I mean all seven epics are either at or towards the top of their respective album rankings for me.
1: Octavarium (my favorite song on Octavarium)
2: The Count of Tuscany (my favorite on Black Clouds & Silver Linings)
3: A Change of Seasons (the only original on the EP but it’s one of my favorites regardless)
4: A View From the Top of the World (my second favorite on A View From the Top of the World)
5: Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (my favorite on Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence)
6: In the Presence of Enemies (my second favorite on Systematic Chaos)
7: Illumination Theory (my second favorite on the self-titled album)
There is a thread for this (although it doesn't list View, since it predated the latest album). But here is mine:
1. Six Degrees: Will probably always be my favorite of the mega-epics. There are a few parts that drag for me. But I definitely subscribe to the "more is more" theory, and this song simply delivers more minutes of top-notch music, lyrics, and songwriting than anything else. And the twist and the end tying it all up has always been a favorite DT moment.
2. ACOS: I kind of feel like I'm cheating because I'm cherry-picking the live performance from LSFNY in ranking it this high. But the playing and the raw emotion bump that version up the rankings a bit for me.
3. Octavarium: My appreciation of the song continues to grow all these years later. It could easily be #2 on any given day. I really hope to see it live some day.
4. View: I really like this song. It has the total package of great writing, playing, and lyrics. Not that others don't, but this one just does it on a slightly better level than the ones ranked below it.
5. ITPOE: Fun blast of a song with lots of cool ideas.
6. Illumination Theory: Some really brilliant writing, but despite that I completely get why the middle section is there and feel that it contributes to the overall structure, it just makes the song lose all momentum in the execution and drags it down a bit.
7. TCOT: Despite great lyrics (don't listen to Hef--he doesn't know what he's talking about) and some great playing, this one comes in last, just because it is a bit less awesome than the other six. And like IT, despite a beautiful middle section that is quite emotional and has some great playing, that middle section takes me out of the moment of the song and thus knocks it down a few points.