Buddyhunter1's Top 33 Albums! v.The End

[jingle.boy]

I'll go with Awake.

[Elite]

Awake is not underrated, but after that stunt it would be the only album for me that wouldn't make this list disastrous, so I'll go with that too.

[Buddyhunter1]

it would be the only album for me that wouldn't make this list disastrous

Yeeeeeah, sorry to disappoint you.
I'll post the update in an hour or so.

[crazyaga]

I'm telling you guys, he chose Dramatic Turn Of Events.

[Buddyhunter1]

Alright folks, guessing game's over.

This is it.

My #1 favorite album of all time.

FOR REALS this time.



GET READY!





3...





2...





1...





0.5...





0.0000000000001...




















#1: Dream Theater - Octavarium (2005)



---TRACKLIST---
(1) The Root Of All Evil (2) The Answer Lies Within (3) These Walls (4) I Walk Beside You (5) Panic Attack (6) Never Enough
(7) Sacrificed Sons (8) Octavarium


Octavarium.

My favorite Dream Theater album, and my favorite album of all time.





This album changed everything for me. Along with Black Clouds & Silver Linings, it introduced me to the world of Dream Theater, the world of prog; it was what truly made me a music lover for the fist time. But while Black Clouds & Silver Linings lost some of its charm over time, Octavarium just got better and better. It’s very unique-sounding when compared the rest of Dream Theater’s discography. The biggest problem I’ve always had with the band is that more often than not, they feel quite cheesy, overly dramatic and emotionless. Octavarium never feels like that at all. It’s easily their most emotional and down-to-earth record, and every moment is executed perfectly and with a great deal of dignity. It also has a good amount of variety amongst its eight different tracks, and it experiments with the typical Dream Theater sound, introducing lots of different elements and influences. Special mention must be made of James LaBrie on this record. While his vocals are often criticized by many people (myself included), his performance on this album is perfect. Great delivery, lots of emotion, easily the best album for him since Awake. Most people on here are aware of the many “nuggets” on the album, and while they don’t add that much to the actual music, they’re really cool to discover and make the record feel more cohesive and linked together. Add all this to what already makes Dream Theater my favorite band, and it’s easy to see why this is my favorite album of all time. The songs themselves all stand out amongst each other in their own special ways. While the first track, The Root Of All Evil, sounds the most like a “normal” song for the band, it’s still one of the best songs on the album. It’s a fantastic opener, and has a great length, not too short and not dragged out at all. The two ballads on the record, The Answer Lies Within and I Walk Beside You are both nice, and while they aren’t the best parts of the album, they’re a refreshing departure into the band’s more simple and lighter side. These Walls is absolutely amazing. It has fantastic guitar and keyboard work, emotional lyrics, and great delivery from James LaBrie. It’s a great example of what I mean when I say that the album feels much more down-to-earth and emotional compared to the rest of the band’s discography. Panic Attack is probably the heaviest song the band has ever done, and it kicks tons of ass. The riffs are amazingly brutal. The choruses are extremely well done and epic as hell. Everyone in the band is absolutely on fire. It was the first Dream Theater song I ever heard (Thank you, Rock Band 2!), and it’s still one of my favorites. While Never Enough is generally considered to be the album’s worst track, and is admittedly the cheesiest song on the record, I still like it a lot. It’s got great energy and really cool guitar riffs and keyboard work. Sacrificed Sons is another fantastic track. While it’s not exactly “subtle” about its lyrical topic, it conveys the emotions associated with it very well and has a really fantastic instrumental section and finale. And then there’s the final song, the 24-minute epic, the title track, Octavarium. It is, and probably will be forever, my absolute favorite song of all time. It’s the musical equivalent of the greatest sex you’ve ever had. It starts out slow and calm, gradually increases in intensity, gets better and better as it goes on, and when it reaches its bursting point, explodes into pure bliss. Then, when it’s all over, you feel absolutely satisfied and can only look back and think about what a fucking amazing experience you just had. The song is everything an epic should be. It takes its time to build up to its greatest moments. All of its movements are strong, transition together seamlessly, and just get better and better with each one. It has the best flow of any song I’ve ever heard, and the most epic, satisfying grand finale ever written. Hell, I even love the lengthy Sine On You Crazy Diamond intro. I love every second of the song. All 1,440 of them. Favorite song, favorite album, favorite band, hell, favorite year even. (You can’t deny that 2005 was fucking awesome.) I may be the only person on the planet that likes this record this much, but that doesn’t bother me at all. Octavarium is my favorite album of all time.

---FAVORITE SONGS---
The Root Of All Evil, These Walls, Panic Attack, Octavarium


So there you have it. Like it or not, that is my list of my top 33 favorite albums. Big thanks to all of those who have followed, and stay tuned for one final update with a full list, a few honorable mentions, and a little afterword.

[crazyaga]

Unique choice for "the best album of all time".
I enjoyed following your list  ^.^

[WebRaider]

It's his fav album and that's cool by me. I love Octavarium and also enjoy his previously listed ToT. Nice list and enjoyed the read

[crazyaga]

Its cool by me too, I just said its unique, and unique is a good thing!

[ColdFireYYZ]

I love Octavarium. Its not my favorite DT album and it probably wouldn't be in my top 50 but its still an excellent album (except Never Enough. Can't get into that song). Interesting and surprising pick for sure!

[black_biff_stadler]

Easily their worst album and by a canyon's distance at that imo. At least I agree with your track selection.

[DebraKadabra]

Nice choice for #1 - quite the underrated album IMO.

[adace]

Octavarium's not quite my favorite, but it's in my top three DT albums along with IaW and ToT. Great pick, great list! 

[Buddyhunter1]

Easily their worst album and by a canyon's distance at that imo. At least I agree with your track selection.

Worse than Systematic Chaos and WDADU?
Really?

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

For me, 8V has some of their lowest lows, but some of their highest highs. So it's middle of the road for me.

[senecadawg2]

8varium sucks. Just my opinion, but aside from the title track it's a bit boring...

[WebRaider]

Opinions are opinions, but some of you are crazy to be hating on 8Varium IMO. It's not MY fav but it's a thousand times better than BCaSL, Systematic Chaos, and WDADU for me.

[senecadawg2]

Better than SC, Absolutely... But not better than wdadu

In a word, octavarium is: forgettable

[black_biff_stadler]

Easily their worst album and by a canyon's distance at that imo. At least I agree with your track selection.

Worse than Systematic Chaos and WDADU?
Really?

For me? Yeah. SC and 8VM  are the only DT albums where I don't have a single song I unconditionally enjoy. TRoAE is okay for me but is paltry for a song that's supposed to continue the awesomeness of The Glass Prison and This Dying Soul. It has some decent parts but its heaviness pales badly in comparison to TGP and TDS. It also lacks the grandiose vibe of the other two and feels very forgettable to me. I'd like it more if it had nothing to do with the AA saga.

On Panic Attack, JLB's vocals reach that cringe-inducing feminine territory at some points in the chorus and detract from an otherwise awesome song with a ripping solo section. The title track remains my biggest DT disappointment to date. I was pretty stoked when I saw they'd made a 24-minute song and expected something on par with Metropolis and ACOS. I couldn't have been more wrong.

The remaining tracks are all DT bottom 20 stuff for me and have never come remotely close to gripping me. I go back to the album a few times a year but it only reinforces my feeling that the album was mired in DT having an identity crisis by simultaneously trying to sound like other bands, trying to win back their non-metal fans who were put off by ToT, and trying to lure in new fans with uninspired filler like TALW and IWBY.

A while back, the title track began to slightly improve for me but barely since it hasn't been enough to make me wanna listen to it at any other point in time except for when I'm forcing myself to listen to the album to try to let it grow on me.

As for SC, ITPoE is much more of an enjoyable epic than 8VM imo. Of course the "dark master within..." section is painfully boring but the first 8 minutes are pretty damn solid. CM and TDeN are also fun in a tolerably meatheady way so they at least have some degree of accessibility for me.

As far as WDaDU goes, I think people just like to take the easy way out and shit on it cuz of CD's vocals despite the fact that his somber delivery seems to fit the album's mood much better than JLB's would have. The other cop-out is griping about the production. I think that's just laughable and ironic for a fanbase that generally prides itself on not dismissing music for petty reasons the way the general public does. Every instrument can be fairly easily discerned in the mix but, despite this, people seem to take issue with it not having that audio "glossiness" of the other albums. Most importantly, it isn't weighed down by a "single" type track. In general, DT's short, simple songs have been some of their least impressive except for Wait For Sleep so it's a big plus for me that all of WDaDU's songs have some "meat" on 'em for lack of a less shitty way of wording it.

[black_biff_stadler]

*double post*

[Elite]

My least favourite DT album by a landslide and pretty much the only DT album I would ever refer to as being 'bad'. Good job!

And that's too harsh probably; your list, your rules, but I disagree very much.

[jingle.boy]

8vm is a great album.  Not my favorite DT, but it's up there.  The title track alone makes it a top 50 album.  Haters can go pound sand.   

[Rattlehead]

The remaining tracks are all DT bottom 20 stuff for me and have never come remotely close to gripping me. I go back to the album a few times a year but it only reinforces my feeling that the album was mired in DT having an identity crisis by simultaneously trying to sound like other bands, trying to win back their non-metal fans who were put off by ToT, and trying to lure in new fans with uninspired filler like TALW and IWBY.

Couldn't agree more with that... not to rain on the OP's parade but considering how much I love DT it was slightly frustrating to me how bad this album is. When I bought it I tried so hard to get into it, not wanting to believe I had just wasted my money on this album... but it just never happened. IWBY is so awful that it's actually laughable to me. I know I'm in the minority here but I think SC crushes this album, it's much more fun to listen to even if it's corny at times (not like 8vm isn't). 8vm is all the way at the bottom of my list of DT albums, the only thing that keeps it from being downright awful imo is that TRoAE and 8vm are both decent songs. While I do like the title track, I just don't get the crazy love it gets here. It seems like people have a tendency to overrate "epics" for whatever reason.

Anyway, it was a nice list to follow  Definitely unpredictable, which was cool.

[pain of occupation]

Dream Theater, aka your favorite band, are more often than not emotionless?!!
(my wife just asked if youre sure theyre your favorite band)

anywayz, cool pick and interesting choice for a number one. 

[Buddyhunter1]

Dream Theater, aka your favorite band, are more often than not emotionless?!!
(my wife just asked if youre sure theyre your favorite band)

That might be a bit harsh, but they could definitely use a bit more at times. (Same for a lot of prog metal bands, not just DT.)
And yes, I am sure they are my favorite regardless.

[pain of occupation]

cool. i assumed it had to be an exaggeration or just slightly misworded.

i pretty much love all DT material, fanboy style. but retrospectively, i feel like octavarium is the most recent album of theirs that i still get the desire to spin in full.

[Scorpion]

Wow. This is an album that I never expected, I must say. I really enjoyed your write-up, but I'm afraid that my opinions on Octavarium are diametrically opposed to yours - in fact, after listening to this album a few times during the last two weeks, I can safely say that the only songs I really enjoy are The Root of All Evil, These Walls and sometimes Sacrificed Sons. The rest of the album is just as chore to listen to, in my opinion, which makes it my least favourite DT album.

To end on a positive note: your list was very cool, a lot of the stuff appealed to me and you inspired me to check out Alien again, which kicked my ass for its whole duration, so thanks for that!

[Lowdz]

8v is lower middle tier for me. Better than SC and FII, but DT don't do crap albums.
You were right with I&W 

[Dr. DTVT]

I used to love 8vm, but now it and ToT fight it out for second least favorite DT album.  SC has a death grip on least favorite though.

[Cedar redaC]

Good choice dude, great list.

[Mladen]

Wow, I couldn't see this coming. Octavarium isn't one of my favorite DT releases, but it's still really good and likable. I haven't listened to it in while, I have to admit that. Hopefully today I'll give it a spin.

[WindMaster]

I haven't listened to this in awhile, but I remember it being a chore to listen to, like Scorp said. These Walls kicks ass though.

[Buddyhunter1]

---BUDDYHUNTER1'S TOP 33 ALBUMS: FULL LIST---

33: Gorillaz - Demon Days (2005)
32: Meshuggah - Koloss (2012)
31: Mastodon - Crack The Skye (2009)
30: Nightwish - Once (2004)
29: Periphery - Periphery II (2012)
28: Thrice - The Alchemy Index (2007/2008)
27: Pink Floyd - Wish You Were here (1975)
26: Oceansize - Frames (2007)
25: Between The Buried And Me - The Great Misdirect (2009)
24: Dethklok - Dethalbum II (2009)
23: Strapping Young Lad - Strapping Young Lad (2003)
22: Sigur Rós - ( ) (2002)
21: OSI - Office Of Strategic Influence (2003)
20: Pendulum - Immersion (2010)
19: Katatonia - Dead End Kings (2012)
18: Unexpect - Fables Of The Sleepless Empire (2011)
17: Gojira - The Way Of All Flesh (2008)
16: Opeth - Ghost Reveries (2005)
15: Meshuggah - obZen (2008)
14: Porcupine Tree - Deadwing (2005)
13: Tool - Ænima (1996)
12: Guilt Machine - On This Perfect Day (2009)
11: Tool - Lateralus (2001)
10: Storm Corrosion - Storm Corrosion (2012)
9: Between The Buried And Me - Colors (2007)
8: Porcupine Tree - Fear Of A Blank Planet (2007)
7: Devin Townsend - Addicted (2009)
6: Unexpect - In A Flesh Aquarium (2006)
5: Strapping Young Lad - Alien (2005)
4: Dream Theater - Train Of Thought (2003)
3: Opeth - Blackwater Park (2001)
2: Devin Townsend - Deconstruction (2011)
1: Dream Theater - Octavarium (2005)



---HONORABLE MENTIONS---

Here's a few albums that I've grown to like a lot recently, and definitely would have made the cut if I was starting my list today.

Gojira - Terra Incognita
Rarely does a band release a debut album as kickass as this. Pure, brutal metal with a raw production, a relentless barrage of amazing riff after amazing riff, and some of the band's best songs. It has a very different sound than the rest of Gojira's albums. It's very straight-forward, focused, and simple, compared to their later, bigger and more grandiose-sounding records. But that's what I like about it, and it's also got that alien, unsettling atmosphere that gives it a good sense of uniqueness. It's a bit of a shame Gojira never released another album with this sound, it's a fantastic record that leaves me wanting more.

Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain
Agalloch is hands-down one of my greatest musical discoveries of this year, and I can already say this album would be pretty damn close to my top ten. Every song on it is amazing, and there's never a weak moment. It's just a constant stream of brilliant composition. While the weird black metal vocals were a bit jarring at first, the wintery, atmospheric, and beautiful music more than makes up for it. If you're a fan of Opeth or other similar atmospheric metal bands, definitely give this one a try. It's a near-flawless record.

Pink Floyd - Animals
I kinda hated this album when I first listened to it. Nothing really grabbed me, and a lot of time it simply felt painfully boring. Needless to say, it's grown on me a lot. It's not quite as good as Wish You Were Here, but it's pretty damn close. The three big tracks are all equally amazing to the point where I'm not even quite sure which one is my favorite. They're all fantastic in their own ways. I'm sure everyone here has already listened to this album many, many times, so I don't really need to elaborate any further. Great, great album.

Agalloch - The Mantle
There's a lot of debate on whether Ashes Against The Grain or The Mantle is Agalloch's best record. This is quite unsurprising, frankly, since both albums are just so damn good. While I prefer Ashes, The Mantle is also absolutely amazing. It's got a more quieter vibe with more acoustic guitars, it's even more atmospheric than Ashes, and it's got my favorite Agalloch song, In The Shadow Of Our Pale Companion. That said, it's just not quite as consistently brilliant as Ashes. But that's not saying much at all. Fantastic record, would probably be in my top twenty.



---EPILOGUE---

Well, that's all, folks. I must say, I'm a bit relieved that this is finally over. Making all those write-ups is certainly time consuming. I'm aware that a lot of them could have been a lot shorter, but hey, I like putting my all into this stuff! Hopefully it showed. Thank you to all who have followed this list, I hope you had a good time. I'm still a relative newbie to those forums, but I definitely plan on sticking around. The community here is great, and I've discovered a lot of new music here that I probably would not have found otherwise. I'm actually still pretty new to being a music lover, hence why this list might seem a bit... limited. That said, I definitely plan on doing a full top 50 sometime in the distant future. Don't count on that happening anytime soon, though.
Once again, thank you to those who have taken the time to follow this list and read my wall of text write-ups. I know that my opinions may be controversial and hard to agree with sometimes, but hey, that's what makes talking about music interesting. More than any other art form, it really boils down to personal taste. Music is in the ear of the beholder. Something that you love to pieces may sound like absolute crap to someone else, and vice versa. And there's nothing wrong with that. Be respectful of others opinions while maintaining your own. Don't be ashamed of your music tastes, because they're YOUR music tastes. Be proud of that.

Goodnight, folks.

[WebRaider]

---BUDDYHUNTER1'S TOP 33 ALBUMS: FULL LIST---

33: Gorillaz - Demon Days (2005)
32: Meshuggah - Koloss (2012)
31: Mastodon - Crack The Skye (2009)
30: Nightwish - Once (2004)
29: Periphery - Periphery II (2012)
28: Thrice - The Alchemy Index (2007/2008)
27: Pink Floyd - Wish You Were here (1975)
26: Oceansize - Frames (2007)
25: Between The Buried And Me - The Great Misdirect (2009)
24: Dethklok - Dethalbum II (2009)
23: Strapping Young Lad - Strapping Young Lad (2003)
22: Sigur Rós - ( ) (2002)
21: OSI - Office Of Strategic Influence (2003)
20: Pendulum - Immersion (2010)
19: Katatonia - Dead End Kings (2012)
18: Unexpect - Fables Of The Sleepless Empire (2011)
17: Gojira - The Way Of All Flesh (2008)
16: Opeth - Ghost Reveries (2005)
15: Meshuggah - obZen (2008)
14: Porcupine Tree - Deadwing (2005)
13: Tool - Ænima (1996)
12: Guilt Machine - On This Perfect Day (2009)
11: Tool - Lateralus (2001)
10: Storm Corrosion - Storm Corrosion (2012)
9: Between The Buried And Me - Colors (2007)
8: Porcupine Tree - Fear Of A Blank Planet (2007)
7: Devin Townsend - Addicted (2009)
6: Unexpect - In A Flesh Aquarium (2006)
5: Strapping Young Lad - Alien (2005)
4: Dream Theater - Train Of Thought (2003)
3: Opeth - Blackwater Park (2001)
2: Devin Townsend - Deconstruction (2011)
1: Dream Theater - Octavarium (2005)



---HONORABLE MENTIONS---

Here's a few albums that I've grown to like a lot recently, and definitely would have made the cut if I was starting my list today.

Gojira - Terra Incognita
Rarely does a band release a debut album as kickass as this. Pure, brutal metal with a raw production, a relentless barrage of amazing riff after amazing riff, and some of the band's best songs. It has a very different sound than the rest of Gojira's albums. It's very straight-forward, focused, and simple, compared to their later, bigger and more grandiose-sounding records. But that's what I like about it, and it's also got that alien, unsettling atmosphere that gives it a good sense of uniqueness. It's a bit of a shame Gojira never released another album with this sound, it's a fantastic record that leaves me wanting more.

Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain
Agalloch is hands-down one of my greatest musical discoveries of this year, and I can already say this album would be pretty damn close to my top ten. Every song on it is amazing, and there's never a weak moment. It's just a constant stream of brilliant composition. While the weird black metal vocals were a bit jarring at first, the wintery, atmospheric, and beautiful music more than makes up for it. If you're a fan of Opeth or other similar atmospheric metal bands, definitely give this one a try. It's a near-flawless record.

Pink Floyd - Animals
I kinda hated this album when I first listened to it. Nothing really grabbed me, and a lot of time it simply felt painfully boring. Needless to say, it's grown on me a lot. It's not quite as good as Wish You Were Here, but it's pretty damn close. The three big tracks are all equally amazing to the point where I'm not even quite sure which one is my favorite. They're all fantastic in their own ways. I'm sure everyone here has already listened to this album many, many times, so I don't really need to elaborate any further. Great, great album.

Agalloch - The Mantle
There's a lot of debate on whether Ashes Against The Grain or The Mantle is Agalloch's best record. This is quite unsurprising, frankly, since both albums are just so damn good. While I prefer Ashes, The Mantle is also absolutely amazing. It's got a more quieter vibe with more acoustic guitars, it's even more atmospheric than Ashes, and it's got my favorite Agalloch song, In The Shadow Of Our Pale Companion. That said, it's just not quite as consistently brilliant as Ashes. But that's not saying much at all. Fantastic record, would probably be in my top twenty.



---EPILOGUE---

Well, that's all, folks. I must say, I'm a bit relieved that this is finally over. Making all those write-ups is certainly time consuming. I'm aware that a lot of them could have been a lot shorter, but hey, I like putting my all into this stuff! Hopefully it showed. Thank you to all who have followed this list, I hope you had a good time. I'm still a relative newbie to those forums, but I definitely plan on sticking around. The community here is great, and I've discovered a lot of new music here that I probably would not have found otherwise. I'm actually still pretty new to being a music lover, hence why this list might seem a bit... limited. That said, I definitely plan on doing a full top 50 sometime in the distant future. Don't count on that happening anytime soon, though.
Once again, thank you to those who have taken the time to follow this list and read my wall of text write-ups. I know that my opinions may be controversial and hard to agree with sometimes, but hey, that's what makes talking about music interesting. More than any other art form, it really boils down to personal taste. Music is in the ear of the beholder. Something that you love to pieces may sound like absolute crap to someone else, and vice versa. And there's nothing wrong with that. Be respectful of others opinions while maintaining your own. Don't be ashamed of your music tastes, because they're YOUR music tastes. Be proud of that.

Goodnight, folks.

Although you may be new to being a music lover as you noted; you definitely have the right approach. Like what you like and go with it. I don't begrudge anyone their own favorites as long as everyone can respectfully agree/disagree... we're all good.

[black_biff_stadler]

I have 12 of the 33 albums in your list, a 36.4% match. Let's go get coffee sometime, cowboy

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

26 here.