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User
Album Ratings 180
Objectivity 50%
Last Active 06-04-17 1:58 pm
Joined 05-24-17
Review Comments 48
| Dream Theater Albums Ranked
Dream Theater are the premier virtuoso's in progressive rock, sporting one of the most constant discographies. Where most other prog bands fell into commercialism at some point, Dream Theater has stuck to their progressive guns. From heavy bone crushing metal, to emotional ballads they have covered almost every square inch of rock history in their extensive discography. Here is my ranking of their albums. | | 13 |  | Dream Theater
The Astonishing
A 2+ hour concept album that felt pretty rushed. Half of the songs are ballads and unmemorable ones at that, the story line is really cheesy and the music just doesn't have that spark. James Labrie sounds amazing though so that's a plus. | | 12 |  | Dream Theater
When Dream and Day Unite
A pretty good debut album, all the rudimentary elements of DT's future sound are present here in one form or another, but they have yet to be developed to their full potential. Overall, Charlie Dominicci does a fine job on vocals but gets pretty cheesy at some points. | | 11 |  | Dream Theater
Falling into Infinity
A really underrated album. Sure there are some pretty weak songs when compared to other DT material, but they're still good catchy tunes, sure a little commercial sounding, but nonetheless good. And lets not forget the greatness of "Lines in the Sand" and "Trial of Tears" two of their most atmospheric songs, which I think have a great Pink Floyd vibe to them. | | 10 |  | Dream Theater
Dream Theater
I was really impressed when this album came out, like Octavarium they took a step back and wrote some more compact songs. The opener "Enemy Within" is proof that they still got their metal chops, and is one of the best songs of the decade so far. The closing epic Illumination Theory, is bound to become an all time classic for dream theater, that orchestra sends shivers down my spine. Everything in between is pretty good but nothing special. | | 9 |  | Dream Theater
Black Clouds & Silver Linings
#9,8,7, and 6 on this list are almost interchangeable for me they all pretty much equal so I had to pick out the most minute details to set them apart. This album begins and ends with full blown epics. 'A Nighmare to Remember' opens it up - a fantastic track, but slightly marred by lack of restraint. It could have been shortened, especially by getting rid of the cheesy Portnoy vocals. The Count of Tuscany is also great, but the lyrics/vocal delivery at the beginning are kind of weak, the synth part left alot to be desired especially after being spoiled by bands like Yes and Genesis. The intro and last 5 minutes of the song are some of the best they have recorded and redeems it totally, the chorus is also great. Everything in the middle is great but doesn't rank among their best work. | | 8 |  | Dream Theater
Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
Dream Theaters double album extravaganza! Opening track The Glass Prison is one of the greatest Dream theater songs of all time hands down! The following 4 songs are all pretty great but lack the magic that made the opener so great. Disc 2 is the epic 45 minute title suite. Its pretty awesome but a little disjointed, often feeling like a bunch of songs glued together than a cohesive piece (like octavrium for example) its pretty great (especially the orchestra), but doesn't reach the heights of their other epics. | | 7 |  | Dream Theater
A Dramatic Turn of Events
This album took a while for me to get into, but once I did I really started to enjoy it. After their heavy mid-late 2000s phase, it was a breath of fresh air to get a more progressive back to their roots album (similar to how Octavarium switched it up after Train of Thought). On the Backs of Angels has to be one of their most memorable songs. Breaking all Illusions bring back the tasteful progressive rock of the Kevin Moore era and is probably the best DT song of the decade so far. There are a few ballads throughout that kind of weigh it down a bit, but they're not bad. | | 6 |  | Dream Theater
Systematic Chaos
You bet your ass its this high! This album is great from start to finish. In the Presence of Enemies is one of their greatest songs and that's already a 25 min chunk of the album. Ministry of Lost Souls and Repentance are great slow burning tracks that bring alot of atmosphere to the mix. The remaining tracks are Train of Thought style riff-heavy extravaganzas, but with the catchy choruses of Octavarium. I also find that this is probably their most musically complex album, but it does lack the restraint seen on their earlier classics. | | 5 |  | Dream Theater
Train of Thought
Dream Theater set out to make a balls to the wall metal album for their 2003 release and they knocked it out of the park. Don't worry though, they didn't abandon their progressive roots. The albums average song length is just under 10 mins and features some of their most complex musical passages (perhaps too complex at some points lol). I also have to give them props for the lyrics on this album, probably their darkest lyrics that just seem to resonate with me. The album highlights for me are their best instrumental "Stream of Consciousness" and one of their greatest epics "In the Name of God". | | 4 |  | Dream Theater
Octavarium
A great contrast to the extremely heavy Train of Thought. This album shows off their more commercial side with songs like "These Walls", "I Walk Beside You" and "The Answer Lies Within" and alot of fans give this album shit because of that. Personally I really like those songs, but fans tend to forget just how many epic songs are on this album. The Root of All Evil, Sacrificed Sons, and Octavarium (my all time favourite DT song) are all classics which stand up against the best of Images and Words and Metropolis Part 2. | | 3 |  | Dream Theater
Awake
Because of its darker tone, experimentation, and lack of catchy choruses, it may seem like a disappointing follow up to Images and Words at first, but stick to it, you bet your ass its going to be rewarding. It has some of their most atmospheric songs (Voices, Scarred, and Space Dye Vest) along with songs which cranked up the heaviness from Images and Words (6:00, The Mirror, Lie) making it a perfectly balanced album. James Labrie also shows off his full vocal range, incorporating alot more gutsy vocals into the mix. It also has the best Dream Theater album cover, I'm sure most agree. | | 2 |  | Dream Theater
Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory
Dream Theaters most epic album by far. It has an ambitious story line and even more ambitious music. With this album dream theaters tone shifted towards heavier metal and more complex instrumental sections (with the occasional ballad). The band would proceed in the same style of this album but often got carried away with the instrumentals, on this album (like images and words) they knew how to craft songs as well as crazy solos. | | 1 |  | Dream Theater
Images and Words
Their greatest achievement for me has always been Images and Words. Here we have a young band pushing the boundaries of metal and venturing into the depths of prog rock, creating a beautiful fusion. This album has a little bit of everything to please everyone. The heavy riffs for the metal fans, the mind blowing extended jam's for the Yes fans (see metropolis pt 1) and more atmospheric prog for the floyd/genesis fans (Wait for Sleep, Another Day, Learning to Live). This and its follow up Awake are their most balanced albums which give them a strong re-playability factor. The main strength of the album is the tastefulness of the instrumental sections, which fit the songs perfectly as opposed to their later years "show-offy" solos. James Labrie gives one of his best performances, hitting notes Geddy Lee and Jon Anderson would be hard pressed to hit! Throw in some of John Petrucci's most memorable solos and Moore's atmospheric keys and you have a masterpiece from start to finish. | |
tempest--
06.28.17 | well on the bright side, you got 1 right | Faraudo
06.28.17 | 4,8 and 9 should be higher, couldn't care less about 7, 10, 11, 12, 13 and some parts from 5 and 6. | e210013
06.28.17 | The rank is good. But 8 should be much higher. For me is in the third or fourth place. |
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