Dream Theater Top 100 countdown - 2024 Version! (#01 Up!)

[porcacultor]

Caught In a Web as the best DT-song ever... to each their own, porcacultor, but here I am, curious to the 'how on earth'...

(...)

  What can I say? I had a feeling it would be my top track before I started going through the ranker, and then came out at the end and was like "yup, there it is". I don't know if it makes sense, but I can somewhat easily dissociate between it being the objective best DT track and being my favorite -- I'm only ever interested in the latter type of assessment. But I'll digress further below, if you're interested.

58.   Outcry NR

Did not rank for me. It's a fine track, but I somehow don't enjoy the feel of it. Almost as if it were "too slow"? I dunno. Not even close to a favorite.

57.   Hell's Kitchen #12

Such a jammy jam. Beautiful instrumental, it was a really smart move to separate it from Burning my Soul (which I do enjoy a bunch, though!).

56.   On The Backs Of Angels #80

The first track to come out of the MM era, and one that made me sigh with relief thinking "we're going to be alright". Very good.

55.   Panic Attack #79

I think it's my least favorite from 8vm, and it still ranked for me. Might've been one of my favorites from around the time the album came out given the heaviness (it was what I wanted from them as a 14-year-old). Still dig it a lot, particularly with the sound of the baritone guitar.

54.   These Walls #7

Some of my favorite vibes. Favorite 8vm track. Again, JP got a fantastic sound out of the baritone guitar on this one, but everyone is firing on all cylinders. A little masterpiece in my book.

53.   The Great Debate #18

Glad to see this one so high up in the ranking -- I figured it'd be left out given how many people seem to despise it. One of the least derivative "tribute" tracks in a way -- I get that it's Tool worship, but that idea got so heavily filtered into the DT engine, it sounds very much like DT being DT.

52.   Barstool Warrior NR

Something about this track doesn't do it for me at all. I do like MM's ideas at the start, though.
 
51.   Caught In A Web #1

The ideas of DT's longer songs condensed into solid five-and-a-half minutes. Studio album tracklisting-wise, it's the first track where JP whips out the 7-string guitar (I know they probably wrote Puppies on Acid/The Mirror first, but that comes later in the album proper), and he instantly shows he can do damage with it. JLB's performance on this gives me CHILLS. KM has so many great ideas on keys, I have a hard time picturing him being aloof in the studio. Also, it's a fun one to refer back to the demo version and compare the arrangements and part sequencing.

To sum it all up... "so energy, powah!". My favorite!

[wolfking]

Even I ranked Out of Reach.

Out Of Reach is easily the worst song in the MM Era.

*Insert Astonishing joke here*

[jammindude]

Even I ranked Out of Reach.

Out Of Reach is easily the worst song in the MM Era.

*Insert Astonishing joke here*

With the exception of the Nomac tracks, I’m with Tim on this one. OOR is terrible.

EDIT - I just checked and I had another song from D/T even lower.

[wolfking]

Interesting.  I loved it from the get go.  That JP solo does elevate it though.

[jammindude]

In a couple more years when we do this again, it might be a fun idea to have everybody submit their full list and then give negative points for everything that people ranked below 100. 

[Dream Team]

I guess that’s a benefit of never having heard a Tool song, I can enjoy TGD on its own merits.

[Evermind]

I had Out of Reach at #42, but at this point I don't think it'll make the list.

[Cool Chris]

I guess that’s a benefit of never having heard a Tool song

I am only aware of ever hearing one Tool song. Which is plenty.

[Wim Kruithof]

porcacultor interesting take. I'll think Caught In a Web is one of the weaker tracks of what might be my favorite studioalbum ever build... but it only shows the beauty of Awake.

Even I ranked Out of Reach.

Out Of Reach is easily the worst song in the MM Era.

Room 137 beats Out of Reach by a mile...

[pg1067]

Even I ranked Out of Reach.

Out Of Reach is easily the worst song in the MM Era.

Clearly you've never heard Room 137 (or half of the songs from The Astonishing).

[SwedishGoose]

I guess that’s a benefit of never having heard a Tool song, I can enjoy TGD on its own merits.

The talk of Tool influnce in TGD led me to investigate Tool.
Now I'm a big fan of both.
Not really seeing the huge Tool influence in it. A bit maybe but to me it's a great Dream Theater track.

[WardySI]

Damn such hate for Out Of Reach?  Doesn't come close to Along For The Ride, but still a cool ballad on a great album figure it won't show now then so FWIW had Out Of Reach at #66.  Anyway...

Barstool Warrior I had at #27 and think it's my highest DOT selection.  I completely love that album and probably rate it the best of the MM era there's essential later-day DT all throughout that album and Barstool is brilliant.

Congrats to porcacultor for having CIAW at #1, and I get it!

Back when the album first dropped and the expectations were for another long-ass opener in the vein of Pull Me Under (granted only couple minutes shorter but it felt way shorter), but 6:00 was a welcome shock.  But those keys then rolling out and into those subtle opening Caught In A Web riffs were a step up again.  All the fiddly and the crazy, the beautiful chorus, the 2:45 and key accompanied riffing at 3:40...  Then Innocence Faded! I mean, c'mon right?

Had Caught In A Web at #6

[CanuckChum]

55. Panic Attack (32). A very nice high-intensity track. I like the string sounds, also the choir before the chorus.
54. These Walls (27). Great synth sounds here, with good lyrics as well. More laid-back verses with a powerful chorus.
53. The Great Debate (56) The intro is a bit too long, but once this gets going it's solid. I like the second chorus - "Turn to the light".
52. Barstool Warrior (48). They go through several different sounds throughout the song, which all sound great. Excellent JP guitar solo.
51. Caught in a Web (50). James sounds great on this one. The instrumental section with the cowbell is also nice.

[MirrorMask]

EDIT: I have 20 songs that didn't rank, final count should be 21. 22 if you're heartless monsters who didn't care for a touching Mangini era song.

Blame both the ranking machine and Dream Theater for me being a heartless monster, but Out of Reach didn't make my list. Although it really moved me when I listened to the vinyl the first time. Dream Theater has so many great songs, that some of them drown in the lake of forgotten pieces...

Even I ranked Out of Reach.

Out Of Reach is easily the worst song in the MM Era.

I'm not talking about Out of Reach. I didn't rank it either 

Also I checked and it's 22 songs of mine that won't probably rank. I went backward from the bottom of my list and took for granted that some controversial songs (a couple of leftovers, Astonishing tracks, FII least favorite stuff) won't surely make it, and I skipped songs I ranked lower but I'll be damned if nobody ranked them (a couple of epics, a couple of instrumentals....).

So by taking the most realistic guess about which songs surely won't be there, and which songs just have to be there, I realized that only 2 songs are left in my "not ranked" lists, pending some major surprises.

[wolfking]

I guess that’s a benefit of never having heard a Tool song, I can enjoy TGD on its own merits.

The talk of Tool influnce in TGD led me to investigate Tool.
Now I'm a big fan of both.
Not really seeing the huge Tool influence in it. A bit maybe but to me it's a great Dream Theater track.

I mean, it kinda blatantly rips 46&2.  It much more of a Tool homage than Home ever was IMO.

[Wim Kruithof]

My whole list is filled with songs that made it to an official albumrelease. Mostly studioalbums, but a couple of songs came from live-releases... where Raise the Knife made it already. As did To Live Forever, although that was a best off release and I didn't rank it...

but being in the uptier 50's, I start to worry some of my others eventually didn't make the list. Which would be close to a disaster... since they're so beautiful.

[lucasembarbosa]

BW for me is the spiritual successor of The Bigger Picture, great tune! Ranked at 60.

CiaW - Banger, banger banger. The unison, chorus, references to other themes as in Erotomania, James at the top of his game. Ranked 28.

Late to the party, but here are the other ranked songs so far:


96 - S2N
94 - The Great Debate
93 - This is the Life
91 - Panic Attack
90 - Never Enough
87 - Answering the Call
86 - I Walk Beside You
84 - The Ministry of Lost Souls
82 - A New Beginning
81 - Fall Into The Light
79 - Honor Thy Father
76 - Pale Blue Dot
72 - Our New World
70 - The Enemy Inside
68 - The Bigger Picture
67 - The Gift of Music
61 - Lost Not Forgotten
60 - Barstool Warrior
57 - Behind The Veil
55 - The Looking Glass
54 - Only a Matter of Time
53 - Sacrificed Sons
51 - Surrender to Reason
47 - The Alien
45 - Afterlife
44 - Transcending Time
43 - Sleeping Giant
42 - Raise The Knife
41 - On the Backs of Angels
39 - Awaken the Master
38 - To Live Forever
37 - A Fortune in Lies
32 - The Shattered Fortress
28 - Caught in a Web
24 - The Best of Times
22 - Ytse Jam
19 - The Killing Hand
04 - Hell's Kitchen


NR:
Wither
Vacant
Forsaken
New Millenium
Constant Motion
Through Her Eyes
The Dark Eternal Night
The Silent Man
Beneath the Surface
Hollow Years
Outcry
These Walls

[Animal]

Catching up.

Outcry # 81 One of the early ADTOE favorites. A victim of the other songs from the album clicking with me quite recently, so Outcry got overshadowed a bit (it' couldn't pull the same trick as Breaking All Illusions did, i.e. clicking immediately and still making huge leaps in appreciation with each listen).
 
Hell's Kitchen NR It's on FII so I probably never gave it its fair share of attempts.

On The Backs Of Angels #24  A great opener for a great album.

Panic Attack #99  Of all the Octavarium songs which sound fake to me, I like this one the best.

These Walls NR

The Great Debate NR The only 6DOIT song I didn't rank. Not bad, just unnecessary on an album that is full of better stuff and is already long enough.


Barstool Warrior #68 Songs like this one make DoT worthwhile, even if it is not my favorite album.

 
Caught In A Web #58 My lowest ranked song from Awake. Still a blast.

[Wim Kruithof]

I'm not talking about Out of Reach. I didn't rank it either 

Now you got me really interested in which song you mean. But if it aint Out of Reach, I'm pretty confident at least I'll have it ranked.

[ReaperKK]

It's no longer a double tie

50. A Nightmare To Remember
Highest Finish: 9 (CanuckChum)
Number of Lists appeared on: 58 (Adami, Animal, Awaken, axeman90210, Ben_Jamin, bosk1, CanuckChum, devieira73, Dittomist, DragonAttack, Dream Team, DTwwbwMP, energythief, Evermind, Fonzie, geeeemo, Jamesman42, jammindude, jeff_kinsley, JiM-Xtreme, jingle.boy, jonny108, JPZealot, KevShmev, King Puppies and the Acid Guppies, lightningbolt, lucasembarbosa, mariner, Metro, MirrorMask, Mladen, MoraWintersoul, Mosh, MustActFastToCoverUp, nobloodyname, NoFred, OpenYourEyes311, Peter Mc, pg1067, PixelDream, Podaar, porcacultor, ReaperKK, ReaPsTA, Revenge319, Setlist Scotty, Stadler, SwedishGoose, TAC, The Realm, Toro, Trav86, twosuitsluke, Vmadera00, weirdo, Wim Kruithof, wolfking, Zydar)

Big fan of this song but I do think it goes on a bit too long. I wished the chopped off the last couple minutes or so, and also thank god MP's version didn't make the album cut.

49. A View From The Top Of The World
Highest Finish: 4 (ReaperKK)
Number of Lists appeared on: 53 (Animal, Awaken, Ben_Jamin, bosk1, CanuckChum, Cool Chris, Dave_Manchester, devieira73, DragonAttack, Dream Team, Fonzie, geeeemo, hefdaddy42, jammindude, jeff_kinsley, JiM-Xtreme, jonny108, JPZealot, KevShmev, King Puppies and the Acid Guppies, Lethean, lucasembarbosa, mariner, Metro, MirrorMask, MoraWintersoul, Mosh, MustActFastToCoverUp, nobloodyname, NoFred, Peter Mc, pg1067, PixelDream, Podaar, porcacultor, ReaperKK, ReaPsTA, Revenge319, romdrums, Setlist Scotty, Stadler, SwedishGoose, TAC, The Realm, Toro, Trav86, twosuitsluke, Vmadera00, WardySI, weirdo, Wim Kruithof, wolfking, Zydar)

I think I have a lot of recency bias towards this song. When running it through the ranker I was shocked to see it placed so high but really at the time (and now) I've been going back to this song frequently, so it lives at my number 4.

47t. Lie
Highest Finish: 9 (ReaPsTA, WardySI)
Number of Lists appeared on: 56 (Adami, Animal, Awaken, axeman90210, bosk1, CharlesPL, Cool Chris, Dave_Manchester, devieira73, Dittomist, DragonAttack, DTwwbwMP, energythief, Evermind, Fonzie, geeeemo, Indiscipline, Jamesman42, jeff_kinsley, JiM-Xtreme, jingle.boy, JPZealot, KevShmev, King Puppies and the Acid Guppies, Lethean, lightningbolt, lucasembarbosa, mariner, Metro, MirrorMask, MoraWintersoul, Mosh, MustActFastToCoverUp, nobloodyname, NoFred, Peter Mc, pg1067, PixelDream, Podaar, porcacultor, ReaPsTA, Revenge319, romdrums, Setlist Scotty, Stadler, SwedishGoose, TAC, The Realm, Toro, Trav86, twosuitsluke, Vmadera00, WardySI, Wim Kruithof, wolfking, Zydar)

This song has slowly been moving down my list over the years. It's a good song but the production really ages it.

47t. This Dying Soul
Highest Finish: 1 (Dave_Manchester)
Number of Lists appeared on: 53 (Adami, Animal, Awaken, axeman90210, bosk1, CanuckChum, CharlesPL, Dave_Manchester, devieira73, Dittomist, DTwwbwMP, energythief, Evermind, hefdaddy42, Jamesman42, jammindude, jeff_kinsley, JiM-Xtreme, jingle.boy, jonny108, JPZealot, King Puppies and the Acid Guppies, lightningbolt, lucasembarbosa, mariner, Metro, Mladen, MoraWintersoul, Mosh, MustActFastToCoverUp, nobloodyname, NoFred, OpenYourEyes311, Peter Mc, pg1067, PixelDream, Podaar, porcacultor, ReaperKK, Revenge319, romdrums, Setlist Scotty, Stadler, TAC, The Realm, Toro, Trav86, twosuitsluke, Vmadera00, weirdo, Wim Kruithof, wolfking, Zydar)

Loved this song when it first came out, still enjoy it and is probably my 3rd favorite of the 12 step suite.

[ReaperKK]

I just realized after posting this update that these 4 songs make up a pretty heavy update

[Stadler]

157. The Dark Eternal Night
155. Hell's Kitchen
154. S2N
150. The Killing Hand
145. Vacant
143. Honor Thy Father
142. Ytsejam
139. Panic Attack
138. Wither
135. Only A Matter Of Time
132. Barstool Warrior
124. Through Her Eyes
123. Never Enough
122. The Alien
121. Afterlife
120. A Fortune In Lies
109. Outcry
105. Sleeping Giant
104. Surrender To Reason
----
97.  Awaken The Master
96.  Behind The Veil
95.  The Great Debate
90.  On The Backs Of Angels
85.  Constant Motion
84.  Beneath The Surface
80.  The Enemy Inside
78.  Hollow Years
76.  The Shattered Fortress
73.  Lie
68.  A Nightmare To Remember
67.  The Silent Man
61.  These Walls
59.  The Gift of Music
57.  The Bigger Picture
55.  Pale Blue Dot
54.  Answering The Call
52.  Lost Not Forgotten
51.  Fall Into The Light
46.  A New Beginning
44.  Forsaken
43.  A View From The Top Of The World. One of those songs that really elevated live.  A favorite from the recent era.
41.  The Looking Glass
40.  The Ministry Of Lost Souls
36.  New Millenium
33.  Transcending Time
31.  The Best Of Times
28.  Our New World
25.  Raise The Knife
23.  I Walk Beside You
21.  Sacrificed Sons
19.  Caught In A Web. One of the early songs that really helped elevate this band. Still a favorite.
14.  To Live Forever
7.    This Dying Soul A real gem; I know Dave has this at number one, and I certainly see that.  Love this song.
5.    This Is The Life

[MirrorMask]

49t. A View From The Top Of The World

Nice epic, but it might have paid the recency factor. It made my list, but only at 92, 43 positions lower.

49t. A Nightmare To Remember

Ah, one of the most debated DT epics. It all goes well and great until the Beautiful Agony section (beautiful not only in title), then the song goes off the rails and should have really need a good reworking, or an input from an outside producer with objective ears.

Not one of their best ever epics, but surely enjoyable, live it was a blast. I ranked it at 65, 16 positions lower.

47t. Lie

Kickass track from a kickass album. Awesome companion to The Mirror, heavy, punchy and catchy. Wonderful song that cracked my top 20 exactly at the 20th place, 27 places higher!

47t. This Dying Soul

Everything I like about the heaviness of Awake is what I DON'T like about This Dying Soul. It's not bad, but there's too many notes, too much Metallica, and too much "modernity" in the style for lack of a better term, the song is "too much" generally, they didn't have to try so hard with Lie to show that they could do heavy stuff.

It barely failed to qualify, it ended up at 104 for me.


My situation so far, from the 60th place onwards I'm gonna place my guesses for the missing songs, and I'm listing just the higher positions for which I have doubts or guesses:

17 The Silent Man (66) +49
20 Lie (47) +27
23 Through Her Eyes (73) +50
28 Wither (99) +71
29 Forsaken (95) +66
30 These Walls (54) +24
36 I'm sure it won't make the list
38 Beneath the Surface (64) +26
40 I'm sure it won't make the list
41 I'm sure it won't make the list
42 The Bigger Picture (60) +18
45 Hollow Years (59) +14
46 Caught In a Web (51) +5
48 I Walk Beside You (80) +32
50 Outcry (58) +8
52 I'm sure it won't make the list
53 Only a Matter of Time (82) +29
56 The Ministry of Lost Souls (61) +5
58 Behind the Veil (89) +31
59 I'm sure it won't make the list
60 I expect it to make the list
61 I'm not sure if it will make the list or not
62 The Killing Hand (68) +6
63 On the Backs of Angels (56) -7
64 I'm sure it won't make the list
65 A Nightmare To Remember (49) -16
66 Barstool Warrior (52) -14
67 I'm sure it won't make the list
68 A Fortune in Lies (78) +10
69 I'm sure it won't make the list
70 The Gift of Music (98) +28
71 I expect it to make the list
72 Raise The Knife (65) -7
73 Panic Attack (55) -18
74 I'm sure it won't make the list
75 I expect it to make the list
76 I expect it to make the list
77 I'm sure it won't make the list
78 The Best of Times (77) -1
79 I'm sure it won't make the list
80 I'm sure it won't make the list
81 I expect it to make the list
82 I'm sure it won't make the list
83 Transcending Time (90) +7
84 I expect it to make the list
85 I'm sure it won't make the list
86 Vacant (97) +11
87 The Shattered Fortress (79) -8
88 I'm sure it won't make the list
89 Fall Into The Light (72) -17
90 I'm sure it won't make the list
91 I'm sure it won't make the list
92 A View from the Top of the World (49) -43
93 I'm sure it won't make the list
94 I'm sure it won't make the list
95 I'm sure it won't make the list
96 Never Enough (100) +4
97 Answering the Call (76) -21
98 I'm sure it won't make the list
99 The Enemy Inside (83) -16
100 S2N (94) -6

[Lonk]

Catching up:

55.   Panic Attack: #13 - Love this song. Excellent combination of heavy, melody and just outright awesomeness. all members shine in this track.
54.   These Walls: #49 - Great piece. I mentioned before that this piece was ruined for me here but I still like it a lot.
53.   The Great Debate: #21 - Never understood why many don't like this song. My only nitpick with this is the ending feels anticlimactic, but beyond that, it is a great piece.
52.   Barstool Warrior: #29 - My least favorite song from DoT when it came out. But it clicked with me when I saw it live for the second time.
51.   Caught In A Web: #40 - Fun track.
49t. A View From The Top Of The World: #54 This is a great epic with several interesting parts sprinkled throughout.
49t.  A Nightmare To Remember: #92 - The "Hopeless drifting" part one of the most beautiful passages DT has written (IMO). The rest of the song drags this down though.
47t.  Lie: #57 - Not much to say here.
47t.  This Dying Soul: #66 - There is a lot to like here, and a lot to dislike.

[hefdaddy42]

Catch up post!

55 Panic Attack - DNR.  Just never cared for it.

54 These Walls - I have this one at # 72.  One of my favorites from an album that is not one of my favorites.

53 The Great Debate - DNR.  Again, never cared for it, although on a technical level, it is very impressive.

52 Barstool Warrior - Nice song.  I had this one at # 71.  One of the best on Distance Over Time.

51 Caught In A Web - Not one of my favorites on Awake, but one a different album, I bet it would stand out more.  I had it at # 82.

49t A View From The Top of the World - I like this song, but it's probably my least favorite of the epics.  I have it at # 76.

49t A Nightmare to Remember - DNR.  I love the "Beautiful Agony" section, but I find the rest of the song repugnant.

47t Lie - DNR.  I actually do like this one, it just didn't quite make my Top 100.

47t This Dying Soul - Fun, fun song.  I have it at # 64.  I understand completely why the people who don't care for don't care for it, but I still like it.

[hefdaddy42]

Also, Stadler - why don't you like Hell's Kitchen?

[Mladen]

49t. A Nightmare To Remember
Highest Finish: 8 (Mladen)

There is some sort of a mix up here, man. I had A Nightmare to remember at #17. I did still rank it pretty high up, I do love it. It was the first new Dream Theater song that I heard after becoming a fan and I remember that I had to lie down once I first listened to it. It was exhausting. 

A View and Lie didn't make it, but This dying soul was my #20. The entire song is spectacular, but that outro is their second best outro ever, only coming behind the ending solo in The Ministry of lost souls

[HOF]

I like Lie the best of today’s batch. Always liked the opening riff a lot, the lyrics are a little awkward, and I could see not liking the almost rap-like verses, but they never bothered me. I probably would say that if you wanted to shorten Awake at all Lie/The Mirror would be the ones I would drop (not that there is anything wrong with Awake as it is).

This Dying Soul is OK, but not something I listen to much.

[MirrorMask]

I probably would say that if you wanted to shorten Awake at all Lie/The Mirror would be the ones I would drop (not that there is anything wrong with Awake as it is).

This is heresy. I demand satisfaction.

 

[SwedishGoose]

3 out of 4 today...
A View of the Top of the World ranked at 41. Like it a lot but not as much as some other epics and not as top of the album either.
A Nightmare To Remember ranked at 77. This could have ranked higher if it was not for some questionable choices in the arrangements and production. Almost want to edit out the MP vocal section... then agai there are some really nice sections too
Lie ranked at 47. Got 9 other songs from Awake higher though.
This Dying Soul fell ouside the scope. It's not a bad song and seeing this with Shattered Fortress was awesome but at the end of the day only 100 songs fit.




My ranking so far

19 The Silent Man (66)
21 Caught In a Web (51)
28 Through Her Eyes  (74)
32 Awaken the Master (81)
33 Sleeping Giant (85)
37 Our New World (93)
41 A View from the Top of the World (49t)
44 The Great Debate (53)
45 To Live Forever (76)
47 Lie (47t)
50 Answering the Call (75)
54 Beneath the Surface (64)
57 Pale Blue Dot (62)
59 Transcending Time (90)
64 Sacrificed Sons (63)
65 The Looking Glass (92)
66 Hollow Years (59)
75 The Alien (69)
77 A Nightmare To Remember (49t)
81 Behind the Veil (89)
87 Surrender To Reason (83)
88 Ytse Jam (67)
89 Forsaken (95)
91. The Gift of Music (98)
94. Never Enough (100)
99 These Walls (54)
100 Honor Thy Father (71)



Not rated
Wither (99), Vacant (97), Afterlife (96), S2N (94), A New Beginning (91), This is the Life (88), New Millennium (87), Constant Motion (86), The Enemy Inside (84), Only a Matter of Time (82), I Walk Beside You (80), The Shattered Fortress (79), A Fortune In Lies (78), The Best Of Times (78), Lost Not Forgotten (73), Fall Into the Light (72), The Dark Eternal Night (70), The Killing Hand (68), Raise The Knife (65), The Ministry of Lost Souls (61), The Bigger Picture (60), Outcry (58),  Hell's Kitchen (57), On The Backs Of Angels (56), Panic Attack (55), Barstool Warrior (52), This Dying Soul (47t)

Rated: 27
Not rated: 27

[Stadler]

Also, Stadler - why don't you like Hell's Kitchen?

I think it's guilt by association.  I don't hate it, but I definitely don't like Burning My Soul more.  I think it was one of those numbers that got caught up in a fog of too many decent songs.

[Evermind]

A View from the Top of the World - not ranked - I'm simply not familiar enough with this one. I do remember that I liked some of the parts.

A Nightmare to Remember - #54 - this song is good but could've definitely used some trimming and rewriting. I never listen to it on its own but on the album it's alright.

Lie - #82 - this song is okay but not my favourite on Awake. Its counterpart is way better.

This Dying Soul - #94 - only ranked this one because I needed a hundred songs. I don't skip it but I don't think it's any good either.

[HOF]

I probably would say that if you wanted to shorten Awake at all Lie/The Mirror would be the ones I would drop (not that there is anything wrong with Awake as it is).

This is heresy. I demand satisfaction.

 

I do like both songs. It's just a long chunk of music on a long CD. I could also see just removing Erotomania.   

[Animal]

A View From The Top Of The World (19)  An overwhelming favorite from A View. I don't like it as much as ACOS or TCOT but it's on par with Octavarium and Illumination Theory (which means it's great).
A Nightmare To Remember (96 or 98) I slipped this one to the list in the last minute instead of one of TA songs, not sure which one it was, and I made these changes right in the PM that I sent to Reaper, not in the original excel file. Hence the uncertainty about the placement. It has many good passages but MP' vocal involvement brings it down.
Lie (74) - It seems I was wrong and this is my lowest ranked Awake song, not CITW. I like it a fair bit on its own, but like The Mirror a lot more and the way Lie is inserted inside The Mirror and interrupts its moodiest part is something I will always hold against this song.
This Dying Soul (69) - Like a good part of ToT, I enjoy this one immensely as a part of an album experience, but I rarely seek it out on its own.

[jammindude]

I probably would say that if you wanted to shorten Awake at all Lie/The Mirror would be the ones I would drop (not that there is anything wrong with Awake as it is).

This is heresy. I demand satisfaction.

 

I would only take out Lie. I actually did a mix of The Mirror that cuts out Lie and just skips to the reprise. It basically sounds like a studio version of what they did on LSFNY. Thats my go to version of The Mirror and it’s one of my favorites