Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum and this is my first post. I recently got back into Dream Theater after a long hiatus. Before I get into my album ranking I thought it would be fun and helpful to explain my journey with DT.
I discovered them in 2006 (at 17 years old) after my music tastes changed and I started craving heavier music. The first song I heard was The Glass Prison. I still remember the feeling of hearing it for the first time. I went out and bought an album right away, which happened to be Images and Words. I was obsessed with it. From there I worked my way through their discography and within two years I knew all their songs.
I got into drumming because of Mike Portnoy and still play to this day. I took lessons, and bought Portnoy's drumming books and DVDs. I learned Under a Glass Moon all the way through on drums. I idolized him. When they came to my city as part of the Progressive Nation tour with Opeth I bought a meet and greet ticket for 300 bucks. I still cherish that moment of getting to talk with them.
And then Portnoy left the band. I was crushed, although by that point I was also getting a little annoyed with them. I thought that after Octavarium they started chasing fame too much and writing songs to try and get airplay. Portnoy specifically seemed to be dominating the direction and vision. When he left I was sad but also not shocked. Still, his departure affected me. It also coincided with another change in my music taste and I started listening to softer folk and indie rock. I checked out A Dramatic Turn of Events and saw a different DT that I wasn't interested in anymore. They faded away.
Since 2011, I've always periodically come back to their stuff from the Portnoy days for nostalgia and the fact that I love many of those songs so deeply. The Mangini era remained a mystery though. I'm older now (early 30s) and in the past year I've started becoming acquainted with Mangini DT. I just finished with the Astonishing but haven’t yet listened to Distance over Time or the newest one. It takes me time to get to know a DT album, so I'll have to come back and update my list once I can add the last two in. Spoiler alert - I still hate A Dramatic Turn of Events.
Without further ado, here is my definitive ranking of Dream Theater albums.
(Unranked: Distance Over Time, A View From the Top of the World).
13 When Dream and Day Unite. It's not DT without LaBrie. It also sounds like shit in terms of how it was mixed, and I don't connect with the songs.
12 A Dramatic Turn of Events. Largely soulless and boring. Whenever I try listening to it I always zone out.
11 Awake. I don’t love any of the songs on this album but I also don’t hate any of them. It’s an album that is just kind of there and is almost never an album I turn to.
10 Falling Into Infinity. There are bright spots on this album (Peruvian Skies, New Millenium, Hell’s Kitchen) but also some crappy songs. It’s not a horrible album but the label’s influence didn’t do it any favours.
9 Dream Theater. The Enemy Inside is one of my favourite DT songs ever. The other songs aren’t necessarily standouts but they are still enjoyable to listen to. It sort of reminds me of late ‘90s/early 2000s DT which is my favourite DT era.
8 Systematic Chaos. I like the dark, heavy theme of this album, and I love the songs The Dark Eternal Night, Prophets of War, and In the Presence of Enemies Part 2. There are a few songs that I really don’t care for though (Repentance, In the Presence of Enemies Part 1, Ministry of Lost Souls). It’s a very up and down album for me.
7 The Astonishing. I’m surprising myself by putting this one 7th. I stayed away from this album for a long time because I found the story synopsis to be so incredibly cringey. I still do, but musically it was a pleasant surprise. Labrie’s performance on this album is one of his best, too. I thoroughly enjoy songs such as A Saviour in the Square, The Walking Shadow/My Last Farewell, Three Days. I like approximately 2/3rds of the album but think the rest is filler. The sound bites for the storyline are also annoying.
6 Black Clouds and Silver Linings. This album gets the number 6 spot almost solely because of The Count of Tuscany and A Nightmare to Remember (minus Portnoy’s cringey verse). The other songs aren’t necessarily standouts but I do like listening to them sometimes.
5 Train of Thought. Unpopular opinion but I don’t ever crave listening to Stream of Consciousness or In the Name of God. I love the first four songs on the album though, especially Endless Sacrifice.
4 Images and Words. The OG album that started it all for me. It’s musically great and has amongst my favourite DT songs, although there are songs that I always skip (Surrounded, Wait for Sleep). The fact that it sounds ‘80s is a slight negative. My fave songs are Take the Time, Under A Glass Moon, Another Day.
3 Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence. In terms of complete albums, this one is amongst their best because of a really interesting concept. There are songs that I don’t like much (Goodnight Kiss, Losing Time, About to Crash Reprise, Misunderstood, Disappear) but this album is ranked third largely on the strength of the songs that I love, such as The Glass Prison, Blind Faith, War Inside My Head/The Test That Stumped Them All, Solitary Shell.
2 Octavarium. Another album that feels very complete. Such an interesting concept and so fun trying to uncover all the hidden easter eggs. I don’t find myself skipping any songs during play throughs.
1 Scenes From A Memory. I know, I'm a basic bitch for putting this one first. But what can I say, it hits all the boxes. Musically it was incredible, the story was interesting and engaging, and I feel so much nostalgia towards it. Favourite songs: Strange Deja Vu, Fatal Tragedy, Beyond This Life, Finally Free.
Topic: DT album ranking (Read 210178 times)
