

5. Jordan Rudess - Although everything is signature Jordan, I enjoy the different approaches Jordan has taken on his last few solo outings. Notes on a Dream, The Road Home, and The Rhythm of Time were all very different and very good albums. I'm also a big fan of Listen, and because of it wish Jordan would provide the occasional vocal in DT.  And of course he has some fantastic work in the two LTE albums as well.

4. John Petrucci - Let me start by saying Suspended Animation is my favorite instrumental CD. I absolutely love his riffs on it and the very strong songwriting in general. I just wish it didn't take him what seems like 10 years to make a solo album. And as with Rudess, some amazing work in LTE.

3. Charlie Dominici - Simply put, Dominici's last two albums are two of the most overlooked gems in the progressive metal genre. I would not say either is perfect, and he isn't breaking any revolutionary ground, but they are fantastic progressive metal albums. Charlie's voice has improved since the WDaDU days (even though I loved him back then), and he surrounded himself with great musicians. As a kicker, the first acoustic album is also something I really enjoy.

2. James LaBrie - Not only has LaBrie's solo material been incredibly strong, but nearly everything this man has guested on in the last 10 years or so is pure fucking win. Ayreon's The Human Equation? Pure fucking win. Redemption's Snowfall on Judgment Day? Pure fucking win. Eden's Curse's Trinity? Pure fucking win. Roswell Six's Beyond the Horizon? Pure fucking win. And let's not forget strong appearances back in the day on records such as Tyranny and Unweaving the Rainbow. I still need to get Winter Rose, and can't wait to because I can only imagine it's good based on LaBrie's track record.

1. Mike Portnoy - It's simply hard to compete with a man who has done so much. For starters he is in Transatlantic, the only DT side-project I'd put in my top 10 favorite bands, and probably even in my top 5. Three amazing albums later it can do no wrong for me. I love his work with Neal Morse, I love his work on OSI and Free, I love his drumming in LTE, I love what I've seen of his tribute band work, and it keeps on going. He just constantly keeps himself involved in cool stuff, and no matter what band he's in he's usually very excited about it and it shows, especially if it comes to the stage.

[bout to crash]

I don't know enough of their stuff to really rank, but Kevin Moore would definitely be higher on my list.

Also I have two Winter Rose tracks and that's enough.

[Zantera]

I actually haven't heard any of the side-projects, except for OSI and Chroma Key.

[emtee]

I think your order is equal with mine but there's a mile wide gap between Portnoy and the next nearest member.

And I agree that the last 2 Dominici albums just kick royal ass.

[nikatapi]

1- Mike Portnoy He has done so much work outside DT, and i like almost everythink, so he deserves the first place.

2- Derek Sherinian Planet X, his solo albums, this man is an amazing player and composer. I really love his work.

3- James LaBrie His solo albums are all good, and i also like his contributions as a guest

4- Kevin Moore O.S.I and Chroma Key are consistently making amazing music, and Kevin Moore has a unique way to make every song have a haunting vibe and atmosphere.

5- John Petrucci/Jordan Rudess I had to put them together, mostly because of LTE, although i like Suspended Animation more than Jordan's solo work.

6- Charlie Dominici The last two parts of his O3 trilogy are very nice prog metal albums, and his voice has improved alot.

7- John Myung To be honest i found both Jelly Jam and Platypus a bit uninteresting.

[skydivingninja]

1. John Petrucci because LTE and Suspended Animation feature some of his all-time best guitar work.
2. Kevin Moore because the awesomeness of Chroma Key makes up for the meh-ness of OSI
3. Jordan Rudess because of LTE, Notes on a Dream, and those piano improv videos he posted after MP left which were just fantastic.  Also Morphwiz is pretty rad.
4. Mike Portnoy because of LTE and Bridge Across Forever.  Don't really care too much about Neal's solo work or the rest of Transatlantic.
5. James LaBrie has some good solo songs but a lot of forgettable ones.
6. John Myung didn't do anything really interesting on the one Jelly Jam album I've heard, so yeah.  Maybe Gordian Knot is better.  Its something I think I'll look into at some point.
7. Charlie Dominici is all the way at the bottom because he doesn't have a great voice and didn't make interesting prog metal music as a solo artist.

Haven't heard any Sherinian stuff so I can't comment.

[Ravenheart]

I haven't heard very much of these. Chroma Key are awesome, OSI didn't do anything for me, and James' solo work is pretty boring.

[Nick]

Fail, fail, I love you, nice comments, nice comments, DAMMIT ZANDER.

[skydivingninja]

I haven't heard very much of these. Chroma Key are awesome, OSI didn't do anything for me, and James' solo work is pretty boring.

Your mission tonight is to listen to Liquid Tension Experiment.  More hooks than a tacklebox.

[Ravenheart]

Fail, fail, I love you, nice comments, nice comments, DAMMIT ZANDER.

I haven't heard very much of these. Chroma Key are awesome, OSI didn't do anything for me, and James' solo work is pretty boring.

Your mission tonight is to listen to Liquid Tension Experiment.  More hooks than a tacklebox.

Really? I never thought they'd be up my ally, but I'll give them a shot and report back.

[zxlkho]

1. Moore (Chroma Key, OSI)
2. Petrucci, Rudess (LTE)
3. LaBrie (solo)
4. Portnoy (Transatlantic)

haven't heard the rest

[Jamesman42]

Going off what I've heard.

1. MP - TA/NM/LTE...can't be topped.
2. JLB - EoP, I still need to hear SI but I bet I will like it.
3. JP - SA/LTE
4. JR - RoT, Listen, NoaD
5. DS - Planet X is cool from the 2 songs I heard, need to check it out more to properly rank it
6. CD - no thanks.

Haven't heard any KM or JMX stuff.

[Jamesman42]

Zander, LTE is like the instrumentalness of DT on adrenaline, and it is VERY good. And it was before JR joined DT, so you can hear some fresh "DT-ish" music.

LTE is such an amazing project. I watched Acid Rain from the DVD recently and it just slayed.

[zxlkho]

Dude, you need to check out Chroma Key and OSI.

[ClairvoyantCat]

I'd go as far as to say Kevin Moore is the only member who has produced music that I really enjoy outside of Dream Theater.  Chroma Key has put out three amazing albums (including Dead Air for Radios, which is an absolute favorite) and OSI, which is generally some very strong material with a few weaknesses. 

I was never grabbed by Liquid Tension Experiment, as the songs never felt like they ever went anywhere interesting. I don't particularly like Transatlantic either.  I guess if I had to place a second, it would be JR, since he is a keyboard idol of mine, though I don't think he's ever produced a particular album that I would consider very "strong" in anything other than the keyboard playing. 

[Jamesman42]

Dude, you need to check out Chroma Key and OSI.

I really should. Give me a good starting OSI and CK album and I'll give them a spin tonight.

[zxlkho]

Blood and Graveyard Mountain Home

[pain of occupation]

it seems we're forgetting DT's newest member in these rankings.

[Ravenheart]

Zander, LTE is like the instrumentalness of DT on adrenaline, and it is VERY good. And it was before JR joined DT, so you can hear some fresh "DT-ish" music.

LTE is such an amazing project. I watched Acid Rain from the DVD recently and it just slayed.

I'll check out some tracks. Any recommendations for a LTE noob?

[ClairvoyantCat]

Dude, you need to check out Chroma Key and OSI.

I really should. Give me a good starting OSI and CK album and I'll give them a spin tonight.

Free and Dead Air for Radios

[Nick]

it seems we're forgetting DT's newest member in these rankings.

Wow, I did just completely overlook him.

I know of his work with LaBrie, but will have to check out more and throw him in there somewhere.

[Jamesman42]

Blood and Graveyard Mountain Home

Blood just started, digging it!

Zander, LTE is like the instrumentalness of DT on adrenaline, and it is VERY good. And it was before JR joined DT, so you can hear some fresh "DT-ish" music.

LTE is such an amazing project. I watched Acid Rain from the DVD recently and it just slayed.

I'll check out some tracks. Any recommendations for a LTE noob?

Acid Rain
State of Grace
Biaxident
Paradigm Shift
(if you can handle 16 minutes) When the Water Breaks

[Ravenheart]

Ok, thanks. If these songs end up sucking, I will bitch incessantly and spam the forum with that llama picture I so adore.

[Jamesman42]

If you think Acid Rain sucks, I will never listen to Emilie Autumn again and will spam her thread to shit.

[wolfking]

8. John Myung
7. Jordan Rudess
6. John Petrucci
5. Kevin Moore
4. Charlie Dominici
3. Mike Portnoy
2. Derek Sherinian
1. James Labrie

[ariich]

1. Mike Portnoy - Aided by simply the volume of what he has worked on, but also because some of those things (LTE, Transatlantic, A7X's Nightmare) I really dig.

2. James Labrie - Again a fantastic amount he has been involved in. Less consistently good than MP's body of work (TSR being a particularly horrible blip, and a couple of others that weren't very good) but his highs have been very high (latest solo album, Ayreon's Human Equation).

3. Jordan Rudess - LTE is fantastic and I really love his solo stuff as well, particularly Rhythm of Time. And his smaller contributions to to things that he does from time to time always add to them I find.

4. Kevin Moore - His work with OSI is fantastic, and I dig his Chroma Key stuff as well. His pure solo stuff I find pretty dull though.

5. John Petrucci - His work in LTE is, as with JR, fantastic, but I find his solo album really uninteresting. Lots of cool riffs and ideas but nothing goes anywhere or has any punch to it.

6. John Myung - Jelly Jam and Platypus were pretty cool, but I was never massively excited by them. He also doesn't really do anything else outside of these and DT.

7. Derek Sherinian - This is a little unfair maybe as I haven't checked out much of his solo stuff yet (keep meaning to) and nor have I heard any BCC, but Planet X, while kind of cool, weren't really my thing for the most part.

8. Charlie Dominici - The only other stuff I've heard was his Dominici albums, and while the latest one had some decent stuff in it, it wasn't hugely exciting, and the others weren't very interesting either.

9. Chris Collins - lol Winterspell

[Dr. DTVT]

Damnit Zander if you don't like LTE I'll shave that fro of yours and ram it down your throat til you choke on it.  I'll give you a pass on not knowing them because of your age though.

[Ryzee]

Ok, thanks. If these songs end up sucking, I will bitch incessantly and spam the forum with that llama picture I so adore.

Kindred Spirits on LTE 1 is where it's at.  Also Raven, I recall you saying before that you don't care for a lot of fast & technical playing, so just warning you that LTE may not be your cup of tea.  But if you can dig through the shreddiness there is a lot of good melody to be found.

[skydivingninja]

Acid Rain
State of Grace
Biaxident
Paradigm Shift
(if you can handle 16 minutes) When the Water Breaks

I would have recommended those exact same songs, maybe adding Kindred Spirits.

[Jamesman42]

Oooh, forgot about that one! Glad to see we're on the same LTE page though!



By the way, listened to Blood and halfway through GMH. So far, Chroma Key > OSI based on those two albums alone. Both are not easily digestible, so they'll warrant repeat listens. I do like them, though not loving it incredibly by any means.

[pain of occupation]

it seems we're forgetting DT's newest member in these rankings.

Wow, I did just completely overlook him.

I know of his work with LaBrie, but will have to check out more and throw him in there somewhere.

hehe. ya, i know the labrie work, as well as all the stuff he did with vai.
i've only heard a small sample of his playing in Extreme. so really, i guess it could be said that everything i know of his is session work. i could also see session work as not really counting in this.

[ytserush]

1. Mike Portnoy -- I dig everything he's touched except for Avenged Sevenfold (Jury still out on A-Mob).  A music connoisseur's music connoisseur.

2.    Jordan Rudess -- I love everything he gets his fingers into.
       Kevin Moore -- Same here.
       Derek Sherinian -- I like everything he's done (Solo, Planet X) since he left the band (Have not heard much of Black Country Communion), he clearly learned from the Dream Theater experience. I guess this means I dig all kinds of keyboard stylings.


5. John Petrucci -- Strangely, I'm not that into his solo album all that much, but Liquid Tension Experiment is among my most listened-to of the side projects.

6. John Myung -- Jelly Jam and Platypus are pretty cool, but not something I revisit frequently.


7. James LaBrie -- I like his contributions to others work, better than his solo stuff

8. Charlie Dominici -- Pretty good for what it is.

9. Chris Collins -- Have not heard any.



Perhaps this ties into my love of instrumental music. There's definately some kind of pattern here.

[Ravenheart]

Damnit Zander if you don't like LTE I'll shave that fro of yours and ram it down your throat til you choke on it.  I'll give you a pass on not knowing them because of your age though.

Dude, I listen to a ton of 80s music. It might be my overall favorite decade of music. 

Ok, thanks. If these songs end up sucking, I will bitch incessantly and spam the forum with that llama picture I so adore.

Kindred Spirits on LTE 1 is where it's at.  Also Raven, I recall you saying before that you don't care for a lot of fast & technical playing, so just warning you that LTE may not be your cup of tea.  But if you can dig through the shreddiness there is a lot of good melody to be found.

This is true, but I'm listening to Acid Rain right now and digging it quite a bit. Pretty technical, but I expected that, and I really enjoy the keywork in this song

[Jamesman42]

Acid Rain...my God...that song is just pure win. My favorite LTE song.

I think you'll really like Biaxident, RH

[glaurung]

1. Kevin Moore - Every OSI album has been better than the last. I love Blood! I also really wish he'd do some more Chroma Key. I love all three of those albums too.

2. Mike Portnoy - All of Transatlantic's albums are fantastic. LTE is also pretty cool.

3. John Petrucci - Great solo album. LTE is also pretty cool

4. James Labrie - Didn't really care for Static Impulse but Elements of Persuasion is pretty good and there are some really great songs scattered around on Mullmuzler.

Haven't heard enough of any of the others to really say.