Dream Theater - The Ultimate 2023 Discography Ranking Video!

Everyone's got their own version of this list, but I figured it was high time that I gave my own personal spin on the Dream Theater studio albums!

There's a couple of hot takes here, some unusual placements, but overall I stand by my decisions, and when it comes down to it, this is just "my" version of this list!

I'd love to hear what your favourite Dream Theater albums are though, be sure to let me know in the comments!

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[Lucca-An-Aspiring-Poet]

As someone that has always put The Astonishing at the top of their Discography (though it has been aging like fine wine for me too), these always hurt my soul :)

[zitowski]

Hell Yeah A Dramatic Turn of Events is amazing and finally someone has it ranked where it really belongs

[tompramanaaccount]

I always thought A Dramatic Turn Of Events to be the "Images and Words" in Mangini era, but crank it up 10 times more complicated. It deserves to be top 5 where it belongs.

[JohnnyRecently]

I couldn't agree with you more on "Dramatic Turn Of Events".

[caydencalhoun]

This is a very respectable list. Your top 4 nails it for me except I would move 6deg to 4, SFAM to 3, I&W at 2, and Awake at 1. I’m also really glad you didn’t diss on FFI and WDADU like so many others.

[kevinbrown]

1. Images and Words (1992)
2. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (2002)
3. Distance Over Time (2019)
4. Metropolis 2: Scenes from a Memory (1999)
5. Awake (1994)
6. Octavarium (2005)
7. A View from the Top of the World (2021)
8. Train of Thought (2003)
9. A Dramatic Turn of Events (2011)
10. Black Clouds & Silver Linings (2009)
11. Systematic Chaos (2007)
12. Dream Theater (2013)
13. Falling into Infinity (1997)
14. The Astonishing (2016)
15. When Dream and Day Unite (1989)

[notiolus]

Finally a Dream Theater ranking that aligns with mine! Agree about Dream and Day! Would've had Top of the World higher (above Distance and Dream and Day) and Train of Thought ahead of Falling into infinity, and I would've squeeze Dramatic into the top 5 (instead of ... Images and Words I reckon, the cheesiness of the first two ballads pull it down for me, though Wait for Sleep is gorgeous) and... Awake number 1 for me. The will never approach something as unique as Space Dye Vest again (Kevin Moore was the best lyricist the band ever had). But otherwise, spot on IMHO! Really nice to hear your reflections on Six Degrees, I love side 2 as well.

[AllMediaReviewsPodcast]

Props for finally someone else giving credit to their excellent debut album, When Dream and Day Unite!

For fans that go back a ways (1995-in effect for myself), that album was a staple per they only had 2 other albums, lol.

I agree with most of your takes otherwise, sans for I don't regard Scenes from a Memory as a masterpiece like many. It's good, but Six Degrees is clearly better for me, and I consider Images and Words better. And Awake is their best album for me.

Also I would be curious to know your thoughts about the Falling Into Infinity Demos (and even the hypothetical of Kevin Gilbert producing the music that ended up on those demos and FII itself).

If you didn't see, I did do a Dream Theater albums Tiermaker recently on my channel (and a Top 75 Songs many months ago in fact).

[MusicVersa]

Swap "Awake" and "Astonishing'" on this list and we'd be sympatico.

[johncahill]

Great list. I would put Black Clouds and Silver Linings higher. I enjoy the Best of Times as can also here the Rush influences on this. Nice to see Dream and Day Unite high on the list. I thought there was a good chance that it was going to be the only album when it was released, but thankfully they did not give up.

[rubensilva]

YES!! More videos like these please dude! I would love to see your mastodon ranking! What is your opinion on Hushed and Grim?

[UnderworldInferno]

Much like 6 degrees with yourself, “Awake” actually got me through some really tough times mentally and is just such a balanced album front to back. The first DT song I ever heard was “Erotomania” when I was a young drummer and remember it being a little strange compared to the other bands I was listening to at 10 years old. I ended up revisiting them around the age of 16 (right before systematic chaos came out) and fell in love.

Awesome job on the list we have a few disagreements here and there but that’s why we do these things! 😂

[fourseasons]

1. Images and words
2. Six degrees of inner turbulence
3. Metropolis pt. 2
4. Train of thought
5. Awake
6. A change of seasons
7. A dramatic turn of events
8. Octavarium
9. Systematic chaos
10. Falling into infinity
11. Black clouds and silver linings
12. When dream and day unite
13. A view from the top of the world
14. Distance over time
15. The astonishing
16. Self titled

[dreadbull]

I did my own personal edit of The Astonishing and trimmed it to about 75-80 minutes. Now I really like it 😊

[Inactive]

My ranking
15 The Astonishing
14 When Dream And Day Unite
13 A View From The Top of The World
12 Falling Into Infinity
11 Distance Over Time
10 Awake
9 A Dramatic Turn Of Events
8 Scenes From A Memory
7 Systematic Chaos
6 Self Titled
5 Images and Words
4 Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence
3 Train Of Thought
2 Octavarium
1 Black Clouds And Silver Linings

[DanielDuarteSza]

TIL there are people who hates "Wither".

Anyway, this is a great and fun review/list! DT is so rich that these are always a surprise. But this is easily one of the best, most eloquent, thought out, well spoken and also intimist I've seen so far. Bravo, man.

[oscarcohle]

What I like about Dream Theater, besides the fact that they are superb musicians, is that they range into infinite dimensions. They have so much to their name that it doesn't really matter which album you like best, everyone will find something to their tastes and ears, because even if one would say that they recycle their ideas all the time, each of these albums is unique in some way, and it doesn't matter if it's Astonishing, Falling into Infinity or A Dramatic Turn of Events. And of course there's also the option that you won't like anything from them and you'll hate them. And that's fine. Which is definitely not my case, and Dream Theater is a guarantee of an orgasm for me. My RANKING:

15. Dream Theater (2013)
14. The Astonishing (2016)
13. When Dream and Day Unite (1989)
12. A View From the Top of the World (2021)
11. Distance Over Time (2019)
10. Awake (1994)
9. Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (2002)
8. Systematic Chaos (2007)
7. Falling Into Infinity (1997)
6. A Dramatic Turn of Events (2011)
5. Train of Thought (2003)
4. Black Clouds & Silver Linings (2009)
3. Images and Words (1992)
2. Octavarium (2005)
1. Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory (1999)

[kalleanka]

You are sooo spot on
Almost everything you say I agree with.

[AdamLopez-TheRealOne]

Here’s My Personal List
15. The Astonishing 3/10
14. Falling To Infinity 5/10
13. Self Titled 6/10
12. When Day And Dream Unite 6.9/10
11. Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence 7/10
10. A View Of The Top Of The World 7/10
9. Distance Over Time 8/10
8. Octavarium 8/10
7. A Dramatic Turn Of Events 8/10
6. Black Clouds And Silver Linings 9/10
5. Train Of Thought 9.7 /10
4. Systematic Chaos
3. Metropolis Part 2 10/10
2. Awake 10/10
1. Images And Words 11/10

[vosoryan]

Completely agree on FII. I dont know why so many people, and the band themselves, dont like it