What a bizarre ranking.
So...any opinion that differs from yours is "bizarre"?
Anyway...
Surprisingly, it doesn't look like I've previously posted in this thread, although I know I've posted a ranking before.
Here's where I come out"
Top Tier - On any given day, the order may vary a bit, but these are pretty much always the top three.
1. Scenes From A Memory - Pretty much a flawless album with a strong concept and exceptional performances from all five band members.
2. Images & Words - The album that started it all. Everything that I was looking for at a time when many of my favorite bands were letting me down.
3. Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence - Disc two was exceptional from day 1. Took me a while to get into disc one, but the first three songs are exceptional. Last two songs on disc one are weak.
Not Quite Top Tier - Mostly great stuff but some glaring flaws keep these albums out of the top tier.
4. Awake - Similar comments to those regarding SDOIT. There's nothing as bad as TGD here, but there's also nothing as exceptional as the song SDOIT. The Mirror, Innocence Faded and Lie drag it down.
5. Train Of Thought - The uber-metal focus was a bit jarring, but it's mostly strong. I tend to skip TDS and HYF. SOC is the band's best instrumental.
Hit and Miss Tier - Exactly what the name implies
6. Octavarium - TALW, Panic Attack, Sacrificed Sons and the title track are all great songs (although the title track is weighed down by the Continuum intro). The rest is ok, and IWBY is weak.
7. Dream Theater - I have a tough time with DT12 and ADTOE. BAI is the best song the band has done since 8VM, but DT12 is a bit more consistent. For whatever reason, STR, BTV and TBP all seem to blend together for me. I never actively seek out The Enemy Inside, but whenever I hear it, I like it a lot. Enigma Machine is probably my least favorite DT instrumental.
8. A Dramatic Turn Of Events - As mentioned above, BAI is my favorite song of the last decade and a half, and Outcry and BITS are really good, but it's a pretty big fall off from there.
9. Distance Over Time - I have nothing negative to say about it (except that FITL and Paralyzed are a bit too similar), but it's never really grabbed me.
10. When Dream and Day Unite - Really hard to compare to every other album for obvious reasons. TOWHTSTS is pretty weak, but I don't dislike it. I think if I had heard it before hearing I&W, I might rank it higher.
More Miss Than Hit11. Black Clouds & Silver Linings - I usually only listen to Wither and TCOT.
12. Systematic Chaos - Such a disappointing album. Repentance is DT's single worst song, ITPOE is uninteresting, and most of the rest is just "meh." Constant Motion is the best track.
13. Falling Into Infinity - I've written ad nauseum about this album. A handful of pretty good songs and a lot of mundane stuff (and NM, DT's second or third worst song).
***massive gaping chasm***
14. The Astonishing - I kept trying and trying and trying, but nope. There's one song that kinda sounds like the Dixie Dregs that I liked, but it's not worth the effort to find it. "A" for effort.
Topic: DT album ranking (Read 210521 times)
