Orthogonal's Top 50 Albums v Final Recap

[TAC]

Ortho, I started following but I lost touch. Not an Opeth fan, though I do like Ghost Reveries, but everything on this page is an absolute winner. Barely a Sym X fan, but Divine Wings is great, and easily better than V.
Gonna go back through the thread.

[Orthogonal]

1. Dream Theater - Images & Words [1992]


Track Picks: Pull Me Under, Another Day, Take The Time, Surrounded, Metroplis PT.1, Under A Glass Moon, Wait For Sleep, Learning To Live

Here it is, the greatest album of all time. Could it have been anything else? It was my first Dream Theater album and my first real prog metal album (Does Queensryche count? kinda sorta, not really). You'll probably think it is with a heaping pile of nostalgia that I put my first real prog album ranked at number 1, but I like to think it was fate. When I got it home I opened the package and scanned the lyrics and liner notes and had a few thoughts. Calling the music "Images" and the lyrics "Words" was clever, if not a bit pretentious  . What could they possibly go on about for so long with tracks clocking in at 9 - 11 minutes long and will I be bored to tears? Well, I didn't know what to expect, so I popped it in with a bit of apprehension and braced for it. Then it came. WOW! Never heard anything quite like this. I didn't know music like this was even possible. "Pull Me Under", the Greatest Hit and only real single is an impressive mid-tempo metal tune that still enjoys occasional radio play today. I was particularly enthralled with "Another Day" with the inclusion of a soprano saxophone since I was a saxophone player myself at the time. "Take the Time" was my first favorite song with it's winding and epic climactic buildup and release. Labrie has some of his best vocal moments here. "Surrounded", with its slow and melodic buildup before going into overdrive. Then there is "Metropolis PT.1", the quintessential DT song. It was by this track that I knew I was listening to something truly special, I mean, who does that. "Under A Glass Moon" didn't stick out to me much at all for a long time, but now it is one of my all time favorites and has one of Petrucci's most memorable solo's. "Wait For Sleep" is an unusual and very creative piano driven melodic song. They don't write music like this any more and it's a shame because it is so original. Probably due to the departure of Kevin Moore, but that's another topic. Concluding with "Learning To Live" and epic, grooving and jazzy song that leaves a lasting impression. All around, it's a glorious and marvelous work. In a word: Masterpiece.

Why it should be ranked lower: It can't, this is the greatest album of all time. If you disagree, you should take a good, long look in the mirror and figure out why it's not and readjust your life accordingly.

[Prog Snob]

 

 

 

[jingle.boy]

'Twas #1 for me as well. Everything you said is spot on.

[senecadawg2]

I can't complain with that one! 

[Outcrier]

Classic, don't even comes close of being the greatest album though 

[Orthogonal]

^ I haven't heard every album yet, but I'm going to keep looking and nothing has topped it yet.

[Outcrier]

Yeah, 2 years from now, your favorite might be a jazz album, a prog rock album, you know... everything is possible, much music that we not have heard yet.
2 or 3 years ago, i only cared for metal (prog metal most) and thought Scenes was the best thing ever and now, in the present, it totally changed and i hardly listen to metal anymore, something i would never have imagined.

[Orthogonal]

That's true. I am only just beginning to explore other genre's that are still related to prog in some way let alone others. I didn't place Images & Words at number one initially, it took several years to solidify there. Master of Puppets and Operation: Mindcrime traded places at #1 for me at some time 12-17 years ago and I may have even briefly had a Savatage album there. I even had Awake as my favorite DT album for a few years after discovering them and now that's slipped several spots.

[Outcrier]

So, what is the next step?

[Orthogonal]

Next step?

[Outcrier]

Orthogonal: "Specifically, I've gained a tolerance and appreciation for harsh/growling vocals and secondly, I started to enjoy non-metal prog rock."

What's comes next?
When i was in my "Prog Metal phase", my next step was checking Symphonic prog.
Liked some passages but not whole songs... then i checked some Canterbury Scene albums and it all clicked (70's prog in general).

[Orthogonal]

ic, as I explained in my OP, I have been on a tear discovering new bands in the last year with the purchase of some 150+ albums in a little over a year. My current gameplan (probably starting in 2014) is to stop trying new bands until I fill in the back catalog of the band's I'm already checking out and then making a big change. Specifically, going to late 60's and early 70's prog with bands like Yes, Genesis, King Crimson etc... bands that I have really no exposure too. We'll see how it goes from there.

[Outcrier]

I recommend you checking this albums before going into Yes or Genesis:

Camel - Mirage
Caravan - In the Land of Grey and Pink
Khan - Space Shanty

[Orthogonal]

Thanks for the recs. I'll keep them in mind when I get to that point. I just need a ton of cash and a lot of time now 

[jsem]

Fitting #1. The list feels a bit samey to me though, but you can't help the fact that these are the 50 albums you enjoy the most. Was a good read.

[TAC]

'Twas #1 for me as well. Everything you said is spot on.

[nicmos]

My prediction was actually right.  Funny about that.

Have enjoyed your write-ups.  Good list, good write-ups.  Can't ask for more than that.

Well, you could ask for the moderator to pronounce your username correctly when he's asking your question to Dream Theater, ha

[kirksnosehair]

This was a good list.  I didn't learn about anything new here, but enjoyed the thread. 

[jjrock88]

great number 1

[Orthogonal]

Fitting #1. The list feels a bit samey to me though, but you can't help the fact that these are the 50 albums you enjoy the most. Was a good read.

Yeah, and I kinda hinted at that a bit in the OP, but C'est la vie. Although, I think there is still a fair amount of variation here. It's pretty interesting how diverse and broad prog can be. The fact that you can loosely associate a band like Mastodon and Porcupine Tree under the wide net of Prog is pretty astounding and that's what makes this type of music so fun.

My prediction was actually right.  Funny about that.

Have enjoyed your write-ups.  Good list, good write-ups.  Can't ask for more than that.

Well, you could ask for the moderator to pronounce your username correctly when he's asking your question to Dream Theater, ha

I guess I'm just too predictable  . Thanks for following and I enjoyed your frequent comments. Also, few can pronounce my username correctly so I won't hold it against them, you have to be kind of a math geek to even know what it is, let alone pronounce it.

This was a good list.  I didn't learn about anything new here, but enjoyed the thread. 

Really, Nothing?!?! Wow, I guess I should check out your Top 50 then.

[jingle.boy]

ic, as I explained in my OP, I have been on a tear discovering new bands in the last year with the purchase of some 150+ albums in a little over a year. My current gameplan (probably starting in 2014) is to stop trying new bands until I fill in the back catalog of the band's I'm already checking out and then making a big change. Specifically, going to late 60's and early 70's prog with bands like Yes, Genesis, King Crimson etc... bands that I have really no exposure too. We'll see how it goes from there.

Let me know how that works out for you.  I tried to make a 'new years resolution' back in Jan to do just that, and really get to KNOW all the bands/albums that DTF has exposed me to over the past couple of years.  That lasted about 5 weeks.

I blame lonestar and obscure primarily.    Nick/WPAPU doesn't help the cause either.  Joe's been pretty evil to me too.

And I'll be firing up another roulette in a few months.

:whatthehellamithinking:

[jsem]

Lol, that's DTF for you.

[Orthogonal]

Let me know how that works out for you.  I tried to make a 'new years resolution' back in Jan to do just that, and really get to KNOW all the bands/albums that DTF has exposed me to over the past couple of years.  That lasted about 5 weeks.

I'm sure I'll be setting myself up for failure by sticking around here, but I'm going to give it a shot. Definitely won't be doing a roulette any time soon, got way too many things to check out on my own before subjecting myself to that kind of onslaught. My wallet couldn't handle it.

[Orthogonal]

Final list, the Top 50:

50. Live - Throwing Copper
49. Kamelot - The Black Halo
48. Queensryche - Promised Land
47. Cloudscape - Global Drama
46. Our Lady Peace - Clumsy
45. Rush - Moving Pictures
44. U2 - Joshua Tree
43. Savatage - Poets & Madmen
42. Foo Fighters - The Colour and the Shape
41. Serenity - Fallen Sanctuary
40. Angra - Rebirth
39. Beyond the Bridge - The Old Man and the Spirit
38. Between the Buried and Me - Colors
37. Mastodon - Blood Mountain
36. Pathosray - Pathosray
35. Redemption - Snowfall on Judgement Day
34. Circus Maximus - Nine
33. Big Big Train - English Electric Part 2
32. Big Big Train - English Electric Part 1
31. Symphony X - The Odyssey
30. Ne Obliviscaris - Portal of I
29. Queensryche - Empire
28. Circus Maximus - The 1st Chapter
27. Nightwish - Oceanborn
26. Royal Hunt - Paradox
25. Flaming Row - Ellinoire
24. Haken - Visions
23. Porcupine Tree - Fear of a Blank Planet
22. Sonata Arctica - Unia
21. Sieges Even - Paramount
20. Mastodon - Crack the Skye
19. Porcupine Tree - In Absentia
18. Opeth - Still Life
17. Dream Theater - Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
16. Seventh Wonder - The Great Escape
15. Shadow Gallery - Room V
14. Shadow Gallery - Tyranny
13. Symphony X - V: The New Mythology
12. Ayreon - The Human Equation
11. Seventh Wonder - Mercy Falls
10. Savatage - Dead Winter Dead
9. Angra - Temple of Shadows
8. Metallica - Master of Puppets
7. Symphony X - The Divine Wings of Tragedy
6. Shadow Gallery - Carved in Stone
5. Opeth - Ghost Reveries
4. Queensryche - Operation: Mincrime
3. Dream Theater - Metropolis PT2: Scenes From a Memory
2. Opeth - Blackwater Park
1. Dream Theater - Images & Words


There it is!

Thanks for following, it was a lot of fun to do and there was a lot of good discussions. For those playing at home, here's your last chance to say how you did. I imagine a few folks around here are in the high 30's, maybe even low 40's. I'm not sure what that says about me or you, but we have a lot of musical tastes in common which you would expect on a site like this.

[jsem]

Let me know how that works out for you.  I tried to make a 'new years resolution' back in Jan to do just that, and really get to KNOW all the bands/albums that DTF has exposed me to over the past couple of years.  That lasted about 5 weeks.

I'm sure I'll be setting myself up for failure by sticking around here, but I'm going to give it a shot. Definitely won't be doing a roulette any time soon, got way too many things to check out on my own before subjecting myself to that kind of onslaught. My wallet couldn't handle it.

You don't have to buy EVERY album ever.

[Orthogonal]

If I hear it and I like it, I do. It's an addiction.

[jsem]

Oh boy, that's wallet shrinking.

[jingle.boy]

33 for me.

[Ruba]

Horrible album.

Cool list. 

I like buying albums too, but I don't have too much money. So it's safer to listen online or get some albums from the library.