I don't think The Whirlwind is that great from start to finish. I like a lot of the meat, but the opening and closing tracks sound lackluster and uninspired to my ears. Generically epic, if that makes any sense. "The Wind Blew Them All Away" is the worst chorus Transatlantic has ever written.
I generally don't skip a single track on ADTOE (except BMUBMD occasionally, which is appropriate here because it's also track 2), and I'd actually place most of it (at least more than half) in Dream Theater's Top 30.
A Dramatic Turn Of Events for me.