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

[The Realm]

6.00 - my rank 35 so missed by 1. Wasn't a big fan of this when it was the first DT song I heard over the awesomeness of I&A. It took a while to grow on me but now I think it is great.

The Dance of Eternity - A completely over the top instrumental that really works. My rank 28.

Overture 1928 - A beautiful piece of music and expertly arranged. This is up there with some of the great Broadway Musical overtures. My rank 33 (also missed by 1).

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

I really am starting to worry about Bombay Vindaloo, Another Hand and Another Won.

I'd be worried if Bombay Vindaloo and Another Hand made the top 100.

Another Won on the other hand....

[porcacultor]

34. 6:00

As fortune had it, now y'all know my top 1 (CIAW) and my top 2 (this one). What can I say? I know: the dispute between CIAW and 6:00 for my top favorite track is like when you put a ball of sodium in water and the mix becomes completely unstable. I cannot believe how good Awake starts out. Very glad to have seen this one live.

33. The Dance Of Eternity

#53 for me. It's like "the big one", the rocket Sid ties to Buzz Lightyear's back in the first Toy Story movie. This kind of imagery is why I don't get paid to write about music. The ragtime part still makes me pump my fist in the air with joy, what a feat.

32. Overture 1928

#40 for me. For an album with two intro tracks (arguably), they sure feel necessary. Love how organic the weaving of leitmotive feels on this one. One of my last times playing guitar for a music school thing involved this track, and I was very much relieved to get the guitar solo part that starts with the One Last Time theme.

[HOF]

I will say, I've probably only listened to Regression a handful of times in my life. For me SFAM pretty much always starts with Overture 1928.

[WardySI]

34. 6:00

As fortune had it, now y'all know my top 1 (CIAW) and my top 2 (this one). What can I say? I know: the dispute between CIAW and 6:00 for my top favorite track is like when you put a ball of sodium in water and the mix becomes completely unstable. I cannot believe how good Awake starts out. Very glad to have seen this one live.

Nice!

Had 6:00 at #8 (and FFIW had CIAW #6)

Lots of love for Awake

[CanuckChum]

34. 6:00 (49). Has a great intro that pulls you right into the music. Groovy song and always a fun listen.
33. The Dance of Eternity (42). While I like SoC more, this is pretty much the quintessential DT instrumental. The overwhelming time changes, the first Jordan ragtime solo. A classic track.
32. Overture 1928 (81). As far as overtures go, this is one of the best I've heard. Introduces the main themes while flowing smoothly between them, and to top it all off you get the transition at the end directly into Strange Deja Vu. It's lower on my list purely by virtue of being an overture, but they did a very good here.

[Fonzie]

Am I the only person here who hates the ragtime sections of Rudess’s work?

[MirrorMask]

Am I the only person here who hates the ragtime sections of Rudess’s work?

Depends. During The Dance of Eternity it fits quite well, with the song being a crazy instrumental and that section giving a little nod to the 20's vibe. A circus break in the middle of Endless Sacrifice however is absolutely out of place and does nothing for the song.

[Evermind]

6:00 - #99 - barely made my list, although I listened to Awake yesterday during my run and honestly this one could've been a bit higher.

The Dance of Eternity - #74 - nice instrumental piece with some crazy time signature changes. I like it but not a big fan.

Overture 1928 - #43 - now that's a proper way to do an overture. Great track, always has me pumped for the rest of SFAM.

No confirmation from our benevolent overlord, but I'm certain we'll see no more songs from View, WDADU and TA.  Poor TA; quite a pitiful showing.  It beat out WDADU in the last countdown and got 10 songs in the mix, 7 of which finished above 90.  This time, only 3 songs and none above 90.

Well, it was certaintly not my fault! I'll probably be the highest ranker for 4-5 songs in the end....

Eh, I tried as well. 26 TA songs ranked, the 3 highest ones at 18, 19 and 21.

I had 12 or 13 songs from The Astonishing, 4 of them in my Top 50. I'm genuinely surprised Three Days didn't make it. And two songs I don't really like (The Gift of Music and Our New World) did make it.

Oh and did Moment of Betrayal not make it also? I'm surprised about that too.

[SwedishGoose]

6:00 - #99 - barely made my list, although I listened to Awake yesterday during my run and honestly this one could've been a bit higher.

The Dance of Eternity - #74 - nice instrumental piece with some crazy time signature changes. I like it but not a big fan.

Overture 1928 - #43 - now that's a proper way to do an overture. Great track, always has me pumped for the rest of SFAM.

No confirmation from our benevolent overlord, but I'm certain we'll see no more songs from View, WDADU and TA.  Poor TA; quite a pitiful showing.  It beat out WDADU in the last countdown and got 10 songs in the mix, 7 of which finished above 90.  This time, only 3 songs and none above 90.

Well, it was certaintly not my fault! I'll probably be the highest ranker for 4-5 songs in the end....

Eh, I tried as well. 26 TA songs ranked, the 3 highest ones at 18, 19 and 21.

I had 12 or 13 songs from The Astonishing, 4 of them in my Top 50. I'm genuinely surprised Three Days didn't make it. And two songs I don't really like (The Gift of Music and Our New World) did make it.

Oh and did Moment of Betrayal not make it also? I'm surprised about that too.

Did my bit too 23 songs ranked, 8 top 50 with the highest at 26.

[Awaken]

rank - song - my rank

34 - 6:00 - 52 - great opener to one of my favorite albums
33 - the dance of eternity - 37 - really fun live
32 - overture 1928 - 32 - beautiful guitar work and another great 'opener' to another favorite

[Podaar]

DTF                                                Me
37.   At Wit's End                            16   Yup, it's that good.
36.   The Root Of All Evil                  63   Victim of the ranker? Should be higher.
35.   Lifting Shadows Off A Dream    41   Love the composition. Strangely, JLB's performance keeps it from scoring higher.
34.   6:00                                       69  What I'll probably be doing at that time on a Xmas morning.
33.   The Dance Of Eternity               9   Heavily nostalgic and still jaw dropping after all these years.
32.   Overture 1928                         33  A concise and memorable Overture. They should all be constructed this way.

[ReaperKK]

Update!

31. Misunderstood
Highest Finish: 3 (Podaar)
Number of Lists appeared on: 60 (Adami, Animal, Awaken, axeman90210, Ben_Jamin, bosk1, CharlesPL, Cool Chris, Dave_Manchester, devieira73, DragonAttack, Dream Team, DTwwbwMP, energythief, Evermind, Fonzie, hefdaddy42, Indiscipline, Jamesman42, jammindude, jeff_kinsley, JiM-Xtreme, jingle.boy, jonny108, JPZealot, KevShmev, King Puppies and the Acid Guppies, Lethean, lightningbolt, mariner, Metro, MirrorMask, Mladen, MoraWintersoul, Mosh, MustActFastToCoverUp, nobloodyname, NoFred, OpenYourEyes311, Peter Mc, pg1067, PixelDream, Podaar, porcacultor, ReaperKK, Revenge319, romdrums, Setlist Scotty, Stadler, SwedishGoose, The Realm, Toro, Trav86, twosuitsluke, Vmadera00, WardySI, weirdo, Wim Kruithof, wolfking, Zydar)

Most days this is my favorite song off Six Degrees. Misunderstood shows that DT can write a great, straight-ahead rock song with a catchy chorus. The only thing that drags the song down IMO is the ending.

30. Space-Dye Vest
Highest Finish: 1 (MoraWintersoul)
Number of Lists appeared on: 58 (Adami, Animal, Awaken, axeman90210, Ben_Jamin, CanuckChum, CharlesPL, Cool Chris, Dave_Manchester, devieira73, Dittomist, energythief, Evermind, Fonzie, geeeemo, hefdaddy42, Indiscipline, Jamesman42, jammindude, jeff_kinsley, JiM-Xtreme, jingle.boy, JPZealot, KevShmev, King Puppies and the Acid Guppies, Lethean, lightningbolt, lucasembarbosa, mariner, Metro, MirrorMask, Mladen, MoraWintersoul, Mosh, MustActFastToCoverUp, nobloodyname, OpenYourEyes311, Peter Mc, pg1067, PixelDream, porcacultor, ReaPsTA, Revenge319, romdrums, Setlist Scotty, Stadler, SwedishGoose, TAC, The Realm, Toro, Trav86, twosuitsluke, Vmadera00, WardySI, weirdo, Wim Kruithof, wolfking, Zydar)

I used to love this song but it's aged pretty poorly of the years.

29. Endless Sacrifice
Highest Finish: 5 (Cool Chris)
Number of Lists appeared on: 65 (Adami, Animal, Awaken, axeman90210, Ben_Jamin, bosk1, CanuckChum, CharlesPL, Cool Chris, Dave_Manchester, devieira73, Dittomist, DragonAttack, Dream Team, DTwwbwMP, energythief, Evermind, Fonzie, geeeemo, hefdaddy42, Indiscipline, Jamesman42, jammindude, jeff_kinsley, JiM-Xtreme, jingle.boy, jonny108, JPZealot, KevShmev, King Puppies and the Acid Guppies, Lethean, lightningbolt, mariner, Metro, MirrorMask, Mladen, MoraWintersoul, Mosh, MustActFastToCoverUp, nobloodyname, NoFred, OpenYourEyes311, 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)

Great song, I'm glad I got to see this song live two tours ago.

[Evermind]

Two of these are in my top ten!

Misunderstood - #93 - ehh. Not really a fan, but it's not a bad song.

Space-Dye Vest - #6 - one of the best DT songs ever. It's unlike anything DT has ever done and it's amazing. Best song off Awake. Never thought I'd see it live but I did in 2014, front row, which remains my favourite DT gig ever.

Endless Sacrifice - #9 - now that's perfect metal from DT. I'm not a big fan of the first two songs on ToT but this rocks hard. From tranquil verses to banging choruses, this song is exactly what I like in heavy DT. The ending is incredible (great vocal melodies from JLB) and btw the screeching guitar noise doesn't bother me at all—it's part of the whole metal package for me. When this song ends as I listen to ToT and HTF starts, I wish I could listen to this song again instead of HTF.

30. Space-Dye Vest
Highest Finish: 1 (MoraWintersoul)

29. Endless Sacrifice
Highest Finish: 5 (Cool Chris)

[Jamesman42]

49t. A View From The Top Of The World (NR) I gave this song 5 chances and I was never impressed. I do intend to give it more chances, maybe it'll click one day.
49t. A Nightmare To Remember (68th) Much of this song is pretty good, and then Beautiful Agony is many tiers above it. It's too long, though.
47t. Lie (72nd) Really cool song, maybe should be higher for me, and the instrumental rocks.
47t. This Dying Soul (34th) The moment that riff hits and the band comes in...come on! So good! Lots to like, a great part of the 12SS.
46. One Last Time (74th) Yeah, not a SFAM fan. I do plan to give it a spin to see if it finally clicks. Maybe!
44t. Peruvian Skies (95th) Meh, it's aight.
44t. Wait For Sleep (37th) Just beautiful, I still remember the first time hearing it. Really impressed then and just as much now.
43. As I Am (15th) I LOVE this song and I am pretty surprised it is this low. One of my first DT songs so maybe I am biased. The prechorus is one of the coolest parts and the chorus is really cool. The guitar solo ending on chords ringing out is such a little twist.
42. Innocence Faded (16th) This song has grown tremendously on me. It all flows so well, and the instrumental is killer.
41. Disappear (39th) Great song, I don't often go to listen but it's always a great and sad song.
40. Erotomania (46th) Very cool instrumental.
39. Stream Of Consciousness (12th) Best instrumental. Best DT song to play on the bass.
38. Another Day (24th) Not an instrumental, but a top 3 ballad-y type song from DT.
37. At Wit's End (NR) Not familiar enough but I think I heard it the other day and liked it.
36. The Root Of All Evil (18th) Great song, pretty straightforward but it rocks.
35. Lifting Shadows Off A Dream (63rd) I get why people like this more than I do. It's a great song, but in the context of the album, it starts to drag and on its own, it isn't what I look for in DT songs usually, while still liking it.
34. 6:00 (32nd) Close to the consensus. One of the strongest choruses ever?
33. The Dance Of Eternity (45th) Great song, maybe overrated like the album it comes from.
32. Overture 1928 (55th) See above.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
31. Misunderstood (27th) I love this song, the only gripe is the outro goes on too long. The laid back verse into the that winding up prechorus into that emotional chorus is just so good.
30. Space-Dye Vest (44th) Lovely song, very different for DT at a time that they were heading into some major changes. I heard the live version not too long ago and that was also great.
29. Endless Sacrifice (10th) I am glad I wasn't the highest ranker. What Evermind said is basically what I think as well (except that I do like all of ToT). This is what DT metal should try and be much of the time. It doesn't try too hard like some other songs.

[Stadler]

Am I the only person here who hates the ragtime sections of Rudess’s work?

"Hate" is a strong word but they are not my favorite moments of his playing.

[Stadler]

157. The Dark Eternal Night
155. Hell's Kitchen
154. S2N
150. The Killing Hand
146. Disappear
145. Vacant
143. Honor Thy Father
142. Ytsejam
139. Panic Attack
138. Wither
135. Only A Matter Of Time
132. Barstool Warrior
125. Stream Of Consciousness
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
----
98.  Another Day
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
83.  At Wit's End
82.  Peruvian Skies
81.  Space Dye Vest
80.  The Enemy Inside
78.  Hollow Years
76.  The Shattered Fortress
73.  Lie
68.  A Nightmare To Remember
67.  The Silent Man
66.  The Root Of All Evil
62.  As I Am
61.  These Walls
59.  The Gift of Music
57.  The Bigger Picture
56.  One Last Time
55.  Pale Blue Dot
54.  Answering The Call
52.  Lost Not Forgotten
51.  Fall Into The Light
48.  Endless Sacrifice
46.  A New Beginning
44.  Forsaken
43.  A View From The Top Of The World
41.  The Looking Glass
40.  The Ministry Of Lost Souls
38.  The Dance Of Eternity
36.  New Millenium
35.  Lifting Shadows Off A Dream
34.  Wait For Sleep
33.  Transcending Time
31.  The Best Of Times
30.  Erotomania
28.  Our New World
25.  Raise The Knife
24.  6:00
23.  I Walk Beside You
21.  Sacrificed Sons
19.  Caught In A Web
14.  To Live Forever
9.    Innocence Faded
7.    This Dying Soul
6.    Misunderstood
5.    This Is The Life
4.    Overture 1928

Two top 10 songs for me! 

[ReaperKK]

Am I the only person here who hates the ragtime sections of Rudess’s work?

"Hate" is a strong word but they are not my favorite moments of his playing.

I didn't mind the first time I heard it but I wouldn't mind never hearing it again.

[Jamesman42]

It certainly is impressive but it doesn't need to be shoehorned into every song.

[Indiscipline]

Some catching up to do:

6:00: 91. Didn't appreciate much the heavy turn in '94, but it shines in comparison to the latter heavy turn.

The Dance of Eternity: 55. More awe-inspiring than beautiful, still massively awe-inspiring. It should have been the "having sex" segment inside Home instead of the moanings bit, though.

Overture 1928: 69. Everything a rock-opera overture should be.

Misunderstood: 7. When DT is a wonderful unique way of joining music with words, not just a technical genre.

Space-Dye Vest: 9. Focking ditto.

Endless Sacrifice: 93. Not original enough to rank higher, nice enough to make the cut.


The Score so far:

7 - Misunderstood
9 - Space-Dye Vest
14 - Stream of Consciousness
21 - A New Beginning
23 - Disappear
27 - The Best of Times
28 - Outcry
31 - Erotomania
33 - Surrender to Reason
36 - This Is the Life
38 - Hell's Kitchen
42 - Another Day
43 - One Last Time
45 - Vacant
46 - The Gift of Music
47 - Beneath the Surface
48 - The Silent Man
54 - Peruvian Skies
55 - The Dance of Eternity
56 - The Bigger Picture
61 - Wait for Sleep
65 - Pale Blue Dot
68 - Our New World
69 - Overture 1928
70 - Innocence Faded
71 - Behind the Veil
72 - The Looking Glass
76 - Lifting Shadows Off a Dream
77 - At Wit's End
78 - Lie
79 - Hollow Years
87 - Ytse Jam
89 - Through Her Eyes
90 - Lost Not Forgotten
91 - 6:00
92 - The Killing Hand
93 - Endless Sacrifice
95 - Barstool Warrior
96 - Fall Into the Light
97 - A Fortune in Lies

Not Ranked: 32

[Awaken]

Rank - Song - My Rank
31 - Misunderstood - 27 - great tune, definitely got a bump up from a fresh listen for this countdown
30 - Space-Dye vest - 92 - toyed w taking this one out when I saw the final ranking.
29 - Endless Sacrifice - 39 - another song that benefitted from the recent live presentation

[SwedishGoose]

Misunderstood ranked 78 in my list. Nice song but nothing special in my view.
Space-Dye Vest a fantastic song that ranked 7th in my list. Unique and beautiful, a favorite of mine that I never thought I would get to see live... luckily I did
Endless Sacrifice took one of the last spaces at 96. Some parts of this I really like some parts I don't.






My ranking so far

6 Another Day (38)
7 Space-Dye Vest (30)
8 One Last Time (46)
11 The Dance of Eternity (33)
19 The Silent Man (66)
22 6:00 (34)
21 Caught In a Web (51
27 Wait For Sleep (44t)
28 Through Her Eyes  (74)
32 Awaken the Master (81)
33 Sleeping Giant (85)
37 Our New World (93)
38 Innocence Faded (42)
40 Lifting Shadows Off a Dream (35)
41 A View from the Top of the World (49t)
44 The Great Debate (53)
45 To Live Forever (76)
47 Lie (47t)
48 Erotomania (40)
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)
61 At Wit's End ( 37)
62 Stream of Consciousness  (39)
73 As I Am (43)
74 The Root of All Evil(36)
75 The Alien (69)
77 A Nightmare To Remember (49t)
78 Misunderstood (31)
81 Behind the Veil (89)
86 Peruvian Skies (44t)
87 Surrender To Reason (83)
88 Ytse Jam (67)
89 Forsaken (95)
91. The Gift of Music (98)
94. Never Enough (100)
96 Endless Sacrifice (29)
99 These Walls (54)
100 Honor Thy Father (71)


Highest ranker of
8 One Last Time (46)

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), Disappear (41), Overture 1928 (32)

Rated: 40
Not rated: 29

[jingle.boy]

So glad to see you my thread, it’s been a while.

Wow... you leave this for a weekish, and it's a bear to catchup.  Just spent the last 90 minutes reading and writing to get current.  Thank you for indulging my triple post.


Barstool Warrior … 41.  Love this tune, one of my faves from DoT
Caught In A Web … 99, just sneaking in.  James at his (pre rupture) worst.  What teh fuck is he even saying?  I’ve read the lyric sheet many many times, and still his mumbling trumps any recollection I have of what the actual lyrics are.
A Nightmare To Remember.  69.  There are a lot of great moments in this song.  I’m pleasantly surprised it’s this high, tbh.  I thought there were a lot more haters here … though I suspect that’s all for Mike soliloquy and raaawwwrrr!!!!!.  James’ delivery in the  Hopelessly drifiting section(s) are the 2nd best thing on the album (only falling behind JPs solos in TBoT). “In peaceful sedation …” could be his best ‘post rupture’ moment.  Absolutely gorgeous lyrics too.  As I look at some of the songs I ranked ahead of this, I think this was a miss on my partner.
A View … Not rated.  Listening to it now, it’s not terrible, but as far as epics go, it seems to be on par with Illumination Theory (ie, the least best of their songs >15 mins).  The last 5 minutes were entirely forgettable. (edit… methinks recency bias is a good part of the reason 6/7 songs from this album are represented.  Come back in three years, and I'd not be at all shocked if that number was halved.
Lie … 81.  it’s not the worst thing on Awake!
This Dying Soul…55.   It goes on longer than it needs to, imo, but still a fantastic song, and middle of the pack from the 12-step suite.  IMO, that outro unison is one of finest in DTs catalogue.
One Last Time … 84.  This is a nice little ballad-esque/segue connecting The Dance of Eternity to The Spirit Carries on.  How it's a Top 50 tune, I'm unsure.
Peruvian Skies … 67.  Yup, it's Pink Floyd is heads, and Metallica is tails.  Flip a coin. First time I saw it live, we got an excerpt of Wherever I May Roam
Wait for Sleep … 37. 

Wait for Sleep: 61. A delight. I have already "proven" elsewhere this song is the Rosetta Stone for I&W.

Indeed you have.  This jumped about 20 spots after I read your "Scene" for this song.  Honestly, it was the 2nd weakest I&W song for my liking until I read that post - that post was life altering (and not because I was about 4 or 5 fingers into my scotch that evening).  It's still middle of the pack in rating I&W songs, but that just speaks to the strength of I&W (my #1 Album of All Time).
As I Am … 40.  Maybe a bit to high, but it's a cracker, doesn't wear out its welcome, and has some very clever lyrical usage.  I love this.  Plus, I watched the fuck out of L@B in 2005, so I adore pretty much everything from that setlist.  Except for one song that got ruined by the L@B performance.
Innocence Faded … 85 - still not the worst from Awake.. But almost.
Disappear … 91.  Never really clicked with this song.

[jingle.boy]

Erotomania…. 14 - my favorite instrumental  Was thrilled to finally get to see it on ProgNation 2009.  Kay… great story!
Stream Of Consciousness… 34.  Another beauty of an instrumental.  There are so many fabulous parts to it, but it does over-stay its welcome - as many others have said.  I used to rate this a fair bit higher.  And there is no way this is comparable to DT's discography the way LVS is to Rush.  Sorry Paul, it just isn't.  @ Dave_M… never heard or knew of that SoC contest.  Very cool!
Another Day… 46.  2nd least best song on I&W.  I can't believe Zydar wasn't rated by 3 users!!  Blasphemy!
At Wit's End… 38.  My final entry on DoT.  Great intro.  The outro is largely unnecessary, though.
The Root Of All Evil… 30.  Not surprising that it's the 2nd highest rated of the 12-Step Suite, but I could easily say it’s the most enjoyable of the bunch.  Concise, and not nearly as … pretentious?? … as the other pieces of that suite.  Kade's comment for this was spot on.
Lifting Shadows Off A Dream … 56.  Shame it rates this low, but I just don't see much above it that I would supplant for it.  As Stads and Tim said, simply beautiful.  Amazing vocal performance by James.
6:00…63.  It's an annual ritual, for most of us I suspect.  Pretty good opening track to the album.  Not the worst song from Awake!
The Dance Of Eternity…43.  Instrumental wankery at it's finest.  They threw everything from the SFAM leftover pile into this, and made a song that actually makes sense out of it.  Man, porcacultor has some hot takes - is he leading the "highest ranking" count so far??
Overture 1928… 25.  Why SDV doesn't immediately follow this I'm unclear.  One simply does not rate it without Strange déjà vu.
Misunderstood… 83.  Meh, like Disappear, this never clicked with me, though I have come to appreciate more over the years.
Space-Dye Vest… 61.  Color me stunned it rates this high.  Without a doubt, the 2nd best SDV
Endless Sacrifice… 7.  Just missed the top spot to Chris.  This song spoke to me very hard for my life circumstances as my kids were growing up.  There is nothing about this song I don't absolutely love - even the parts that some here absolutely detest.  I love the visual mix from L@B.  Seeing them pull this out on ADTOE, and Mangini being faithful to MP's performance, while also throwing in some of his own flair, was one of my favorite DT concert moments ever.  Hi five to Chris, Ruslan, James, and all others that rated this Top 10 material.  I weep for the one of you that didn't rate it (there were 66 list submissions, yes?)

[jingle.boy]

No confirmation from our benevolent overlord, but I'm certain we'll see no more songs from View, WDADU and TA.  Poor TA; quite a pitiful showing.  It beat out WDADU in the last countdown and got 10 songs in the mix, 7 of which finished above 90.  This time, only 3 songs and none above 90.

... and completely accurate.  Invariably, there was some serious recency bias in the last countdown, as there was with DoT (all 5 songs dropped - at least 13 spots, and at most 29 spots).  I've no doubt the ratings from the songs off A View are also propped up with some recency bias.

No confirmation from our benevolent overlord, but I'm certain we'll see no more songs from View, WDADU and TA.  Poor TA; quite a pitiful showing.  It beat out WDADU in the last countdown and got 10 songs in the mix, 7 of which finished above 90.  This time, only 3 songs and none above 90.

Well, it was certaintly not my fault! I'll probably be the highest ranker for 4-5 songs in the end....

I'll tried too - For WADADU!  I have a feeling that (other than my #1), I'll not be the highest ranker for any other song other than co-#1 with Animal for A Fortune In Lies.  Outside chance that 2 songs in my Top 10 might be uniquely ranked.

Eh, I tried as well. 26 TA songs ranked, the 3 highest ones at 18, 19 and 21.

[Cool Chris]

40.   Erotomania 56   I didn't usually skip anything on Awake when it came out, but if I skipped anything it was this. Maybe I just wanted to get to Voices faster.
39.   Stream Of Consciousness 15 Surprised it was this high. Really the only instrumental of theirs I love.
38.   Another Day 36 A favorite from the time of release, but has not aged as well as others from the album. 30 years later and I still don't know how I feel about that sax. Some days I love it; others... eh...…
37.   At Wit's End 23 Easily the best song from DoT upon release, and remains as such. Rated it higher last time around and expected it to fall.       
36.   The Root Of All Evil 22 The highlight of the radically uneven 12SS. Seeing the full band tear in to the opening of this with all the lights hitting at teh start of SCORE is one of my favorite DT moments.       
35.   Lifting Shadows Off A Dream 44 Maybe my least favorite from Awake (not counting Erotomania) when it came out, and possibly maybe even now, and it still cracks the top 50.
34.   6:00   43     
33.   The Dance Of Eternity   62 A fine instrumental break at the right spot in a great album. Nothing more.
32.   Overture 1928 NR Maybe an oversight but this song falls in the "never did much for me" category.       
31.   Misunderstood 20 Great song, and yes... the outro...       
30.   Space-Dye Vest 19 There might not be a more appropriate place for any DT song than having SDV at the end of Awake.         
29.   Endless Sacrifice 5 I called being this song's highest ranker.       

[CharlesPL]

Misunderstood - 65
Space-Dye Vest - 30
Endless Sacrifice - 89

[axeman90210]

At Wit's End- I had this a bit higher at #22. Barstool Warrior is my favorite from Distance Over Time, but At Wit's End is not far behind it. JLB shines on this one, just a great example of DT working in that 8-10 minute range.

The Root of All Evil - Very close to the consensus, #32 on my list. It just barely edged out The Shattered Fortress for second place in my rankings of the 12SS songs. A cool intro, some rocking riffs, and the vocal melodies are catchy by DT standards.

Lifting Shadows Off a Dream- I had this up at #26. I'm pleasantly surprised it finished as high in the overall results as it did, I feel like it's an overlooked gem on Awake. Those vocal harmonies towards the end give me chills every time.

6:00- Just missed it, #35 for me. This was another one from Awake I'm happy to see finished as high as it did. MP, KM, and JLB all kill it in particular

The Dance of Eternity- I finished with this at the hef spot (#42). This song is just the most Dream Theater that Dream Theater could cram into a 6 minute instrumental.

Overture 1928- My favorite DT instrumental, I had it up at #17. Just a perfect way to start my all time favorite album. JP's lead playing here is just fantastic.

Misunderstood- I was quite a bit lower than average, I had this down at #82. Most of the song is good (especially the chorus), and a slightly different sound than we're used to from Dream Theater. They lose me a fair bit with the outro though.

Space Dye Vest- Another near miss, I put it at #29. Such a unique song in Dream Theater's catalog, I'm glad KM got this on the album before he bailed on the band

Endless Sacrifice- A shocker for me, I had this at #65 and would've guessed I'd probably be on the high side. This is a song where you can levy some criticisms against it (bloated, disjointed, wankery for wankery's sake, etc...) and I couldn't necessarily refute them, more just shrug and say that the song still works for me. It was a highlight of the set on their last headlining tour.

[Jamesman42]

I thought I read people loved ES on the old forums when it came out. Maybe I am misremembering.

[MirrorMask]

31. Misunderstood

Very nice song, the ending is wasting three minutes of running time, but otherwise it's an excellent song that made felt Six Degrees daring and expanding in all musical horizons. Landed at 54 for me, 23 positions lower.

30. Space-Dye Vest

AMAZING song, moody somber piano pallad, haunting and delicate, Kevin Moore's musical testament with DT. Even when in 2014 they were doing the second half of Awake live, I was so sure that Portnoy's edict of not playing the song live would stand, and I was genuinely surprised and floored to hear it. Masterpiece to close a masterpiece album, it finished at 18 for me, 12 positions higher.

Congrats Moira for loving it more than all the rest!

29. Endless Sacrifice

Another great and touching song. Not a fan of the big wanky solo section (why oh why do I have to hear a circus breakdown in the middle of a song about long distance relationships? guys, keep LTE's mindset for LTE when you're writing solo sections, don't just jam the first thing that crosses your minds only because you're able to), with a more focused transition from the slow part to the fast one I would have called this a perfect masterpiece.

Anyway, I love the song, glad to hear it again last time around, and I ranked it 25th, just 4 positions higher. On any other day it could gain 2-3 spots.

[Setlist Scotty]

29. Endless Sacrifice

Another great and touching song. Not a fan of the big wanky solo section (why oh why do I have to hear a circus breakdown in the middle of a song about long distance relationships? guys, keep LTE's mindset for LTE when you're writing solo sections, don't just jam the first thing that crosses your minds only because you're able to), with a more focused transition from the slow part to the fast one I would have called this a perfect masterpiece.

Don't forget the music is written loooooonnnnnnng before lyrics are written.

[Dream Team]

Misunderstood has an AMAZING beginning, one of their greatest soundscapes, and if the rest of the song was that good it would be in the top 20. Not a fan of the outro. Endless Sacrifice seems to have more energy live but pretty awesome tune nonetheless with plenty of bloat like all of latter MP-era #1.

  5 Only a Matter of Time
  6 The Killing Hand
  9 The Great Debate
11 Outcry
12 Overture 1928
16 One Last Time
20 Lost Not Forgotten
22 A View From the Top of the World
24 This is the Life
25 Beneath the Surface
26 A New Beginning
28 Fall Into the Light
30 The Best of Times
31 Afterlife
33 Disappear
35 S2N
38 Constant Motion
39 Behind the Veil
40 The Enemy Inside
41 Pale Blue Dot
42 The Root of All Evil
46 Misunderstood
48 A Fortune in Lies
52 Barstool Warrior
51 Our New World
53 At Wit's End
54 Wither
55 The Alien
56 Lifting Shadows off a Dream
57 Surrender to Reason
58 Raise the Knife
59 Innocence Faded
61 I Walk Beside You
62 Endless Sacrifice
63 Awaken the Master
64 The Looking Glass
65 Wait for Sleep
66 The Bigger Picture
67 A Nightmare to Remember
68 Sleeping Giant
70 The Ministry of Lost Souls
72 The Dance of Eternity
75 Panic Attack
76 Transcending Time
78 Ytse Jam
79 Sacrificed Sons
81 The Gift of Music
84 Answering the Call
93 Another Day
95 On the Backs of Angels
97 The Shattered Fortress

Missed the top 100: Never Enough, Vacant, Forsaken, New Millennium, Through Her Eyes, To Live Forever, Honor thy Father, The Dark Eternal Night, The Silent Man, Hollow Years, Hell's Kitchen, These Walls, Caught in a Web, Lie, This Dying Soul, Peruvian Skies, As I Am, Erotomania, Stream of Consciousness, 6:00, Space-Dye Vest

Highest Ranker Of: Only a Matter of Time, Outcry

[jammindude]

Single version of Misunderstood >>>> Album version of Misunderstood

[HOF]

Misunderstood is one I don’t often find myself wanting to listen to, but when I hear it I usually enjoy it. I do really like the atmospheric versus, but I’m not a huge fan of the shouty chorus. It’s fine, but not one of DT’s finest moments either. The solos are more interesting than enjoyable. But I appreciate the creativity that went into the track.

Space Dye Vest is amazing and holds up just fine for me. Love the lyrics, love the samples, love KM’s playing throughout. Like Waits for Sleep it’s another deceptively complex piano part that drives the song along. Even though it’s a pretty dense studio piece with lots of layers of sound, at its core it’s a really lovely piano piece.

Endless Noodling is one of my least favorite DT songs.

[HOF]

Single version of Misunderstood >>>> Album version of Misunderstood

I think I agree with this (or at least I think it’s a rare instance where a DT radio edit works well).