Author Topic: My ranking of the Dream Theater albums  (Read 12387 times)

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Offline Iceyice

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Re: My ranking of the Dream Theater albums
« Reply #35 on: January 07, 2019, 08:01:57 PM »
It's hard for me to go past a top 3, so here is my top 3.

1)Awake - This album was one that showed me DT was for real. I didn't know about WDADU until a lot later, so for the longest time i thought this was their 2nd.  For weeks, a station in NYC that is all classic rock now was playing 'Lie' for weeks, but i didn't know it was DT for awhile.  When the DJ said it was DT, i couldn't believe i didn't recognize them.
My most memorable moment from this is the first time i heard the transition from 'The Mirror' into 'Lie.' I was walking through a courtyard where i live. I had a Sports Walkman with this on. When Lie popped in after that ending, i flipped out. I was like 'Oh sh_ _!, that was dope!

2)Metropolis 2: Scenes from a memory - A very emotional album that caught this emotional persons eye very quickly. Luckily for me, back then, this album helped me find out about Eddie Trunk's radio shows. MP was doing 3 or 4 Tri-State(NY)area radio stations to promote. One station, WSOU, is an iconic college rock station that  i knew of already. Then he did a Long Island station, and then finally WNEW-FM. I was able to hear at least 2 interviews, and found a great deep track rock radio show in the process. I was shocked that Eddie was such a knowledgeable rocker, because he was a DJ on Q-104.3, which played modern rock before they went to classic. I always thought Ed over enunciated, and wasn't that great an on-air voice. Well, it's almost 20 years of listening to him and it's great to see what he became.
Another key thing is one of my sister's lived with me around this time with her daughter, who became my favorite niece. When they moved out i was sad, but always remembered that this album was played over and over by me when they lived there.

3)Falling into infinity - This one made my top 3 and could easily be #2. Nothing can touch Awake to me, btw!
Back when this was out, i was lucky enough to have a cool manager, working the opening shift at McDonalds. He was Asian, and at that time knew a way to wire the 'musak' system in the store, so that we could plug in a Walkman, or I-pod, or CD player and play our music throughout the whole store, before we opened for business.  Problem is, he kept playing the theme to Titanic over, and over, and over!!! As soon as it ended, it would start again!!  One day, after we were getting tired of that song, i asked if i can hook up my Walkman and play my stuff. The first thing i put on was this album. The morning cashier heard 'Burning my soul' and right away said to the mgr, 'Now that's a great song, not that 'Once, more, you opened the door' over and over!' I knew i hit the motherlode, because any other morning mgr let me put on this. We had a female manager named Elsie, who always had heartbreak in her life, so one time i could tell she was into 'Trial of tears.' She wouldn't say it, but i knew. I sprinkled in some other groups from time to time, but this album was always played start to finish, or until it was time to put the regular crap musak on for the customers in that Canal St. McDonalds. 
I can't explain how big this was. I would go to the basement to do stock up and there was D F-ing T blasting downstairs, and of course the whole store.
That makes this an untouchable #3 for me. I can't explain how great this time was!

'Sorry about the short set' as James would say. I say 'sorry about the long post.' Haven't posted in awhile!
« Last Edit: January 07, 2019, 08:13:55 PM by Iceyice »
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Offline jayvee3

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Re: My ranking of the Dream Theater albums
« Reply #36 on: January 13, 2019, 04:55:25 AM »
Here's mine, with the top 5 often jockeying a little for positions. I always like to think of each album as having its own unique feel to it, usually bought about by cover art plus common occurrences throughout some of the songs. Just a silly, fun little thing I like to do. In any case:

Awake - The "Space" Album
Scenes - The "Masterpiece" Album
Falling Into Infinity - The "Water" Album
Dramatic Turn Of Events - The "Sky" Album
Images & Words - The "Regal" Album

The Astonishing - The "Musical" Album
6 Degrees - The "Experimental" Album
Train Of Thought - The "Black" Album
DT - The "Slick" Album

8V - The "Nuggets" Album
Systematic Chaos - The "Fantasy" Album
BCASL - The "Ambitious" Album
When Dream & Day Unite - The "Beginning" Album
« Last Edit: January 30, 2019, 06:39:20 AM by jayvee3 »

Offline lonestar

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Re: My ranking of the Dream Theater albums
« Reply #37 on: January 13, 2019, 05:19:37 AM »
13- WDADU
12- TA
11- SC
10- DT12
9-   ToT
8-   FII
7-   8V
6-   ADTOE
5-   Awake
4-   BCaSL
3-   Scenes
2-   I&W
1-   6DoIT


Offline ThatOneGuy2112

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Re: My ranking of the Dream Theater albums
« Reply #38 on: January 14, 2019, 10:46:02 AM »
Geez, almost been 2 years since posting on the forum. I'll be honest, I haven"t really listened to DT at all for a good minute, but the upcoming release of the new album and then this thread urged me to revisit their music. I was surprised by how differently I now feel about some of them.

13. The Astonishing
Not exactly controversial, I know. I was never a fan of this one on my first listen, and nearly 3 years on, that hasn't changed. It's simply too long for it's own sake, with little in the way of memorable songwriting. I get second-hand embarrassment listening to some of these lyrics.

12. When Dream and Day Unite
 A decent debut record with some good tunes on it. What kills it are the shoddy production and Dominici's vocals. While he's competent, he's not as versatile or iconic as LaBrie.

11. Black Clouds & Silver Linings
Probably their most inconsistent. Has some really good moments, but just as many bad ones too. I forgot just how long this one could feel.

10. Dream Theater
I remember constantly trying to defend this album, and while I still enjoy it to an extent, it does have glaring flaws looking back on it. The production is pretty unbearable, and overall it just feels like DT by the numbers, and has no strong identity of its own.

9. Systematic Chaos
Enjoyed this album more than I had ever used to. It has a grit that is pretty uncommon for DT, some of these tracks are just blistering. But it's also a bit inconsistent, with some pretty weak tracks as well.

8. A Dramatic Turn of Events
Probably only this high by virtue of BAI. This album is a mixed bag for me, but mostly ranges from meh to decent. Few tracks have had real staying impact since the album's release.

7. Falling Into Infinity
Was not expecting this to land so high. Another DT mixed bag. It's two epics are great, but has a few other tracks that bog it down. Goddammit, I can't not like Hollow Years though.

6. Octavarium
All around a pretty consistent DT album. Title track is great and I wouldn't call any of the others weak either, just not many I'd call amazing.

5. Train of Thought
While a consistently heavy DT project would sound tiresome to some, I quite like it. It's dark, aggressive, and bitter. I know some of the rapping sounds corny, but I really wish DT weren't afraid to do stuff like that these days.

4. Awake
While other DT albums are similarly dynamic and varied, this one truly does it well with good songwriting throughout. While some songs are better than others, there's not a bad one here. And Scarred is fantastic.

3. Images & Words
Yeah, yeah, we all know this one's good. I don't think it's a perfect record, but nearly every song here is a DT staple, and some of their most praised as a whole. MP1 is still one of my absolute favorites in their entire discography, and LTL is not far behind.

2. Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory
This used to be my unchanging, all time #1 from DT, and while I still love it, maybe distance/time has let me look at it more honestly. Some of the lyrics are very direct and blunt but not always in a way that is compelling or impactful. The story of the album itself is also pretty bare thin and lackluster over the course of a 77 minute runtime, all things considered. But where this album really shines for me is in its memorable and dramatic songwriting. Strong melodies, fire solos and instrumentals, and LaBrie's warm and powerful vocals. It's just the band in peak form and this album really shows it.

1. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
This was the DT we never knew we needed. What happens when you let outer influences and ideas marinate with the typical DT norm? You get a mastapiece. Each song is inspired, each one meaningful, each one distinct and unique from the next. The risks they took on this one paid off, and it's something I wished they'd do more often. It's gritty, solemn, and deranged at points and I love it.

Kudos to anyone who actually read all my drivel. With all that said, I do look forward to D/T.

Offline Metro

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Re: My ranking of the Dream Theater albums
« Reply #39 on: January 14, 2019, 02:38:35 PM »
1. Images and Words

2. Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory

3. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence

4. A Dramatic Turn Events

5. Awake

6. Falling Into Infinity

7. Dream Theater

8. Octavarium

9. Train of Thought

10. When Dream and Day Unite

11. The Astonishing

12. Black Clouds and Silver Linings

13. Systematic Chaos

Offline cygnusx1jg

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Re: My ranking of the Dream Theater albums
« Reply #40 on: January 26, 2019, 09:48:26 PM »
No analysis here. These are listed based on how much I listen to each one, because I figure the ones I listen to the most are my favorites. Also, this changes often. These are top to bottom:

SDoIT
I&W
SFAM
Awake
ADToE
8VM
ToT
BC&SL
FII
SC
Ast-ing
DT
WDADU

Hope is what remains to be seen. Now we must tend our garden.

Offline Freeze

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Re: My ranking of the Dream Theater albums
« Reply #41 on: January 27, 2019, 03:06:25 AM »
From best to worst:

Images And Words
Scenes From A Memory
Awake
When Dream And Day Unite
Octavarium
The Astonishing
Falling Into Infinity
Dream Theater
Train Of Thought
A Dramatic Turn Of Events
Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence
Black Clouds & Silver Linings
Systematic Chaos

Offline JoeMLennon

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Re: My ranking of the Dream Theater albums
« Reply #42 on: January 27, 2019, 08:44:37 AM »
Here is mine.  In reality I love so much of what the do but only a couple are like solid top to bottom to me

Some of my favorite tunes to me are on some of the most inconsistent overall albums for me - Count of Tuscany, Trial of Tears, Illumination Theory, Our New World.

1) Scenes from a Memory - this one every single song is awesome in my opinion.   The list is in tiers of awesomeness to me, from no flaws to some flaws.

2) Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
3) A Change of Seasons - just epic

4) Train of Thought
5) Octavarium
6) Images and Words

7) Dramatic Turn of Events
8) Awake
9) Falling to Infinity

10) Systematic Chaos
11) Black Clouds
12) Self Titled

13) Day and Dream Unite
14) Astonishing (too long, too many Disney moments for me).   If this was half as long (without the Disney vibe moments) it would be 9th or 10th for me.

Offline BeardedGentlemanHistorian

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Re: My ranking of the Dream Theater albums
« Reply #43 on: January 27, 2019, 11:51:48 AM »
My top tier albums. Perfect or near perfect.
1. Awake
2. SDOIT
3. MP2:SFAM
4. IAW

My second tier favorites. Each album is great but not quite as consistent as the top tier ones.
5. ADTOE
6. 8VM
7. DT12
8. ToT

The patchier albums. These albums are more mixed. Some great songs, some OK ones and a few that are "meh", IMO.
9. BC&SL
10. SC
11. FII
12. WDADU

The oddball album.
13. The Astonishing. This isn't me trying to dump on the album but it's simply too different for me to compare to other DT releases. There are some strong songs but with 34 tracks there are just too many that don't stand out for me. I appreciate what Petrucci tried to do here.

Offline Buddyhunter1

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Re: My ranking of the Dream Theater albums
« Reply #44 on: January 27, 2019, 06:19:50 PM »
1: Octavarium
Not a perfect album: there's a few songs that could have been better (namely the two ballads which, while far from the band's worst ballads, are still pretty unremarkable), but the highs are so high that they make up for all the lows, especially the title track, which is still my favorite song of all time. Plus, the album has a great flow, has a cool concept and is incredibly cohesive, which makes it more than the sum of its parts.

2: Train Of Thought
I love the heavier, more extreme sound of this album, and the first run of songs from As I Am to Honor Thy Father is almost perfect. I feel like the album starts to drag around Stream Of Consciousness though. Honor Thy Father is a great closer, but not a highlight of the album for me like it is for many people.

3: Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence
I have a very clear top two, but from this point onward my ranking start getting a bit more hazy. This album and the following one are very close, but I'm going to give the nod to this one because it has higher highs and is a bit more interesting, if not as consistent. I'm really not a fan of the second disc aside from The Test That Stumped Them All, but the first disc is pretty spectacular. With the one-two punch of The Glass Prison and Blind Faith, it definitely has the best beginning of any of their albums. Misunderstood and Disappear are also great songs that stick out in the band's catalog because they really don't have any other songs like them. The experimentation and evolution of the band's sound on this album is definitely its biggest strength and elevates it above their more predictable-sounding albums.

4: Scenes From A Memory
This is a great concept album that's very consistent in quality throughout, with the exception of Through Her Eyes which had the honor of being my least favorite song by them, at least until The Astonishing came out. That said though, pretty much every other record of theirs has at least one song that's better than anything this album has to offer, so it doesn't quite make my absolute favorites.

5: Black Clouds & Silver Linings
I think I have a soft spot for this album by virtue of it being the first of their albums that I really got into. Yeah, it has some cringe-inducing moments, but overall I think the songwriting is actually a lot better than many of their other albums. The two epics are among their finest, Wither is one of their best ballads, and The Shattered Fortress is a great capstone to the 12-Step Suite that has some really clever moments where it recontextualizes motifs from the previous movements. It's far from a perfect album, but it's one of the band's most underrated, if you ask me.

6: Dream Theater
This is the only album from the Mangini era so far that I think is legitimately good. I don't have much to say about it other than it just has a lot of great songs, and that's really all it needs. That said, I feel like there's something missing from the band's most recent albums. Some magic that's not quite there any more. Even though I like this album a lot, it doesn't quite have that "Dream Theater quality" to it that I love about the above records so much.

7: Images And Words
This is a good album. Do I love it as much as most other people? Definitely not, considering it's right in the middle of my rankings. It's an enjoyable listen throughout, and Learning To Live is definitely one of my favorite songs by them, but for whatever reason I never fell in love with this album like many others have.

8: A Dramatic Turn Of Events
Here's where we start getting into the albums that I think are flawed or okay at best. Given the circumstances surrounding this album's creation, it makes sense that the band wanted to play it safe with this album, but they went way too far. This is probably the most uninspired, by-the-numbers Dream Theater album I can think of. It's got its highlights for sure, but as a whole it just feels so unremarkable and bland that I can't say that it's a good album. The terrible production and the numerous Images And Words parallels don't help its case much either.

9: Systematic Chaos
The excellence of In The Presence Of Enemies and Constant Motion save this album from being among their absolute worst for me. The rest of the songs range from okay to flat-out bad. Moving on.

10: Falling Into Infinity
This album has virtually no middle ground. It's either fantastic or some of the worst stuff the band has ever put out. If you took out the bad songs and made Hollow Years as great as its Live At Budokan rendition, this would easily make at least the top half of the band's discography for me. Sadly, this is the album we got, and it's safe to say that I'd be completely happy with never listening to this album in its entirety ever again.

11: Awake
Yeah yeah, I know. I know a lot of people love this album, but I just don't get it. I think 6:00 and The Mirror are fantastic, and there's a few other songs here that I think are decent, but the rest is just... meh. Not bad, but nothing I ever feel the desire to listen to. Compared to the above few albums in my rankings, this album has less music that I'd consider bad, but also a lot less that I'd consider great, which is why it's among their worst for me. Outside of a few songs, this album may as well not exist for me.

12: When Dream And Day Unite
While this album is pretty amateurish and mediocre overall, there aren't really any songs on it that I'd consider among their absolute worst. Light Fuse And Get Away comes pretty close, but outside of that it's... inoffensive at worst.

13: The Astonishing
Their debut would have likely remained my least favorite album by them forever, were it not for this mess. I just don't like it. At all. There's soooo much of its painfully long runtime that's bad and barely any of it that's good. So many sappy ballads, cringe-inducing lyrics and undeveloped songs, and I hate how front-and-center the story is. Scenes From A Memory is a concept album done right; the story provides some nice context to the songs and lightly guides the overall flow of the album, at at its core it's still the music that matters the most. Here, it feels like the music is ball-gagged and chained to an incredibly unremarkable story that dictates everything it does. I appreciate the band trying something new but execution-wise I don't think they could have possibly dropped the ball any harder than they did here, and I'll just leave it at that.



Curious to see how Distance Over Time will fit in. I might return to this and give it an update after it releases and I let it sit for a while.
« Last Edit: January 27, 2019, 06:26:34 PM by Buddyhunter1 »
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Offline Buddyhunter1

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Re: My ranking of the Dream Theater albums
« Reply #45 on: January 27, 2019, 06:22:12 PM »
(quoted instead of modifying by accident)
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Offline kaos2900

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Re: My ranking of the Dream Theater albums
« Reply #46 on: January 28, 2019, 07:51:47 AM »
Took a quick stab at this.
SFAM
6 Degrees
Awake
8V
ToT
ADTOE
I&W
TA
DT12
FII
BC&SL
WDADU
SC

Offline Dedalus

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Re: My ranking of the Dream Theater albums
« Reply #47 on: January 29, 2019, 12:45:35 AM »
I&W - The first one I've heard. Will always be my favorite. I love all the songs.

SFAM - A great album, maybe the best (but it will not get the first place  :biggrin:). But the story does nothing for me. Although it's funny that it fits perfectly with spiritism.

6DOIT - An incredible record. I love the experimentalism and how the album sounds so different from start to finish.

ADTOE - Not exactly an innovative album, but it came at the right time and gave me back the plesure of listening to DT. I like a lot of songs. BAI is fantastic.

Awake - A very good album too, but I don't like all the songs (I hate Lie!). Although no one comments, awful drum sound.

WDADU - I really think they did a great job, despite being a beginner's thing.

DT12 - Lots of interesting tracks. I like the fact that they tried to escape from the comfort zone in songwriting.

TA - The moust courageous album. I like the fact that it's genuinely a rock opera, with a musical vibe. But it's not perfect. Silly story.

FII - Great songs! and some awful too. Unfortunately several very good songs had to be cut off. The demo version is better.

8V - Cool concept. Some songs pull the album down, like Never Enough, Sacrificed Sons, etc. The title track is amazing!

TOT - It seemed like a good idea, but then it lost its meaning. Some good moments and lots os excesses. I hate the legacy of this album!

SC - Pretty bad.

BC&SL - The most lazy DT album. Half of songrwriting are just jams. TSF was the worst idea they had to finalize the 12 step suit. Only TCOT saves.



Offline jakepriest

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Re: My ranking of the Dream Theater albums
« Reply #48 on: January 29, 2019, 04:04:50 PM »
The terrible production

Couldn't disagree more. ADTOE is my ideal production for DT's music.  :sadpanda:

Offline cygnusx1jg

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Re: My ranking of the Dream Theater albums
« Reply #49 on: January 29, 2019, 09:17:40 PM »
I understand music is subjective. I understand different eyes see different things and different hearts beat on different strings. (Sorry). And I REALLY don't mean to offend those who fall under this category.
Now with that being said, IMHO, anyone that does not have SDoIT in their top 5 just cannot be a very big fan of Dream Theater. I've said it and am ready for the backlash.
Hope is what remains to be seen. Now we must tend our garden.

Offline Dedalus

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Re: My ranking of the Dream Theater albums
« Reply #50 on: January 29, 2019, 09:32:10 PM »
I understand music is subjective. I understand different eyes see different things and different hearts beat on different strings. (Sorry). And I REALLY don't mean to offend those who fall under this category.
Now with that being said, IMHO, anyone that does not have SDoIT in their top 5 just cannot be a very big fan of Dream Theater. I've said it and am ready for the backlash.

But there are times, for you and me, when all such things agree

Offline erwinrafael

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Re: My ranking of the Dream Theater albums
« Reply #51 on: January 29, 2019, 10:26:38 PM »
I don't want to get my hopes up for D/T, but DT12 is my second favorite DT album, and right now I have a modified playlist composed of DT12 songs with UA replacing TEI and FitL replacing Enigma Machine, and I already like it more than DT12.

Offline erciccio

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Re: My ranking of the Dream Theater albums
« Reply #52 on: January 30, 2019, 01:56:39 AM »
I understand music is subjective. I understand different eyes see different things and different hearts beat on different strings. (Sorry). And I REALLY don't mean to offend those who fall under this category.
Now with that being said, IMHO, anyone that does not have SDoIT in their top 5 just cannot be a very big fan of Dream Theater. I've said it and am ready for the backlash.

I fall in this category, I am not offended, but I do am a big fan of DT :)

I think SDoIT is an ok album but:

- All of the songs of CD1 (with the exception of Disappear) are waaaaay too long and full of boring fillers. E.g. Misunderstood Radio Edit is way better than the original
 - In particular, The Glass Prison has a nice riff and I love the arpeggios (great guitar exercise), but the rest of the song is IMHO useless and boring
 - CD2 is nice, but the only parts I really love are the "about to crash" melodies and part of "goodnight kiss" melodies. All the rest is pretty meh from all perspectives (technique, creativity, melodies,...) . All "hard" sections are below average. Overall, I think The Astonishing is way better than CD2, by far
 - The (not so) grand finale is not grand at all.

Anyway, I think it's the last CD with Portnoy I still love, notwithstanding the above comments.

Well, given that I am here...my current ranking would be..

1) Images and Words
2) Awake, SFAM
4) The Astonishing, A Dramatic Turn of Events
(Distance / Time)- prediction
6) SDoIT
7) Dream Theater
8) Train of Thoughts (only thanks to Vacant and In the Name of God)
9) Octavarium (just for the title track)
10) Systematic Chaos, Falling into Infinity, Black Clouds and Silver Linings
13) When day and Dream Unite (but with James it would have probably been a top 5)

Ora che ho perso la vista,ci vedo di più

Offline Dedalus

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Re: My ranking of the Dream Theater albums
« Reply #53 on: January 30, 2019, 03:43:17 AM »
I love 6DoIT, but I can understand the issue on CD1's songs' lenght. It's a fine example of the songs being so long for the sake of being so long.

On CD 2, I resoundingly disagree.

Offline erciccio

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Re: My ranking of the Dream Theater albums
« Reply #54 on: January 30, 2019, 05:20:06 AM »
I love 6DoIT, but I can understand the issue on CD1's songs' lenght. It's a fine example of the songs being so long for the sake of being so long.

On CD 2, I resoundingly disagree.

BTW, our rankings are quite similar...:)

You just like SDOiT more than TA, for me it's the opposite...:) + minor other "adjustments" and WDADU that I would place as you do if James had been there..

But honestly, when I try to listen the old catalogue I skip all of SDOiT expect the About To Crashes...I really don't like to listen back to The Test or War Inside ..not even to the full CD as a whole..
while I still enjoy TA with just minor skips, and this is for me a good indication of the "long lasting" love that I have for a CD.

But of course, de gustibus...:)
 :xbones :xbones



Ora che ho perso la vista,ci vedo di più

Offline Dedalus

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Re: My ranking of the Dream Theater albums
« Reply #55 on: January 30, 2019, 09:08:44 PM »
I love 6DoIT, but I can understand the issue on CD1's songs' lenght. It's a fine example of the songs being so long for the sake of being so long.

On CD 2, I resoundingly disagree.

BTW, our rankings are quite similar...:)

You just like SDOiT more than TA, for me it's the opposite...:) + minor other "adjustments" and WDADU that I would place as you do if James had been there..

But honestly, when I try to listen the old catalogue I skip all of SDOiT expect the About To Crashes...I really don't like to listen back to The Test or War Inside ..not even to the full CD as a whole..
while I still enjoy TA with just minor skips, and this is for me a good indication of the "long lasting" love that I have for a CD.

But of course, de gustibus...:)
 :xbones :xbones

Nice!

I think I've heard CD2 more often than CD1, even today.

In fact, from the whole discography, I really only dislike SC and BCSL.  :D

Offline dedSurroun

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Re: My ranking of the Dream Theater albums
« Reply #56 on: January 31, 2019, 03:09:58 AM »
Easy to rank:

1. Images and Words

2. Scenes From A Memory

3. Awake

4. Distance Over Time

5. Dream Theater

6. Octavarium

7. The Astonishing

8. Falling Into Infinity

9. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence

10. A Dramatic Turn of Events

11. Train of Thought

12. When Dream and Day Unite

13. Black Clouds and Silver Linings

14. Systematic Chaos
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Offline purzel

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Re: My ranking of the Dream Theater albums
« Reply #57 on: February 20, 2019, 02:37:49 PM »
My list

1 Awake
2 Train of Thought
3 Falling Into Infinity
4 Scenes From A Memory
5 Images and Words
6 Octavarium
7 Systematic Chaos
8 A Dramatic Turn of Events
9 Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
10 Black Clouds and Silver Linings
11 The Astonishing (it’s ok but nothing special but I’m totally in operas and so it’s kind of cheesy for me)
12 Dream Theater(I just don’t like it it’s boring for my taste)

Offline YtseJam

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Re: My ranking of the Dream Theater albums
« Reply #58 on: February 20, 2019, 02:43:30 PM »
Mine:

Rank   Year   Title
1   1999   Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory
2   2002   Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
3   2009   Black Clouds & Silver Linings
4   1992   Images and Words
5   1997   Falling into Infinity
6   1994   Awake
7   2003   Train of Thought
8   2016   The Astonishing
9   2007   Systematic Chaos
10   1998   Once in a Livetime
11   1995   A Change of Seasons
12   2005   Octavarium
13   2007   Falling into Infinity Demo
14   2013   Dream Theater
15   1989   When Dream and Day Unite
16   2011   A Dramatic Turn of Events
?   2019   Distance over Time

Offline CirclesSquared

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Re: My ranking of the Dream Theater albums
« Reply #59 on: February 22, 2019, 02:42:00 AM »
Being a forum noob (and a DT fan since 2003), I feel obligated to do this.

List first, commentary later.

(DoT's placement is not driven by the excitement of the new release. I have been there for all past DT albums's releases since ToT and they were never placed this high immediately. In fact their ranking has barely changed since then. I have enough of listening experience to make the distinction between a fleeting infatuation with an album and a lasting quality)

1. Scenes From a Memory
2. Images and Words
3. Awake
4. Distance Over Time
5. Falling Into Infinity
6. Train of Thought
7. The Astonishing
8. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
9. A Dramatic Turn of Events
10. Dream Theater
11. Octavarium
12. When Dream and Day Unite
13. Black Clouds & Silver Linings
14. Systematic Chaos
« Last Edit: February 22, 2019, 03:50:44 AM by CirclesSquared »

Offline Tomasoares

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Re: My ranking of the Dream Theater albums
« Reply #60 on: February 22, 2019, 03:07:42 AM »
Here's my ranking:

1. Distance Over Time
2. Awake
3. Train of Thought
4. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
5. Images and Words
6. Scenes From a Memory

7. Octavarium
8. A Dramatic Turn of Events

9. Falling Into Infinity
10. Black Clouds & Silver Linings

11. Dream Theater
12. The Astonishing
13. Systematic Chaos
14. When Dream and Day Unite

Offline genome

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Re: My ranking of the Dream Theater albums
« Reply #61 on: February 22, 2019, 03:24:19 AM »
Updated rankings - subject to change when the new album has settled a bit.

1) Scenes From a Memory
2) Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
3) Distance Over Time
4) Octavarium
5) Images and Words
6) A Dramatic Turn of Events
7) The Astonishing
8) Systematic Chaos
9) Awake
10) Train of Thought
11) Dream Theater
12) Black Clouds and Silver Linings
13) Falling Into Infinity
14) When Dream and Day Unite

Online wasteland

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Re: My ranking of the Dream Theater albums
« Reply #62 on: February 22, 2019, 03:30:15 AM »
Oh, it's been a while. I warn you, DoT is still very fresh and its rating here might be driven by the excitement for the new release.

1. Images And Words
2. Awake
3. Scenes From A Memory
4. Distance Over Time
5. Falling Into Infinity
6. SDOIT
7. A Dramatic Turn Of Events
8. Train Of Thought
9. Octavarium
10. The Astonishing
11. Dream Theater
12. BCSL
13. Systematic Chaos
14. WDADU
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Online Skeever

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Re: My ranking of the Dream Theater albums
« Reply #63 on: February 22, 2019, 05:03:07 AM »
1. Images
2. Scenes
3. Awake
4. FII
5. Six Degrees
6. Train of Thought
7. Octavarium
8. BCSL
9. ADTOE
10. D/T
11. WDADU
12. The Astonishing
13. DT12
14. Systematic Chaos

Offline Phoenix87x

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Re: My ranking of the Dream Theater albums
« Reply #64 on: February 22, 2019, 05:36:12 AM »
1. Images and words
2. ToT
3. Scenes
4. FII
5. Awake
6. WDADU
7. DT
8. Six Degrees
9. ADTOE
10. SC
11. DoT
12. Octavarium
13. The Astonishing
14. Black clouds

Offline purzel

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Re: My ranking of the Dream Theater albums
« Reply #65 on: February 22, 2019, 07:13:23 AM »
1 Awake
2 Train of Thought
3 Falling Into Infinity
4 Scenes From A Memory
5 Distance over Time
6 Images and words
7 Octavarium
8 Systematic Chaos
9 A Dramatic Turn of Events
10 Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
11 Black Clouds and Silver Linings
12The Astonishing (it’s ok but nothing special but I’m totally in operas and so it’s kind of cheesy for me)
13 Dream Theater(I just don’t like it it’s boring for my taste)

Offline drod1985

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Re: My ranking of the Dream Theater albums
« Reply #66 on: February 22, 2019, 01:04:50 PM »
My personal take:

1. Scenes from a Memory - My introduction to the band (and to concept albums in general). Fantastic songwriting, production and playing.

2. Systematic Chaos - IMO every tune on here smokes.

3. Distance Over Time - I know it may seem like recency bias, but this is basically everything I’ve ever wanted out of a Dream Theater album. It’s got the right balance of prog vs. metal, fantastic production, better arrangements, and fun concise (for DT) songs. Mangini’s best album as well.

4. DT12 - This was the path that led to DoT, a little more proggy with more concise songs.

5. Images and Words - I consider this to be the band-as-we-know-it’s debut album. 50% of the songs are absolutely incredible, 50% are average Dream Theater to me.

6. Train of Thought - Fantastic when it’s not going out of the way to be too metal

7. 6DOIT - Love the experimental vibes. Fantastic production too

8. ADTOE - I think this album suffered from lack of input from other band members. Drums sound too basic. But still some fun songs, and a step in the right direction after Portnoy’s departure

9. 8va - The first new album DT released during my fandom. It feels like a random collection of songs that don’t really go together to me.

10. BCSL - I love Portnoy’s playing, but his over-influence on this album kills it for me, especially his rapping on ANTR.

11. Awake - Just never connected with this album outside of a handful of songs.

12. Falling Into Infinity - Again, never really connected with this album outside of a song or two.

13. TA - Too long for its own good. There’s some great work in there, but I find it tiring to sit through all of the fat in order to find it.

14. WDADU - Production suffers, vocals are not great, songwriting is immature for the most part. My least listened to DT album.

Offline Trav86

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Re: My ranking of the Dream Theater albums
« Reply #67 on: February 23, 2019, 04:16:13 AM »
at the moment...

Images and Words
Scenes From a Memory
Distance Over Time
The Astonishing
A Dramatic Turn of Events
Dream Theater
Awake
Falling Into Infinity
Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
Train of Thought
Octavarium
Systematic Chaos
Black Clouds and Silver Linings
When Dream and Day Unite

« Last Edit: February 23, 2019, 07:23:13 AM by Trav86 »
Can't we find the minds
to lead us closer to the heart?

Offline Bertielee

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Re: My ranking of the Dream Theater albums
« Reply #68 on: February 23, 2019, 04:28:48 AM »
I understand music is subjective. I understand different eyes see different things and different hearts beat on different strings. (Sorry). And I REALLY don't mean to offend those who fall under this category.
Now with that being said, IMHO, anyone that does not have SDoIT in their top 5 just cannot be a very big fan of Dream Theater. I've said it and am ready for the backlash.

Not in my top 5 : come at me! It's number 6 actually... :biggrin: before I rank D/T.

B.Lee
"Life is divided into two sets of people : people who have lost and people who haven't yet." George Michael

Offline erciccio

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Re: My ranking of the Dream Theater albums
« Reply #69 on: February 24, 2019, 12:58:14 AM »
1) Images and Words
2) Awake, SFAM
4) The Astonishing, A Dramatic Turn of Events
6) SDoIT
7) Distance Over Time
8) Dream Theater
9) Train of Thoughts (only thanks to Vacant and In the Name of God)
10) Octavarium (just for the title track)
11) Systematic Chaos, Falling into Infinity, Black Clouds and Silver Linings
14) When day and Dream Unite (but with James it would have probably been a top 5)

Well, after several spins I've consolidated my view on the album.
I certainly like it, but not as much as the classics and I don't see any space for significant further improvements..
Still it's in my top half of the ranking.

I've started to like a lot PBD, and now my song ranking would be:
 - Top 10 overall DT: none
 - Strong like: At Wit's End, Paralyzed, Pale Blue Dot
 - Like: Untethered angel, Fall Into the Light, Barstool warrior, S2N
 - Sufficient: Viper King, Out of Reach
 - Interesting but not my cup of tea: Room 137
 - Bad: none

Highlights of the album:
 - Morricone section in Fall Into the Light
 - Barstool Warrior piano break + solo
 - At Wit's End chorus
 - First 3+ minutes of PBD

Ora che ho perso la vista,ci vedo di più