How is it relevant how much money you have spent on DT or MP stuff? That has absolutely nothing to do with open-mindedness whatsoever.
Uh, because if I was close minded I would probably rest on my laurels and not continue to support or enjoy any output of that person.
I would have thought that was obvious.
Agreed. And I didn't take your comment as "I buy his music, so I have the right to criticize him all day and every day."
Shoot, I haven't been a fan of Portnoy the man for a decade and a half, yet he might be on more CDs I own than other musician. Doing some quick math in my head, counting CDs I have bought the physical media or digitally, and not counting live albums, he accounts for 11 Dream Theater (10 studio albums and the ACOS EP), 4 Transatlantic, 2 Flying Colors, 2 LTE and 9 Neal Morse/NMB. That comes out to 28 (and you could say 29 since I originally bought the first OSI CD, although I no longer own the physical CD). 32 if you count the four doubles (6DOIT, both Testimony albums and Similitude).
Steven Wilson actually surpasses him with 33, and Devin Townsend is fast catching him, too (24 or 25 right now, I think).
And actually, Neal Morse is right there as well with 27, and Roine Stolt has 30.