S2N - My ranking: #58 (+1)
The bass leading into the full band is one of Dream Theater's most memorable song intros ever, and the instrumental TDEN-style outro is very enjoyable. Everything in-between is also great.
Our New World - My ranking: #100 (+3)
Just barely making the cut for my list, Our New World is far from my favorite song on The Astonishing but is still an enjoyable one. The chorus is fun to listen to, and I like the callback to A Savior in the Square at the end. After listening to TA again, I feel like Our New World and Astonishing should have swapped places in the track list. Astonishing makes sense as the closer, but I think Our New World would have ended things on a higher note, and the lyrics would flow together a little better narratively. (In the song order they went with, Faythe waits until after their repeated proclamations of building a new world to thank him for bringing her back to life?)
The Looking Glass - My ranking: #130 (+1)
Very reminiscent of Rush's Limelight, but still a good song in its own right. This is another song I don't listen to much, but despite the low ranking I enjoyed this one more than I usually do.
A New Beginning - My ranking: #37 (-7)
The best song on The Astonishing and one that I would've loved to rank higher. The highlight is the whole second half of the song, from the lyrical climax to the instrumental section to the long guitar solo. But I'd be remiss if I didn't also mention the first half of the song, which is of a similarly high quality. I love the energetic back-and-forth, and how the mood of the song changes depending on which character is singing. So many great moments in this song, I love it.
Transcending Time - My ranking: #71
A View from the Top of the World took a while for me to absorb, and my thoughts haven't changed all that much about it; it's a very solid album, though it has the lowest highs of any Dream Theater album. That being said, the songs here ended up ranking a little higher than I expected. Transcending Time lands in the middle of my AVFTTOTW rankings, and it's pretty good! I enjoy the light tone, it feels lively and brings to mind some pleasant, natural scenery. The lyrics are very good, the guitar solo is cool and adds a brief metal spin to the song, and "traaa-a-an-scending tiiiime" is one of James' better moments on the album.
Behind The Veil - My ranking: #123 (-2)
Not much to say about this one. Very similar to my thoughts on The Looking Glass, minus the Rush comparison.
This Is The Life - My ranking: #84 (-12)
I'll try not to repeat myself too much about this, but the problem with doing a Dream Theater ranking is that there will inevitably be songs I feel like I ranked way too low because pretty much all of their songs are great. Case in point, This is the Life is one of those songs. I wouldn't rank it super high, but #84? Really?? Every section of this song is great, I love the melancholic yet hopeful and inspirational tone of both the music and lyrics.
New Millennium - My ranking: #148 (-8)
Just Let Me Breathe used to be my least favorite song from Falling Into Infinity, but now it's this one. My thoughts are similar to Indiscipline's, in that there's a couple parts I like but is overall not all that interesting. For being my second least favorite Dream Theater song, though, it's not bad. Just not all that remarkable.
Constant Motion - My ranking: #35 (+29)
Constant Motion is awesome, I never got the complaints about this one. The instrumental section and solos are excellent, but everything before and after is just as great. The lyrics are good as well, and in recent years I find that there's a lot that I relate to. Also, I've heard people compare this song to Metallica a lot, but after becoming very familiar with Metallica's first few albums, I don't really hear any Metallica inspiration in Constant Motion.