Distance Over Time: I ranked this at #7. It doesn't have any all-time classics like a lot of DT albums have, but I think it's one of their most consistently enjoyable albums.
Top 5: Pale Blue Dot, Barstool Warrior, Fall Into the Light, S2N, Room 137
AVFTTOTW: I ranked this at #11. Similarly to Distance Over Time, I think this another one of the band's most consistent albums. However, I find that this album has the lowest highs of any DT album, so it's tough to justify ranking it higher.
Top 5: Sleeping Giant, Transcending Time, A View From the Top of the World, Awaken the Master, Answer the Call
Train of Thought: I ranked this at #12. I love almost every song on this album, but Honor Thy Father is my least favorite Dream Theater song, and it really drags this album down in my rankings. Really great album otherwise; if I made my list on another day, I could have easily ranked this two or three spots higher just on the strength of how awesome the rest of these albums are.
Top 5: This Dying Soul, In the Name of God, Stream of Consciousness, Endless Sacrifice, As I Am
Octavarium: I ranked this at #4. The title track is easily the highlight of the entire album (and one of the greatest songs in DT history), but I also enjoy everything else on this album. Sure, there are some songs that I don't really listen to often, but I think they're still pretty good as well. Even if I disregarded the title track, this album would be #6 or #7 at worst.
Top 5: Octavarium, The Root of All Evil, Panic Attack, Never Enough, These Walls
A Dramatic Turn of Events: I ranked this at #6. Generally, I think this is a very strong album. There's a lot of memorable songs here, like On the Backs of Angels, Bridges in the Sky, and especially Breaking All Illusions. It's not quite one of my favorites, but there's a lot to like and not really anything to dislike.
Top 5: Breaking All Illusions, Bridges in the Sky, Outcry, This is the Life, Build Me Up, Break Me Down
Awake: I ranked this at #10. This album has some great songs, but there's also a few songs that are just okay. It's a very good DT album for sure, but I wouldn't rank it as one of their best. The "A Mind Beside Itself" suite is one of the greatest things the band has ever done, and if I were to consider it one song in my song rankings, it would absolutely be in the Top 10.
Top 5: Voices, Erotomania, The Silent Man, The Mirror, Innocence Faded
Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence: My favorite Dream Theater album of all time. I'm surprised it got to #3, I was expecting Awake to beat it! Every song on here is perfection, except for The Great Debate which is merely close to perfection. There is so much I love about this album that it would take a very long time to explain. This is Dream Theater at their absolute best, and Dream Theater's best is a level of greatness that very few things can hope to compare to.
Top 6: Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, Disappear, The Glass Prison, Blind Faith, Misunderstood, The Great Debate
Images and Words: I ranked this at #9. Most of the songs on this album are ones I would consider DT classics, but for some reason or other, this album as a whole has never grabbed me in the way that a lot of other DT albums have. I don't think I'd ever rank this album as highly as most others do, but I say it's still very deserving of all the praise it gets.
Top 5: Surrounded, Learning to Live, Metropolis Part 1, Another Day, Wait For Sleep
Metropolis, Part 2: Scenes From a Memory: I ranked this at #3. This is an album where every so often I think about it and say, "it's good, but it's not THAT good". And then I listen to it again and say, "nevermind, this really is that good." What a fantastic album this is. It's got everything I could possibly want from a Dream Theater album, and I really like that the band kept going in this direction of songwriting for a long time. I love long and technical instrumental sections, and I think Dream Theater consistently do these sections really well. The performances by everyone is amazing, and there's a lot of emotion. Just a great album overall, and I am very content that this is the album that made it to the top spot of this community ranking list.
Top 5: Finally Free, The Spirit Carries On, Home, Beyond This Life, Fatal Tragedy
Thank you for hosting this, Kev! I thought this was pretty fun.
