The Majesty Demos 1985-1986
Gotta appreciate where the band began, and this is about as thorough as a starting point as we'll ever get. The actual demo album is pretty great for what it is, but the added pre-demo demos are pretty great insights into the youth of the members.
Falling Into Infinity Demos
As many may have said already, this is an amazing look into what the band wanted the songs to be before things got shuffled around. I love the original version of "Take Away My Pain", and the other original versions here (BMS, AL, LITS, etc.) are interesting enough to pick out the differences! Also, that Metropolis Part 2 Demo is worth the price of admission alone!
Tokyo, Japan 10/28/95
With all of the latter-day live albums here, I felt that there's enough post-Sherinian live stuff officially released that this Awake Tour show should get the spotlight (though I seriously did consider picking Bucharest here instead). A show with 7 Awake songs, 4 IAW songs, and ACOS in its entirety (with Sherinian) make this worth it, and that medley isn't too bad either. There's also solos for Derek and Mike, and a song that would become a JP solo tune! It's a unique look into a time of the band that I feel didn't get enough love.
When Dream And Day Reunite
This was, and still is, a landmark show, and I'm so thankful that the band had the foresight to put it together and release it for us fans to enjoy! The guests at the end for the encore are fantastic, and I really dig what Dominici did with his lines in Metropolis (there's one line that he syncopates that sounds SO good). The actual performance of WDADU is pretty stellar, too.
New York City 3/4/93
Had this show been officially released, it'd be up there with great prog live albums such as Exit...Stage Left, Yessongs, Seconds Out, and the like. We get all of IAW, plus the early version of ACOS (which was only played 4 times), 2 B-Sides (To Live Forever, Eve), and 3 of the better WDADU songs, all performed with the youthful energy of a band on the rise. When it comes to live DT, there are fewer albums I'll just put on and spin on a whim, and this is one of them. Hearing JLB in this is other-worldly, especially in TTT and LTL, but everyone else shines as well!
(Also, this is my first DT-forum-side post in a LONG time...lol This is a great topic of discussion, and might get me back into listening to DT regularly again)
-Marc.