They should of chosen minneman instead of mangini

The song Octavarium is my favorite Dream Theater album.

'He is the angriest music listener you've ever heard. He's the angry musician nerd'

My #1 is Train of Thought. It's the one that shows the essence of DT. It shows how a Prog Metal band should sound like. Even Mike Portnoy says it's his favorite DT album. Metropolis Part II is my #2.

14:28 "Its also the last album to feature Kevin Moore...DONT CROSS THE CROOKED STEP". That for some reason made me laugh 😄

I liked The Astonishing, and my daughter (age 11, and says Dream Theater is the best band in world) often requests it or Gandalf's Fist ( The Clockwork Fable) during long road trips. She saw The Astonishing tour, and she will see them again in less than a week. I don't know if I dislike any of their albums. Even the weaker ones have a couple songs to save them. I don't have a favorite either...just depends on the mood when I decide to listen to them.

I completely respect your opinions in this video. I like all of their albums but I will put it down to this: 1. Awake (Voices is my all time favorite song) 2. Octavarium 3. Train of Thought Side Note: Not sure if you were supposed to include A Change of Seasons or not, but the title track of that album is one of their best works in my opinion. Have a great day!

Man, Beneath the Surface is by far DT's most underrated song. I can't believe how overlooked it is; it's one of the most gorgeous songs I've ever heard, and is far and away my favorite off of ADToE. That being said, I love that Systematic Chaos ranked so high.

7:06 - Derek ‘Sherman’?

Why was A Change of Sesaons not on a proper album. Everyone sleeps on ACOS. It is by far their greatest epic. Id go as far as to say its their own Magnum Opus

Not gonna lie I loved systematic chaos

Great video as usual!

14. Dream Theater 13. The Astonishing 12. A Dramatic Turn Of Events 11. Black Clouds & Silver Linings 10. When Dream And Day Unite 09. Systematic Chaos 08. Octavarium 07. A Change Of Seasons 06. Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence 05. Train Of Thought 04. Falling Into Infinity 03. Awake 02. Images And Words 01. Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory

Falling into infinity is so underrated

Train of Thought is the most progressive Metallica album.

Just found your channel, and I have to say I love all or your Worst to Best reviews!!!!! Keep up the good work. Also I love that you have Sing Street on the shelf behind you.

Great list! Good to see another fan from systematic chaos out there. Your list was very refreshing simply because it was not obvious (putting the staple albums as the undisputed bests). Great vid.

Awake is my favorite, easily. The keyboard part especially makes it so beatiful. It's also so heavy and melodic at the same time which IMO is very hard to accomplish.

1. Awake 2. Images and Words 3. Scenes From A Memory

just found out this channel.....what a great list! i love how u go into depth about favorite songs etc....(obviously) my fav DT album is Train of Thought :)

I’m new to your videos and I’m already a fan, I don’t know why but I keep coming back to this one.

13. The Astonishing 12. When Dream and Day Unite 11. Falling into Infinity 10. A Dramatic Turn of Events 9. Dream Theater 8. Train of Thought 7. Systematic Chaos 6. Awake 5. Octavarium 4. Images and Words 3. Black Clouds and Silver Linings 2. Metropolis pt.2 1. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence

Thanks for the video Notes, great minds think alike! My fave DT track is also Octovarium and my fave album is also Metropolis. Cheers :)

Hey bud, just found your channel. DT is my favorite band- and Ive gotta say, our tastes are almost exactly on point. I hope to see more vids in the future. You have an awesome personality that I can really catch on to. Cheers brav

Hi Notes, even though it's not an album but an EP, where would "A Change of Seasons" fit in your list ? I consider the title track to be the best DT song ever, so it would be pretty high on my list. :)

How can you make a really serious comparison, when you are "not too familiar with" some of their records????

Images and Words only 5th place? In my opinion it is the best album they have done, and probably the best prog metal album of all time.

Thanks for doing this. Couldn't have said it better

I really appreciate you giving your honest opinions on these albums! I love Dream Theater and love seeing what other people say about them. There are some songs and albums I would rank higher or say that I'd love even if you find them weaker but I definitely think you got some good points and I definitely respect your opinions. Definitely enjoyed this video :)

Honestly I really love the self titled. I really enjoyed it tbh

Petrucci is super talented that is why they are great.

Thanks for the video on Dream Theater! I am now a fan of their music! "Images and words" album is great! Will buy more! Thanks!

I finally found someone who shares my "favorites", and for the same reasons. My #1 song is Octavarium (by far), and #1 Album is Metropolis Pt. 2. Really enjoyed this video, although I didn´t agree with many of your choices. Didn´t feel the 25 min. The only thing that I coulnd´t stand was your background music. Great job, overall!

13. The Astonishing (2016) 12. Dream Theater (2013) 11. When Dream And Day Unite (1989) 10. Falling Into Infinity (1997) 9. A Dramatic Turn Of Events (2011) 8. Systematic Chaos (2007) 7. Awake (1994) 6. Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory (1999) 5. Black Clouds And Silver Linings (2009) 4. Train Of Thought (2003) 3. Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence (2002) 2. Octavarium (2005) 1. Images And Words (1992)

THANK YOU for putting Systematic Chaos so high. I really love it and always get hated for liking it. For me that one of the albums that really captures the essence of Dream Theater.

Amazing the variety of opinions on this, and mine are totally different. Funny how some of it is where you were in life (even post adolescent). Self titled Dream Theater is one of my favorites, Illumination Theory got me through a really tough project (to really feel the joy in life, you must suffer through the pain), project was a success. But I think themes within that album like The Bigger Picture run throughout the entire album. Six Degrees, I bought my house, and my first thing was to listen to the finale loud without caring about neighbors above and below. I would like to see a video of your favorite DT songs, I agree every album has some great and not so great songs but to distill it down to songs... hmmm :) Great video, very thought provoking

Nice list!

"The Best of Times" has the greatest solo of all DT songs, and beyond!!!!! "The Shattered Fortress" is so epic that you could make 5 movies with it. "The Mirror" is so headbanging that you could break your neck with the first minute of the song. And I could keep like this for hours, but I'm going to bed. PS: I like your top, I have some differences but, in general, I agree with you.

Really glad someone puts Octavarium so high up as well

Your review is pretty accurate. Nice analysis.

"Systematic Chaos" was the first DT album I heard and I really enjoyed it. I've struggled to like any of the subsequent albums as much, though the earlier ones appeal to me. I wonder to what extent the first album you encounter from a band fixes your opinion of them.

my rankings (not that anyone cares) 1. Six Degrees (easily my favorite, almost unfair being a double disc album) 2. Train of Thought (their heaviest) 3. Scenes from a Memory (best concept album) 4. Systematic Chaos (underrated and overlooked) 5. Octavarium (a bit overrated but I still like it) 6. Images and Words (great feel good album) 7. A Change of Seasons (yes its and EP, yes its mostly covers, but I don't care, its still great) 8. Self titled (this album gets far too much hate, give it another listen) 9. Dramatic turn of events (maybe too low?) 10. Black Clouds (the bonus disc with classic rock covers help, also love the Count of Tuscany) 11. Falling into Infinity (Some strong tracks, also some cheesy ones) 12. Awake (most overrated album, just can't get into it) 13. When dream and day unite (Afterlife is a great song) 14. The Astonishing (least familiar with, only listened to the whole thing twice)

Awake is the best album in all aspects, especially tone of instruments, drums, everything.

This makes me very happy because my top 3 is the same as yours , and Systematic Chaos always gets given so much flack. Ocravarium and Systematic Chaos were the first albums I heard by Dream Theater and they completely changed my taste in music overnight. They will always be 2 of my favourite all time albums therefore

cool take on systematic chaos! I have started to like this album more and more lately, it's just "fun" to listen to and as you say just more laid back than their other releases.

13. The Astonishing 12. Dream Theater 11. When Dream and Day Unite 10. Falling Into Infinity 9. A Dramatic Turn of Events 8. Train of Thought 7. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence 6. Metropolis Part 2 5. Black Clouds and Silver Linings 4. Systematic Chaos 3. Images and Words 2. Octavarium 1. Awake

1. Metropolis Part 2 - Scenes of a memory, (Best Track: Finally Free) 2. Six Degrees of Inner turbulence (Best Track: The Glass Prison) 3. Images and Words (Best Track: Metropolis Part 1) 4. Train of Thought, (Best Track: This Dying Soul) 5. Systematic Chaos (Best Track: In The Presence of Enemies) 6 Black Clouds and silver Linings (Best Track: The Count of Tuscany) 7. Awake; (Best Track: Space Dye-Vest) 8. Octavarium (Best Track: These Walls) 9 , Falling into Infinity. (Best Track: Lines in the Sand) 10. Dream Theater (Best Track: Illumination Theory) 11. Dramatic Turn of events (Best Track: Breaking all Illusions) 12. Astonishing (Best Track: Our New World) 13. When Dream and Day Unite (Best Track: Yste Jam)

great review Notes !!!!!!! i totally agree with the top 3 but.. 'awake '' should be rank higher and"A Change of Seasons" is their best song ever IMO BTW did you hear the new Threshold album ,is just amaizin . my vote for ''album of the year ''

I’ve been a DT fan since 99 and I agree with 100% of all your points. You’re completely correct! Thank you! I feel so vindicated finally!!!! :)

"Ministry of Lost Souls is my favorite album." Five minutes later: "Octavarium is my favorite song." Say what?

1:46 How am I supposed to take anyone seriously who can't pronounce "Ytse Jam?" Even "Erotomania?" Really? Dude!

Hey Notes, I think there's a video editing mistake at like 14:30, switches directly to Train Of Thought - I would really like to know what else you had to say about Awake :D

Holy hell! Even when I don't agree on certain points, this is the best review I have ever heard. You know, DT is pretty much hot topic in prog society, still it's awesome to see, there is a guy, who is on a same topic! Good job! :)

Awake #7? ok, c ya later.....

Pretty good video... but you said you were not familiar with a few albums, so why do this vid? Not bashing you, just curious....

Man, you are making me rediscover Systematic Chaos, nice album indeed. I'm a huge fan of DT, but I snobbed this album a bit 'cause it's slightly more commercial than previous gems.

I had listened to three DT albums and couldn’t wait to her Images and Words due to all the great reviews. Just never got into as much as the other albums. Maybe I should revisit again.

in all seriousness though, Devin Townsend worst to best?

Sherinian not Sherman E Rot O Mania Scarred not Scared Misunderstood not Misunderstanding That said... 9. The Astonishing 8. A Dramatic Turn of Events / Self titled 7. Black Clouds and Silver Linings 6. Octavarium / Systematic Chaos 5. When Dream and Day Unite 4. Falling Into Infinity 3. Train of Thought 2. Images and Words / Scenes From a Memory 1. Awake / Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence

Very on point list.

Look appreciate your time, effort, and the willingness to put out your top Dream Theater albums, but for God Sake.. know the names of the fuckin tunes!

Metropolis 2 is a religous experience for me, and I am an Atheist, no love for this album?

Interesting, DT is one of my favorite bands as well. Sadly, I find them quite inconsistent, specially since Black Clouds. My list goes like 13-Astonishing 12-DT 11-W.D.A.D.U 10-Black Clouds 9-Infinity 8-Dramatic 7-Systematic 6-Train Thought 5-Degrees 4-Octavarium 3-Metropolis 2 2-I&W 1-Awake Check out the band Alcest if you didn't already, they're phenomenal.

hey, @notes reviews have you heard about polish band Riverside? I immediately thought of them when you were talking about concept gradation on Octavarium (having 8 songs and so) - Riverside made something similar with their album names - their third album was named Second Life Syndrome, fourth was Anno Domini High Definition, fifth was Shrine of New Generation Slaves, sixth was Life, Fear and the Time Machine. :) pretty nice work.... but regardless of this concept I want to recommend to you all of Riverside - their first albums were more on the heavy side, latest work is more proggy, much softer. I think they are one of the best prog bands nowadays and have not noticed to ever speak of them... EDIT: nevermind, now I found yout notes on Love, Fear and the Time Machine and Eye of the Soundscape :)

Does anyone know what piece is playing in the background, in between the samples of different songs? Is it a part of one of Dream Theater's songs? Thanks!

Oooooh this looks like fun. I'll try to quantify why I ordered them the way I did. Also, I forgot to hit the bell next to the subscribe button, and I haven't seen your videos pop up in my feed for a while :( Haven't forgotten about them, but I just haven't gotten around to checking them out yet and I've only been watching what I'm getting notifications from. Too many channels to keep track of @_@ 13: The Astonishing There are some great tunes on it, but as a whole album, it's bad. I mean, I can't even sit through the whole thing and the sappiness of the songs is really, really cringe-worthy. I guess I just don't have the appreciation for Disney-sounding music others do. But either way, the album is just so bloated and bogged down that the few good tracks just aren't worth sitting through the whole album for. 12: Train of Thought Don't get me wrong, when I'm in the mood for this record, I LOVE it. But this is one of those DT records that was clearly made to be "different" from the rest. They wanted to make a very specific kind of prog-thrash album, and they succeeded at that, but it's the DT album that feels the least like a DT album to me, and while I enjoyed it more after release, it's slipped out of my DT listening habits pretty quickly. 11: Black Clouds & Silver Linings It's a half-good album. "A Nightmare To Remember" and "The Best Of Times" are GREAT songs, and "The Count of Tuscany" has some excellent musical moments (but cringe-y lyrics). "The Shattered Fortress" is a decent finish to the 12-Step Suite, but it feels kind of slapdash. The rest of the album... can honestly do without them. 10: Octavarium It PAINS me to put this so low, because the title track is one of my all-time favourite pieces of music ever written in any genre, from any era. Had it been released as a single a-la "A Change of Seasons", it would be my #1 release. But the rest of the album isn't that great, and the album even features the worst piece of tripe the band has ever written: "I Walk Beside You". At least Falling Into Infinity had an excuse for mom-rock pop travesties: they were pressured by their label. This piece of U2-inspired feel-good garbage was released *on an album where they had complete creative freedom*. Let that sink in. 9: When Dream and Day Unite I could just repeat what you said about it. It's the album I'm least familiar with, but it's a great debut. And Charlie Dominici's vocals are a really interesting (though dated-sounding) twist on the DT sound. I think it's also the album where Petrucci's guitar playing is simultaneously at its wildest and its most controlled. 8: A Dramatic Turn of Events I *hated* this album when it came out, and it turned out to be a real grower for me. "Breaking All Illusions" was the track that broke the ice for me, upon discovering how amazing this track is. The only problem I have with this album is "On the Backs of Angels". As a musician, I broke down the song, and it is EXACTLY matched to the template of "Pull Me Under", down to the key signatures, chord progressions, structure, and style. And I mean EXACTLY. Kind of like those fan renditions of "Stream of Consciousness" made after the band revealed the song chart. 7: Dream Theater Okay, I actually LOVE this album. The instrumentals are great, "Enigma Machine" is very similar to "Erotomania". "Illumination Theory" is not my favourite of their epics, either, but I'd still put it among my favourite DT songs. 6: Falling Into Infinity It's weird that I'm putting this as high as I am, but this is one of those albums that knowing the story of really puts it into perspective. Facing all the pressure they did from the record company, they did their best to put together an album that was true to DT's vision while still adding a more mainstream rock aspect, and you can kind of hear where the band tried this in future releases, but never quite as successfully as FII. bonus: 5.5: The Falling Into Infinity Demos (YtseJam Records official bootleg) The tracks that *could have* been on FII, like "Raise The Knife", and the version of "Burning My Soul" that features "Hell's Kitchen" as its solo section reveal the prog-metal potential of FII. Plus, there's the bonus of it featuring the rehearsal version of Metropolis Pt. 2, in its original 25-minute single song format. It's actually not as great as it's been made out to be, but you can really hear the genesis of some of the ideas that went into SFAM. 5: Systematic Chaos For me, this is the album that I wanted "Train of Thought" to be: dark and "metal", but still progressive and melodic. Even the "singles" on this album, "Forsaken" and "Constant Motion", are great songs. "In the Presence of Enemies" is also one of the only epics that comes close to "Octavarium". "The Dark Eternal Night" is the song I want to pop my mosh pit cherry to. 4: Images and Words Absolutely classic release. Most of the guitar playing still mystifies me to this day. The quintessential prog-metal record. Not a single bad moment on it. 3: Awake This was the second album I heard from DT, and this is the reason I have a seven-string guitar. "The Mirror" and "A Change of Seasons" were the first songs I learned on the 7-string. And I just love the melodies, the guitar playing, the songwriting is on-point. 2: Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence My first DT album. "The Glass Prison" was the song that opened my world to prog-metal. The title track... hooooooly shiiiiiit. That blew my 15-year-old mind so hard. And the first disc... absolutely exquisite songwriting and playing. 1: Metropolis Pt 2: Scenes From A Memory Seriously, could it *be* any other album from DT? This is the album that launched a million prog-metal bands' careers. The concept, the music, the performances, the production, this album is a perfect, magical synergy of five people coming together to create something immaculate. No band will ever touch what SFAM did again, an absolutely perfect moment in prog-metal.

My personal rank, worst to best (2023 Edit) 15. *The Astonishing* *0/10* It's astonishingly bad 14. *Self-titled* *3/10* Had a few (5 though) but pretty generic as well, I like it a little bit better than Systematic Chaos. 10. *A View From the Top of the World* *6.5/10* Still playing it safe, the amount of self-referencing in this album is (pun intended) astonishingly high but as a whole it's moderately enjoyable. They are way past their creative peak at this point so I don't expect that much anyway. Title track is much better than Illumination Theory though, which is not exactly a high bar. 9. *A Dramatic Turn of Events* *6.5-7/10* 1 amazing song (Breaking all Illusions), and 8 fillers. 8. *Octavarium* *7/10* Title track is objectively a musical masterpiece coming close to the band's best work. The rest of the album range from mildly enjoyable at best, to downright contrived at worst (looking at you two, I Walk Beside You/The Answer Lies Within). 7. *Black Clouds and Silver Linings* *7-7.5/10* Two amazing songs (Nightmare & Tuscany), one good song (The Best of Times) and three cheesy try-hards. 6. *Train of Thoughts* *7.5/10* Not what I would typically expect from DT, but quite a solid release nonetheless. Shows how diverse their song writing can be, although at moments too wankery/show-off, even by DT's wankery standard. 5. *6 Degrees of Inner Turbulence* *8/10* Pretty good, has some of the most experimental and moving materials in the band's history, disc 2 is coming close to the band's best when it comes to composition and concept. 4. *Falling Into Infinity* *8-8.5/10* Did not expect to see this one here did ya? To say it's controversial to place this album this high, is an understatement. Many people hate it, but personally this album is really moving, personal, well written, and comes off as touching, sincere and (at moments) unfiltered. I love it. Also, Hollow Years >>>>>>>>>>>> Wither. 3. *Scenes from a Memory* *9.5/10* Objectively a masterpiece, I shuffle the top 3 around depending on the day of the week. 2. *Images & Words* *9.5/10* The album that defined Dream Theater, set progressive metal apart from USPM influences (Fates Warning, Queensrÿche, Crimson Glory). 1. *Awake* *10/10* My personal favorite. Songwriting, arranging, performance, lyrics, concept, emotion, passion, energy, coherency, diversity, production... This album has it all, their pinnacle in my eyes. 0. *A Change of Seasons (the song)* If I have to pick just one song that represents this band, it's this song. Almost like a more concise version of Awake. Their Magnum Opus.

I completely agree with your overall assessment. In the mid-to-late 90s, I was in my Progressive Metal phase, and a friend had me listen to "Images and Words", and although they loved it, it fell short for me, and I hated the production style. The same friend let me a cassette of "Awake", stating that they didn't want it anymore and didn't like it, I loved it! What made me a fan though was "Metropolis Part 2", as the concept is brilliantly executed, and the album itself flows so perfectly from beginning to end. My second favorite album by Dream Theater is also "Octavarium!" Excellent overview my friend!

Great video could you please do a genesis or Yes worst to best!

Awake at #7 - instant dislike REEEEEEEEEE

How could you put an album containing Illumination Theory at the last position?

I have never in my life found someone who shares my ranking of DT, but you just hit it on the nose.

Astonishing is beautiful!

1. Awake 2. I&W 3. W.D.A.D.U 4. Metropolis II 5. FII 6. SDoIT 7. SC 8. ToT 9. Octavarium 10. ADToE 11. BC&SL 12. Astonishing 13. DT Derek Sherman agrees

you look like the Angry Video Game Nerd with facial hair.

Our list is very close! The biggest differences are the self titled album which I put at #7 and systematic chaos with i put at #9.

This is my top 15, I’m including ACoF and DOT because they weren’t included 15. The astonishing 14. When dream and day unite 13. Dream theater 12. Distance over time 11. A dramatic turn of events 10. Systematic chaos 9. A change of seasons 8. Falling into infinity 7. Black clouds & silver linings 6. Train of thought 5. Six degrees of inner turbulence 4. Awake 3. Octavarium 2. Images and words 1. Metropolis pt.2: scenes from a memory

My list: 13. WDaDU (Nope, just underwhelming, if you know what would come next) 12. The Astonishing (I tried really hard to appreciate this record. But there are just too much TOO SHORT songs on this. With too short I mean, that the songs just can't breathe at all. None of them are worthy to listen to outside of their concept.) 11. Dream Theater (somewhat of a letdown after ADTOE. Still above average, but the special something is missing... just a bit hollow) 10. Falling into Infinity (Not as bad as many say, it's a nice record and Lines in the Sand is fucking great) 9. Systematic Chaos (Maybe a bit too much "chaos" for me, but many great moments. Not a big fan of the Portnoy tracks) 8. Black Clouds & Silver Linings (Not the biggest fan of Shattered Fortress and Best of Times, which seems a bit cheesy, but The Count of Tuscany totally nails it... goosebumps) 7. Awake (Maybe the album with their most atmospheric songs, but somehow I don't return to this album that often) 6. Train of Thought (A very exhausting listen, but their heaviest music and I like to headbang) 5. Octavarium (Some very obvious downs, but the highs.... my god, the HIGHS) 4. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (Not an easy listen, especially because the first side is so different from the second, but the ambition is out of this world) 3. A Dramatic Turn of Events (I just find this album so cohesive and atmospheric, the epics are criminally underrated) 2. Images and Words (beautiful album, flawless and catchy) 1. Metropolis Part 2 (obvious, just the best listen from start to finish, combines everything that makes DT great)

It's scarred, not scared.

What is the song playing when six degrees of inner Turbulence is introduced???

Holy shit! My favorite albums are SDOIT, SC and SFAM and these are 3 of your four best albums haha Great minds think alike, they say :P

I really don't see the hate for the self titled album. It's WAY better than The Astonishing, and I'd rank it above Dramatic Turn of Events, Falling Into Infinity, and When Dream and Day Unite. I really don't understand what happened with The Astonishing, I have only gotten through the whole album once, I think, I've tried but have never been able to get all the way through it again, even in multiple sittings. I also don't rank Six Degrees super high for whatever reason. The suite is great, but the first disc doesn't do it for me too much. My first album from them was Systematic Chaos, so that one rates higher with me probably way higher than it should, but I love it so much!

I'm not including When Dream & Day Unite since it's been a loong time since I heard it in its entirety. 12 DT12: Mostly forgettable outside of The Bigger Picture and Behind the Veil. 11: The Astonishing: As others have pointed out, this album would not be much without the concept. To this day, I couldn't remember a single song several minutes after hearing it. It sounds great at the time, but nothing sticks with you. 10 Octovarium: The title track was amazing, as was Sacrificed Sons, and I really enjoyed the opener. However, the rest of the album was pretty forgettable.9: Black Clouds & Silver Linings: A somewhat maligned album, it has some classic moments such as Count of Tuscany and Nightmare to Remember. It's also fairly consistent with nothing truly bad. 8: Systematic Chaos: Some interesting moments in this album (Constant Motion, Dark Eternal Night), but nothing that really ranks as truly classic. 7: Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence: The title track was amazing, as was the opening to the AA Suite--Glass Prison. I also dug their tribute to Tool with the Great Debate. 6: Awake I'm not as huge on this album as others, and I consider Space Dye Vest to be one os the most overrated songs in DT's catalog. However, this album also has the fantastic Mind Beside Itself trilogy. 5: Falling into Infinity: These is some mediocrity on this album such as Anna Lee, but there are also a few classics suchas Peruvian Skies and Trial of Tears4 A Dramatic Turn of Events: Following the departure of Mike Portnoy, DT released this album, demonstrating that they had something to prove, and for the most part it works. 3: Scenes from a Memory: A great concept combined with great music.2: Train of Thought: SOme may have been put off by the heavier sound from this album, but I really enjoyed it.1: Images & Words: The album that broke DT through, it is still a fine piece of work 25+ years later.

I can agree with the majority of how you rank things. I guess for me, Astonishing would have been at the bottom, I think the self titled was better. And Systematic Chaos I would have moved to #1 for me, and the rest you had as they were. I've been a fan since Images and Words, was a long time member of their fan clubs, have a bunch of their personally released "bootleg" stuff, as well as all of the Ytsejam releases. Great stuff. Good job.

Dude, I absolutely love your reviews! Having subscribed to your channel has given me the chance to discover new bands and new albums. I have to say though, you mispronounce so many song titles and band member names LOL. Scarred (as to having a scar) as well as EROTO-Mania and Mike "Manjini" LOL. And the song is called Misunderstood not Misunderstanding haha As a DT fan myself who's seen them 7 times I feel like the band has gotten to a point where I've completely lost interest on them. Saw them in Toronto for the Astonishing and as much as I thought the concert itself was super well performed with great production value I think the overall concept really sucks and takes their fans to a really teen vibe which I don't really appreciate with this whole RPG universe. I really like the way you walked through all the other albums because I feel like I agree with you in pretty much everything. 6DOIT and TOT are definitely high up there for me as well. Awesome video once again!

Mangini was phenomenal on ADTOE!

Imo: 13. Astonishing (boring, overly cheesy, bloated, too much of soft uninteresting stuff) 12. Dream Theater (A decent, but underwhelming epic bundled with mostly boring songs. Stale Production) 11. WDaDU (Inconsistent and lacking direction, but has a charm to it that's appealing) 10. FII (Some of their best works, some of their absolute worst. No real middle ground tbh) 9. ADToE (Some excellent moments without too many mediocre stuff. Breaking all Illusions is great) 8. Systematic Chaos (Awesome instrumentals and atmosphere, but very rough around the edges. Lacks memorable rhythm & melodies) 7. Train of Thought (A mostly consistent album lacking truly amazing tracks. Not enough shorter tracks) 6. Black Clouds (Similar to ToT, but feels more dynamic and interesting overall) 5. Octavarium (Their second best epic + a very good variety of decent tracks) 4. Awake (Their best production by far. Excellent mix of catchiness and darkness. Little inconsistent though) 3. Six Degrees (Amazing songs, great instrumentals. Consistent) 2. Metropolis (Amazing concept and well executed, plenty of beautiful moments. A little bloated at times) 1. Images and Words (perfect in almost every way. Beautiful mystical atmosphere, Labries best musical performance, the perfect mix of musical beauty and technicality)

Odd/random question but what's your opinion on Talking Heads and Television

Always cool to hear someone else's opinion on stuff like this. I started listening to DT right before they released Falling Into Infinity, but I haven't been listening to Dream Theater since the self titeled. Illumination theory clicked with a lot of people, but I never really liked it that much. Also, I didn't like how almost every song had an intro that just seemed like it was put there just to have an intro. I wouldn't say it's a horrible album, because I still think it has some cool moments, but it's what started their "paint by the numbers" period I personally think they're still stuck in. Anyways, my list is very different to a lot of people I think: 14. The Astonishing (Couldn't get through the first 10 minutes) 13. Dream Theater (Bland) 12. Black Clouds & Silver Linings (I like some of the songs and the beginning and end of Tuscany, but too many bad songs on this one.) 11. When Dream And Day Unite (Not a bad album, just too dated for me.) 10. Octavarium (This is a pretty good album. It's just not my favorite. Love the title track and some of the songs.) 09. Systematic Chaos (This one is difficult. It's too high on my list because it's not that great IMO, but it has some personal memories for me.) 08. Falling Into Infinity (Again, I don't know why this is so high on the list for me. I think it's because I believe Hell's Kitchen is one of the most underrated instrumentals they've ever done. Also, I'm a little biased because I heard the demo's with Raise the Knife and the Original Metropolis pt 2 on a playthrough during a soundcheck. I know it's not fair, but I don't care. ;) Some bad songs on this one I think.) 07. Train of Thought (They went all out on this one, and I don't think I like it because of the songs, but because you can hear the fun they were having playing this.) 06. A Dramatic Turn of Events (Yup. I know it's just Images pt 2, but I love some of the song on this. It has a couple of cringy moments, but also some of the most epic.) 05. A Change of Seasons (Awesome song. Couldn't get into the covers, but the song alone is worth this position on the list for me.) 04. Images and Words ( I know it's cheesy, but I love it. It's a classic and don't think I dislike any of the songs on this one. I've just heard them WAY too much. I can probably still play Metropolis on guitar with how much I practiced that song.) 03. Metropolis part 2 (Just a great overall album. Another one with some personal memories.) 02. Awake (I have no clue why I like this album so much, but I just love the darkness of it. Also, the Mirror was the first song I ever heard by DT and it blew me away.) 01. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (And this is where I think a lot of people are going to disagree, but I think every song on this is great. It just doesn't have a bad moment on it for me. I love that they were just experimenting on this one and I also think the production on this album is great. Love the snare, love the guitars, can hear the bass and I think it has some of Jordan's best moments. The piano part in Blind Faith is probably my favorite part in any Dream Theater song. Sue me. ;) )

For me the Astonishing is the best Album so for from them. It´s a fantastic album.

I completely agree with what you said on A Dramatic Turn of Events, I've always thought it was a lot like Images and Words.

Where would you place Distance Over Time?

1.) Octavarium 2.) Images and Words 3.) the rest of their early stuff 14.) everything else

Awake is pure perfection. Every other albums have their weak points like too long intros and unnecessarily too progressive instrumental parts. Second best comes Images and Words and then Dramatic Turn of Events.

8:51 Trial Of Tears is such an epicness of a song, intro always makes me shiver!..

I know a Change of Seasons is an EP built over a single song followed by covers, but I still found it among their best.

I quite liked the self-titled album. Nothing wrong with letting go of the 17 minute epics and doing a good, solid rock song once in a while. Still, the post-Portnoy albums are polarizing with fans in general and I see what many haven't warmed to it.

I love the astonishing... am i ok????

Very nice video. One thing made me confused and a bit sad tho. He didn't mention Hell's kitchen at all. : ( It's one of my favourite tracks

6DoIT was difficult to digest at first. But later, when I digged into the inner layers of it, it became one of my top two or top three favourite album for a long time.