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.