For people like me that love the melodic and the proggy side of Dream Theater, it is not.
I think it's a solid album and I like it, but I prefer ADTOE and The Astonishing, so for me it #3 out of 4 and actually just slightly above DT12.
I prefer ADTOE because:
- it contains some super "moderate length" epics such as Outcry and Bridges in the Sky and of course Breaking All Illusions - my favorite Mangini-era song - and there is nothing similar in D/T, the closest song being AWE that is anyway a bit disconnected, for me
- I love the ballads there (especially Beneath the Surface) while I really don't like Out of Reach
- I also love the "mainistream" pieces (OTBOA and BMUBMD), that are comparable or slight better than Paralyzed and Untethered Angel
I also love The Astonishing, because it contains some of the best melodies ever written by our guys, and one the best performances ever by James and Jordan. I also appreciated a lot the risk they have take there.
D/T on the contrary is a good album, but it lacks courage, James and Jordan performance is below (their outstanding) average and the top moments in there (the interlude of FITL, some melodies of BW, some instrumental sections in PBD) are a bit isolated and never reach the "magic" status, at least for me. No epic fails though, on this I agree
DT12 is still a good album with a few great songs (TEI, IT, STR), but the flaws are more evident (e.g. Along for the Ride production, Enigma Machine, ...) and so I would rate it below D/T.