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

[bosk1]

79. The Shattered Fortress - Came in a 45 for me.  I want to really love this song because I really love a lot of moments in the song.  But while some of the transitions and reprises are just genius, others come across as very clunky and disjointed to me.  But still a really good song. 

78. A Fortune In Lies - #81.  No major complaints about this song.  It's just that for what they were going for, they learned how to do it a lot better later on.

77. The Best Of Times - Did not rank for me.  We've kind of been over why, so I won't belabor it here.  I mostly feel the way Chad does about the lyrics in that I get and respect what Mike was going for; it's just that they are so overly specific that I have a hard time getting them to resonate with me.  Nothing "wrong" with the song--it just doesn't hit for me that way most of their catalog does.

[Wim Kruithof]

My own 100:

095: I Walk Beside You     #80 -15
094: S2n     #94 spot on
093: Never Enough     #100 +7
089: Only a Matter of Time     #82 -7
088: Surrender to Reason     #83t -5
087: Forsaken     #95 +8
084: Constant Motion     #86 +2
082: The Best of Times     #77 -5
078: Behind the Veil     #89 +11
077: Afterlife     #96 +19
068: The Enemy Inside     #83t +15
060: A Fortune in Lies     #78 +18
054: The Looking Glass     #92 +38
050: Wither     #99 +49
048: Transcending Time     #90 +42
041: Sleeping Giant     #85 +44
029: Awaken the Master     #81 +52
016: The Shattered Fortress     #79 +63

not rankend: #6 The Gift of Music / Vacant / Our New World / A New Beginning / This Is the Life / New Millennium

[TAC]

79. The Shattered Fortress
Highest Finish: 16 (NoFred, WimKruithof)
Number of Lists appeared on: 51 (Adami, Awaken, axeman90210, Ben_Jamin, bosk1, CanuckChum, Cool Chris, Dave_Manchester, Dittomist, Dream Team, energythief, Evermind, Fonzie, geeeemo, hefdaddy42, Jamesman42, jeff_kinsley, JiM-Xtreme, jingle.boy, jonny108, King Puppies and the Acid Guppies, lightningbolt, lucasembarbosa, mariner, Metro, MirrorMask, MoraWintersoul, Mosh, MustActFastToCoverUp, nobloodyname, NoFred, OpenYourEyes311, Peter Mc, pg1067, PixelDream, Podaar, porcacultor, ReaPsTA, Revenge319, romdrums, Setlist Scotty, Stadler, The Realm, Toro, Trav86, twosuitsluke, Vmadera00, WardySI, Wim Kruithof, wolfking, Zydar)

78. A Fortune In Lies
Highest Finish: 15 (Animal, jingle.boy)
Number of Lists appeared on: 45 (Adami, Animal, Awaken, Ben_Jamin, bosk1, CanuckChum, CharlesPL, Dave_Manchester, devieira73, Dream Team, DTwwbwMP, hefdaddy42, Indiscipline, Jamesman42, jammindude, jeff_kinsley, jingle.boy, JPZealot, KevShmev, King Puppies and the Acid Guppies, lucasembarbosa, mariner, Metro, MirrorMask, Mladen, MoraWintersoul, Mosh, MustActFastToCoverUp, nobloodyname, OpenYourEyes311, Peter Mc, pg1067, porcacultor, ReaperKK, ReaPsTA, Revenge319, romdrums, Setlist Scotty, TAC, The Realm, Trav86, Vmadera00, Wim Kruithof, wolfking, Zydar)

77. The Best Of Times
Highest Finish: 10 (Revenge319)
Number of Lists appeared on: 40 (Adami, Awaken, axeman90210, CanuckChum, Cool Chris, Dave_Manchester, Dittomist, Dream Team, energythief, Evermind, Fonzie, geeeemo, Indiscipline, Jamesman42, JiM-Xtreme, jingle.boy, KevShmev, King Puppies and the Acid Guppies, lucasembarbosa, Metro, MirrorMask, Mladen, MoraWintersoul, Mosh, nobloodyname, NoFred, Peter Mc, PixelDream, ReaperKK, Revenge319, Stadler, TAC, Toro, Trav86, twosuitsluke, WardySI, weirdo, Wim Kruithof, wolfking, Zydar)

I had The Shattered Fortress as Not Rated.
I thought a 12SS mashup was a very disappointing way to finish it off. The "I am responsible" part at the end is awesome, and I just wished they'd treated the whole song similarly and gave it its own identity.


I had A Fortune In Lies at #18.
I am actually surprised at how low this is. I would've figured the Live At The Marquee version would've cemented its spot as an early classic.


I had The Best Of Times at #14.
Musically, this is a phenomenal song, and I think the lyrics are damn near perfect. So heartfelt, and I'm lucky enough to have it be relatable. I was balling my eyes out the first time I heard it.



List                                                    Not Ranked         
100                                                      Wither
99                                                        Vacant
98                                                        Our New World
97                                                        The Looking Glass
96                                                        Transcending Time
95                                                        Behind The Veil
94                                                        New Milenium   
93                                                        Constant Motion
92                                                        The Shattered Fortress
91
90  Forsaken
89
88
87
86
85
84
83
82
81
80  Awaken The Master
79
78
77
76  S2N
75
74  Afterlife
73  This Is The Life
72
71
70
69  Surrender Of Reason
68
67
66
65
64
63
62
61  I Walk Beside You
60  Never Enough
59  A New Beginning
58
57
56
55
54
53
52
51
50
49
48
47
46
45
44
43
42
41  Sleeping Giant
40
39
38
37
36
35  The Gift Of Music
34
33
32
31
30
29
28  The Enemy Inside
27
26  Only A Matter Of Time
25
24
23
22
21
20
19
18  A Fortune In Lies
17
16
15
14 The Best Of Times
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1

[The Realm]

The Shattered Fortress -my rank 88. I grew to appreciate this song more after I saw Mike, Haken and Eric Gillette perform it live.

A Fortune in Lies - one of the best songs from the debut. I thought it may have gone higher, my rank 59 (which is currently the highest ranked of any of my list that has been revealed so far).

The Best of Times - this song has never really worked for me. I can appreciate it and have no problem with anyone loving this. It may work for me more one day. Unranked.

[wolfking]

TSF came in at 48 for me.  I liked this a lot more on my recent listen of the album.  I'm a huge Glass Prison and Dying Soul fan so I loved all the reprises.  A great conclusion to the suite.

AFIL came in at 96.  I'm surprised, that should have been way higher.  That's what I get for rushing my list I guess.

TBOT came in at 99.  I never really liked it, but the solo elevates it to top 100 level, just.  I think it's a song I can't relate to the lyrics at all unfortunately so it may be an issue I have with the song personally.



List                                                        Not Ranked         
100                                                    The Gift of Music
99 The Best of Times                          A New Beginning
98 Constant Motion                             New Millenium
97                                                     Sleeping Giant
96 A Fortune in Lies                            Awaken the Master
95
94 Our New World
93 This is the Life
92
91
90
89 Only A Matter of Time
88 Vacant
87
86
85
84
83
82 Transcending Time
81
80
79
78 Wither
77
76
75
74 The Enemy Inside
73
72
71 Forsaken
70
69
68
67 S2N
66
65
64 The Looking Glass
63
62
61
60 
59
58 Afterlife
57
56
55
54
53
52
51
50
49
48 The Shattered Fortress
47
46
45
44
43
42 Never Enough
41
40
39
38
37
36
35 
34
33
32 I Walk Beside You
31
30
29 Surrender to Reason
28
27
26
25
24
23
22
21
20 Behind the Veil
19
18
17
16
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1

[NoFred]

79. The Shattered Fortress
Highest Finish: 16 (NoFred, WimKruithof)

Completely understand not being into this because it’s derivative, and it may not even be among my favorite of 12SS. I think 12SS works as an idea and was fun following as songs were released, but I get nothing extra trying to listen to it as a single work - doesn’t come across as anything greater than four songs and a medley. I sure love the medley though.

[Dream Team]

  5 Only a Matter of Time
24 This is the Life
26 A New Beginning
30 The Best of Times
31 Afterlife
35 S2N
38 Constant Motion
39 Behind the Veil
40 The Enemy Inside
48 A Fortune in Lies
51 Our New World
54 Wither
57 Surrender to Reason
61 I Walk Beside You
63 Awaken the Master
64 The Looking Glass
68 Sleeping Giant
76 Transcending Time
81 The Gift of Music
97 The Shattered Fortress

Missed the top 100: Never Enough, Vacant, Forsaken, New Millennium
Highest Ranker Of: Only a Matter of Time

Had these 3 additions all in there, but just barely. The main things knocking TSF down are the overly-long intro and overly-long keyboard solo. The rest is fine. AFIL is a really good rocker and the Marquee performance is where it shines. TBoT has some nice melodies and one of JP's greatest solos.

[WardySI]

AFIL NR

The Shattered Fortress #39
Much higher on my list than expected which surprised me as I don't reach for this album too often anymore.

The Best Of Times #55
Expected this would've ranked better than Fortress but there we go.  And count me in loving that final JP solo.  Always reminded me of Malmsteen in style but better 

[Indiscipline]

AFIL NR

The Shattered Fortress #39
Much higher on my list than expected which surprised me as I don't reach for this album too often anymore.

The Best Of Times #55
Expected this would've ranked better than Fortress but there we go.  And count me in loving that final JP solo. Always reminded me of Malmsteen in style but better 

1/3 JP, 1/3 Randy, 1/3 Gary

[TAC]

AFIL NR

The Shattered Fortress #39
Much higher on my list than expected which surprised me as I don't reach for this album too often anymore.

The Best Of Times #55
Expected this would've ranked better than Fortress but there we go.  And count me in loving that final JP solo. Always reminded me of Malmsteen in style but better 

1/3 JP, 1/3 Randy, 1/3 Gary

Hell yes!!!

I hear so much Gary Moore in JP's playing.

[HOF]

Only one of these I really know is A Fortune In Lies, and it's not one of the WDADU songs that I particularly like. The Best of Times I seem to recall having a nice intro (guitar solo maybe?) before going a bit off the rails (only heard it once or twice).

Listened to TBOT again, and I had it backwards. It’s the intro and guitar solo/outro I didn’t like so much. The Rush-like part in the first half of the song is the good part.

[wolfking]

AFIL NR

The Shattered Fortress #39
Much higher on my list than expected which surprised me as I don't reach for this album too often anymore.

The Best Of Times #55
Expected this would've ranked better than Fortress but there we go.  And count me in loving that final JP solo. Always reminded me of Malmsteen in style but better 

1/3 JP, 1/3 Randy, 1/3 Gary

I can get behind this.  I don't hear Malmsteen at all in that solo or JPs playing in general.

[Jamesman42]

100. Never Enough (17th) I don't get how this is at 100. This song has many cool parts, especially the instrumental break.
99. Wither (66th) Solid song, when it hits, it's great but it doesn't always warrant a listen.
98. The Gift Of Music (92nd) It's alright. Past entry 82 on my list is stuff that just had to be ranked.
97. Vacant (70th) This song is so awesome on its own and how it leads into SoC
96. Afterlife (98th) See: The Gift of Music
95. Forsaken (87th) It's alright, live is good.
94. S2N (NR) Honestly just not familiar enough with this song yet.
93. Our New World (NR) See: S2N
92. The Looking Glass (54th) This is one of the better tracks off of DT12. Great chorus, surprised it is this low.
91. A New Beginning (NR) Couldn't tell you what album it's from.
90. Transcending Time I really don't like DT12 View at this time, with about 5 listens since returning to the forum last year. But this song stuck out and was good enough to make the list.
89. Behind The Veil (NR) See: A New Beginning
88. This Is The Life (33rd) This song is very underrated. It has a huge atmosphere to it and a great buildup to that final chorus.
87. New Millennium (NR) Not much of a fan of FII, and this song was always skippable to me.
86. Constant Motion (35th) Sometimes you need a straightforward song, DT does it great here, and the instrumental section with the bass and piano is cool as hell.
85. Sleeping Giant (NR)
84. The Enemy Inside (36th) Great, straightforward song, and ranks right next to Constant Motion.
83. Surrender To Reason (64th) This was a mistake to place it at 64th, but by the time I was ranking stuff, I didn't care past a certain point. Relistening now and it's alright, should actually be in the 90s or off my list, so an oversight on my part.
82. Only A Matter Of Time (97th) Not bad, something had to be here.
81. Awaken The Master (NR)
80. I Walk Beside You (43rd) What a great song, when DT does more uplifting/major key stuff, it's really great, usually. Feels very underrated to me. This song has layers to it musically, stuff that feels more subtle than usual. Also fun to play on the bass.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
79. The Shattered Fortress (22nd) A few clunky transitions aside, amazing song. Only TGP is the better song in the 12-step suite. And of course, that ending "I am RESPONSIBLE!"
78. A Fortune In Lies (86th) Pretty good song, chorus can stuck in your head. Charlie does a fantastic job, though the live version with JLB is stellar.
77. The Best Of Times (62nd) The intro and body of the song are a few minutes too long. The feel of the song is good, though, and that outro solo is top tier.

[Wim Kruithof]

No Fred, total the opposite for me. I'm a huge fan of the 12SS and it really is amongst my favorite compositions Dream Theater (Portnoy, so to speak) has ever done. The Glass Prison, This Dying Soul and The Shattered Fortress are all considered favorites, but I do really love The Root of All Evil and even 've learned to appreciatie Repentance.

Just a magnificant way of reflection through the period of alcoholism and how that destroyed so much more than just the body. Both in a lyrical and musical way and absolute conceptual stand-out.

[Animal]

Shattered Fortress NR- Except the prequel (The Mirror), 12SS is not among my favorite DT stuff. I enjoy some parts of earlier installments but I don't care for the final two. And it on BCSL, which does not help.

A Fortune in Lies - 15 I probably like 80s heavy metal a lot more than I am willing to admit.

The Best of Times - NR  A victim of being one of my least listened to DT albums, so it doesn't get much chance for reappraisal. By all accounts, I should like it. The lyrics are extremely relatable, although they won't win any poetry prize. But as I am getting older, I can appreciate even "naive" lyrics - what is the point of pretending you are a sophisticated wordsmith if you are not?

[CanuckChum]

79. The Shattered Fortress (75). Perhaps it leans a bit too much on the other songs from the 12SS, but I think this is a satisfying conclusion.
78. A Fortune in Lies (80). Great vocals from Charlie here, and the studio version is still my preferred version of this song. The intro is kind of all over the place but it works for me.
77. The Best of Times (55). Musically this expresses the themes of both nostalgia and reflection well. While the lyrics do not impact me the same way they have for some others, I still appreciate them.

[MirrorMask]

I decided to be ultra geeky and keep track of how much my list varies from the official one.

So far the highest difference is Wither - I placed it 71 positions above the average. The lower (not counting songs I didn't even rank) is The Enemy Inside, I placed it -16 positions lower.

I don't know how it will all play out, but I think Wither is already the "winner", can't imagine any other song I ranked 70 positions higher than the rest. Maaaybe there's a ballad from a fantastic album that will rank a lot lower.

Also, remains to be seen what will be my highest ranking song that won't make the cut, most likely my 36 and 40 (both from a controversial album).

Situation so far:

28 Wither (99) +71
29 Forsaken (95) +66
48 I Walk Beside You (80) +32
53 Only a Matter of Time (82) +29
58 Behind the Veil (89) +31
68 A Fortune in Lies (78) +10
70 The Gift of Music (98) +28
78 The Best of Times (77) -1
83 Transcending Time (90) +7
86 Vacant (97) +11
87 The Shattered Fortress (79) -8
96 Never Enough (100) +4
99 The Enemy Inside (83) -16
100 S2N (94) -6

[SwedishGoose]

None of the songs from yesterday ranked.
The Shattered Fortress does not work as a stand alone  song for me.
A Fortune In Lies is an Ok song marred by the production.
The Best Of Times, I get that it is an important song for MP but I'm fine with never hearing it again. My least favorite song from one of my least favorite albums.

My ranking so far

32 Awaken the Master (81)
33 Sleeping Giant (85)
37 Our New World (93)
59 Transcending Time (90)
65 The Looking Glass (92)
81 Behind the Veil (89)
87 Surrender To Reason (83)
89 Forsaken (95)
91. The Gift of Music (98)
94. Never Enough (100)



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)

[Wim Kruithof]

I decided to be ultra geeky and keep track of how much my list varies from the official one.

So far the highest difference is Wither - I placed it 71 positions above the average. The lower (not counting songs I didn't even rank) is The Enemy Inside, I placed it -16 positions lower.

I don't know how it will all play out, but I think Wither is already the "winner", can't imagine any other song I ranked 70 positions higher than the rest. Maaaybe there's a ballad from a fantastic album that will rank a lot lower.

I like prog-nerdy-ultra geeky. My highest difference till now is The Shattered Fortress, which I ranked 63 places above. Can't imagine any song beating that... although, there still is one voluntair in my top #10.

My own 100:

095: I Walk Beside You     #80 -15
094: S2n     #94 spot on
093: Never Enough     #100 +7
089: Only a Matter of Time     #82 -7
088: Surrender to Reason     #83t -5
087: Forsaken     #95 +8
084: Constant Motion     #86 +2
082: The Best of Times     #77 -5
078: Behind the Veil     #89 +11
077: Afterlife     #96 +19
068: The Enemy Inside     #83t +15
060: A Fortune in Lies     #78 +18
054: The Looking Glass     #92 +38
050: Wither     #99 +49
048: Transcending Time     #90 +42
041: Sleeping Giant     #85 +44
029: Awaken the Master     #81 +52
016: The Shattered Fortress     #79 +63

not rankend: #6 The Gift of Music / Vacant / Our New World / A New Beginning / This Is the Life / New Millennium

[MustActFastToCoverUp]

Some fast catching up, a good bunch of no-rankers for me.

91 A New Beginning my 89
90 Transcending Time NR
89 Behind The Veil NR. Another one that, like S2N, is dragged down by the chorus for me. I realised earlier that exact these choruses I'm not fond of get praises from other forum members. That's just how different you can approach DT's catalogue I guess. I count that as a strength.
88 This Is The Life NR
87 New Millennium 47. Apparently I like it a good bit more than the average. I get the criticisms (dragging, not going anywhere, "baby"), but it doesn't bother me that much. I  have the funny feeling it's not that far from some stuff on Awake stylistically but that may be controversial (and I really needed to prepare to defend that position). Years later, when I dipped my toe into Gentle Giant's catalogue, I thought that motif around the 3:00 mark in "River" sounded somewhat familiar.
86 Constant Motion 48
85 Sleeping Giant 18. My highest ranking song so far, and one of 6 MM-era songs in my Top 20. This must be my champion for the biggest difference from the overall list (67), at least in this direction (me ranking higher than the average). I really like this one and it's fun to play along (thanks to DT89s transcriptions), of course I suck at it, but it's still fun anyway. 
83 The Enemy Inside 79
83 Surrender To Reason NR
82 Only A Matter Of Time 65
81 Awaken The Master 70
80 I Walk Beside You NR
79 The Shattered Fortress 78
78 A Fortune In Lies 76
77 The Best Of Times NR

[axeman90210]

The Shattered Fortress- I had this a bit higher, #33 on my list. I love the reprises to wrap up the suite, James gives a strong performance, and that JP solo towards the end absolutely rips My only complaint is them adding in the TRoaE drum bit to an outro that would have otherwise been a perfectly symmetrical outro with the intro to TGP

A Fortune in Lies- Not rated, I just don't ever listen to WDaDU

The Best of Times- I was right in the ballpark, #71 on my list. Heartfelt lyrics from MP and some gorgeous playing from Petrucci.

[Podaar]

Catching up

82.   Only A Matter Of Time   Did not rank.
81.   Awaken The Master       74 Another great song from AVFTTOTW, although all but one ranked higher.
80.   I Walk Beside You         75 Great song, with a uplifting message that anyone can personalize for themselves. I never saw it as a religulous message.
79.   The Shattered Fortress  76 Great mashup of what came before and ties off the bleeding before the body dies. I approve.
78.   A Fortune In Lies           Did not rank
77.   The Best Of Times         Did not rank. The solo almost saved it, but not quite

[jingle.boy]

80.   I Walk Beside You         75 Great song, with a uplifting message that anyone can personalize for themselves. I never saw it as a religulous message.

To clarify my point, I don't either ... but since it always reminds me of "Footprints in the Sand", and that is clearly a message about God being 'with' you (royal) in the worst of times, that's what I was getting at.

[JiM-Xtreme]

79. The Shattered Fortress - surprised this one reached as high as it did, it was only 98 for me. I do like it, and it does feel like a fitting conclusion to the suite. The intro build-up is great but it really takes off when they bust into that riff from towards the end of TGP. Unfortunately it does suffer from being too stitched-together from parts of previous songs on the suite, which I understand was a conscious choice, but I think they overdid it slightly (especially in the keyboard solo section - the main backing riff is literally stitched together from three separate riffs from TGP). That said it is cool to hear certain riffs and sections reprised, in particular the ones used for the verses and the reprise of the chorus of TROAE feels very climactic. The ending is great - I'm glad that they at least created an original part in "Responsible", which does have a fitting triumphant feeling to it. And what better way to end than that very first bassline from TGP (although slightly odd that they chose to finish with this part considering this song is supposed to be about completing the steps...)

78. A Fortune In Lies - this didn't make my list... which is surprising, because I really like it. One of the better and more memorable songs from the debut. Glad to see it still getting in love.

77. The Best Of Times - another one I'm slightly surprised is ranked so highly - to be honest, I'm surprised it's in the top 100, I didn't think it was that well regarded. For me it finished a few spots higher at 73. What can I say, it's powerful, personal and emotional throughout. And JP absolutely nails the outro solo, it's perfect - one of his best perhaps.

[Dave_Manchester]

Catching up on the last 3 updates...

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86. Surrender To Reason
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88. Vacant (lowest ranked song from ToT)
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92. The Looking Glass
93. A Fortune In Lies
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95. Afterlife
96.
97.
98. Constant Motion
99.
100. The Enemy Inside

[Dave_Manchester]

About The Best of Times...once upon a time this would actually have been my #1 song, flaws notwithstanding (those flaws being an overlong intro and a too-heavyhanded musical contrast between the 'happy memory' verses and the sad chorus). That album came out a month or so after my dad was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer (he'd die 4 years later) and the song hit me very hard. Grief infantilises a lot of people, including myself, and those 'artless' lyrics in the song never bothered me. That was my own experience of taking leave of my dad: desperately trying to 'record' the best moments that only we shared, before they were lost from memory. Speaking personally I far prefer something like The Best of Times as a child's expression of raw grief than any number of 'heartbroken' songs that set greeting card philosophy to music. If you're not a gifted writer, as MP/most of us aren't, what are we supposed to do when we want to honour what we've lost? Shut up about it and leave it to the poets? Nah, bugger that. Just go ahead and write about the times you watched Harold and Maude with your dad, if that's what helps you.   

On a lighter note I'd like to at this point offer a shoutout to PetFish, assuming he still uses this forum (he's registered in the members list at least), for giving us one of the finest moments in MP Forum history.

[Evermind]

About The Best of Times...once upon a time this would actually have been my #1 song, flaws notwithstanding (those flaws being an overlong intro and a too-heavyhanded musical contrast between the 'happy memory' verses and the sad chorus). That album came out a month or so after my dad was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer (he'd die 4 years later) and the song hit me very hard. Grief infantilises a lot of people, including myself, and those 'artless' lyrics in the song never bothered me. That was my own experience of taking leave of my dad: desperately trying to 'record' the best moments that only we shared, before they were lost from memory. Speaking personally I far prefer something like The Best of Times as a child's expression of raw grief than any number of 'heartbroken' songs that set greeting card philosophy to music. If you're not a gifted writer, as MP/most of us aren't, what are we supposed to do when we want to honour what we've lost? Shut up about it and leave it to the poets? Nah, bugger that. Just go ahead and write about the times you watched Harold and Maude with your dad, if that's what helps you.   

Well said, and that's actually a very good point.

On a lighter note I'd like to at this point offer a shoutout to PetFish, assuming he still uses this forum (he's registered in the members list at least), for giving us one of the finest moments in MP Forum history.

[HOF]

About The Best of Times...once upon a time this would actually have been my #1 song, flaws notwithstanding (those flaws being an overlong intro and a too-heavyhanded musical contrast between the 'happy memory' verses and the sad chorus). That album came out a month or so after my dad was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer (he'd die 4 years later) and the song hit me very hard. Grief infantilises a lot of people, including myself, and those 'artless' lyrics in the song never bothered me. That was my own experience of taking leave of my dad: desperately trying to 'record' the best moments that only we shared, before they were lost from memory. Speaking personally I far prefer something like The Best of Times as a child's expression of raw grief than any number of 'heartbroken' songs that set greeting card philosophy to music. If you're not a gifted writer, as MP/most of us aren't, what are we supposed to do when we want to honour what we've lost? Shut up about it and leave it to the poets? Nah, bugger that. Just go ahead and write about the times you watched Harold and Maude with your dad, if that's what helps you.   

On a lighter note I'd like to at this point offer a shoutout to PetFish, assuming he still uses this forum (he's registered in the members list at least), for giving us one of the finest moments in MP Forum history.

I was trying to come up with good words for what I don't like about the parts I don't like (I know which things I don't like, but hard to describe why). "Heavy handed" is a pretty good way of putting it. Contrast it with the more subtle approach by JP to this topic in Take Away My Pain maybe.

Also, yeah, I agree it's Mike expression of grief in the way he wanted to/was able to express it, so not knocking it from that standpoint.

I don't think the lyrics are so much of an issue for me. I more just don't connect with it musically (aside from the upbeat Rush part which is cool). The cello part at the beginning is not musically pleasing to me. The solo section at the end feels a little overly grand. I feel like JR had more of a role in that respect, as a lot of it reminds me of stuff on SDOIT and 8V that I don't like either (his keyboard string patches for more orchestral parts always bug me).

[bosk1]

@Dave:  Personally, I don't think there's anything "artless" about any of that.  I love that MP wrote those lyrics, and how heartfelt and personal they are.  That isn't lost on me just because I don't connect with them.  Honestly, I can't say why I don't connect with them, but it has nothing to do with them being "artless," and probably has little to do with them being so specific.  I routinely find song about loss, especially losing a parent, to be touching and powerful, even where the lyrics themselves might not be my personal experience.  Shoot, even Out of Reach touches me deeply, even knowing full well that the story of those lyrics is completely fictional and I have never personally experienced the specifics of that story.  But sometimes lyrics hit us, and sometimes they don't, and while I deeply appreciate the lyrics in TBOT, they just don't hit me for some reason.  And that's okay because they don't have to.

[ReaperKK]

Another afternoon update!

76. To Live Forever
Highest Finish: 13 (Toro)
Number of Lists appeared on: 38 (Adami, Awaken, Ben_Jamin, bosk1, CharlesPL, DragonAttack, DTwwbwMP, energythief, Fonzie, hefdaddy42, jeff_kinsley, JiM-Xtreme, jingle.boy, jonny108, JPZealot, KevShmev, King Puppies and the Acid Guppies, Lethean, lucasembarbosa, Metro, MoraWintersoul, NoFred, OpenYourEyes311, Peter Mc, PixelDream, porcacultor, ReaperKK, ReaPsTA, romdrums, Setlist Scotty, Stadler, SwedishGoose, Toro, Trav86, twosuitsluke, Vmadera00, WardySI, Zydar)

One of my favorite songs from 90's DT.

75. Answering The Call
Highest Finish: 17 (NoFred)
Number of Lists appeared on: 42 (Awaken, axeman90210, Ben_Jamin, bosk1, CanuckChum, Cool Chris, Dave_Manchester, devieira73, DragonAttack, Dream Team, DTwwbwMP, Evermind, geeeemo, jammindude, jeff_kinsley, jonny108, JPZealot, KevShmev, King Puppies and the Acid Guppies, Lethean, lucasembarbosa, Metro, MirrorMask, Mosh, nobloodyname, NoFred, OpenYourEyes311, Peter Mc, Podaar, ReaperKK, ReaPsTA, romdrums, Setlist Scotty, Stadler, SwedishGoose, The Realm, Toro, Trav86, Vmadera00, WardySI, Wim Kruithof, wolfking)

This broke the top 30 for me. This was an immediate favorite from A View

74. Through Her Eyes
Highest Finish: 20 (Peter MC)
Number of Lists appeared on: 47 (Adami, Animal, Awaken, Ben_Jamin, CanuckChum, CharlesPL, devieira73, Dittomist, DragonAttack, DTwwbwMP, energythief, Evermind, hefdaddy42, Indiscipline, jeff_kinsley, JiM-Xtreme, jingle.boy, jonny108, JPZealot, KevShmev, King Puppies and the Acid Guppies, Lethean, lightningbolt, MirrorMask, Mladen, MoraWintersoul, MustActFastToCoverUp, nobloodyname, Peter Mc, pg1067, PixelDream, Podaar, porcacultor, ReaperKK, Revenge319, SwedishGoose, TAC, The Realm, Toro, Trav86, twosuitsluke, Vmadera00, WardySI, weirdo, Wim Kruithof, wolfking, Zydar)

A fantastic song and one of my favorites from Scenes.

[HOF]

To Live Forever is really cool, but I think the version they did around ‘94 or the live performance on 5YiALT would be the definitive one for me. Would be much higher than 76 for me if I had done a list.

Never really liked Through Her Eyes.

[NoFred]

No Fred, total the opposite for me.

Haha that’s great that we both ranked TSF the highest

[NoFred]

76. Answering The Call
Highest Finish: 17 (NoFred)

Instant favorite from A View. Structurally similar to Beyond this Life to my ears. Wish it was in the set list for first leg of the album tour.

[SwedishGoose]

To Live Forever ranked at 45 for me. Could be it got a bit high on account of me ranking from memory. It is a very nice song though.
Answering the Call ranked at number 50 for me. Not my favorite from View but a very nice song with tasty guitar, drums and keys.
Through Her Eyes ranked at 28 for me. Wonderful song from a wonderful album. From the female vocals through the tasty guitar and wonderful piano this just oozes feeling.... and great vocals from LaBrie as well.

My ranking so far

28 Through Her Eyes  (74)
32 Awaken the Master (81)
33 Sleeping Giant (85)
37 Our New World (93)
45 To Live Forever (76)
50 Answering the Call (75)
59 Transcending Time (90)
65 The Looking Glass (92)
81 Behind the Veil (89)
87 Surrender To Reason (83)
89 Forsaken (95)
91. The Gift of Music (98)
94. Never Enough (100)



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)

[Evermind]

To Live Forever - not ranked - see my previous comments about WDADU.

Answering the Call - #79 - I think this is the only song from View on my list. This one's pretty good and I can see it climbing higher when I revisit the album eventually.

Through Her Eyes - #72 - almost spot on but I don't really agree with that. This song is outshined by basically everything on SFAM, but I should've ranked this higher. Was listening to this album today on my run and this song smokes. If I did the ranking manually, this one should've been in the top 50 at least.