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

[Shalev Amir]

Nice that View is right next to D/T, I had it at #10 and D/T ant #9. I feel this is a very solid album, although I'm really not a fan of Invisible Monster and Transcending Time. The title track also isn't quite on par. But Answering the Call and Sleeping Giant are good songs, and The Alien and Awaken the Master are favourites of mine.

[wolfking]

Number 13 for me.  Disappointing album.  Although my recent listens has made me appreciate it, just a little more.

[Deadeye21]

My god, I don’t think I’ve ever been more divided on a Dream Theater album. I mean, for starters, it has told audacity to feature one of the worst songs in the entire DT Discography (and yet has one of the coolest solos on the album) as a single. Thank god that didn’t win the Grammy or we’d be stuck with it! But then it also ends in a solid epic, just it’s kinda middle of the pack for DT epics. I don’t know, it does a lot right, but it’s all in ways that I feel have been di be better before.

You don't mean "The Alien", right? Because that DID win the Grammy for Best Metal Performance earlier this year.

-Marc.

No, I mean Invisible Monster.

[The Letter M]

My god, I don’t think I’ve ever been more divided on a Dream Theater album. I mean, for starters, it has told audacity to feature one of the worst songs in the entire DT Discography (and yet has one of the coolest solos on the album) as a single. Thank god that didn’t win the Grammy or we’d be stuck with it! But then it also ends in a solid epic, just it’s kinda middle of the pack for DT epics. I don’t know, it does a lot right, but it’s all in ways that I feel have been di be better before.

You don't mean "The Alien", right? Because that DID win the Grammy for Best Metal Performance earlier this year.

-Marc.

No, I mean Invisible Monster.

Ahh okay. I guess I was confused because "The Alien" was the one that was nominated.

-Marc.

[nick_z]

A View from the Top of the World - I ranked it at #10

Just one spot above D/T for me but, truly, it could be the other way around. It's not even because the two albums are necessarily similar - I just find that my level of enjoyment as I listen to either is pretty similar...

I tend to agree with Kev (and others that have already commented) on the comparison...D/T probably has higher highs, but A View is incredibly consistent (in the best way). My mind wasn't/isn't blown by it (or I would have ranked it higher, of course  ), but I am very happy with what the band came up with. It sounds GREAT and, while it's nothing terribly new, it feels like they had some fun going a little nuts instrumentally.

My favorite song is probably Awaken the Master (love that they didn't just go for a heavy-fest with the 8-sting guitar...and the verse after the first chorus - you made it to the top...all along missing the point of the journey...- is real nice). Answering the Call is another one I loved from the start - more direct, with some of the best riffs, melodies and drumming on the record. The title track is great too, and The Alien has grown a lot on me. If I had to pick a "least favorite", I'd go with Sleeping Giant. Certainly not bad, but for me it never gets super-interesting.

All in all, very enjoyable album.

[TAC]

8. A View from the Top of the World

Number 1 finishes: 0
Last place finishes: 1
Average finish: 8.6

I had A View From The Top Of The World at #6. I think this album is stellar. After D/T I thought DT needed to make a thick album where they played their asses off, and that's what we got.


15. Falling Into Infinity
14. Dream Theater
13.
12. Distance Over Time
11. Systematic Chaos
10. Black Clouds and Silver Linings
9.
8.   
7. The Astonishing
6. A View From The Top Of The World
5.   
4. When Dream and Day Unite
3.    
2.    
1.    

[Deadeye21]

My god, I don’t think I’ve ever been more divided on a Dream Theater album. I mean, for starters, it has told audacity to feature one of the worst songs in the entire DT Discography (and yet has one of the coolest solos on the album) as a single. Thank god that didn’t win the Grammy or we’d be stuck with it! But then it also ends in a solid epic, just it’s kinda middle of the pack for DT epics. I don’t know, it does a lot right, but it’s all in ways that I feel have been di be better before.

You don't mean "The Alien", right? Because that DID win the Grammy for Best Metal Performance earlier this year.

-Marc.

No, I mean Invisible Monster.

Ahh okay. I guess I was confused because "The Alien" was the one that was nominated.

-Marc.

The Alien won it. That’s why I’m saying thank god it wasn’t Invisible Monster didn’t win it. If Alien sticks around for ages because it’s the Grammy winner, they’ll keep playing a great song. If Monster stuck around for the same reasons, they would be doing me a favour and giving me bathroom time.

[KevShmev]

To me, one of the great strengths of A View... is Rudess spending most of the album seemingly channeling the keyboard sounds and textures of the early DT days, which is always a good thing.  Seems like his soloing was kept to a bare minimum, which is good as well, as his solos, for me, far too often tend to find their way to Wank City.  The end of S2N is a good example.  I like that song, but that ending is an example of why I sometimes shake my head at Jordan (and not in a good way).

[Cool Chris]

A bit of new car smell still on this one. A year or two it might drop, but not much. As I've said many times, this was the album I wanted after TA.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6. A View from the Top of the World
7. Systematic Chaos
8.
9.
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

[Animal]

I think the problem with Rudess's soloing is - apart from wankfest tendencies but the same can be said about Petrucci - is the tone he usually uses. I mostly like his solos when he uses piano but his typical lead tone just sounds...not very pleasant. And he seems to go for this particular sound very often. It just doesn't make any sense - why would you a bad imitation of guitar as your lead keyboard tone if you have John Petrucci in the band?

[KevShmev]

07. Train of Thought

Number 1 finishes: 1
Last place finishes: 1
Average finish: 7.7

In the first year after this was released, if you had told me that someday, I would rate this as a top 5 Dream Theater, I would have laughed for a good 30 minutes, yet we are in 2022 and I had this ranked at 5.  It is still a little stunning to me how much this grew on me as a whole and how well it has aged.  In the Name of God is, for my money, a top 3 song by the band, and I have long had much more love for Honor Thy Father than the average fan.  This Dying Soul is the only song here I can say I am not super crazy about it, but I still really like parts of it and it is fine for when I do full listens.  Not sure I would describe it as the "classic metal album" that they set out to make, but I think it has held up well as a really good Dream Theater album, and the compressed mix mostly manages to work as a result of the dark tones and aura.

My top 5 songs from the album:
1. In the Name of God
2. Endless Sacrifice
3. Honor Thy Father
4. Stream of Consciousness
5. Vacant

[Lonk]

15. Black Clouds and Silver Lining
14. Dream Theater
13. When Dream and Day Unite
12. Systematic Chaos
11. Train of Thought
10. Falling Into Infinity
9. A View From the Top of the World
8. The Astonishing
7. ??
6. Distance Over Time
5. ??
4. ??
3. ??
2. ??
1. ??

#11 for me. Great album that was easily one of my favorites when I started listening to DT back in 07. Did not age well for me but I still enjoy some tracks here and there. SoC is a top 5 DT track for me. Endless Sacrifice in the last tour was amazing though 

[javidt]

#9 in my ranking but I think it has aged very well.

I really really like ITNOG and HTF. Maybe I should have ranked it higher.

Endless Sacrifice is the weakest track for me.

Very good album

[wolfking]

I had this as my number 1.  Just amazing from start to finish.

[hefdaddy42]

I don't remember exactly where I had this ranked, but it's fantastic.  I like it a lot.

Excellent driving album, but probably not if you are driving in heavy traffic lol.

[T-ski]

#11.

The heavy Dream Theater album. I’ve always skewed to the other side of their music. Just personal tastes.

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.
7. Black Clouds and Silver Linings
6. Dream Theater
5.
4.
3.
2.
1.

[devieira73]

7.   Train of Thought (#5 to me); grade (9.2/10)

Top 3 songs: In the Name of God, Endless Sacrifice and Honor Thy Father

A Heavy and totally killer album, with a dark atmosphere, really amazing. I wasn’t also so impressed at the time of its release, but it really grew to me over time. Its only relative flaw, for DT standarts, is the obvious one dimensional style.

[Laughingplace56]

I had A View at 8. Didn’t put it higher since it is still kinda new, but I can actually see this moving up the list a bit over time. It is a great return to form (as hef said) for DT. I liked D/T a lot more in the first few months after it’s release, but after about a year or so the “new car smell” wore off and I ultimately stopped listening to it much. That affect still hasn’t happened on A View, even after playing it extensively since it’s release and even still to this day. For a band’s 15th album, it is remarkably consistent and awesome. The Alien is a top 20 DT song for me at this point. It embodies everything I love about DT, consolidates it allinto 9 jam packed minutes with not a single wasted second, and the melodic solo at the beginning and end is one of my favorite JP Melodie’s of all time. So glad that was the song to win them the Grammy!

Answering the Call, Sleeping Giant and Transcending Time are great songs (and that includes the awesome solo on TT. It may be a *little* jarring for that song, but I can’t believe the amount of hate that solo gets, it’s out of place feeling makes it so cool!). AVFTTOTW was the biggest surprise of the album. It is a very unique epic, and I was very happy with how different it feels from other DT epics. Where Illumination Theory felt like they tried to copy the 8VM format and didn’t quite hit the highest highs of that song (even though I still love IT), this song was a completely new take on a DT epic. Lots of cool ideas and melodies throughout, and the ending is outstanding, especially live. The winner of the whole album Mangini, who put out probably the best drum performance in DT history for me. Outrageous drumming on every song.

The only song that hasn’t aged well for me is Awaken the Master. The intro is excellent, but once it gets into the first verse all of that momentum is lost and the rest of the song (besides a couple fun moments) is largely a slug to get through and ultimately a disappointing effort for their first 8 string song. I hope JP continues to experiment with it, would love to see what else he comes up with.


I had ToT at #5. I’ve always been a huge fan of the heavier side of DT, and this album fucking slays. Honor Thy Father is actually the song that got me into DT, and I’ve always been disappointed in the amount of flack that song gets. This Dying Soul is top 20 DT for me. The 00000 00 00|00000 00 00 riff is one of my favorite DT riffs of all time, the verses are awesome, and the intro, outro, and reprisal of the riff from part 2 of The Glass Prison are all top tier heavy DT. It’s a pretty perfect song to me. And In the Name of God is overall fantastic. The riffs on this are excellent, and the outro solo from JP live is quintessential DT.

The album should’ve been like 5 min shorter though. The first half of Endless Sacrifice drags a little too much, and Stream of Consciousness is entirely too long (I wish the whole middle section was left out honestly). But overall, it’s an excellent album, and one I listen to pretty heavily to this day.

So far:

My rankings so far:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5. Train of Thought
6. Dream Theater
7.
8.
9.
10. Systematic Chaos
11. Falling Into Infinity
12. Black Clouds and Silver Linings
13. The Astonishing
14. When Dream And Day Unite
15. Distance Over Time

[nick_z]

Train of Thought - I ranked it at #5

Always loved it, a top 5 DT album for me. A couple of songs could use some trimming (Stream of Consciousness, in particular - it starts absolutely killer, then perhaps it drags a bit), but overall fantastic. Favorite song...probably Honor Thy Father, with In the Name of God not far behind.

Maybe time to write down my ranking so far:

15. Black Clouds and Silver Linings
14. Systematic Chaos
13. The Astonishing
12.
11.  Distance Over Time
10.  A View From The Top Of The World
9.
8.   
7.  Dream Theater
6.
5. Train of Thought 
4. Falling Into Infinity
3. When Dream and Day Unite   
2.   
1.   

[Adami]

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6. Falling Into Infinity
7.
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

Had it at eight. Not a bad album. I dug As I Am for a long time and still like it to a degree, but it's a bit childish. TDS has never been my favorite though it has killer moments. I like maybe half of Endless Sacrifice. Honor Thy Father is great when I'm in the mood. Vacant is fine. Stream is fantastic. ITNOG is amazing except for the final vocal part before the woahs.

Glad they got it out of their system and those songs were killer live.

[krands85]

A big deviation from me with this one, I've got it at #2. Always loved it since I first got in to the band around 2006/2007. It was a bit of a gateway drug in to prog metal for me, having listened to more straightforward metal before then, so it was the perfect way to ease me in to the genre I think. It was my number 1 for a while, but eventually got overtaken, but it's still one of my favourite ever albums. Amazing they wrote it in only three weeks.

15. When Dream and Day Unite
14. Black Clouds and Silver Linings
13. Falling Into Infinity
12.
11. Dream Theater
10. The Astonishing
9. Systematic Chaos
8. A View from the Top of the World
7. Distance Over Time
6.
5.
4.
3.
2. Train of Thought
1.

INTOG has always been my favourite track from the album and has also always been firmly in my top 5 DT songs. Just brilliant stuff from start to finish and it's long overdue a return to their live shows. Endless Sacrifice is another long-time favourite - instrumentally, it never fails to put a smile on my face. I know some people have become a little tired of the crazy instrumental sections, duelling solos and so on, but I still love them.

I rank As I Am and This Dying Soul really closely, just a killer way to start the album, with the more straightforward metal of AIA followed by the incredible musicianship of TDS - that ending just melts my face every time.

SoC is probably my next favourite, maybe slightly too long to be my favourite DT instrumental, but it's still awesome and JP continues to show his incredible guitar work. Honor Thy Father is definitely my least favourite of the longer tracks, but I think it's better than it's given credit for. Vacant is lovely and a welcome breather, though these style of songs are never gonna challenge the more metal/prog oriented tracks for me.

[Podaar]

#5 for me. Just a killer album all the way. Stream of Consciousness is my favorite. The rest is all awesome too and having survived a tyrant step-father, I've never been bothered by Honor Thy Father's lyrics--I can relate.

15   When Dream and Day Unite
14   Dream Theater
13   Black Clouds and Silver Linings
12   The Astonishing
11   Systematic Chaos
10   A View from the Top of the World
9   Distance Over Time
8   Falling Into Infinity
7   
6   
5    Train of Thought
4   
3   
2   
1   

[SwedishGoose]

It is a great record for what it is but a bit too one dimensional to get to my highest ranking.

Number 8 is where it ended up for me

15. Distance Over Time
14. Black Clouds and Silver Linings
13. When Dream and Day Unite
12. Systematic Chaos
11. Dream Theater
10.
9. Falling Into Infinity
8.Train of Thought
7. A View From the Top Of the World
6.
5.
4.
3.
2.
1. The Astonishing

[Mladen]

15. Falling into infinity
14. A View from the top of the world
13. When Dream and Day Unite
12. Dream Theater
11. Distance over time
10.
9. Train of thought
8. Black clouds & silver linings
7. Systematic Chaos
6.
5. The Astonishing
4.
3.
2.
1.

I feel guilty putting it so low, though. It's really good. Stream of consciousness and This dying soul are my favorite tracks.

[The Letter M]

01.
02.
03.
04.
05.
06. A View From The Top Of The World
07.
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

I had TOT at number 8, right in the middle of the pack, and in the middle of my middle-five. I discovered DT when this was their latest album so it got a LOT of spins from me, so much so that my original CD is one of my more worn-out discs in my collection. I found it quite enjoyable and very good at the time, even if it was heavier than their earlier stuff, it definitely set the bar for heavier prog metal that I would go on to discover after DT. Nearly 20 years on, though, I wouldn't say it's top 5 material for me, but it definitely has gotten close to it. I just don't find myself reaching for this one as much as I used to, but it still has some amazing highlights throughout.

-Marc.

[Dublagent66]

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   
  6  Train of Thought
  5   
  4   
  3   
  2   
  1

[Shalev Amir]

ToT is my number 6. It used to be my number 1, but TDS and the overly long Endless Sacrifice haven't aged very well for me. Still, As I Am is a very good song and the hate towards Honor Thy Father isn't justified imo.

Where the album really succeeds is in the 1-2 punch of Vacant/SoC and ITNOG. These last 29 minutes are of Dream Theater's best.

[pg1067]

07. Train of Thought

...

Number 1 finishes: 1
Last place finishes: 1
Average finish: 7.7

My rankings:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6. Train of Thought
7. Dream Theater
8.
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


TOT came out at a time when I was very focused on family.  We were about to have our second kid in 20 months, so I had relatively little free time, and I certainly wasn't blasting anything on the stereo.  I have relatively little memory of hearing the album for the first time or how I got into the album.  I do, however, remember being absolutely blown away by what I still regard as the band's best instrumental.  Stream of Consciousness is an incredible ride!  This was also the first tour on which I saw DT since Awake.  As I Am is a kick ass opener.  Vacant is really cool, and ITNOG is epic (although I don't think it resonated from me for a few years).  I'm not a huge fan of TDS, and HYF is a bottom 10 DT song, so those songs prevent this album from ranking higher than #6, but it's an overall excellent album.

[Lethean]

It's #13 for me.  But it's aged just fine for me; I liked it then and I like it now.  Endless Sacrifice is one of my favorite tracks, along with In the Name of God.  I could do without the rap in Honor Thy Father, but otherwise like the song and like the samples they used. The low ranking was again just a case of me liking other albums better.

[nobloodyname]

Number two for me. In the Name of God is the weakest track but I do think it's perfectly fine. Stellar album, one I can pop on at any time of the day or night. It's one bastard motherfucker of a ride.

[DTA]

Train of Thought is extremely frustrating to me. Much like BC&SL, I think each song has good ideas but everything is just so padded and extended to be "epic" (probably because of the band's influences at the time, mainly Opeth) that the core ideas get boring, and goofy, pointless shit makes its way in just to make songs longer. Train Of Thought as a solid, 55-minute album with no excess would probably be my most-listened to album of theirs.

[Dream Team]

Disliked it upon release; it grew on me a little after that but then has sunk down again due to the high quality of the Mangini era. I believe I had it 11th or 12th. Kev is right about ITNOG though; that needs to come back to the live set.

[Stadler]

I'm generally a BIG fan of "inspiration corner".  There's enough unique in the Dream Theater catalogue, and I'm a big enough music fan, so that when there are references and allusions in the music, I dig that.  The live "Surrounded" from CiM is perfect for that; DT? Marillion? Pink Floyd? WINNER!  (I've long thought the "Marillion/Genesis" connection wasn't actually as strong as the "Marillion/Pink Floyd" connection). 

This album is the flip side of that.  I love love love Iron Maiden, and dig Metallica, but the other, heavier metal influences on Dream Theater - Opeth, et al - are lost on me.  They do nothing for me, frankly, and this is the album that most (imo) reflects that. I like the album when I listen to it, but it's not an album that I go back to often, since there are others that are so much better (this is not in that middle pack that can be interchanged).

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6. Dream Theater
7. Systematic Chaos
8. Distance Over Time
9. A View From The Top Of The World
10. Falling Into Infinity
11.
12. Black Clouds and Silver Linings
13. Train Of Thought
14. The Astonishing
15. When Dream And Day Unite

[Ben_Jamin]

#07 - Train of Thought (My Ranking: #10)

Everything about this album fits. The black and white artwork, the actual paper the booklet is on, the focus on their metal side, the mix and production, and the style of the lyrics showing anger, power, and force. Each of the lyrics speaks about some form of indignation, which is what also gives the album it's tone, along with the music.

There's so much I enjoy about this, and it's related to me being a newer DT fan at the time I first heard it. A lot of these songs I heard on Live at Budakon. When I first heard the album, I quite enjoyed hearing Honor Thy Father because I think it's a well written song, meaning everything works within it. The tone of the lyrical subject, the music behind it, and even the style of the vocals.

Vacant is a nice precursor to Stream of Consciousness. I already fell in love with SoC from Budakon, that when I heard Vacant, it made it more impactful as I see both songs as being from the perspective of the loved one and the one laying with vacant eyes.

I think one of the best transitions they have ever done is from As I Am into This Dying Soul.

I'd say that even though it's ranked #7, it's an album that does have two songs that the crowds love to hear, As I Am and Endless Sacrifice. Endless Sacrifice I would consider a top tier song live, it's got that emotional, calm intro, and it just slowly builds and glides until the end.

Overall, this is one album that shifts in various spots on my listings. When I made my list it ranked at 10, but sometimes it'll rank at #6, it varies based on my mood too. I still am hoping they will play Stream of Consciousness one day. I was laughing at the guy behind me in Austin this past tour, because while we were waiting for the encore, he was shouting "STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS" the entire time. So, at least I know I am not alone in wanting to hear Stream of Consciousness live.



Favorite: Stream of Consciousness
Least: As I Am

[TAC]

07. Train of Thought
Number 1 finishes: 1
Last place finishes: 1
Average finish: 7.7

I had Train Of Thought at #8.

The thing about DT is that I don't listen to DT to get my metal fix. But I do like the metal interpretations of a Rush/Yes style.

The biggest issue I have with ToT is how it sounds. It just sounds so thin, like it WAS recorded on a computer. It's so sterile and it just has this...sound to it that I just can't sink my teeth in. When I want to hear the ToT tunes, I always listen to Live At Budokan.

Endless Sacrifice is easily my favorite song off the album, followed by This Dying Soul.

15. Falling Into Infinity
14. Dream Theater
13.
12. Distance Over Time
11. Systematic Chaos
10. Black Clouds and Silver Linings
9.
8. Train Of Thought
7. The Astonishing
6. A View From The Top Of The World
5.   
4. When Dream and Day Unite
3.   
2.   
1.

I'm generally a BIG fan of "inspiration corner".  There's enough unique in the Dream Theater catalogue, and I'm a big enough music fan, so that when there are references and allusions in the music, I dig that.  The live "Surrounded" from CiM is perfect for that; DT? Marillion? Pink Floyd? WINNER!  (I've long thought the "Marillion/Genesis" connection wasn't actually as strong as the "Marillion/Pink Floyd" connection). 

This album is the flip side of that.  I love love love Iron Maiden, and dig Metallica, but the other, heavier metal influences on Dream Theater - Opeth, et al - are lost on me.  They do nothing for me, frankly, and this is the album that most (imo) reflects that. I like the album when I listen to it, but it's not an album that I go back to often, since there are others that are so much better (this is not in that middle pack that can be interchanged).

I hear what you're saying. I don't mind the intro to Surrounded '07, but the whole Daddy took a raincheck can go fuck itself. OK, that's a bit strong.