Author Topic: Top 50 Most-Played Albums on my iPod  (Read 12142 times)

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Offline The Letter M

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Re: Top 50 Most-Played Albums on my iPod
« Reply #35 on: December 29, 2012, 09:27:17 PM »
How am I keeping up you ask?  Buy owning all you've posted.  Loving this list, well, because it's my taste in music. :lol

You know what this means, though - if there's anything on the next half of this list that you DON'T own, you will have to go out and buy it!!! Promise yourself right now that you will, mostly because it would feel weird if you only owns 47 out of my 50... you know you feel that way! :rollin

-Marc.
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Offline ColdFireYYZ

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Re: Top 50 Most-Played Albums on my iPod
« Reply #36 on: December 29, 2012, 10:25:41 PM »
Nice to see Drama so high on your list!  :tup

Offline Unlegit

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Re: Top 50 Most-Played Albums on my iPod
« Reply #37 on: December 29, 2012, 10:58:17 PM »
Another 5 that I own!

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Re: Top 50 Most-Played Albums on my iPod
« Reply #38 on: December 30, 2012, 04:32:40 AM »
How am I keeping up you ask?  Buy owning all you've posted.  Loving this list, well, because it's my taste in music. :lol

You know what this means, though - if there's anything on the next half of this list that you DON'T own, you will have to go out and buy it!!! Promise yourself right now that you will, mostly because it would feel weird if you only owns 47 out of my 50... you know you feel that way! :rollin

-Marc.

You know I will!  BTW, I'd love to add my love for Drama.  I remember buying that album on a snow day from school in 1979 and my cousin and I walk an hour through the snow to get to a bus stop to go to the mall to get to our favorite music store to buy it. Got back 3 hours later and listened to it twice.  Love it to this day.
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Offline jingle.boy

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Re: Top 50 Most-Played Albums on my iPod
« Reply #39 on: December 30, 2012, 06:11:00 AM »
I was never a huge Yes fan, so I only have a few of their albums.  Neal Morse... I love, but don't own any of his solo records.  PT... can't.  I've tried, but they don't put a spring in my step.
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Offline The Letter M

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Re: Top 50 Most-Played Albums on my iPod
« Reply #40 on: December 30, 2012, 12:41:29 PM »
This is the part of this list where we reach over 100 plays, and the range gets crazy from here on out...

25. Unfold The Future by The Flower Kings (97 Plays) - My 2nd most played TFK album, and rightfully so! It's in my Top 3 TFK albums of all time, and I'll be honest - I love it by sheer length alone. This album is over 2.5 hours long! Heck, the opening track is a half-hour in itself! This was a brave and bold album for TFK, and their almost sudden-change in sound and style took hold of me. The jazz/fusion influence brought in by Zoltan Csörsz impressed me in a way few drummers do, and between his playing and the ability for the band to come up with stunning improvisations REALLY impressed me. This album had everything the TFK could throw in to an album at the time, and then some, and I can safely say I truly enjoy every second of it, from the sometime weird and wacky improv sounds, to the majestic and beautiful symphonic moments.

24. Feel Euphoria by Spock's Beard (99 Plays) - You're probably saying to yourself "Marc, why is FE so high up? Where are the other SB albums?!"...and then you'd stop and think "Well, if he's played FE this much, how much has he played the OTHER 8 SB albums?!". Well, I DO love Spock's Beard, and while the first album for each era (The Light and this) have the fewest plays, I still enjoy both. This was a huge transitional album, and the band was finding their feet, and so the sound is varied across the board. It took me a couple of years and returns to this album to fully enjoy it, but there are plenty of great tracks on here, like "Ghost Of Autumn" and the epic suite "A Guy Named Sid". After getting to know the SB discography pretty intimately, I knew this album had it's place. The playing is still undoubtedly SB, and while Neal's absence is obvious beyond the vocals, I can truly appreciate this album as a band that wasn't quite sure but still pulled it off.

23. Black Clouds & Silver Linings by Dream Theater (103 Plays) - It is interesting that this album is already up here, but with each new DT release since I got an iPod, I've listened to their albums a LOT (so you can guess what that means for ADTOE). Looking back at my iPod, even Systematic Chaos had 67 plays, which put it just out of range for this Top 50, but this album was quite the behemoth when it came out. Six songs, with four being over 10 minutes long?! It was an epic-lovers wet-dream, and surely enough, after the album came out, it excited me to no end! I was one of the half-of-the-fandom to really enjoy the album at release, and I still do. The opening and closing epics are quite different from anything they had done before, and as I've mentioned, that excited me! I still don't really care TOO much for "A Rite Of Passage", but the other three are great. Although to be honest, I'm not sure if this album would be middle-of-the-pack, or top-tier. With 11 albums, I think I could comfortably put this in my Top 6 DT albums (mean, smack-dab in the middle).

22. Permanent Waves by Rush (105 Plays) - This is not the highest play Rush album on this list, but of the this and the two that are left, I can say this is a Top 5 Rush album. This was another transitional album for the band - they had just released two hugh prog albums, but have no shifted a bit to doing some more (seemingly) radio-friendly track, but still making the songs equally difficult! Six songs, all unique and different from each other, but all gems. Of course, who cannot love tracks like "The Spirit Of Radio" and "Freewill", but it was the longer "epics" the close each side that drew my attention. This band still had it, and if anything, was doing it heavier! Like the album that follows it, I really can't say too much more because everything GOOD about this album has already been said.

21. Fear Of A Blank Planet/Nil Recurring by Porcupine Tree (105 Plays) - Like many albums on this list, I listen to it in a different tracklist order, but this one is official - it's the LP vinyl tracklist:
1. "Fear of a Blank Planet" – 7:28
2. "My Ashes" – 5:07
3. "Cheating The Polygraph" – 7:10
4. "Anesthetize" – 17:46
5. "Sentimental" – 5:26
6. "Way Out of Here" – 7:37
7. "Sleep Together" – 7:28
8. "Nil Recurring" – 6:08
9. "Normal" – 7:09
10. "What Happens Now?" – 8:23

Now, whether by design or coincidence, all 10 tracks fit onto a single CD-r, and after Nil Recurring was released, this was (and still is) the only way I listen to this album, and it completes the listening experience for me. I've said all this before in the PT thread (I'm sure), so I'll spare the technical stuff. I will say this, though - this album is probably my favorite PT album, and is the most played on my iPod. It was the band's first new album after I became a fan of them, and my anticipation was high, especially after albums like In Absentia and Deadwing, both of which I loved. When this album came out, I was so blown away that when I found out they were coming to Baltimore (the closest city they were playing), I HAD to go, and I did! It was an amazing show, and I don't save up for concerts...ever. I'm more of a listen-at-home kind of music lover, but this show was worth it. I was on the 2nd floor, above the band on Gavin's side, and being a drummer, I had to get a good look at his kit and his playing. I wasn't too interested in being jammed around people in the pit in front of the band (though I was there early enough to be at the front of the stage and touch SW's shoes if I wanted). From the 2nd floor balcony, I was able to watch all the action, especially Gavin. A memorable night, and an even more memorable album.

-Marc.
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Online King Postwhore

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Re: Top 50 Most-Played Albums on my iPod
« Reply #41 on: December 30, 2012, 01:46:57 PM »
Got them all again but I have to be honest, I haven't listened to Unfold The Future in a long time.  Sounds like I will have to spin it again.
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down'.” - Bob Newhart
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Offline Unlegit

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Re: Top 50 Most-Played Albums on my iPod
« Reply #42 on: December 30, 2012, 01:48:41 PM »
Nice! 5 more albums that I have  :tup

Offline The Letter M

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Re: Top 50 Most-Played Albums on my iPod
« Reply #43 on: December 30, 2012, 05:15:02 PM »
Nice! 5 more albums that I have  :tup
Got them all again but I have to be honest, I haven't listened to Unfold The Future in a long time.  Sounds like I will have to spin it again.

Glad you guys are keeping up! The next batch, which I'll do a little later, might have a couple curve balls and throw you guys for a loop!

And kingshmegland - UTF is amazing. The epics are great, but the shorter songs are great too. And as with all long/double albums, listening to it in one go greatly enhances the whole listening experience! There's a greater sense of flow when you hear all of it, especially with the shared melodies and themes throughout.

-Marc.
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Online King Postwhore

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Re: Top 50 Most-Played Albums on my iPod
« Reply #44 on: December 30, 2012, 05:20:51 PM »
Some just slip through the cracks when you have 15,000 songs on your I=Pod. :lol
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down'.” - Bob Newhart
So wait, we're spelling it wrong and king is spelling it right? What is going on here? :lol -- BlobVanDam
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Offline The Letter M

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Re: Top 50 Most-Played Albums on my iPod
« Reply #45 on: December 30, 2012, 05:46:14 PM »
Some just slip through the cracks when you have 15,000 songs on your I=Pod. :lol

15,000?! Geez... do you have the 160G? I only have the 80G iPod Classic, and at the time I bought it, it was more than enough, but as the years have passed, it's definitely become not enough! I've been thinking about saving up for a new iPod.

-Marc.
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Online King Postwhore

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Re: Top 50 Most-Played Albums on my iPod
« Reply #46 on: December 30, 2012, 05:48:45 PM »
Yeah, I have the 160GB and I have about 240 GB of music on my computer.  Music and sports are my mistresses. :lol
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down'.” - Bob Newhart
So wait, we're spelling it wrong and king is spelling it right? What is going on here? :lol -- BlobVanDam
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Offline Elite

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Re: Top 50 Most-Played Albums on my iPod
« Reply #47 on: December 30, 2012, 05:52:40 PM »
Great list so far, but this list shows me - once again - that I have to buy a lot more music :P
Hey dude slow the fuck down so we can finish together at the same time.  :biggrin:
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Offline Cedar redaC

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Re: Top 50 Most-Played Albums on my iPod
« Reply #48 on: December 30, 2012, 05:57:04 PM »
Great list so far, but this list shows me - once again - that I have to buy a lot more music :P

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Offline The Letter M

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Re: Top 50 Most-Played Albums on my iPod
« Reply #49 on: December 30, 2012, 06:48:51 PM »
Great list so far, but this list shows me - once again - that I have to buy a lot more music :P

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 :lol Very true, and I think, for the better! And now I continue with the next batch of five...


20. Clockwork Angels by Rush (107 Plays) - This is the newest album on this list, and deservedly so, as it's probably my album of the year for 2012. My favorite band came out with an album that rocks harder than any of their past four, and not only that, it's a concept album! The songs are great, the themes are great, and the playing is spectacular. When I first heard "Headlong Flight", I almost had to stop and check it was still 2012 and I wasn't magically transported back to the 1980's when the band had this kind of power! While many aging prog bands show their age as their records mellow out (I'm looking at you, Yes), the rise in strength and power in Rush's albums since Counterparts shows that they aren't slowing down any time soon. This will certainly be a favorite for decades to come, and a Top 10 Rush album for sure!

19. One (Special Edition) by Neal Morse (107 Plays) - Again, here's an album that I listen to with an altered track list, but this was more or less official:
1.   "The Creation"     18:22
2.   "Back to the Garden"     4:26
3.   "The Man's Gone"     2:50
4.   "Nothing to Believe"     3:29
5.   "Author of Confusion"     9:30
6.   "The Separated Man"     17:58
7.   "Cradle to the Grave"     4:55
8.   "Help Me / The Spirit and the Flesh"     11:13
9.   "King Jesus"     4:48
10.   "Father of Forgiveness"     5:46
11.   "Reunion"  9:11

Straight from Randy George's mouth, the bonus disc original songs fit into the story of the album, and so I decided that, after discovering that tidbit, I would only ever listen to the album in it's full 95 minute glory! The first studio album to feature Randy George, this is a trio that is finding it's place as a band, Neal produces some great music on here, and this is why it is one of my favorites of his. The epics are classic Neal Morse, while the shorter tunes like "King Jesus" and "Cradle To The Grave" have the power of pop that Neal always has a penchant for. If anyone has this album, I suggest listening to it in this order! I love it even more with the extra tracks, especially the rocking "King Jesus"!

18. Falling Into Infinity by Dream Theater (110 Plays) - And again, here's an album I listen to with all of it's B-sides, but this time I combine FII album, Cleaning Out The Closet tracks, and FII Demo versions:

 1. Raise The Knife (COTC)
 2. Where Are You Now? (COTC)
 3. Take Away My Pain (Demo)
 4. You Or Me (from the Hollow Years single)
 5. Hollow Years (Demo)
 6. Burning My Soul
 7. Hell's Kitchen
 8. Lines In The Sand

 1. New Millennium
 2. Cover My Eyes (COTC)
 3. Peruvian Skies
 4. Speak To Me (COTC)
 5. Just Let Me Breath
 6. The Way It Used To Be (COTC)
 7. Anna Lee
 8. Trial Of Tears

To me, this is the best possible combination of all the tracks recorded and released at the time of this album, and I truly enjoy the whole album more as a result of this mixing of tracks! The demo versions of TAMP and HY are just stunning and it pains me that they changed them for the album. Likewise, "You Or Me" is just tons better than "You Not Me". The rest of the tracks used are pretty great as they were, and the COTC B-Sides are great prog-pop from a band that was boldly trying new things, especially due to new influences and inspirations brought by Derek Sherinian. I've often wondered what a 2nd album with Derek would have sounded like, but because we'll never know, I put together the best of the era in on playlist I proudly call Falling Into Infinity.

17. Happiness Is The Road (Vol. 1 & 2) by Marillion (110 Plays) - The first of two Marillion albums to appear on this list (and you can probably guess the other), this was the band's first new album when I finally came around to enjoying their music in 2006 or so. This two-volume album had some really special moments, especially on the first disc, which flows continuously until the epic title track. It's like an emotional roller-coaster of music and words, and the title track is one of my favorite Marillion tracks of all time. The 2nd disc is pretty good too, with their more concise and focused individual tracks, with it's closer being a powerful one as well. After the luke-warm Somewhere Else, this album was HOT when it needed to be, and still very COOL as well. It was a stretch to extremes, but no BAD extremes, just across the entire spectrum of great music!

16. Wall Street Voodoo by Roine Stolt (116 Plays) - Here's one that might throw you guys for a loop - a BLUES album! Well, it's chock full of PROG guys, and still quite Flowery, but it's undeniably blues, at least only in the way that Roine could do. By the time this album came out, I was already a huge fan of Roine, through The Flower Kings AND Transatlantic, and so when I learned that he was releasing a solo DOUBLE album, I knew I had to get it, especially with Neal Morse playing and singing as well! When I got it, I was in for quite a different ride than I had ever been, but Roine's soulful playing seemed like familiar ground to me, and it was. The tracks with Neal are eerily TA-ish, but with a hard rock/blues edge that you would never find on a TA or NM record. Through this album's near-2 hours of music, you really get to hear Roine speak through his guitar in way that's unique and apart from his role in The Flower Kings. If you're a fan of TFK/Roine/TA, and aren't a prog-snob/elitist and enjoy music of ALL types, and if you love blues, DEFINITELY get this album. I don't LOVE blues, but I have a greater appreciation for it because of this album.

WHEW...well these write-ups are getting longer and longer, and now we're down (or up?) to the Final 15! The next batch sure is an interesting one, and I'll give you all a hint - it's ONLY TWO BANDS among the next 5 albums!

-Marc.
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Online King Postwhore

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Re: Top 50 Most-Played Albums on my iPod
« Reply #50 on: December 30, 2012, 07:02:13 PM »
And finally a CD I need to pick up.   Wall Street Voodoo by Roine Stolt.  I love his work in  the FK's and Tranatlantic and Kaipa but never got his solo albums.
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Offline The Letter M

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Re: Top 50 Most-Played Albums on my iPod
« Reply #51 on: December 30, 2012, 07:07:18 PM »
And finally a CD I need to pick up.   Wall Street Voodoo by Roine Stolt.  I love his work in  the FK's and Tranatlantic and Kaipa but never got his solo albums.

I highly recommend it. It's good old blues and rock & roll, with great emphasis on guitars, but there's some great keyboard work too, especially Neal on Hammond organ!

-Marc.
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Offline ColdFireYYZ

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Re: Top 50 Most-Played Albums on my iPod
« Reply #52 on: December 30, 2012, 07:08:08 PM »
Happiness is the Road is a nice surprise. I like Volume 2 a little more than Volume 1, but they are both extremely underrated, especially among fans of the band. Real Tears For Sale, Asylum Satellite #1, This Train Is My Life, and the title track are some of my favorite Marillion songs.

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Re: Top 50 Most-Played Albums on my iPod
« Reply #53 on: December 31, 2012, 06:27:31 AM »
It's amazing that You OR Me is so much better than You NOT Me, isn't it?  I can't really put my finger on why, but they are night and day, despite being very similar.
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Offline The Letter M

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Re: Top 50 Most-Played Albums on my iPod
« Reply #54 on: December 31, 2012, 10:04:45 AM »
Happiness is the Road is a nice surprise. I like Volume 2 a little more than Volume 1, but they are both extremely underrated, especially among fans of the band. Real Tears For Sale, Asylum Satellite #1, This Train Is My Life, and the title track are some of my favorite Marillion songs.

It's been a little while since I've listened to it, but you're right, Volume 2 does have some great songs on it, but the non-stop flow of Volume 1 is what gets me, it's quite like a concept album and all the songs just go together seamlessly.

It's amazing that You OR Me is so much better than You NOT Me, isn't it?  I can't really put my finger on why, but they are night and day, despite being very similar.

It is quite weird, and amazing, but I think the chorus is just so much better in it's original format! The band knew what they were doing, and it's a shame they had changed it.

The next batch of songs will coming shortly!

-Marc.
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Offline The Letter M

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Re: Top 50 Most-Played Albums on my iPod
« Reply #55 on: December 31, 2012, 10:27:22 AM »
15. Power Windows by Rush (125 Plays) - My most played Rush album on my iPod, and with good reason! This album has the perfect blend of guitars and keyboards, 8 powerful songs, all different from each other but all still Rush! Every song is a gem, and is the sole reason I have the screen name "The Letter M" (besides the fact that my name also begins with an "M"). I can't really tell you which songs are my favorites because they ALL are, although I will say that I was, for awhile, burnt out on "The Big Money", I still find it musically interesting! The rest of the tracks are golden, and if you aren't a fan of this album, then I'm sorry for your loss. In the 80's/Synth-Era of Rush, this is the pinnacle, and having said that, I'm kicking myself for not seeing Rush on their last tour leg! :facepalm:

14. Day For Night by Spock's Beard (127 Plays) - And so begins a run of SB albums! This is a good one, not GREAT, but good. The closing suite is one of my favorites, as well as "Crack The Big Sky" and "Gypsy". Of course, the title track is good, as is "The Distance From The Sun", but "Skin" and "Gibberish" are just quite okay, as is "Can't Get It Wrong". This album comes between two better albums, and because of my love for the album that came before it, I found this one not-up-to-par, and like many SB fans, I rank this near the bottom, but by no means does that mean it sucks or I hate it, it just has some of my least favorite SB moments.

13. The Kindness Of Strangers by Spock's Beard (128 Plays) - And speaking of this album, this was one of my favorites early on when I first began listening to SB! "The Good Don't Last", "Harm's Way" and "Flow" are 3 of my favorites, all classic Neal-era SB epics all with great finishes! Then there's the anthemic "June", the best of the shorter songs. the other 3 do a better job than the shorter songs on DFN, and, IMO, are slightly more proggy. Over-all, this is a great SB album, but just misses out in the Top 5.

12. Spock's Beard by Spock's Beard (138 Plays) - Now you're wondering why THIS Spock's Beard album is all the way up here, right? Well, I became a fan not long after Octane was released, so this was the band's first new studio album after I became a fan, and I was QUITE excited for it! At first, I was wondering why it was so different, lots of slow songs and poppier-sounds and even a heavy rocker, and to me it wasn't quite SB, but after years of listening and digesting, I've decided this album was all prog in only the way Nick and company could do it. Of course, as usual, the longer tracks stuck with me ("With Your Kiss" and "As Far As The Mind Can See"), and the opening pair of tracks is one of the best 1-2 punches in the whole SB discography. And while I originally felt tracks 5-9 plodded along, I now appreciate each song for what they are, and find them unique in the grand scheme of SB. This one definitely took awhile to grow on me, but now I enjoy it a lot more. And like the previous entry, it's great, but still misses out in the Top 5.

11. Octane (Special Edition) by Spock's Beard (138 Plays) - This album was the band' newest one when I finally got into their discography, and I even recall buying the Special Edition in my local FYE! I remember reading the back of the package and noticing the group of songs titled "A Flash Before My Eyes", and I knew it was a mini-concept piece and would likely instantly fall in love with it, and I did! The instrumental "NWC" (I still don't know what that means!) is pretty rocking, and the rest of the tracks on Disc 1 are good, on par with what they did on Feel Euphoria, but the tracks on the bonus disc are equally, if not MORE amazing! All 5 of those songs are great and really should have been on the main album and I would not have complained! In fact, I made a CD-r that tacks those 5 tracks at the end of the main album and they all fit! And as a bonus, "Listening To The Sky" ends the album, but on loop, it serves as a nice intro to "A Flash Before My Eyes" (which the band themselves did on the Octane Tour!). Great album, and it rounds out my Top 5 SB albums.

And unlike the other bands on this list, the other 4 SB albums (yet to come) do complete my Top 5!!! Guess you'll have to wait and see which ones are next! The next batch will have quite a bit more variety in bands, though.

-Marc.
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Offline Unlegit

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Re: Top 50 Most-Played Albums on my iPod
« Reply #56 on: December 31, 2012, 11:39:34 AM »
Out of the last two updates, I need to check out the Roine Stolt album. Never could really get into Marillion, but the other albums are all good or better.

Offline jingle.boy

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Re: Top 50 Most-Played Albums on my iPod
« Reply #57 on: December 31, 2012, 11:48:26 AM »
I got in to SB right around the release of Octane as well.  S/T is right at the bottom of my rankings (along with Feel Euphoria), but the other's are right up there.
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Offline jingle.boy

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Re: Top 50 Most-Played Albums on my iPod
« Reply #58 on: December 31, 2012, 01:48:16 PM »
Dream Theater Forums: Expanding musical tastes and shrinking wallets since 2009.

Sig-worthy.
That's a word salad - and take it from me, I know word salad
I fear for the day when something happens on the right that is SO nuts that even Stadler says "That's crazy".
Quote from: Puppies_On_Acid
Remember the mark of a great vocalist is if TAC hates them with a special passion

Online King Postwhore

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Re: Top 50 Most-Played Albums on my iPod
« Reply #59 on: December 31, 2012, 01:50:07 PM »
Another round that I have with Power Windows being my all time favorite album.
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Offline Cedar redaC

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Re: Top 50 Most-Played Albums on my iPod
« Reply #60 on: December 31, 2012, 02:03:46 PM »
Dream Theater Forums: Expanding musical tastes and shrinking wallets since 2009.

Sig-worthy.

 :lol
Perhaps you should ask bosk to reverse the "e" and "a" in the second half of your user name.
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Offline ColdFireYYZ

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Re: Top 50 Most-Played Albums on my iPod
« Reply #61 on: December 31, 2012, 02:37:26 PM »
Power Windows is great. I was really pleased that the Clockwork Angels tour and it was great seeing so many songs from it live.

The Kindness of Strangers is my favorite Spock's Beard album and Day For Night is pretty good too. The self-titled album was actually my first SB album. While it wasn't a very good place to start, I loved On A Perfect Day and Skeletons At The Feast and those two songs made me a fan. Even though its not one of my favorites, its still a decent album. I like Octane as well and She Is Everything is especially great. Nice to see so much SB in this update!

Offline The Letter M

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Re: Top 50 Most-Played Albums on my iPod
« Reply #62 on: December 31, 2012, 04:59:28 PM »
Out of the last two updates, I need to check out the Roine Stolt album. Never could really get into Marillion, but the other albums are all good or better.

Marillion took me a couple of years to get into. Unlike The Flower Kings and Spock's Beard (after Dream Theater and Transatlantic), Marillion was a band of many shades that I only saw separately, and not the whole spectrum. Their sound also changed and evolved over the decades, and as a result, sometimes sound like 2 or more different bands! TFK and SB had more unified sounds, and for me, Fish-Era Marillion was, initially, a cheap Genesis knock-off with cheesy 80's sounds. Since then, which was about 5 or 6 years ago, I've grown to appreciate Marillion more, but I still don't LOVE-love them like I do the many other bands on this list.

I got in to SB right around the release of Octane as well.  S/T is right at the bottom of my rankings (along with Feel Euphoria), but the other's are right up there.

The s/t album took me awhile, so I suggest you give it another spin, with fresh and unexpecting ears! :tup

Another round that I have with Power Windows being my all time favorite album.

Good, you're keeping up! :lol And I'll agree, Power Windows is an amazing album! It was, after all, brought to you by ME! :rollin

Power Windows is great. I was really pleased that the Clockwork Angels tour and it was great seeing so many songs from it live.

The Kindness of Strangers is my favorite Spock's Beard album and Day For Night is pretty good too. The self-titled album was actually my first SB album. While it wasn't a very good place to start, I loved On A Perfect Day and Skeletons At The Feast and those two songs made me a fan. Even though its not one of my favorites, its still a decent album. I like Octane as well and She Is Everything is especially great. Nice to see so much SB in this update!

And there's still more SB to come! Two more albums in the next update (coming soon), and 2 more after that!

-Marc.
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Offline The Letter M

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Re: Top 50 Most-Played Albums on my iPod
« Reply #63 on: December 31, 2012, 05:26:19 PM »
10. V by Spock's Beard (142 Plays) - Here's an album that many consider to be the masterpiece of Neal-Era SB, and I can agree that it's worthy of that title, though it's not my favorite NOR most-played SB album. However, it's got the monstrous epic "The Great Nothing", which, along with the epics on Transatlantic's first two albums, got me hooked on Neal's epic writing. This was solid epic-writing at it's best, and definitely a Top 10 SB tune! The opening track is as great as any SB song ever, and has amazing bass playing by Dave Meros, while "Thoughts Part II" has some awesome vocal parts. The rest of the album ranges from pop to rock to ballad, and while they're good, they're simply overshadowed by the other three tracks. As a whole album, it's definitely better than DFN, slightly better than TKOS, and on par with the next album I'll be talking about...

9. Beware Of Darkness by Spock's Beard (165 Plays) - Who knew that this fledgling prog band would come out of the gate running with a fantastic debut album, and then follow it up with an even better sophomore effort?! While the album's opening AND title track is a George Harrison cover, Neal and company take it to new places, much in the way Yes transformed covers back in the day. Of note are the epics on the album, "The Time Has Come" and the always lovable "The Doorway", with it's "Firth Of Fifth"-esque intro and astounding closing coda! The shorter songs on here are also really good, especially "Thoughts" and "Waste Away". "Walking On The Wind" is the mid-length epic with an anthemic chorus, and "Chatauqua" shows off the band's exemplary acoustic guitar skills! Not a stinker track among the bunch, and definitely a Top 3 SB album for me. It also helps that my girlfriend absolutely loves this album, yet couldn't get into any of the others (even though when we first met, I gave her copies of DFN, V and Snow, she bought BOD on iTunes and hadn't looked back!). Whenever I play this song, we hum and sing along, and it makes me love it even more!

8. A Dramatic Turn Of Events by Dream Theater (178 Plays) - Here's another recent album, one of the newest on this list. This was one of my most anticipated albums of 2011, and it's still a favorite! I can't really say too much more on this album here as I'm sure I've said enough about it on these forums, but I can say that I still play this one regularly, on my iPod, iTunes, in my car and even on my phone! Great songs all around, and the climactic closing set of "Far From Heaven"/"Breaking All Illusions"/"Beneath The Surface" is one of the best of any DT album! Definitely a Top 5 DT album for me, and I hope (though find it hard to think) that DT can surpass this album with their upcoming 12th release!

7. Paradox Hotel by The Flower Kings (200 Plays) - As I have mentioned before, this is my favorite TFK album...well, sometimes it's this, sometimes it's UTF, and other times it's SWA, but this one has the most plays on my iPod, mostly because it was the band's first new album after I became a fan! When I found out it was another double album, I was excited, but when I first got it, I was left wondering why I wasn't enjoying it like I did UTF or SWA. It was different, and the songs are...more like songs. There were less 8-minute mini-epics, there weren't any long improvised jams...but later I found out that most of the album was written acoustically, and done so with more focus towards song-oriented pieces. With that understanding, and the understanding of the album's concept and ideas, I went back to it with fresh ears and I haven't changed my mind since! This was an epic album, which shows MANY sides and facets of TFK, and as I've said plenty of times so far in this thread, this album's uniqueness and different qualities make it a favorite of mine! There's a lot to love on this album, and I've come to enjoy pretty much every song! There are TONS of beautiful moments on here, especially the closing track "Blue Planet" and "What If God Is Alone". Also have to mention "End On A High Note" and "Minor Giant Steps", as well as "Pioneers of Aviation", and of course, the opening epic "Monsters & Men". As they say, variety is the spice of life, and this album has tons of it, whilst still retaining that symphonic and proggy TFK sound they're so well known for!

6. A Tribute To The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway by Rewiring Genesis (204 Plays) - And here's yet another oddball among the bunch! Yes, I *LOVE* the original Lamb, and when I became a fan of Genesis many years ago, I played and played that album to death. Not to the point of disliking it, but I did get tired of it at some point. Fast-forward years later, I learn of this release after hearing Nick's cover of "The Colony Of Slippermen" appear on his MySpace page. I downloaded it and listened to it for WEEKS, hoping there'd be a full album! And to my luck, months later, an announcement! Once I got this album, I stuck with me for months and months! Everything about it is golden - Nick's vocals and drumming, the horn/string/wind arrangements in place of keyboards, the stylistic choices and changes made throughout the album, and the great care and attention to detail they made at keeping EVERYTHING in there the same while making it their own. Unlike other cover albums (Jordan Rudess' The Road Home or various artist band-covers from Magna Carta), they didn't so much ADD to the existing material, nor IMPROVE upon it, but they made it FRESH and INTERESTING, especially to someone who had, after years, grown weary of the original. Like I said, I still LOVE the original, but this version keeps it new for me, and it's definitely one of my favorite albums of all time!

WHEW... five more to go, guys! And as a hint, the top 5 most-played albums on my iPod feature FOUR different bands (just like this batch).

-Marc.
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Offline jingle.boy

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Re: Top 50 Most-Played Albums on my iPod
« Reply #64 on: January 01, 2013, 06:31:49 AM »
Prediction... I&W, Snow, (something by Marillion... Misplaced Childhood?), Close to the Edge, and X.
« Last Edit: January 01, 2013, 07:09:44 AM by jingle.boy »
That's a word salad - and take it from me, I know word salad
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Offline wasteland

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Re: Top 50 Most-Played Albums on my iPod
« Reply #65 on: January 01, 2013, 06:42:13 AM »
Sola Scriptura and ? will be surely in there, as well as IAW, as you say  :tup
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Offline Mladen

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Re: Top 50 Most-Played Albums on my iPod
« Reply #66 on: January 01, 2013, 06:47:02 AM »
Dang, M, I started following this way too late. You really have an awesome taste in music.  :hefdaddy

Offline jingle.boy

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Re: Top 50 Most-Played Albums on my iPod
« Reply #67 on: January 01, 2013, 06:50:11 AM »
Sola Scriptura and ? will be surely in there, as well as IAW, as you say  :tup

I was thinking another Neal Morse instead of CttE, but I don't know his albums well enough to say which.
That's a word salad - and take it from me, I know word salad
I fear for the day when something happens on the right that is SO nuts that even Stadler says "That's crazy".
Quote from: Puppies_On_Acid
Remember the mark of a great vocalist is if TAC hates them with a special passion

Offline wasteland

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Re: Top 50 Most-Played Albums on my iPod
« Reply #68 on: January 01, 2013, 06:52:30 AM »
What's CttE? ???

And happy 7k, Tchad!  :biggrin:
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Offline jingle.boy

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Re: Top 50 Most-Played Albums on my iPod
« Reply #69 on: January 01, 2013, 07:09:24 AM »
What's CttE? ???

And happy 7k, Tchad!  :biggrin:

Close to the Edge

Yeah, noticed that.  Still not in the Top 40 of :ruben: 's though.
« Last Edit: January 01, 2013, 07:16:13 AM by jingle.boy »
That's a word salad - and take it from me, I know word salad
I fear for the day when something happens on the right that is SO nuts that even Stadler says "That's crazy".
Quote from: Puppies_On_Acid
Remember the mark of a great vocalist is if TAC hates them with a special passion