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

[Shalev Amir]

There is only one throne and a lot of songs that fit on it, but it's definitely Octavarium for me. It's the perfect journey and very well rounded (pun intended). Most days I'd call it by favourite song period.

[HOF]

Metropolis Pt. 1 is definitely the track that just about broke my 16 year old brain when I first heard it. Had never experienced anything like it instrumentally or compositionally. I would listen to it over and over again on my Walkman and just sort of be transported. It’s a great great song and worthy of a top 4 finish. That said, it’s one that hasn’t aged as well for me on I&W. A combination of overplaying it and just growing away from heavier, technical music, and not loving the lyrics (they are fine, they just don’t really mean anything). It still finished at number 30 for me though (one spot below Anna Lee, how’s that for an upset?).

Octavarium, as I’ve mentioned already, has some awesome parts and some parts that always just sort of made me wince. It’s a style of DT song that I should like a lot more than I do (more prog than metal, colorful instrumental section, etc). The main criticisms are the JR intro is overlong, and the Full Circle section is just kind of silly, with the “trapped inside this Octavari YUUUUMMMM!” line being a moment that really was hard to take seriously when I first heard it. That whole album really put me off the band, but I think looking back on it now I can appreciate it a little bit more if I don’t take it so seriously. At the time though, it just wasn’t what I wanted to hear from my favorite band. I pulled up an instrumental edit on YouTube the other day, and the music itself is fantastic. Anyway, it came in at 63 for me, which might have been the only thing between it and a first place finish.

[425]

I'll try to get to writeups on the #6-#2 later today. All I'll say right now is that my guess for #1 is still alive.

[The Realm]

My guess for number 1 is also still alive. I think it was always going to come down to one of the 2 remaining songs apart from possibly the song that ended up number 4. I thought Metropolis would have finished higher than Octavarium (which is the song I thought may have missed a list as I am not sure it is loved by everyone).

[TAC]

4 Metropolis Part 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper
Appeared on 26 of 26 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 15
Highest Ranking: 1 (Elite, AnotherDimension)

"This still feels, on many levels, like THE definitive Dream Theater song. I had it at 5.  It sums up everything that is great about Dream Theater in a little over 9 1/2 minutes."

I agree with what you say Kev. I have it at #9, and if there was one song to show someone who and what Dream Theater is, I'm playing Metropolis.

3 Octavarium
Appeared on 26 of 26 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 14
Highest Ranking: 1 (geeeemo, Wim Kruithof, BRGM, jammindude)

I have this at #2, and consider it their best written song.

[KevShmev]

I agree with what you say Kev. I have it at #9, and if there was one song to show someone who and what Dream Theater is, I'm playing Metropolis.

And what is really wild is that there is no chorus in the song.  The fact that they managed to write that song and make it work so well with no chorus whatever to speak of is a testament to honed their songwriting skills were at a young age.

[Cool Chris]

I have no issue with naming Metropolis their signature song. That being said, it's not even my favorite from the album it's on, and I have 17 songs ranked higher.

Octavarium is #5 for me. Loved it from the first listen. Pretty hard to make a perfect 20+ minute long song. This isn't perfect by any means, but the flaws are minor enough to skip mentioning.

[geeeemo]

Metropolis Part 1. Its at 22. It moved up quite a bit in the last year or two for me. In my case, its the best example  of a grower. It was hard at first for me to wrap my head around it. Of all their songs, it has the most entertaining instrumental section.  And Labrie! What a showcase for him.

Octavarium. #1.....I love this song. This is my favorite song of all time. Funny, I tend to like heavier or riffier songs. But its so unique and musical and beautiful. The buildup gets me every time and I keep turning it louder and louder until I am blasting the scream. There simply is no other song like Ocatavrium.

[KevShmev]

As I get ready to post the top two, I want to say thanks again to everyone who submitted a list for this, and also to everyone who has participated in this thread.  It has been a lot of fun! 

[KevShmev]

The top two!!

2 A Change of Seasons
Appeared on 25 of 26 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 14
Highest Ranking: 1 (Revenge319, Dream Team, Vmadera00, ZirconBlue)

This is sometimes a top 10 song for me, sometimes it isn't.  I had it at 8 in my initial ranking, but it came in at 15 after doing the rankings engine.  I totally get why so many consider this their best song.  It is pretty damn awesome. 


1 Learning to Live
Appeared on 26 of 26 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 18
Highest Ranking: 1 (425, TAC, Setlist Scotty, erciccio)

I had this at 3, but it ending up at number 1 did not surprise me at all.  It is another perfectly written song by the band, and very deserving of the 1 slot here. 

[Elite]

Well, we all knew this, only not the order they'd appear in.

A Change of Seasons is my #2. DT's best epic, as far as I'm concerned. Fantastic song.

Learning to Live is my #6, aside from Metropolis my favourite '10-minute-song' by Dream Theater. Another great one, but not one I'd ever put at #1 so long as ACOS, Metropolis and the trifecta of amazing short songs (have you been reading my write-ups?) exist.

[Lonk]

Kev, Thank you for doing this. This was really fun to follow along with, and honestly a bit surprising to see the love some songs receive (or dislike for those out of the top 100). I know it was a lot of work but thank you!

Anyways, since I haven't follow with revealing all my rankings, I guess I'll do the top 20:

1. A change of Seasons
2. Learning To Live
3. Octavarium
4. Stream of Consciousness
5. Metropolis, Pt. 1
6. Blind Faith
7. Lines In the Sand
8. Bridges In the Sky
9. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
10. In the Name of God
11. Voices
12. In the Presence of Enemies
13. Panic Attack
14. Finally Free
15. Home
16. The Glass Prison
17. At Wit's End
18. Outcry
19. S2N
20. The Path That Divides

[devieira73]

2. A Change of Seasons (#2) – If we consider 6 Degrees more like a suite of songs, I would pick ACOS as my favorite DT song anytime, since the first time I heard it on “The Dance of Eternity” live bootleg. At the time I didn’t think so - because I was already used to the bootleg version, but the official EP version was a nice improvement from the demo version, no doubt. Epic song with the best MP’s lyrics.

1. Learning to Live (#4) – It’s also a perfect and very inspired song, with the best JM’s lyrics. The instrumental part beginnig with that flamenco guitar is still one of the most amazing pieces of music I ever heard.

[devieira73]

Kev, now that we know all the Top 100, I'm curious about some observations that you raised previously:

- "There's is 3 songs not from those studio albums that made the Top 100." I remember To Live Forever and now ACOS. What was the third?
- "Four studio albums have every song from it in the top 100." (I&W, Awake, ToT e ADTOE?)
- "The two albums tied for the 2nd most songs in the top 100 are not among the four that have every song." (TA e SFAM?)

[Lonk]

Kev, now that we know all the Top 100, I'm curious about some observations that you raised previously:

- "There's is 3 songs not from those studio albums that made the Top 100." I remember To Live Forever and now ACOS. What was the third?

Raise the Knife?

[devieira73]

That's it, at #72, right? Thanks
Really well deserved, by the way.

[HOF]

This was a ton of fun. Thanks for all the work doing this, Kev.

I had ACOS at 15, but that’s mostly just a product of stiff competition. Great song, MP’s best lyrics probably, love how it moves through the different movements. A ton of killer instrumental stuff on here. A great performance from James. The main detractor is the drum sound and the overall thin production. But in some ways that just gives it a unique, memorable sound. DT’s top epic in my book for sure, and no issue with it finishing at number 2.

Learning to Live for a certain period of time would have been my number 1. As it is today, I ranked it at number 9. But as I’ve said before, I’m not totally sold on the exact order of my top 10 and it probably could have been number 1 still on another day. Like other stuff from I&W, it’s just lost a little shine for me over time, but not enough to take it out of my top 10. What an outstanding performance by everyone in the band. I love the intro, I love the outro, I love the reference to Wait for Sleep and the little jazzy acoustic guitar bit in the instrumental. I love the line “the way your heart beats makes all the difference in learning to live.” Great stuff from Myung as always. James knocks it out. So absolutely this was a worthy number 1.

[lucasembarbosa]

I was expecting ACOS to be the 1st (my personal favorite), but LTL is awesome as well and I understand why it was placed there 

[erciccio]

Here is my top 20!

1   Learning To Live
2   Metropolis, Pt. 1: the Miracle and the Sleeper
3   A Change of Seasons
4   Scarred
5   Octavarium
6   Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
7   Breaking All Illusions
8   Take the Time
9   Space-Dye Vest
10   Outcry
11   Voices
12   Wait For Sleep
13   The Spirit Carries On
14   Finally Free
15   Pull Me Under
16   Trial of Tears
17   Surrounded
18   The Enemy Inside
19   Illumination Theory
20   Beneath the Surface

I am super happy that Learning to Live was the winner...

It took me a long time to fall in love with it, initially I found the intro too "key-ish" and the song overall not "technical enough"..
The truth is that this song contains among others;
 - an instrumental section which is one of the most amazing pieces of music ever written (imho of course)...
 - the magic of the outro..those harmonics over the alternating tempo..just orgasmic
 - the fantastic atmosphere created by JM during the first verses, over that 6/4 + 7/4
..and everything is just so "fluent" and natural..

What's really astonishing is that these guys wrote LtL and ACOS when they were in the very early 20's...I wish I had had a 1/1000 of their talent and skills at that age...

Thanks for the super fun post!

[Revenge319]

Learning to Live
My ranking: #25. I'm talking about this one first because I wanna save my #1 for last. Anyway, Learning to Live... This one's grown on me significantly over the years. I don't listen to Images and Words nearly as much as I would assume most people on here do, but when I started to consistently listen to this song at some point, I realized how much I'd been missing out on. I used to only really know this song for that one moment, but now I know it for so much more. Standout moments include the happy-sounding intro, "find me kindness, find me beauty, find me truth", the whole instrumental section, the guitar solo, the Wait For Sleep reprise... But there's two big ones. First, that one moment. 6:57. One of James LaBrie's greatest moments in DT history. The second big one is the ending, and I'm talking about everything that happens after the last chorus. Regarding album closers, I have a good amount of those ranked higher than Learning to Live (eight, to be exact). But in terms of ending an album, 10:04 and onwards is among the best endings to a Dream Theater album. Probably one of the best endings to any album, really. If the #1 spot had to go to a song other than A Change of Seasons, then I think Learning to Live is deserving of that honor.

A Change of Seasons
My ranking: #1. I'm not even sure what to say with this one. A Change of Seasons is not just my favorite Dream Theater song, but it is my favorite song of all time, from any artist out there. This is one of those rare songs that I would say are greater than perfection, if such a concept even possible. I could talk about everything I love about this song, but I'd be here for a very long time. Like with Octavarium, I'm just going to keep this brief as going into detail would take an immense amount of time. There is one thing I will mention, though. Similarly to The Glass Prison, this song has influenced my life beyond simply discovering an amazing piece of music. "Carpe Diem" is a message that I want to be able to live by as best as I can. As a whole, this song does everything flawlessly. The emotions, the technicality, the lyrics, the atmosphere... This has everything I could ever want in a song, and it is all executed with such perfection that I cannot see myself ever finding a song I love more than this one.

[Setlist Scotty]

I echo all the comments of thanks Kev! Was a lot of fun seeing how everything unfolded.

And I gotta say I'm pleasantly surprised that my favorite made it to number 1 - I actually thought for sure that ACoS would take the top spot.

[lovethedrake]

A very worthy #1 and #2 and a super fun exercise to follow along with. Thanks Kev!

A few things that surprise me:

- Breaking all illusions making the top 10 - great song but don’t love the vocal Melodies enough for it to crack the top 10

- Voices making the top 5 - fantastic but just surprised it’s this high

- The lack of love for Fatal Tragedy and overture 1928 as top 10 songs.

Great fun. 

[Trav86]

Thank you Kev! Awesome job!

[devieira73]

My Top 20 (yeah, I'm very biased for DT epic/more complex songs! ):

1.   6 Degrees
2.   A Change of Seasons
3.   Metropolis pt.1
4.   Learning to Live
5.   Voices
6.   Lines in the Sand
7.   Trial of Tears
8.   Octavarium
9.   In the Name of God
10.   Home
11.   The Glass Prision
12.   The Count of Tuscany
13.   Beyond This Life
14.   The Dance of Eternity
15.   The Dark Eternal Night
16.   New Millennium
17.   Lost Not Forgotten
18.   Bridges in the Sky
19.   A New Beginning
20.   At Wit’s End

Thanks, Kev and all of you for all the comments and deep analysis. It was just so much fun to participate in this together with such passionate fans. 

[toro]

My top 20!

1   Trial of Tears
2   Learning To Live
3   Scarred
4   A Change of Seasons
5   Barstool Warrior
6   At Wit's End
7   Breaking All Illusions
8   Metropolis, Pt. 1: the Miracle and the Sleeper
9   Voices
10   Eve
11   To Live Forever
12   Octavarium
13   Blind Faith
14   Don't look past me
15   Hell's Kitchen
16   Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
17   Home
18   Fatal Tragedy
19   Lifting Shadows Off a Dream
20   In the Name of God

As you can see, im a big sucker for B-Side songs. I love a lot of the I&W - Falling into infinity era.
I honestly thought Octavarium was gonna be #1 given how much the song is praised around these parts, but hey, I love me some LTL. My top 5 is basically a big top 1.

This was really fun.

Also, I cant remember if Hell's kitchen actually got ranked. 

[TAC]

2 A Change of Seasons
Appeared on 25 of 26 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 14
Highest Ranking: 1 (Revenge319, Dream Team, Vmadera00, ZirconBlue)

I had ACOS at #17, but I guess I still consider it a Top 15 song. AS much as I love it, and I do, they just keep on releasing so much great stuff. I love the studio version, which totally cleans up the mess that is evident on the Limelight show. Great vocal by James, especially the "I will live ooooooooooonnnnnnnnn".


1 Learning to Live
Appeared on 26 of 26 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 18
Highest Ranking: 1 (425, TAC, Setlist Scotty, erciccio)

My favorite song by any band. Period. It made such an impact on me at those early I&W shows, where they closed with it. I remember twice walking out of the venue and into the falling snow, and just being mesmerized.





Kev, phenomenal idea for a thread and fantastic execution. Great job!

[WilliamMunny]

The top two!!

2 A Change of Seasons
Appeared on 25 of 26 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 14
Highest Ranking: 1 (Revenge319, Dream Team, Vmadera00, ZirconBlue)

This is sometimes a top 10 song for me, sometimes it isn't.  I had it at 8 in my initial ranking, but it came in at 15 after doing the rankings engine.  I totally get why so many consider this their best song.  It is pretty damn awesome. 


1 Learning to Live
Appeared on 26 of 26 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 18
Highest Ranking: 1 (425, TAC, Setlist Scotty, erciccio)

I had this at 3, but it ending up at number 1 did not surprise me at all.  It is another perfectly written song by the band, and very deserving of the 1 slot here.

A big 'thanks' to you, Kev—I really wish I had jumped on board when you were taking submissions!

This thread has been a 'must read' for me all month! Such a great idea

[geeeemo]

Learning to Live - 28.  my favorite song from Images. Like a poster before said - the best ending for a song!

Change of Seasons -  7 - an Epic. What makes it a bit lower for me is the end. I feel like its a little ehh.



My top 20. Epics are my favorite for the most part - or long songs that are epic to me I probably won't have much respect here as none are from Images or Awake. While Images is  a great album and obviously without it, no Dream Theater, I am just enjoying other songs a bit more. I wonder too if its because I got into DT so late in their career. I also find it interesting that none of the Astonishing songs made it. I love this album. There is the rub - how to rate albums, having 1 or 2 top 20 songs, but the rest quite a bit lower, or the whole album filled with great songs and enjoyable as a whole. This is why Scenes and ADToE are my top 2. They have both.

5 from Scenes
3 from aDToE
2 from FII
2 from BCSL
2 From Ocatavarium
1 from 6 Degrees
1 from SC
1 from DT
2 from D/T
and COS

1 Octavarium
2 The Count of Tuscany
3 Illumination Theory
4 Home
5 In the Presence of Enemies
6 Beyond This Life
7 A Change of Seasons
8 Fatal Tragedy
9 A Nightmare To Remember
10 Breaking All Illusions
11 Finally Free
12 At Wit's End
13 Bridges In the Sky
14 Strange Deja Vu
15 Peruvian Skies
16 Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
17 Sacrificed Sons
18 Lines In the Sand
19 Barstool Warrior
20 Outcry

[Shalev Amir]

I'll share mine as well, at least how it came out in the ranker:

1. Octavarium
2. The Glass Prison
3. Lines in the Sand
4. Voices
5. The Mirror
6. In the Presence of Enemies
7. Stream of Consciousness
8. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
9. In the Name of God
10. Learning to Live
11. Erotomania
12. Metropolis
13. Finally Free
14. The Count of Tuscany
15. A Change of Seasons (originally The Alien, but I'll insert ACoS here to fit with the list rules)
16. Illumination Theory
17. Blind Faith
18. The Killing Hand
19. Fatal Tragedy
20. The Dance of Eternity

[nick_z]

I haven't participated, but I followed with more than a bit of curiosity 

Let me join the praise - thank you Kev, this was a great idea and lot of fun to read!

...and what the heck, might as well do my top 20...

1. Learning to Live
2. A Change of Seasons
3. Take the Time
4. Metropolis Pt.1
5. Space-Dye Vest
6. Lines in the Sand
7. Voices
8. Surrounded
9. Lifting Shadows off a Dream
10. Pull Me Under
11. The Mirror
12. Trial of Tears
13. The Killing Hand
14. Hell's Kitchen
15. Breaking All Illusions
16. Under a Glass Moon
17. Another Day
18. Honor Thy Father
19. A Fortune in Lies
20. Strange Deja Vu

[Revenge319]

Everyone else is doing it, so here's my Top 20:

1. A Change of Seasons
2. Octavarium
3. The Best of Times
4. Illumination Theory
5. The Count of Tuscany
6. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
7. Voices
8. Disappear
9. The Glass Prison
10. Finally Free
11. A Nightmare to Remember
12. Erotomania
13. Blind Faith
14. In the Presence of Enemies
15. The Spirit Carries On
16. Misunderstood
17. The Ministry of Lost Souls
18. Breaking All Illusions
19. Space-Dye Vest
20. Trial of Tears


Thanks for hosting this whole thing, Kev! I love seeing and making rankings of songs, and getting 26 entries to create a Top 100 Dream Theater songs list was a really great idea. I'm beginning to consider trying this myself for another artist...

[Elite]

My top 20 is better than everybody else’s


1. Metropolis Pt. 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper
2. A Change of Seasons
3. Space-Dye Vest
4. Surrounded
5. Innocence Faded
6. Learning to Live
7. The Great Debate
8. Take the Time
9. Under a Glass Moon
10. The Spirit Carries On
11. Voices
12. Octavarium
13. Home
14. Beyond this Life
15. Scarred
16. Misunderstood
17. Outcry
18. In the Presence of Enemies
19. The Enemy Inside
20. The Mirror

[Revenge319]

My top 20 is better than everybody else’s

ACoS isn't #1, Take the Time and Under a Glass Moon made the Top 20, Scarred is ranked above ITPOE, The Great Debate is ranked over every other SDOIT song, Octavarium is 10 spots too low... This list gets a 2/10.

But at the same time, Misunderstood is in the Top 20, so in reality, I think your Top 20 is deserving of a 9/10.   

[HOF]

My atypical top 20:

1. 6:00
2. Lines in the Sand
3. Trial of Tears
4. Lifting Shadows Off a Dream
5. Take Away My Pain
6. Scarred
7. Hollow Years
8. Hell's Kitchen
9. Learning To Live
10. The Way It Used to Be
11. Speak To Me
12. Innocence Faded
13. Surrounded
14. Space-Dye Vest
15. A Change of Seasons
16. Another Day
17. New Millennium
18. Wait For Sleep
19. To Live Forever
20. Take the Time

[ZirconBlue]

Mine also has some atypical picks:


1. A Change of Seasons
2. 6:00
3. Space-Dye Vest
4. Misunderstood
5. Learning To Live
6. The Way It Used to Be
7. Lines In the Sand
8. The Mirror
9. Metropolis, Pt. 1: the Miracle and the Sleeper
10. Disappear
11. Take the Time
12. A Fortune in Lies
13. Hollow Years
14. Take Away My Pain
15. The Killing Hand
16. Voices
17. Lie
18. Caught In a Web
19. Surrounded
20. Pull Me Under