Dream Theater
by 
AAL2014 
One of the bands I've been into for a very long time. Mike Portnoy influenced me as a drummer more than just about anyone. I fell in love by hearing Scenes From a Memory after plucking it out of my dad's album collection. My friends in my first band turned me on to Octavarium and we would listen to it all the way through. I discovered the rest of the catalog soon after.
For anyone unsure of this band, just give them a well deserved listen. Prog or prog metal may not be your cup of tea, but these guys have great songwriting abilities to accompany their instrumental prowess. Dream Theater will always have one of my favorite back catalogs and I will always consider them an influence, but they are starting to lose me with their last couple albums. The Astonishing is anything but. I hope to always be a fan of this band be it Mike Portnoy or Mike Mangini.. Dream Theater is one of the greats.
- Chart updated: 02/07/2025 06:45
- (Created: 06/18/2016 21:46).
- Chart size: 21 albums.
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The Crown Jewel: One of the greatest albums of all time, and the album that WAS my all time #1 for a very long time. The instrumentation is of course top notch, but on this album, Dream Theater was at an all time creative peak in terms of songwriting. There are melodies here that constantly blow my mind. Please give this album a listen.
[First added to this chart: 03/22/2019]
Year of Release:
1999
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,215
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Deserving Runner Up: A classic in the discography and now in the genre of prog rock. Octavarium is the album that ultimately hooked me on the band. Much of the time you will hear high praise for the title track (and rightly so) but this album is much more than those roughly 24 minutes. So much good material here, only slowed down by that 9/11 song.
[First added to this chart: 03/22/2019]
Year of Release:
2005
Appears in:
Rank Score:
662
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Worthy Bronze: Arguably the heaviest album in the catalog with so much good and inspired songwriting. DT has many songs and albums that are heavy because they like heavy music, but this album is different because there was no other way of making it.
[First added to this chart: 03/22/2019]
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Dream Theater's first album with longtime frontman, James LaBrie, was one that got them the fame they wanted without having to compromise anything musically. I don't love everything about it (especially the production on the keys and drums... ughh) but there's no doubt this is a deserving prog rock classic. Under a Glass Moon is hard to top.
[First added to this chart: 03/22/2019]
Year of Release:
1992
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,998
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Side 1 has some incredible songs (almost all of them really) and side 2 is a masterpiece that is worth the patience of listening to the 45 minutes of the song.
[First added to this chart: 03/22/2019]
Year of Release:
2002
Appears in:
Rank Score:
601
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A very underrated album. Breaking All Illusions is everything I love about Mangini-era Dream Theater. The first album with Mike Mangini on drums showed me Dream Theater was going to be just fine without Mike Portnoy.... for the time being anyway.
[First added to this chart: 03/22/2019]
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[First added to this chart: 03/26/2024]
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All that needs to be said in defense of the good this album has to offer is In the Presence of Enemies Parts 1 and 2. Holy jumpin fuckin shit balls. One of the best songs in the discography.
It’s a little hit or miss from there though. While the guitar solo section of Constant Motion is one of the coolest things the band ever did, the song also provides some painfully bad MP backing vocals and the worst of their Metallica influence. Prophets of War and Repentance are too long, the former borrows heavily from Muse and the latter gives very much the vibe of Pink Floyd. Dream Theater was never very shy about giving nods to their heroes and influences, however, Sys Chaos shows the band at their least clever with those nods. I liked this album way more as a kid and maybe that’s a reason why. [First added to this chart: 03/22/2019]
It’s a little hit or miss from there though. While the guitar solo section of Constant Motion is one of the coolest things the band ever did, the song also provides some painfully bad MP backing vocals and the worst of their Metallica influence. Prophets of War and Repentance are too long, the former borrows heavily from Muse and the latter gives very much the vibe of Pink Floyd. Dream Theater was never very shy about giving nods to their heroes and influences, however, Sys Chaos shows the band at their least clever with those nods. I liked this album way more as a kid and maybe that’s a reason why. [First added to this chart: 03/22/2019]
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When I first heard this album around the time of its release, I was really pleasantly surprised. It was easily the album I liked the most on first listen since Dramatic Turn and they finally sounded locked in with Mike Mangini and the sound/mix of his drums is better here than on most, if not all, of the previous efforts.
Definitely not a perfect record but I think it’s a decent effort in DT keeping their head above the water in the rolling sea of prog in the 2020’s. [First added to this chart: 02/04/2024]
Definitely not a perfect record but I think it’s a decent effort in DT keeping their head above the water in the rolling sea of prog in the 2020’s. [First added to this chart: 02/04/2024]
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A classic and fan favorite, the only reason it isn't higher is because I am not as familiar with it. Through all of that, the drums on this album are incredible and Awake is probably James LaBrie's finest vocal hour.
[First added to this chart: 03/22/2019]
Year of Release:
1994
Appears in:
Rank Score:
429
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Total albums: 21. Page 1 of 3
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Dream Theater composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1960s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1970s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1980s | 1 | 5% | |
| 1990s | 5 | 24% | |
| 2000s | 8 | 38% | |
| 2010s | 5 | 24% | |
| 2020s | 2 | 10% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Dream Theater | 21 | 100% |
Dream Theater chart changes
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 1 from 11th to 12thLive Scenes From New York by Dream Theater |
| Down 1 from 12th to 13thBlack Clouds & Silver Linings by Dream Theater |
| Down 1 from 13th to 14thA Change Of Seasons by Dream Theater |
| New entries |
|---|
| Parasomnia by Dream Theater |
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| Top 20 Music Albums of the 1990s |  Leanedge | 1990s decade chart | 2014 |  |
| Top 12 Greatest Music Albums | MrMustard | Overall chart | 2013 | |
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