My personal favorite album, by any band, ever. Here are some random thoughts on it:
One of only a handful of albums that I can honestly listen to without skipping a song.
The album which truly got me into DT.
Had the perfect mix of hard songs, ballads, prog elements, instrumentals, etc. Nothing dragged on too long, and the songs blended great since it was a concept album.
James at his finest melodically, and tonally. Awesome job at playing the "roles" of multiple characters.
Great concept, as a murder mystery with a twist.
Has not lost too much replay value over time. Admittedly, I probably listen to it 10% as much as I used to, but considering how many times I played it, that is not bad. Example: The SFaM encore on BTFW is my favorite part of the DVD, despite many newer songs on the DVD.
I know people complain about the mixes of post FII DT albums, but I love the mix on this album. MP and JP's background vocals, especially in the Home chorus, are so trippy.
Love the story behind making this album. DT had felt defeated after FII, as they had accepted too much influence by the record label to make something more commercial. So for SFaM, they recruited JR, and felt like they had one more chance to turn everything around. They did everything their own way, and made SFaM. The album kept DT alive, and enabled them to be successful with a brand new era of music. In other words, SFaM was the album that would either make or break DT, and it made them....in a big way.