Official Dream Theater studio albums countdown thread! (number 1 revealed!)

[geeeemo]

Scenes #1.
That summer after I discovered DT in Jan (2016), and went to see The Astonishing (first concert in more than 15 years), I got this cd. I already knew and loved Home, but I was curious about a concept album by DT. It was love at first listen and never has changed. It was just exactly the music I had always wanted to hear. Heavy, melodic, atmospheric, an interesting story, great singing. I listened to nothing else for at least 3 mos. Seeing it live gave me goosebumps and I was fortunate enough to travel to London for the recording. A perfect album!

[Adami]

1. Awake
2. Scenes from a Memory
3. Images and Words
4. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
5. Octavarium
6. Falling Into Infinity
7. A Dramatic Turn of Events
8. Train of Thought
9. Black Clouds and Silver Linings
10. The Astonishing
11. Systematic Chaos
12. When Dream and Day Unite
13. Dream Theater
14. Distance Over Time
15. A View From the Top of the World

Amazing album with two throwaway tracks and one song I wish they'd finally throw away. And even though the story is dumb, it's at least interesting and different and dealt with well lyrically. Musically it's ambitious and a homerun. Can always go back to this album and enjoy it.

[Mladen]

Number one? I love it when people are correct. 

Thanks for doing this, Kev. 

[TheCountOfNYC]

Now that the official countdown is finished, I'll post my personal ranking.

01: Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory
02: Octavarium
03: Images and Words
04: A Dramatic Turn of Events
05: A View From the Top of the World
06: Awake
07: Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
08: The Astonishing
09: Distance Over Time
10: Train of Thought
11: Black Clouds & Silver Linings
12: Dream Theater
13: When Dream and Day Unite
14: Systematic Chaos
15: Falling Into Infinity

[javidt]

#2
Perfect album. I played it and LSFNY  endlessly. I've always regret not having seen it performed live....until D/T tour

Overture 1928 was the first song I've ever heard of DT so I'll choose it as my favourite of the album.

Thanks for the countdown, it's been great read every post and re-listen to the albums.

My ranking:
15 Systematic Chaos
14 Black Clouds and Silver Linings
13 When Dream and Day Unite
12 Distance over Time
11 The Astonishing
10 Octavarium
09 Train of Thought
08 Falling into Infinity
07 A Dramatic Turn of Events
06 Dream Theater
05 A View from the Top of the World
04 Images and Words
03 Awake
02 Scenes from a Memory
01 Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence

[Dublagent66]

Any of my top 3 could easily be #1.  Congrats to SFAM. 

15  When Dream and Day Unite
14  Dream Theater
13  The Astonishing
12  A View from the Top of the World
11  Distance over Time
10  Black Clouds and Silver Linings
  9  Systematic Chaos
  8  Falling into Infinity
  7  Octavarium
  6  Train of Thought
  5  A Dramatic Turn of Events
  4  Awake
  3  Scenes from a Memory
  2  Images and Words
  1  Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence

[HOF]

I didn't participate since I don't have enough interest in the albums after Octavarium to really opine on those albums' rankings, but my list would have looked something like this:

15. Systematic Chaos
14. 
13. 
12. 
11. 
10. 
9. 
8. Train of Thought
7. Octavarium
6. When Dream And Day Unite
5. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
4. Scenes From A Memory
3. Images and Words
2. Falling Into Infinity
1. Awake

[nick_z]

Scenes From a Memory - I ranked it #6

I said yesterday (and a few other times) - this is a fantastic album, and obviously a crucial one for the band. Just not a top, top DT record for me. It was of course incredibly exciting to finally get a "Part 2" for one of their classics - and a whole album to boot! And you have to love that the band is letting loose here. The first few tracks are incredible. Man, the Overture...that's how you do it! Not a huge fan of Beyond This Life and Dance of Eternity...the latter I used to like much more, but the "wow" factor of the technical stuff faded a bit over time...

I mentioned it earlier in the thread, but for me the biggest departure from consensus is with The Spirit Carries On...I don't know, I never really liked it. I tried - fans obviously hold it in extremely high regard and seem to consider it one of DT's emotional peaks. It never clicked with me.

Doesn't really matter. There's a lot to enjoy here, and SFAM certainly gave DT the boost they needed to keep going.

Thanks so much for doing this, Kev!

My complete ranking:

15   Black Clouds and Silver Linings
14   Systematic Chaos
13   The Astonishing
12   A Dramatic Turn of Events
11   Distance Over Time
10   A View from the Top of the World
9   Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
8   Octavarium
7   Dream Theater
6   Scenes from a Memory
5   Train of Thought
4   Falling into Infinity
3   When Dream and Day Unite
2   Awake
1   Images and Words

[kipkjustm]

15   When Dream and Day Unite
14   Dream Theater
13   Black Clouds and Silver Linings
12   The Astonishing
11   A View From the Top of the World
10   Falling Into Infinity
9   Systematic Chaos
8   Octavarium
7   Awake
6   Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
5   Train of Thought
4   Distance Over Time
3   A Dramatic Turn of Events
2   Images and Words
1   Scenes From A Memory

[pg1067]

Like most everyone else, I was wondering about Met2 ever since I bought I&W.  It's hard to remember what I did and didn't know at the time.  Although I was all over the internet in the mid-'90s, I was in a bit of a vacuum musically.  I wasn't on any discussion groups/message boards at the time, there were no local radio stations playing or talking about DT, and MTV had become a total joke.  DT was showing up occasionally in guitar magazines, but there was little or nothing in the way of news.  So, when I bought SFAM, it was a complete surprise to see "Metropolis Part 2"!

What's there to say about SFAM that hasn't already been said.  Completely epic from start to finish.  The only song that didn't grab me from the start was BTL, but it grew on me after a while.  Derivative story?  Yeah, but it's still cool, and I didn't see Dead Again until about 5 years ago, so I really didn't care.  I also didn't completely understand the story until I listened to the band commentary on LSFNY.

Thanks again, Kev!


My rankings:

1. Metropolis Part 2: Scenes from a Memory
2. Images and Words
3. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
4. Awake
5. Octavarium
6. Train of Thought
7. Dream Theater
8. A Dramatic Turn of Events
9. When Dream and Day Unite
10. Black Clouds & Silver Linings
11. Distance over Time
12. Falling Into Infinity
13. A View from the Top of the World
14. Systematic Chaos
15. The Astonishing

[The Letter M]

01. Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence
02. Scenes From A Memory
03. Images And Words
04. Octavarium
05. Awake
06. A View From The Top Of The World
07. A Dramatic Turn Of Events
08. Train Of Thought
09. Black Clouds & Silver Linings
10. Distance Over Time
11. Falling Into Infinity
12. Systematic Chaos
13. Dream Theater
14. When Dream And Day Unite
15. The Astonishing

It landed at number 2 for me, but SFAM is a landmark album. Admittedly, I haven't listened to the original version in a very long time. Once the Bottrill mixes were released by Ytse Jam Records, I pieced together an alternate version that, IMO, is a bit better. It's still .ostly the same music though, with some added vocal bits here and there (most notably the opening of "Fatal Tragedy") and some tweaks to the instrumental mix.

At any rate, I was pretty sure this would be number 1, and if not, definitely top 3.

Thanks for running this Kev! Felt like it was over too soon, but waiting 2 days between each reveal would've stretched this out to a month, so I could see that being a bit too long.

-Marc.

[mariner]

15.  When Dream and Day Unite
14.  The Astonishing
13.  Dream Theater
12.  A View From the Top of the World
11.  Distance Over Time
10.  Systematic Chaos
9.   Black Clouds and Silver Linings
8.   Awake
7.   Falling Into Infinity
6.   Train of Thought
5.   A Dramatic Turn of Events
4.   Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
3.   Octavarium
2.   Scenes from a Memory
1.   Images and Words

Tough call between #1 and #2; Scenes was my first DT album (Fatal Tragedy was the first song I heard on the radio); actually LSFNY was my first purchase and I did buy it on 9/11/01 - while waiting for my wife to get home from NYC.  Yes, I have the famous cover that was replaced.  SFAM is my favorite, but...

Images and Words is so iconic, that I couldn't place it anywhere but #1.

Images and Words favorites:  Pull Me Under, Metropolis Part 1, Wait for Sleep/Learning to Live, Take the Time (but really, all of them)

SFAM favorites:  The Spirit Carries On (my all-time favorite DT song; still can't listen to it without tearing up), Fatal Tragedy, Overture 1928, Home, Finally Free

[DTwwbwMP]

My ranking:
15 The Astonishing
14 Distance over Time
13 A View from the Top of the World
12 Dream Theater
11 When Dream and Day Unite
10 Black Clouds and Silver Linings
09 Systematic Chaos
08 Octavarium
07 Falling into Infinity
06 Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
05 A Dramatic Turn of Events
04 Train of Thought
03 Awake
02 Images and Words
01 Scenes from a Memory

[Lethean]

#1 for me.  I didn't get into DT until 2002, so I didn't have the history about Metropolis Part 1 or any of that stuff.  But my first listen was a mix of WTF is this, wow that's pretty cool, eh, I dunno about that, and then some unexpectedly emotional reactions.  The more I played it, the more I liked it and then I loved it and it's just fantastic.  I'm so happy they did that anniversary tour and I loved every second of it.


15. When Dream and Day Unite
14. Systematic Chaos
13. Train of Thought
12. Falling into Infinity
11. Octavarium
10. Black Clouds and Silver Linings
9. A View from the Top of the World
8. A Dramatic Turn of Events
7. Dream Theater
6. Distance over Time
5. Images and Words
4. Awake
3. The Astonishing
2. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
1. Scenes from a Memory

[wolfking]

I didn't participate since I don't have enough interest in the albums after Octavarium to really opine on those albums' rankings, but my list would have looked something like this:

15. Systematic Chaos
14. 
13. 
12. 
11. 
10. 
9. 
8. Train of Thought
7. Octavarium
6. When Dream And Day Unite
5. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
4. Scenes From A Memory
3. Images and Words
2. Falling Into Infinity
1. Awake

How do you know you can rank SC a definite last when you can't even rank or have interest in 6 of their albums? 

[Dream Team]

Had it at #2 behind Images. Not totally flawless, Through Her Eyes is way too schmaltzy for me but so much great stuff on this record. This is still my #1 Petrucci album - meaning it's my favorite for his riffs & solos. Probably my #2 MP album, so much great drumming. 

[HOF]

I didn't participate since I don't have enough interest in the albums after Octavarium to really opine on those albums' rankings, but my list would have looked something like this:

15. Systematic Chaos
14. 
13. 
12. 
11. 
10. 
9. 
8. Train of Thought
7. Octavarium
6. When Dream And Day Unite
5. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
4. Scenes From A Memory
3. Images and Words
2. Falling Into Infinity
1. Awake

How do you know you can rank SC a definite last when you can't even rank or have interest in 6 of their albums? 

Oh, I've heard enough of them all to know SC is a definite last!

[wolfking]

I didn't participate since I don't have enough interest in the albums after Octavarium to really opine on those albums' rankings, but my list would have looked something like this:

15. Systematic Chaos
14. 
13. 
12. 
11. 
10. 
9. 
8. Train of Thought
7. Octavarium
6. When Dream And Day Unite
5. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
4. Scenes From A Memory
3. Images and Words
2. Falling Into Infinity
1. Awake

How do you know you can rank SC a definite last when you can't even rank or have interest in 6 of their albums? 

Oh, I've heard enough of them all to know SC is a definite last!

Fair enough then.  Poor SC. 

[The Realm]

Scenes - number 2 for me. Great album.

My rankings:

1   Images and Words
2   Scenes from a Memory
3   Train of Thought
4   Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
5   Awake
6   Falling into Infinity
7   Octavarium
8   A Dramatic Turn of Events
9   Black Clouds and Silver Linings
10   Distance over Time
11   Systematic Chaos
12   A View from the Top of the World
13   The Astonishing
14   Dream Theater
15   When Dream and Day Unite

[T-ski]

#3

I remember going to Wee-Bee CD's on my way to work to get this album. I had a 40 minute commute so I was pumped to listen to what was being hyped as a return to form after FII.

It did not disappoint.

15. Astonishing
14. Systematic Chaos
13. View From the Top of the World
12. Falling Into Infinity
11. Train of Thought
10. Distance Over Time
9. When Dream and Day Unite
8. Dramatic Turn of Events
7. Black Clouds and Silver Linings
6. Dream Theater
5. Octavarium
4. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
3. Scenes From a Memory
2. Awake
1. Images and Words

[Cool Chris]

1   Awake
2   Images and Words
3   A Dramatic Turn of Events
4   Scenes from a Memory
5   Train of Thought
6   A View from the Top of the World
7   Systematic Chaos
8   Octavarium
9   Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
10   Dream Theater
11   The Astonishing
12   Distance over Time
13   Black Clouds and Silver Linings
14   Falling into Infinity
15   When Dream and Day Unite

I forgot where I ranked this, and thought it was lower. Weird. For as much as I listened to it when it came out, it was never going to replace 1 and 2 on my list, and today ultimately suffers from a bit of fatigue, along with the Live Scenes DVD. I don't revisit either much at all, so a bit of a nostalgia boost in the ranking. As others have said, definitely a whole > sum of parts effort. It didn't sound like I&W or Awake pt2, but it did sound like the next logical step this band would take, as opposed to FII, which felt like a National Lampoon's Vacation-level detour.

Thank you again to Kev for another fun countdown!

[Ben_Jamin]

#01 - Scenes From A Memory (My Ranking: #04)

This is one of the first albums I heard from the band. While in High School, my friend was obsessed with this album and posted the lyrics to our group forums he used to run. I read them and found the concept intriguing. The lyrics that really caught my interest were on Home. One of my other friends had the cd so I asked if I could borrow it. I put on Home and fell in love with it, I also was into Tool at the time and instantly recognized the 46&2 influence, but that didn't bother me at all, it fits the vibe well and makes sense within the concept.

The rest of the album is just as good. First, the way the first act seamlessly, musically flows from scene to scene is awesome. Ending act 1 with Through Her Eyes is lovely. I love that song and enjoy the guitar solo intro with Teresa Tompson's soulful voice. I do wish the sax solo from the demo was included because it just adds that extra bit of emotion and atmosphere to the song.

Act 2 is where it's at for me though. Beginning with Home, then into the awesome The Dance of Eternity (fitting title as Home is the one song that recalls Metropolis Pt.1 the most) which represents Love. I would consider this "Love" to include Victoria, Julian, and Edward. The more chaotic aspects of the song I attribute to Edward and his love for Victoria, which is the motivation for the events that occur in Finally Free. One Last Time is one song I really loved because it fits great after TDOE. The vocals are amazing, and I love the ending melody with the following guitar and keyboards.

The Spirit Carries On is a lovely ballad that talks about the question we all wonder..."Where do we go when we die?" How the songs lyrics convey this along with the music is one reason, I feel, many people love this song. It's touching because rather than being sad and heartbreaking, like Disappear, it's Triumphant and uplifting. It's about a feeling of content about being alright if one was to die tomorrow, and it's speaking of not weeping or grieving when they do go as they will be okay, because their spirit will continue, and that's all their loved ones should consider so they can continue to live happy and prosperous.

Finally Free is one of Dream Theater's best songs. The emotion it conveys along with it's storytelling is why I love it a lot. The vocals showcase a lot of JLB's range going from soft, warm to his high, powerful tones. The band is showcased a lot here as well. If there is one song I would showcase to people to show that Dream Theater does have emotion, it would be this song.

I was really glad to see this album live, twice. I wasn't old enough to witness it in 2000, so I was filled with glee when they announced they were performing it in full again. My other friend, Anthony, who also enjoys SFAM went with me to Denver and my other friend, the one who is obsessed with SFAM, of course went with his girlfriend. We met the night before to eat and then met again to hang out a bit before the show and pre-game. I had a blast and of course I sang my heart out, and also bawled a bit when THE, TSCO, and Finally Free were played. It was awesome having this show be the first time hearing TSCO, it was just amazing hearing that followed by Finally Free and knowing the album is over. It was bittersweet, but it was among my favorite shows from the band. Since they were playing At Wit's End on the 2nd leg, of course I had to go, I did not mind seeing the entire show again.


Favorite: Finally Free
Least: Beyond This Life


Ranking:
15. When Dream And Day Unite
14. Falling Into Infinity
13. Black Clouds and Silver Linings
12. A Dramatic Turn of Events
11. Dream Theater
10. Train of Thought
9. Systematic Chaos
8. Distance Over Time
7. Images and Words
6. Awake
5. A View From The Top Of The World
4. Scenes From A Memory
3. Octavarium
2. The Astonishing
1. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence

[KevShmev]

Total points:

01 Scenes from a Memory            863
02 Images and Words               822
03 Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence      766
04 Awake                      747
05 A Dramatic Turn of Events         575
06 Octavarium                  553
07 Train of Thought               540
08 A View from the Top of the World      484
09 Distance over Time            456
10 Falling into Infinity               401
11 Dream Theater               363
12 Black Clouds & Silver Linings         344
13 The Astonishing               335
14 Systematic Chaos               330
15 When Dream and Day Unite           221

[KevShmev]

Total 1st place votes:

01 Scenes from a Memory            14
02 Images and Words               18
03 Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence      16
04 Awake                      8
05 A Dramatic Turn of Events         1
06 Octavarium                  2
07 Train of Thought               1
08 A View from the Top of the World      0
09 Distance over Time            0
10 Falling into Infinity               1
11 Dream Theater               0
12 Black Clouds & Silver Linings         2
13 The Astonishing               1
14 Systematic Chaos               1
15 When Dream and Day Unite           0

[krands85]

I&W with more first place finishes than the albums from 4th to 15th combined 

[Revenge319]

Distance Over Time: I ranked this at #7. It doesn't have any all-time classics like a lot of DT albums have, but I think it's one of their most consistently enjoyable albums.

Top 5: Pale Blue Dot, Barstool Warrior, Fall Into the Light, S2N, Room 137


AVFTTOTW: I ranked this at #11. Similarly to Distance Over Time, I think this another one of the band's most consistent albums. However, I find that this album has the lowest highs of any DT album, so it's tough to justify ranking it higher.

Top 5: Sleeping Giant, Transcending Time, A View From the Top of the World, Awaken the Master, Answer the Call


Train of Thought: I ranked this at #12. I love almost every song on this album, but Honor Thy Father is my least favorite Dream Theater song, and it really drags this album down in my rankings. Really great album otherwise; if I made my list on another day, I could have easily ranked this two or three spots higher just on the strength of how awesome the rest of these albums are.

Top 5: This Dying Soul, In the Name of God, Stream of Consciousness, Endless Sacrifice, As I Am


Octavarium: I ranked this at #4. The title track is easily the highlight of the entire album (and one of the greatest songs in DT history), but I also enjoy everything else on this album. Sure, there are some songs that I don't really listen to often, but I think they're still pretty good as well. Even if I disregarded the title track, this album would be #6 or #7 at worst.

Top 5: Octavarium, The Root of All Evil, Panic Attack, Never Enough, These Walls


A Dramatic Turn of Events: I ranked this at #6. Generally, I think this is a very strong album. There's a lot of memorable songs here, like On the Backs of Angels, Bridges in the Sky, and especially Breaking All Illusions. It's not quite one of my favorites, but there's a lot to like and not really anything to dislike.

Top 5: Breaking All Illusions, Bridges in the Sky, Outcry, This is the Life, Build Me Up, Break Me Down


Awake: I ranked this at #10. This album has some great songs, but there's also a few songs that are just okay. It's a very good DT album for sure, but I wouldn't rank it as one of their best. The "A Mind Beside Itself" suite is one of the greatest things the band has ever done, and if I were to consider it one song in my song rankings, it would absolutely be in the Top 10.

Top 5: Voices, Erotomania, The Silent Man, The Mirror, Innocence Faded


Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence: My favorite Dream Theater album of all time. I'm surprised it got to #3, I was expecting Awake to beat it! Every song on here is perfection, except for The Great Debate which is merely close to perfection. There is so much I love about this album that it would take a very long time to explain. This is Dream Theater at their absolute best, and Dream Theater's best is a level of greatness that very few things can hope to compare to.

Top 6: Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, Disappear, The Glass Prison, Blind Faith, Misunderstood, The Great Debate


Images and Words: I ranked this at #9. Most of the songs on this album are ones I would consider DT classics, but for some reason or other, this album as a whole has never grabbed me in the way that a lot of other DT albums have. I don't think I'd ever rank this album as highly as most others do, but I say it's still very deserving of all the praise it gets.

Top 5: Surrounded, Learning to Live, Metropolis Part 1, Another Day, Wait For Sleep


Metropolis, Part 2: Scenes From a Memory: I ranked this at #3. This is an album where every so often I think about it and say, "it's good, but it's not THAT good". And then I listen to it again and say, "nevermind, this really is that good." What a fantastic album this is. It's got everything I could possibly want from a Dream Theater album, and I really like that the band kept going in this direction of songwriting for a long time. I love long and technical instrumental sections, and I think Dream Theater consistently do these sections really well. The performances by everyone is amazing, and there's a lot of emotion. Just a great album overall, and I am very content that this is the album that made it to the top spot of this community ranking list.

Top 5: Finally Free, The Spirit Carries On, Home, Beyond This Life, Fatal Tragedy



Thank you for hosting this, Kev! I thought this was pretty fun.

[Wim Kruithof]

Here's the list that made it after the ranking-machine. I feel they could easily change a few spots on any given day, but in general they're around where they used to be. I am more sure 'bout the bottom-part than the top.

15) Falling Into Infinity
14) When Dream and Day Unite
13) Distance Over Time
12) The Astonishing
11) Systematic Chaos
10) Dream Theater
09) Black Clouds and Silver Linings
08) Octavarium
07) A View from the Top of the World
06) Train of Thought
05) A Dramatic Turn of Events
04) Scenes from a Memory
03) Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
02) Images and Words
01) Awake

Thanks Kevin, was fun reading other members point of view. If you ever do a top 25 or 50 Transatlantic-songs (they got 68 official songs totally, incl covers), I am yours!

[nobloodyname]

13 The Astonishing               335
14 Systematic Chaos               330

Interesting. While there are a few very enthusiastic voices here in support of The Astonishing, this points tally reflects my perception of the album's reception in the wider DT community. My suspicion is if it were somehow possible to poll the entire DT community, The Astonishing would finish 14th.

And here are my rankings (confirmation bias ahoy! )

15 The Astonishing
14 Dream Theater
13 When Dream and Day Unite
12 Systematic Chaos
11 Awake
10 Black Clouds and Silver Linings
9 Distance over Time
8 Falling into Infinity
7 A View from the Top of the World
6 A Dramatic Turn of Events
5 Images and Words
4 Octavarium
3 Scenes from a Memory
2 Train of Thought
1 Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence

I'd have been happy with 1, 2 and 3 in any order.

[pg1067]

The margins between Awake and ADTOE and between SC and WDADU...wow!

[Cool Chris]

The margins between Awake and ADTOE and between SC and WDADU...wow!

Indeed.

Glad he posted the albums receiving first place votes. A couple of those are mind-boggling, but I get that tastes can heavily depend on when someone is first introduced to a band.

[RoeDent]

Interesting that ADTOE ranked so high despite only getting one first-place ranking. Proof of a consistently solid album.

[DreamerTV]

1   Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
2   Images and Words
3   Awake
4   Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory
5   Octavarium
6   Distance over Time
7   A View from the Top of the World
8   Falling into Infinity
9   Train of Thought
10   The Astonishing
11   Dream Theater
12   When Dream and Day Unite
13   A Dramatic Turn of Events
14   Systematic Chaos
15   Black Clouds & Silver Linings

Scenes I think is the most known album among non DT fans.
Despite its theme there's a lot of joy in it and it holds a place on its own in their catalog: very different than what they had done before, definitely different than everything that has come after it - although they've tried to repeat the formula in various forms thereafter.
Home is my go to song when I want something to sing over while I'm driving.
I had it on 4th, but it could have been n3 or 2.

Thanks Kevin for putting this together, it was really funny.

[KevShmev]

Thanks for all the thanks, folks! 

[sylentman]

A little late, but wanted to post my ranking anyhow . I tried to follow the nominations and the comments as much as I could, so it was fun as usual. Thanks again KevShmev!

Rank   Album
15   The Astonishing
14   When Dream and Day Unite
13   Systematic Chaos
12   Black Clouds and Silver Linings
11   Octavarium
10   Falling into Infinity
9   Dream Theater
8   Distance over Time
7   Train of Thought
6   A Dramatic Turn of Events
5   Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
4   A View from the Top of the World
3   Scenes from a Memory
2   Awake
1   Images and Words

My #1 very likely will remain I&W, as some have pointed out a perfect Album, also containing some of my Fav tracks (Metropolis, Learning to Live, Take the Time). Awake sits firm at #2, being the one i discovered DT with plays a role, plus the combination of different factors such as having James with his full voice, having Kevin Moore's magic, plus the music itself of course, make both I&W and Awake my firm #1 and #2.

I can understand why some have SFAM as #1 thought, it stands in my solid Top 3. I still remember buying SFAM CD at a CD Store near home, and putting it in my Radio CD Player...When Overture 1928 kicked in I had some kind of sense of relief (if that is the correct way to explain it), and already felt it was going to be a great album...With the 'sense of relief' comment i kind of mean having a feeling it was going to be an album along the lines of I&W and Awake and different vs the road they had taken with Falling into Infinity (no disrespect to Falling into Infinity and those who have it at the top...I like all DT albums and Falling Into Infinity is within my current Top 10).

AVFTTOTW right now sitting at #4, think i mentioned that in a post about that album some time ago, being their latest, how good it sound, all tracks being solid to my liking, play a factor of it being so high right now. 6DOIT is the one that fell 1 spot, indeed one of their top, but has some tracks that i sometimes want to skip (of my fav are The Glass Prison, Blind Faith, Solitary Shell, About to Crash...).

Will just finish with some random comments to not go album by album:
Octavarium not higher due to the other tracks besides the Title track (which is of course one of their best songs).
From Falling Into Infinity i think i am of the few people that like You Or Me.
The Astonishing, i also remember the first time hearing it...i will not lie and say i felt kind of 'dissapointed' as i was expecting a 2x album with their usual music (had heard the singles The Gift of Music and Moment of Betrayal and they sounded along the lines of what you normally expect from a DT kind of song), i kept hearing it and once i gave it a full spin in a relaxed environment reading the lyrics i came to like/appreciate it...still remains my least favourite as I like the others more . and is indeed a difficult album to hear in one go (i have many times stopped listening around the start/mid disc 2).

15 albums of very good music, and hope they give us many more!