Your favorite John Petrucci albums

[Dream Team]

Couldn't find a John Petrucci Appreciation thread so started this one . . . JP so far has played on an even 20 albums counting his 2 solo records and the 3 LTE releases. Instead of trying to rank all of them, let's go with our Top 5. So the topic is, what are your 5 favorite albums JP has played on BASED SOLELY ON THE GUITAR PLAYING AND NOTHING ELSE.

When Dream & Day Unite
LTE 2
Scenes From a Memory
Black Clouds & Silver Linings
Dream Theater

Eclectic list right? What d'ya guys got?

[Stadler]

This is hard.

In no particular order:

Images And Words
Terminal Velocity ("Gemini" is one of my favorite performances of his)
Suspended Animation (If "Gemini" isn't, then "Damage Control" is)
Train of Thought (Not my favorite album of all time, but his playing on "In The Name Of God" is just otherworldly)
Awake

[emtee]

I don't own a single instrumental album in my entire collection so...

I&W
Awake
ToT
DoT
AVFTTOTW

And I think from a guitar only perspective, maybe DoT would be my overall favorite of those.

[HOF]

I don't really know the answer to this. Probably the first 2 LTE albums, then Awake, FII, and I&W would be my favorites in some order.

But I'll give a nod to the excellent An Evening with John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess as well.
 

[hefdaddy42]

1. Awake
2. Falling Into Infinity
3. An Evening With John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess
4. Images & Words
5. Liquid Tension Experiment 2

[Awaken]

In no particular order:
I&W
Awake
Scenes
LTE
Suspended Animation
Terminal Velocity

[efx]

Awake - builds on the foundation he laid on I&W and while I prefer the latter as an album JP is the MVP of awake with KM. His more blues/fusion inspired runs really presents a much more diverse guitarist on the album.
Falling Into Infity - Honestly, this isn't the playing per se but the production on this album is still my favorite and really paints his playing in the best possible light. Hells Kitchen and Trial Of Tears showcases two of my favorite solos from him.
LTE 1 - Just unadulterated ripping on the instrument. Hard as a guitarist not to love this one.
TV - As a non-fan of SA this album hits all the right spots for me. Gemini is a standout track that I've wanted as a solo recording since the snippets on his instructional video.
BCSL - Incredible tones on this album. Playing wise TCOT is just golden, not just the solos.

[pg1067]

I don't own a single instrumental album in my entire collection so...

I have a few (First Impressions by Jim Matheos, What If by The Dixie Dregs, and Turbulence by Steve Howe...and maybe one other), but I rarely listen to them.  I also downloaded "Acid Rain" by LTE and listen to it with some frequency.

I couldn't begin to parse out DT albums by a particular instrument, but I know that my favorite JP performance is "A Change of Seasons."  He played many different styles and moved effortlessly between several really tasty tones on that song.  It's a real change-of-pace from his recent one-note "chocolate cake" tone.

[HOF]

I agree on the work on ACOS the song. Wasn't sure if that counted as an album or not, but it's up there with his best performances.

 

[gzarruk]

I never really liked his long solo on ACOS. Apparently, he isn't too fond of it either as it was just him improvising over it once and Prater wouldn't let him try anything else for that section.

[HOF]

I never really liked his long solo on ACOS. Apparently, he isn't too fond of it either as it was just him improvising over it once and Prater wouldn't let him try anything else for that section.

I think it's one of his best. Good call by Prater!

[Setlist Scotty]

I don't own a single instrumental album in my entire collection so...

Not only don't you own the JP solo albums, but not even any of the LTE albums?    Honestly, I think you're missing out. To me, they are basically instrumental DT albums and in fact I consider them part of DT's canon. I'd at least recommend you look them up on YouTube and check them out if you haven't already.
 
 

I have a few (First Impressions by Jim Matheos, What If by The Dixie Dregs, and Turbulence by Steve Howe...and maybe one other), but I rarely listen to them.  I also downloaded "Acid Rain" by LTE and listen to it with some frequency.

You don't own any of the LTE albums either?

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

I am going to exclude I&W from the list. I feel like it belongs in every one of my lists....best album ever, best compositions, best performance, best looking band line up, best guitar playing, etc.

So, to change my approach to the list this time around:

An Evening with JP and JR
LTE1
ADTOE
ToT
BCSL

I am just thinking in terms of my favorite riffs, solos, which albums have the most lines I've tried to learn on my own...it's so difficult to choose because of how consistently good he is but there are some albums I don't normally think of when making other lists.

[wolfking]

I never really liked his long solo on ACOS. Apparently, he isn't too fond of it either as it was just him improvising over it once and Prater wouldn't let him try anything else for that section.

Huh, I didn't know that.  I personally think the LSFNY performance of that section is way better.

[Cool Chris]

Not only don't you own the JP solo albums, but not even any of the LTE albums?    Honestly, I think you're missing out. To me, they are basically instrumental DT albums and in fact I consider them part of DT's canon. I'd at least recommend you look them up on YouTube and check them out if you haven't already.
 
 You don't own any of the LTE albums either?

I don't own any instrumental albums. I've heard the LTE albums once a couple times. They are fine, just not my thing. But in the spirit of this thread, I will dedicate part of my work day to listening to some of JP's solo material, which I have never listened to.

[Jamesman42]

Acid Rain and State of Grace are amazing songs. LTE has a great little pool of songs.

1. Awake
2. Falling Into Infinity
3. An Evening With John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess
4. Images & Words
5. Liquid Tension Experiment 2

Not thinking of my own list, but this is would be my pick among this thread. Though, FII that high is interesting.

[Dave_Manchester]

In no order:

An Evening With John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess
Terminal Velocity
Scenes From A Memory
Train of Thought
Awake

[hefdaddy42]

Acid Rain and State of Grace are amazing songs. LTE has a great little pool of songs.

Not thinking of my own list, but this is would be my pick among this thread. Though, FII that high is interesting.

Well, I'm an interesting fellow.

[emtee]

Not only don't you own the JP solo albums, but not even any of the LTE albums?    Honestly, I think you're missing out. To me, they are basically instrumental DT albums and in fact I consider them part of DT's canon. I'd at least recommend you look them up on YouTube and check them out if you haven't already.
 
 You don't own any of the LTE albums either?

I've heard all JP solo and LTE but never purchased as I know they are not something I will ever pull off the shelf.

[HOF]

Well, I'm an interesting fellow.

FII has a ton of great solos. Lines in the Sand, Trial of Tears, Take Away My Pain, and Hell’s Kitchen are all fantastic. I also really love the solos on New Millennium and Hollow Years, even the slide solo from Anna Lee is pretty cool. A lot of great, versatile stuff from JP on that one.

[The Paddies]

Can't pick 5. Sorry. In chronological order:

Images And Words
Awake
A Change Of Seasons
Falling Into Infinity
Scenes From A Memory
Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence
Octavarium
The Astonishing

These albums showcase his abilities and versatility the most for me. Much more than the latter 'chocolate cake' albums.

Other highlights:
A few songs of LTE and his solo work (but not the albums as a whole).
Some great lead work on the Age Of Impact album from Explorer's Club.
And I also love his contributions for the (cover) songs Something and Purple Rain of the not so easy to find instrumental Guitar Battle album.

And yes, The Astonishing was the last album JP actually surprised me again with some real melodic playing and more acoustics than usual.

[Jamesman42]

Well, I'm an interesting fellow.

We know, we talk about you in the secret hefdaddy thread all the time.

[pg1067]

I agree on the work on ACOS the song. Wasn't sure if that counted as an album or not, but it's up there with his best performances.

Yeah...I was only speaking of the song.  The live material is cool, but not exactly the same thing.

Not only don't you own the JP solo albums, but not even any of the LTE albums?    Honestly, I think you're missing out. To me, they are basically instrumental DT albums and in fact I consider them part of DT's canon. I'd at least recommend you look them up on YouTube and check them out if you haven't already.
 
You don't own any of the LTE albums either?

Nope.  I've heard a few other LTE songs, but too much of that stuff is not a good thing.  I love a good instrumental, but I generally want vocals.

I never really liked his long solo on ACOS. Apparently, he isn't too fond of it either as it was just him improvising over it once and Prater wouldn't let him try anything else for that section.

Whatever they may think of Prater, he got some of their best material out of them.  I really wish they'd bring back someone from the outside.

[hefdaddy42]

We know, we talk about you in the secret hefdaddy thread all the time.

[Dream Team]

No way I could run this type of poll with MP, I haven't heard even half of the albums he's played on. I believe it's around 50?

[The Letter M]

Not sure I could pick five, but I was curious if live albums count? If so, I'd definitely put LTE's Live In LA album.

Also happy to see shout outs to the An Evening With JP & JR, which I haven't heard in forever.

-Marc.

[PixelDream]

I&W
Awake
SFAM
6DOIT
BC&SL

He's good everywhere but these stand out to me in both guitar sound and content. I tried to stick with max 5 because otherwise I could name them all. These 5, without thinking too much about it, stand in my mind as the most colorful stuff he's done. These four also happen to be my favorite DT albums. Is that a coincidence? Well, the songwriting and the guitar riffs/solos go hand in hand. They amplify eachother. If the song is great and the solo fits that song, it's like a multiplier combo. I've listened to Liquid Tension Experiment and his solo records quite a lot and I adore his recorded performances on the G3 tour, but to me JP is best in the context of Dream Theater.

Why didn't I pick Falling Into Infinity? Peruvian Skies, Lines in the Sand and Trial of Tears feature splendid guitar work and I also really like that he played vintage guitars on some of those. Still, the album overall just doesn't have that JP unleashed feeling to me.

Why didn't I pick Train of Thought? He shreds like a madman on that one and I think it's totally awesome. Well, without listening to it I seem to have a hard time recollecting some of those guitar leads aside from the epic ending guitar solo of In The Name of God.. which isn't on the album version but on the Live At Budokan release. God, that solo is so great. Come to think of it, Hollow Years' solo from the same live album (originally a track from Falling Into Infinity) would also be my favorite FII solo, but it's not on the album release. That all said - I love it when they add extra live 'improv' stuff like that.

Why not Octavarium? The riffs and leads don't really stand out to me even though all the songs here are great. This is such a strong record as a collective where nobody really overplays.. great stuff.

Originally I selected four records but decided I should include Black Clouds & Silver Linings because his sound on that record is insanely heavy as well, with The Best of Times probably being his most emotionally powerful moment as a guitar player. I get tears in my eyes just thinking about the melodies in that guitar solo. Marty Friedman has Tornado of Souls, John Petrucci has The Best of Times. It's that good, I think.

Okay, and an honorable mention to A Dramatic Turn of Events even though I have my reservations about every Mangini-era album for some reason. Breaking All Illusions is just great.

This was a long post and I went off the rails probably - I just enjoy writing down my thoughts so sorry if it seems incoherent. Cheers.

EDIT: How can I forget A Change of Seasons?

[YngVai]

Suspended Animation - will always have a special place in my heart as my way into the DT universe. There are some many cool self-contained guitar parts here aside from the major shreddage.

FIF - far from my favorite DT album, but I feel like this one is heads and shoulders over much of their other output as far as the diversity of guitar tones and styles on display here. Plus Lines in The Sand's solo is so fucking good.

ToT - Quantity isn't as important as quality, but there's a lot of fucking quantity here and a bunch of it is pretty quality.

LTE II - A lot of great moments, and I appreciate the looseness and ease.

I&W - It's Images and Words.