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

[Cool Chris]

Glass Prison: #38. Always have had this song as my 4th favorite on 6DoiT. It's a solid song, but I like so many other songs more.

Count of Tuscany: #54. It's a good song, nothing more. The intro is too long (how many times have I said that in this thread?), and the lyrics, while not horrible, are not helped by the vocal lines. I can forgive bad lyrics if the vocal melodies are strong, and they just are not here. I did enjoy seeing this live, it made me appreciate it more.

[devieira73]

14 TCOT (#12)
Just a great epic... amazing intro and all the music until 11 minutes is so intense, modern, but also with a bit of a nostalgic feel. The atmospheric passage with the more acoustic ending are perfect. And the ending feels even more nostalgic, so good! Many complain about the lyrics, but I think the story told here is really interesting to follow.

13 TGP (#11)
Relentless, incredible song and so unexpected for the band at the time! The instrumental section, beginning with that insane bass line and those last verses ("Way off in the distance I saw the door...") give me goosebumps still today!

[Revenge319]

The Count of Tuscany
My ranking: #5. One of the greatest song Dream Theater has ever made. The intro and outro are truly spectacular, but the same can be said for every other part of the song. The first verse has this adventurous and magical feel to it, and it really feels like a journey across the countryside. The pre-chorus is suitably ominous, and the chorus itself perfectly captures all the emotions it's trying to convey. The ambient section is so nice to listen to, and the end of it leads perfectly into the acoustic section, and from there it builds up to one of the greatest endings Dream Theater has ever created. The lyrics are really well-written in this song, and I see nothing wrong with them. Maybe if this story was fictitious I could understand them coming across as overdramatic, but if I went through the exact scenario that John Petrucci did here, I'd probably feel the exact same way. I also really like the lyrics in the first verse that talk about the ride to the castle, and what everything looks like ("At last we came upon / A picturesque estate / On sprawling emerald fields / An ancient world of times gone by"). I mean no exaggeration when I say everything in this song is perfect. This song even used to be #3 on my list, and for it to only go down two spots since then, that's evident enough of how well this song holds up for me after all this time.

The Glass Prison
My ranking: #9. What else can I say about this song that hasn't been said by anyone else? It's one of Dream Theater's heaviest and most aggressive songs, and they pull it off magnificently. It's an intense and awesome 13 minutes of music, all the way through. Now, normally I'd have this somewhere in the Top 20; using my 2019 rankings as a comparison, it was #17. However, now it's shot straight up to #9, the top of Tier 2 of my DT rankings. Why? This song is already one of Dream Theater's best works, but my main reason for putting it this high is because of the lyrics, of all things. The lyrics and what they're talking about, combined with the intensity of James' and Mike's vocals and the music surrounding them, are so powerful that they've affected me on a personal level. I won't go into detail, but to put it simply, listening to it a few months ago filled me with the motivation to try to make a conscious effort to put an end to a problem I've had for a while. There are certainly songs I like more than this one, even when just talking about Dream Theater, but I think a song that can affect something about a person for the better is one of the highest compliments a song could ever possibly receive.

[NoFred]

14. The Count of Tuscany, Would you like to see, our secret holy place? #26 Best music worst lyrics, they actively detract.

13. The Glass Prison, remember… when 6D came out we knew they could metal, but hadn’t heard it in full until this. #5. Everyone is ON here, and how I miss this combination of focus, fun, and experimentation. Highlight performances by JLB, JM, JP, MP and JR.

[425]

13. The Glass Prison
My ranking: #46

This song isn't among my top favorites, but it's undeniably an excellent song. In my opinion, it is exceeded by its successor, which manages to be just as heavy and more melodic, but it's still fantastic. There is something inherently cool about them saying for the first time, "Okay, let's go ahead and do a 14-minute slab of progressive metal, with an emphasis on the metal."

Instrumentally, this one just has so much great stuff going on. I don't think it's among their best songs vocally (part of why it's at #46 instead of #16), but JLB has a solid performance, the final section is quite good, and I'm one who likes Mike's contributions here.

And, of course, I can't talk about The Glass Prison without just saying 5:53. I even have that time stamp memorized.

[NoFred]

13. The Glass Prison ...slab...

SLAB fantastic word, favorite description of this one yet… it is, and 553 is the kind of part I wish they’d try again. Also I love how this is MPs best (And most appropriate) vocal performance, but after the first lead in JLB is all, *this* is how it’s done.

[wolfking]

13. The Glass Prison ...slab...

SLAB fantastic word, favorite description of this one yet… it is, and 553 is the kind of part I wish they’d try again. Also I love how this is MPs best (And most appropriate) vocal performance, but after the first lead in JLB is all, *this* is how it’s done.

I absolutely love that first verse.  The call and answer between the two is outstanding.

[erciccio]

So...12 left, and 10 of these are > 10 minutes long...

I have them all in my top 28, I happen to be quite an average DT fan...

Let's see which ones will remain out of the top 10, I am really curious about it...my guess is the two heaviest remaining won't make it...

[The Realm]

Let's see which ones will remain out of the top 10, I am really curious about it...my guess is the two heaviest remaining won't make it...

I'm not sure about this comment, as I've thinking it is debatable what the two heaviest remaining songs are? Personally I am thinking one of the songs that could be considered one of the heaviest remaining songs is surely top 5 and possibly higher.....but who knows...

The Count of Tuscany - I do love this song but also feel its criticisms are rightly justified. My issue is not so much the lyrics themselves but more the vocal phrasing and delivery. There is some really poor singing on this track in those verses etc it really lets the song down. The lyrics are cheesy and straightforward but the way they are sung makes them worse. However, there is also lots of awesomeness too.

[wolfking]

For me, The Count was at 10 and TGP was at number 9.

I'm kind of surprised at some of the low rankings for The Count.  Yeah, the lyrics are stupid but that ending makes it top 10 material for me.

TGP is just balls out beautiful prog metal, all 13 minutes of it.  Love it.

[The Realm]

Without a doubt The Count contains some or DTs best ever music so definitely top 20 if not top 10 material.

[erciccio]

Let's see which ones will remain out of the top 10, I am really curious about it...my guess is the two heaviest remaining won't make it...

I'm not sure about this comment, as I've thinking it is debatable what the two heaviest remaining songs are? Personally I am thinking one of the songs that could be considered one of the heaviest remaining songs is surely top 5 and possibly higher.....but who knows...

Well, there is probably a 3rd one that could be considered "heavy", but I think it's more "dark" than "heavy"...and I hope it will be in the top 5! 

All the other nine songs are definitively more "proggy" or even "balladish" than heavy...

[KevShmev]

No time like the present to reveal numbers 12 and 11...


12 Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
Appeared on 23 of 26 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 9
Highest Ranking: 1 (devieira73, bosk1)

This was a tough one for me to rank, as it feels more like a bunch of songs, some of which flow well into each other and some of which do not, rather than a single entity, but I still found it good enough when considering it a single song to rank it at 48.  This is the highest ranked song from the album of the same name, which was one of four albums that saw every song from it make the top 100.


11 In the Name of God
Appeared on 26 of 26 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 6
Highest Ranking: 1 (marztacy, NoFred)

This has been locked in as a top 20 DT song for me for a long time, and I had it 17 this time around.  Even early on, when I was iffy on Train of Thought as a whole, this was one I liked a lot.  Great stuff.  Train of Thought is another album that saw every song make the top 100, and this is its final and highest rated song.

[erciccio]

Wow!
This is surprising!

One of the 2 "heavy" I was mentioning was indeed ITNOG (#21) for me, a fantastic tune with a great riff, a catchy and epic chorus, and one of the coolest unisons ever conceived by the JP-JR duo..

On the other hand, I was expecting SDOIT to be in the top 10! (#6 for me!).
It's true that it's more a collection of songs than a full suite, but the structure is built mainly around the topic of the lyrics, and I think that this was a really cool idea..
I love a few of the sections (the softer ones and the About To Crash-es), while I am not a fan of the heavier parts....
But overall it's definitively a remarkable and successful musical and lyrical experiment!
 
So now the focus is on the top 10!

I still have "in the race" my #1,2,3,4,5,7,11, 14,16,28

[devieira73]

6 Degrees

My number one DT song? To be honest, it was a tough call between it and "the other one", but I think it was hard to compete with a song that it does sound like an album itself. Stylistically it has all  DT is capable to do and they did it in a glorious and very inspired way. Just an observation, I feel like DT has done 4 conceptual albums:  besides SFAM and TA, also 6 Degrees and the 12 Step Suite.

[devieira73]

11 In the Name of God (#9)

Amazing song from start to finish, great groove and riffs, with a menacing atmosphere through the song. The solo section is one of the greatest and more creative by DT and that ending is really gorgeus and imense!

[lovethedrake]

I’m shocked six degrees is not in the top 5 let alone the top 10.

[HOF]

6DOIT was down at 61 for me. I've never viewed it as one song really. There are parts of it that I do like a lot, but taken as a whole piece it was impossible to rank very high. I actively dislike and never listen to Overture, War Inside My Head, and The Test That Stumped Them All. I also think the ending is disappointing (though I do like the first part of Losing Time before it wanders off into recapping the song territory). I do like the About to Crash sections, though the lyrics are iffy (high, fly, sky, by) and Goodnight Kiss is pretty cool as well. Solitary Shell taken by itself would probably have landed in my top 25 songs though. It's easily the highlight of the piece and up there with Blind Faith as the highlight of the album.

In the Name of God ended up at 67. I used to say this was my favorite thing on ToT, but revisiting it recently, I didn't care for it much at all. The guitar solo is still pretty cool, but like most of ToT, it's a slog to get through.

[Laughingplace56]

I had ItNoG at 31. This song (and the whole album) is just so much fun. The repeating arpeggio but at the very end of the unison can be a little annoying sometimes, but other than that the whole instrumental section is amazing. I especially love the drum n bass groove throughout that section, and the main riff is nice and heavy.

6DOIT came in at 41 for me. Love the whole thing but there are parts that drag a bit that keeps it from being higher on my list (War Inside My Head being the biggest issue).

[Elite]

In the Names of God only BARELY made all 26 lists though it was my #99! It's.. okay, I guess? I never, ever revisit this song on it's own and rarely listen to Train of Thought anyway. The solo section is stupid and completely brings down the rest of the song's somewhat serious message. The ending is the best part, because it has that 'epic' feeling. Not too into this one, as you can tell.

Six Degrees was #43 on my list. Some very good parts are dragged down by some others and it doesn't feel like one song at all, but more like a collection of tracks. I've never considered this one of DT's best, and prefer almost every other track on its album to this, but it's a good one nonetheless.

Remaining are my own 1, 2, 6, 11, 12, 13, 15, 22, 27 & 37

[hefdaddy42]

Both of those are higher than I would have expected.  ITNOG is MUCH higher.

[Ben_Jamin]

12 Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence  #11

I am very fascinated with the theme of 6DOIT. It's an excellent suite with sections that portray a certain mental struggle. The music does a great job of presenting the emotional experience of these struggles. The best parts for me are About To Crash, ATC(Reprise), and Solitary Shell. I love the music behind these sections. It's great too how there are 6 mental issues that are presented, one of which is shown twice, which is neat in that it's reprised in the pov of the girl, rather than those who view her on the outside. The song culminates at the end with the lyrics, "Shame and disgrace over mental unrest, keeps us from saving those we love. The grace within our hearts, and the sorrows in our souls" bringing the overarching theme to a close as the band closes not only the song, but the entire theme of the album, "A journey to find the answers inside our elusive mind."

11  In The Name of God  #19

I first heard this on L@B and was amazed at how epic it is. The intro guitar into the full band heavy riff drew me in right away. I like the melody to the main riff, it makes me think of that sort of leader/tyrant/cult leader on his soapbox. Only in the case of In The Name of God, I see the lyrics as a person from the flock standing up on the soapbox speaking to the congregation about how their leader is manipulative, corrupt, and is not the savior he claims to be, "Passion twisting faith into violence, in the name of god",  the Leader manipulating the flock, and the news or stories of what those on the outside hear. I also like how the band decides to leave the listener with the question of, "does following faith, lead us to violence?"

[DragonAttack]

12 Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (#2) After the harsh introduction to the band on Disc 1, this one just blew me away! 

That Kansas inspired instrumental with JPs so sweet guitar is mesmorizing.  MPs drumming being just one of so many highlights.  I want to air drum when driving, and fight the urge to stand up a couple of times like he did during ‘Score’ 😉

I will admit to often skipping the first six minutes of the overture when listening from ‘start’ to finish.  That Kansas inspired instrumental with JPs so sweet guitar in ‘Goodnight Kiss’ is mesmorizing, and I love the laissez fair attitude and music that goes totally against what ‘Solitary Shell’ is about. The Spanish guitar and piano segment that leads into the hard driving end of it....fantastic!   MPs drumming being just one of so many highlights.  I want to air drum when driving, and fight the urge to stand up a couple of times like he did during ‘Score’ 😉

SDoIT is such a smart, complex, and great sounding ‘song’.  Certainly having it divided helps things.  I can think of a few of their long songs that would have benefitted from this. 

oh, and the ‘train’ that adds that little special something to ‘As I Am’

11 In the Name of God (#48) one of two ToT songs that I ranked.  There’s a minute or so of instrumental noodling I could do without.  That said, I enjoy the lyrics, ‘The Battle Hymn of the Republic’ segment, and do think quite highly of it. Glad to have seen it live, and one of the main highlights of 'Budokan'

[TAC]

14 The Count of Tuscany
Appeared on 24 of 26 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 9
Highest Ranking: 2 (AnotherDimension, geeeemo, BRGM)

I have TCOT at #11. I think musically, it's one of the best things they've written. The intro, the verses, even the middle section is great. But it's that eargasm of an ending that makes this epic. James absolutely slays that part. The lyrics..they're just fine.

13 The Glass Prison
Appeared on 23 of 26 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 8
Highest Ranking: 1 (Laughingplace56)

I didn't rate this. Partly out of protest, but honestly, I think this is the one DT song that has aged the worst in their catalog. I still remember my very first listen to 6 D's. When TGP ended, I was blown away. I literally listened to it a second time before moving on. But it never stuck with me. There's nothing I don't like about it, but there's nothing that I really like about it. It never gives me that goosebump moment and for a song that is that long and that monotonous, that's asking a bit too much for me.



12 Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
Appeared on 23 of 26 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 9
Highest Ranking: 1 (devieira73, bosk1)

I didn't rate this. I can't think of a bigger piece of meh in their catalog. It's 42 minutes of..well..nothing. Nothing happens. It's not particularly intricate musically, especially compared to other songs. At no point does anything approach a "Holy Shit" moment.  Though truth be told, I did have Solitary Shell at #42. I actually like that song, though the '09 live version fell pretty flat.

Actually, there is one thing that this is good for though...





11 In the Name of God
Appeared on 26 of 26 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 6
Highest Ranking: 1 (marztacy, NoFred)

I had this at #32. I like the song a ton, but just never rolls off my tongue when I think of their best songs. I was so happy to see this on the Black Clouds tour, especially after missing the ToT tour.

[devieira73]

12 Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
Appeared on 23 of 26 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 9
Highest Ranking: 1 (devieira73, bosk1)

I didn't rate this. I can't think of a bigger piece of meh in their catalog. It's 42 minutes of..well..nothing. Nothing happens. It's not particularly intricate musically, especially compared to other songs. At no point does anything approach a "Holy Shit" moment.  Though truth be told, I did have Solitary Shell at #42. I actually like that song, though the '09 live version fell pretty flat.

Actually, there is one thing that this is good for though...

Show some respect, Tim!

[wolfking]

 

[wolfking]

I had Six Degrees at #43 and ITNOG at #15.

pretty happy Six Degrees didn't make the top 10 truthfully. 

[Dream Team]

I think that run from Goodnight Kiss to Losing Time is pretty awesome, but the first half is very meh for me.

[Cool Chris]

I was way off. When Kev said a Top 5 song wasn't included in someone's Top 100, I thought it could be 6D, which was left off my list. Not totally surprised it wasn't in the Top 10, really surprised 2 other people left it off their list. TAC said what I feel.

ItNoG I have at 48. It's a good song and a solid wrap on ToT, but there is too much noodling in the soloing section that detracts from how good the rest of the song is for me.

[DragonAttack]

^
I have ITNoG at #48 as well. Hmmm?  But, as to Six Degrees, I hope you aren't using it as a coaster

[Wim Kruithof]

12 Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence  #11

I am very fascinated with the theme of 6DOIT. It's an excellent suite with sections that portray a certain mental struggle. The music does a great job of presenting the emotional experience of these struggles. The best parts for me are About To Crash, ATC(Reprise), and Solitary Shell. I love the music behind these sections. It's great too how there are 6 mental issues that are presented, one of which is shown twice, which is neat in that it's reprised in the pov of the girl, rather than those who view her on the outside. The song culminates at the end with the lyrics, "Shame and disgrace over mental unrest, keeps us from saving those we love. The grace within our hearts, and the sorrows in our souls" bringing the overarching theme to a close as the band closes not only the song, but the entire theme of the album, "A journey to find the answers inside our elusive mind."

Very nice breakdown again which I follow completely. This song is an absolute masterpiece. From the epics the hardest to rank as a solid track though, it's more to me as lose parts like A Mind By Itself, but it is both vulnerable and wonderful complex in its creation. Goodnight Kiss however is the piece I love most.

12 Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence #6
11 In the Name of God #55

I am really surprised a song from Train of Thought did make it to #11. I really love it though, but on This Dying Soul - to me - is much more of a masterpiece.

[KevShmev]

Everyone ready to start the top 10??

Away we go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

10 Finally Free
Appeared on 26 of 26 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 6
Highest Ranking: 3 (Laughingplace56)

An unbelievably awesome ending to one of the best concept albums ever.  I had it 14 and almost feel like I should have had it higher.  Just spectacular.


9 Scarred
Appeared on 24 of 26 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 10
Highest Ranking: 1 (Ben_Jamin)

This has been my number 1 DT song for long stretches of my DT fandom since 1994, but currently sits all the way down at number 2.    This song is just perfection.

[TAC]

10 Finally Free
Appeared on 26 of 26 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 6
Highest Ranking: 3 (Laughingplace56)

This is a great song. I have it at #33, but that doesn't mean I don't love it or think it's amazing.


9 Scarred
Appeared on 24 of 26 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 10
Highest Ranking: 1 (Ben_Jamin)

GREAT song. I actually have it at #3. Have loved it since Day 1. So bummed that they not only didn't play it on the Awake, they also skipped it on the ACOS tour. Since I didn't go to the 6 D's show, it wouldn't be until 2007 that I finally saw it live. And the AFTR tour version is awesome.

Once In A Livetime is disappointing for many reasons but one big one is that while it finally contained a live version of Scarred, it completely skipped past the outro.

[HOF]

I have Finally Free at 37. It’s a really good song that I like a lot, but I think it’s a bit overrated at 10. I think it’s mostly because I don’t really connect with the SFAM story on any sort of emotional or personal level. Wouldn’t ever really listen to it outside of the context of the album. That said, it is a strong close to a beloved album, so I definitely get why it’s finishing this high.

Scarred came in at 6 for me, but it’s one that is in the conversation for my favorite DT song, and probably could have finished as high as 2nd at least if I were ranking on a different day. Just an amazing song with one of my favorite instrumental passages by DT (or any other band probably). This is a top 3 JP solo for sure. Everything from “do you feel you don’t know me anymore” onward is just tremendous. The one thing holding it back for me is the heavier, operatic verses are a bit on the melodramatic side. Amazing performance from James there though. A great, great song.

[Setlist Scotty]

Once In A Livetime is disappointing for many reasons but one big one is that while it finally contained a live version of Scarred, it completely skipped past the outro.

That's not the issue I have with it. In fact, I love the way MP had it flow right into the Darkest of Winters.

What I find disappointing was that the guitar solo was edited out, I'm guessing to ensure that everything fit on the CD, even though it wasn't necessary.