Top 100 Dream Theater songs countdown (Top 2 revealed!!)

[TAC]

96 Afterlife (#64)

The Score version gave me such a new appreciation for this. I remember when they started doing Afterlife in 1993 and dropped The Killing Hand and I thought we were getting shortchanged. Now, I can look back at those old boots with much more open ears. The WDADU version really lacks some punch.


95 Forsaken (#67)

I think Forsaken is solid AF. And like the rest of SC, James sings fantastic on it. I feel like rangewise, they didn't ask a lot of him, but what he did sing, he was on point.


94 Through Her Eyes (#77)

My appreciation for this came from the LSFNY version. Really emotional performance by James.


93 I Walk Beside You (#66)

This is a great perky tune. I never thought much of it at first, but they won me over when I saw it live in '06. This translates perfectly live.

92 The Looking Glass (#97)

Not a bad song, but would've missed the list had I been able to include the new album.


91 To Live Forever (Not Rated)

I don't get it, I have never gotten it, and I don't think I ever will..

[jammindude]

My ranking-

Through Her Eyes - 123
I Walk Beside You - 54
The Looking Glass - 44
To Live Forever - 59

THE is good in the context of the album, and a perfect “breather” between BTL and Home. But doesn’t do much for me by itself.

I love IWBY. It was just a fun little tune on the album (which again, perfectly encapsulates the many facets of DT) but seeing it at the Score show really took it to another level.

TLG is another really fun song. The first of the three songs in the middle that firmly secured the self titled as my favorite Mangini album.

TLF has some nostalgia going for it. It was probably the first widely known non-album track. It’s a good song, but it never felt “done” to me. Even the finished 93 version seems to meander a bit. Like they started with a pretty good idea and then could never quite figure out where to take it. Of all the versions out there, I prefer the 91 version. The 93 sounds more polished, but it just doesn’t fit the song to my ears.

[Cool Chris]

91 To Live Forever (Not Rated)

I don't get it, I have never gotten it, and I don't think I ever will..

 Seconded

[bosk1]

I like it just fine.  But there are at least 100 other DT songs that I like more. 

[Wim Kruithof]

94 Through Her Eyes #57
93 I Walk Beside You #90
92 the Looking Glass #63
91 To Live Forever # -

Through Her Eyes is - to me - one of the most outstanding pieces of Myung on Scenes. Especially with that fretless bass of his. That's so touching and emotional.

[Ben_Jamin]

96 - Afterlife: (Did Not Rank)

It's a song that I don't mind and I like the Score version, but it's one that is just there for me. If it comes on I will enjoy it and listen to it, but I don't go seeking it out to play it much at all. I enjoy the vocal melodies the most and actually would enjoy a duet of Charlie and LaBrie for this song.

95 - Forsaken: (Did Not Rank)

Another song that is just there for me. It's similar to Afterlife in I like the vocal melodies, and I thought it was great hearing these vocals when Systematic Chaos was released. I only wish that outro higher vocal line was a bit more upfront in the mix. It reminds me of Going Under by Evanescence and Cold by Static-X, smoothly blended in the verses.

94 - Through Her Eyes: #39

I agree with what Kev said about this song. This was the second song I was anxious to see during the Distant Memories tour (I personally loved that set-list and was stunned as I did not look at the set-list before the Denver show). I enjoy the Demo versions ending, but I listed the Live Scenes From New York version because that bombastic outro suits the song and is fantastic in the live setting, which I was hoping they would've done for the Distant Memories tour, but alas they didn't and I was a  a bit. Also because it features Teresa Tompson as a live guest.

93 - I Walk Beside You: #70

This one shuffles a lot if I were to rank songs monthly. I prefer the pace of the album version over the Score version. That is a bit too fast and I feel the vocal melodies suffer as the notes are not sustained long enough. I love the vocal melodies over this key and chord progression. What makes the vocal melodies soar is the pacing of the song.

92 - The Looking Glass: (Did Not Rank)

It's an alright song. If they play it live this tour I'll still be rocking out and singing along to it. It's not one I go out to listen to, but if I am in the right mood, I'll listen to it.

91 - To Live Forever: #78

I like the New York '93 official bootleg of the song, or more that version of the song. I ranked the Happy Holidays version because that is more closer to what I got when I saw them live on the I&W&B tour, which I am so happy to have been fortunate enough to have seen.

[HOF]

I’ve listened to To Live Forever like 6 or 7 times today. It’s really great.

[jammindude]

I’ve listened to To Live Forever like 6 or 7 times today. It’s really great.

Which version out of curiosity? It’s almost weird how this particular song has so many quite different official releases. The 91 & 93 studio versions, and then the extended live jam from LIT, and then the OIALT video version (which I believe is on the fan club cd as well)

[Lonk]

I’ve listened to To Live Forever like 6 or 7 times today. It’s really great.

It really is 

[Dream Team]

96 Afterlife
Appeared on 14 of 26 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 0
Highest Ranking: 26 (Dream Team, wolfking)

I was happy to see this one make it.  This is the first of five songs from the debut to make the list.

That's kind of weird, since there aren't 5 good songs on the debut.

Actually exactly 5 really good, 3 pretty flawed.

[HOF]

I’ve listened to To Live Forever like 6 or 7 times today. It’s really great.

Which version out of curiosity? It’s almost weird how this particular song has so many quite different official releases. The 91 & 93 studio versions, and then the extended live jam from LIT, and then the OIALT video version (which I believe is on the fan club cd as well)

Mostly ‘93 (which I greatly prefer to ‘91) but also the 5YIALT which is tremendous. I prefer the production (especially the drums) on the later studio version, and it does feel more finished. I wish they would put out a CD with the full fan club show from 5YIALT. Maybe in a future Lost But Not Forgotten release.

[DragonAttack]

96. Afterlife: NR  Great ‘Score’ version. Damn, an instrumentally killer track.  I’m just not a fan of Iron Maiden-ish vocals.

95.  Forsaken: NR.  Good placement on the LP, but lyrics about vampires don’t do much for me (unless it’s Alice Cooper😉) It just didn’t age well for me on a very dark album.  I hear hints of it later on in ‘Paralyzed’.

94.  Through Her Eyes (#35) The 2nd one where I gave a song its highest rank (the mellow ol’ fart strikes again) I didn’t own SFAM or Live Scenes until after the 8vm release.  The lyrics made me think of a classmate I lost who was like my sister. Perfect placement on the studio album.  The live version with the JP and Teresa Thomason intro, and the harder edged ending is even better. My wife absolutely loves the GH version with the sax.  Also, James was amazing on the last tour.

93. I Walk Beside You (#22) and the ol’ fart strikes again!  TALW/TDTW/IWBY is a great ‘trilogy’ to me, and I’ll probably get the highest rankings for the other two as well.  They had wonderful animation with it on their ’09 tour.  It’s upbeat and short.  The lyrics are inspirational and spiritual, without being overtly religious, because it could be a spouse/best friend trying to cheer up their cohort.  The ‘ohhhhhh, when everything is wrong, ohhhhhh when helplessness surrounds you, ohhh…..” segment is one of their best LV/BV combined moments.  Would have concluded a very highly ranked old fashioned side one vinyl record.  Perfectly placed in the ‘Score’ set.

92. The Looking Glass (#79)  Lots of good material in a short song.  Had never thought of the Journey vibe mentioned earlier, but certainly heard it today.

91. To Live Forever (#56 as an earlier poster).  Nice addition to ‘Hit’.  Inserted after ‘Lie’ on my ‘Awake’ version.  Clever twists in the lyrics.

Because of this thread, I heard the Tokyo and 5 Years versions for the first time today!  Heap on all the accolades for this tune and the early years.  ‘Spacy’ middle, driving ending (a shame it doesn’t have a proper finish)…but what an unexpected treat all these years later.

[HOF]

91. To Live Forever (#56 as an earlier poster).  Nice addition to ‘Hit’.  Inserted after ‘Lie’ on my ‘Awake’ version.  Clever twists in the lyrics.

Because of this thread, I heard the Tokyo and 5 Years versions for the first time today!  Heap on all the accolades for this tune and the early years.  ‘Spacy’ middle, driving ending (a shame it doesn’t have a proper finish)…but what an unexpected treat all these years later.

Awesome! Glad you got to check out those live versions.

[wolfking]

91 To Live Forever (Not Rated)

I don't get it, I have never gotten it, and I don't think I ever will..

 Seconded

Yep, I'll echo that.  Didn't even give it a thought for my 100.

[wolfking]

I love IWBY.  My list is at home but I think I had it around 35-40.

[TAC]

95.  Forsaken: NR.  Good placement on the LP, but lyrics about vampires don’t do much for me (unless it’s Alice Cooper😉) It just didn’t age well for me on a very dark album.  I hear hints of it later on in ‘Paralyzed’.

 

Forsaken is so much better than Paralyzed though. I always enjoy hearing it.

I've never thought about the lyrics honestly. I would have no idea what they were about.

[Revenge319]

Through Her Eyes
My ranking: #81. I don't like the female singing in the first minute or so of this song. It just doesn't sound good to me at all, and it drags the song down for me. In contrast, everything after that is of such greatness that if the female vocals had been removed, this song would be guaranteed a spot in my Top 20, maybe even my Top 10.


I Walk Beside You
My ranking: Not ranked (#119). This is a pleasant song. Nothing particularly special about it, but it's a solid song from start to finish. I really like the heartwarming lyrics, and James delivers them very nicely. I think this would end up higher in my rankings if I listened to it more.


The Looking Glass
My ranking: Not ranked (#131). This used to be somewhere in my Bottom 5 Dream Theater songs, but it's gone up a little since then. There's nothing wrong with The Looking Glass at all, but not much stands out and the whole song feels a little unremarkable. It's nice to listen to, but it's not very often that I listen to it in the first place.


I have not listened to To Live Forever before, and as such I don't have anything to say about it.

[HOF]

I have not listened to To Live Forever before, and as such I don't have anything to say about it.

No time like the present!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vVtAfYC1CNE

[KevShmev]

@Kevshmev, when this is done could you make an album ranking based off your stats? Like, from the number of songs on each, and how high they ranked? I don’t think I have the patience to do it.

Haha, trying to give me more work, eh? 

[erciccio]

This would be my ranking of the albums based on the songs ranking and a related simple scoring system (#1 gets 100 points, #100 gets 1)
The figures show total points, # of ranked songs, average score per ranked song, total # of songs in the album, average score per total # of songs.
Sorry for the table alignment, I don't know how to make it square..

Album                     Points   #  Avg   # tot Avg tot
Images and words      695   8     87     8    87
The Astonishing          662   19   35     34   19
Awake                        614   10   61     11   56
A dramatic turn           546   8     68     9   61
SFAM                         534   10    53     12   45
Dream Theater           347   5     69     9   39
Six Degrees                256   5     51     6   43
When Day                  250   6     42     8   31
Falling into infinity       245   5     49     11   22
Octavarium                 210   5     42     8   26
Train of thoughts         191   5     38     7   27
Distance over time      175   6     29     10   18
Others                        133   2    67     Na   Na
Black clouds                116   3    39     6   19
Systematic chaos         76    3     25     7   11


Looking at the average score calculated on all songs, I&W clearly dominates, while ADTOE turns out to be at number 2, even though I would not consider it to be my 2nd favourite album..

SFAM is my 2nd favourite, because its "value" as an album is certainly higher than the sum of the individual songs...

[KevShmev]

Three more!  I will probably list a few more later today.

90 New Millennium
Appeared on 13 of 26 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 0
Highest Ranking: 16 (devieira73)

This made the list despite appearing only half of the top 100s. It was helped big time by finishing in the top 21 of four of the lists.  It did not make mine.  I like the song, but it's not one I reach for on its own.


89 Vacant
Appeared on 17 of 26 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 0
Highest Ranking: 15 (425)

Always liked this song quite a bit.  It keeps the dark vibe of Train of Thought going, but gives us a few minutes to relax amongst all of the metal.


88 A Life Left Behind
Appeared on 17 of 26 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 0
Highest Ranking: 12 (NoFred)

I honestly thought this one would finish higher, as it seems like one from The Astonishing that gets talked up the most.  I had it at 93, so this seems about right.

[Lonk]

New Millennium: #83 - Fun song with really cool instrumental section.

Vacant: #44 - One of JLB highlights for me. The mood of this song along with the great vocal melodies are just perfect.

A Life Left Behind: unranked - This songs has some cool things going for it, just not enough to make it to my top 100.

[Laughingplace56]

I have Vacant at 69, I’ve always loved the haunted vibe of that song. It’s also a superior use of the melody in Stream of Consciousness, which ranked a few spots lower for me.

A Life Left Behind was originally on my list, but then I realized 6:00 and The Best of Times were snubbed so I had to change a couple of songs lol.

New Millennium just never clicked with me. I enjoy it from time to time, but it’s not one I normally sell out.

And I echo the sentiment mentioned earlier that DT has not released a bad song; there’s a few that I don’t really care for (like WYTHC, Repentance  and OoR), but even those songs have redeeming qualities that prevent it from being an outright bad song.

As we get further into the list, I’m starting to wonder if the most overhated DT song is going to make the cut: Raw Dog, which I have at 55 on my list 

[KevShmev]

As we get further into the list, I’m starting to wonder if the most overhated DT song is going to make the cut: Raw Dog, which I have at 55 on my list 

Let's put your wonder to rest now.

162 songs were ranked (any DT song that made a top 100 is one of the 162).  Raw Dog finished at 150.  Probably too high.

[Elite]

What song was #162?

[KevShmev]

What song was #162?

Gladiator Theme.  It finished with 1 point (it made one list and at number 100 ).

[devieira73]

90 New Millennium (#16 for me)
I always loved this song since the first time I've heard it  - I was immediately impressed by its very cool instrumental with a very exotic/dark vibe. Like Lines in the Sand, it's also very different from the entire DT's catalog and very Derek's influenced.

89 Vacant (- for me)
I think it has a very interesting atmosphere, but it does sound more like a interlude than a complete song.

88 A Life Left Behind (#68 for me)
I love the intro so much, maybe my favorite part of TA along with the outro of A New Beginning. But I must add that the verses that follow the intro, I don't like them very much, although I think the song gets better in its last third. Summing up, I think the intro is what really makes the song totally worth for me.

[KevShmev]

Some fun facts to chew on about the top 100:

-97 of the 100 songs come from the 14 eligible studio albums
-of the 3 songs not from those studio albums, we have already seen one at 91 (To Live Forever)
-four studio albums have every song from it in the top 100
-the two albums tied for the 2nd most songs in the top 100 are not among the four that have every song featured
-three songs will not finish in the top 50 despite being the number 1 song on someone's list (no spoilers if you think yours is one of them, please)

[Elite]

Some fun facts to chew on about the top 100:

-97 of the 100 songs come from the 14 eligible studio albums
-of the 3 songs not from those studio albums, we have already seen one at 91 (To Live Forever)

So, one of them has to be A Change of Seasons and then there's a random song thrown in there somewhere. Maybe Raise the Knife or Another Won, since both were featured on Score?

-four studio albums have every song from it in the top 100
-the two albums tied for the 2nd most songs in the top 100 are not among the four that have every song featured

SDOIT (6 songs), BC&SL (6 songs), I&W (8 songs) and ... Octavarium? (please don't)

not every song from Train of Thought made the list, since it has 7 and the tied 2nd place is not complete, so that means two incomplete albums with 7 tracks on there. My bet is on ADTOE and the self-titled giving 7 songs each.

Semi-random guesses for the rest of the albums:

WDADU gets 5 (confirmed by Kev)
Awake gets 7
FII gets 6
SFAM gets 10
ToT gets 6
Systematic Chaos gets 5 (out of 7!)
The Astonishing gets 11
DoT gets 5

-three songs will not finish in the top 50 despite being the number 1 song on someone's list (no spoilers if you think yours is one of them, please)

Wow! I don't think this applies to me though. I am getting slightly worried for some other high placed songs in mine

[bosk1]

-of the 3 songs not from those studio albums, we have already seen one at 91 (To Live Forever)

I am VERY confident I know what the other two are, but won't post them unless you say I can.

-four studio albums have every song from it in the top 100

Hmm... I will say those four albums likely are:
-Images
-Awake
-Train of Thought
-Six Degrees

Very confident about the first two.  Not quite a much about the last two.  I would not be that surprised if FII replaced one of those two, but You Not Me exists, so...

[devieira73]

Some fun facts to chew on about the top 100:

-four studio albums have every song from it in the top 100
-the two albums tied for the 2nd most songs in the top 100 are not among the four that have every song featured

My bets (edited):
I&W, Awake, 6Degrees and ADTOE;
Scenes and TA

[Lonk]

Some fun facts to chew on about the top 100:

-four studio albums have every song from it in the top 100
-the two albums tied for the 2nd most songs in the top 100 are not among the four that have every song featured

My bets:
I&W, Scenes, 6Degrees and ADTOE;
Awake and TA

I don't think Scenes has every song in the top 100 because of Regression and Through My Words. So maybe swap it with Awake and you might be right.

[devieira73]

You're right!

[erciccio]

 - New Millenium: no rank for me. I think it's actually one of the very few "bad" songs by Dream Theater...I just don't feel it...and I'am not the only one ..
http://www.prog-sphere.com/interviews/resurfacing-an-interview-with-james-labrie/

 - Vacant: 22. I love dark ballads, and this one is just a jewel. The major-minor tension is just amazing here.

- A life left behind: 60. One of the best stand alone tracks from the Astonishing, with a beautiful main melody. It's in my wife's top-10 as well..

[jammindude]

My ranking:

New Millennium - 19
Vacant - 92
A Life Left Behind - 51

LOVE LOVE LOVE New Millennium!!! That Chapman Stick riff is incredible, and it’s in my top 10 instrumental sections in their whole catalog. I’m baffled by the indifference it always gets. It ranks #2 from the album to me.

Vacant is so beautiful. But in the head to head contests, it got bumped down the list for the simple reason of being more of an intro to SOC than a proper song.

ALLB is my top ranking song from TA and it just barely missed my top 50. Best chorus on the whole album and I love the fun extended introduction.