Top 100 Dream Theater songs countdown (Top 2 revealed!!)

[Ben_Jamin]

I'll join in on posting my rankings too...

100 - The X Aspect: #46

A great song from The Astonishing sits at the 100 spot. At least it made the list. This one has one of the best emotional moments on the album. I like this part of the story because we see Ahrys talking to Evangeline. It was one of the best moments of the live show for me, due to how good JLB was and the setting created by the screens and the light show. The buildup is great to the moment where Ahrys pleads to Evangeline as her theme appears here too, as if she appears by him while he pleads. The brother theme played by the bagpipes adds that extra layer of the bond being betrayed.

99 - Never Enough: (Did Not Rank)

This song I believe I first heard live on Gigantour when they came here. I don't really remember much of the show, but I do remember the songs I have heard and were interested in. This one I liked the instrumental, especially the bass tone underneath the guitar and key unison.

[Wim Kruithof]

very nice way to uncover the list, looking forward to follow this thread along the way.

the X-Aspect #-
Never Enough #94

[geeeemo]

Neither song made the top 100 for me. I don't care for the music of NE. I think the story of the song is interesting, though. I wasn't into DT yet back then, so I don't have any emotion tied to it.
I really dig TA, but I simply liked other songs more than The X Factor.

[Revenge319]

I'll do my big Top 50 list after my next Dream Theater marathon (which will be quite a whole from now), where I'll rank A View From The Top Of The World with the rest (and perhaps see some songs from there in the Top 50). So for now, I'll do what 425's doing and give some brief thoughts on each song, as well as show where each song ranks. I'll be color-coding the ranking numbers to show what kind of tier they're in. In order from favorite to least favorite, these tiers are teal, red, orange, lime, green, blue, purple, maroon, and black.


The X Aspect
My ranking: #56. James sounds so great on this song. The vocal melodies are just so, so good. I really enjoy how the song gradually keeps building up with each verse. The ending with the bagpipes isn't my favorite part of the song, but it's pretty good and helps give the song its own identity.


Never Enough
My ranking: #71. Really good song, both musically and lyrically. This song's enjoyable from start to finish for me, from the ominous verses to the powerful chorus to the intense instrumental section... What's not to like?

[Elite]

The X-Aspect came in at #111 in mine and Never Enough at #127

[erciccio]

In my ranking:

- The X-Aspect: 86. It's a nice song, but works well only in the context of the full album. I actually forgot about the bagpipes section, otherwise I would have ranked it higher.

- Never Enough: out of the 100. It could have made it in a MUSE top 100, though.

[wolfking]

Neither song made the top 100 for me. I don't care for the music of NE. I think the story of the song is interesting, though. I wasn't into DT yet back then, so I don't have any emotion tied to it.
I really dig TA, but I simply liked other songs more than The X Factor.

Always nice to see a subtle Iron Maiden mention. 

[wolfking]

TXA - -
Never Enough - 72

I never really had a problem with NE, it's a decent song.  I hear the Muse references, but I liked the whole feel and atmosphere of it.

[KevShmev]

Let's throw two more out there this morning...

98 A Savior in the Square
Appeared on 15 of 26 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 0
Highest Ranking: 16 (Wim Kruithof)

97 Our New World
Appeared on 14 of 26 entrees
Top 10 finishes: 0
Highest Ranking: 33 (Dream Team)

Two good songs from The Astonishing.  I prefer Our New World (that one made my top 100, the other did not), and it's pretty funny that these two songs finished back to back considering the end of Our New World reprises the guitar from the beginning of A Savior in the Square.

[Lonk]

A Savior in the Square did not make my top 100, but I think it landed around 105, so not too far off. Our New World was #35 on my list.

[Dream Team]

Wow Kev that's cool trivia about those 2 songs. ONW is just such a compactly well-written song that just hits the spot for me.

X-Aspect has some of JP's best acoustic playing.

Agreed with jammindude on Never Enough.

This is so fun, thanks again for doing this.

[erciccio]

In my ranking:

- A Saviour in the square: #. I just cannot hear this song outside of the full flow of the album, it doesn't work at all as an isolated track.

- Our New world: 51. A good stand-alone track from The Astonising, with a nice riff and a good solo from JP. 

[Laughingplace56]

I had X Aspect at 83, which in retrospect is probably too low. The piano and acoustic guitar in the beginning is beautiful and this song has one of the best vocal melodies on the album. Plus yes, the bagpipes rule haha

I had Never Enough at 78. Fun short tune

I had Saviour in the Square at 85. The intro solo is one of my favorite parts of the album.

Our New World did not rank for me. Fun song but not one of my favorites off TA.

[Elite]

A Savior in the Square at #70, Our New World at #120 in mine

[HOF]

Our New World is a fun song. I have it ranked all the way up at 66.

[DragonAttack]

100. X Aspect (#82)
99. Never Enough (#8)
98. Savior In The Square (#94)
97. Our New World (#47)

'X Aspect'....I start it at 1:24, love the bagpipes, and I use it to end Disc 1 of my edited 2 disc version of TA.

'Never Enough' wouldn't be in my Top Ten if allowed to break down Six Degrees.    First, to 425, we're all in 'discussion mode', so here goes:  I first saw the band in 2003, and still hadn't heard FII, ACOS, SFAM or ToT when I purchased this in the summer of '05. Not familiar with Muse, so that wasn't a factor.  The lyrics...could have applied to my old man, former friends and acquaintances, and certainly various ex employers, coworkers, and bosses (being held over 2-8 hours, or not being able to do three things at once, or in the last ten minutes, or doing exactly what I was told to do, and doing it correctly, but what they meant was... etc etc etc.). Or one could run the fastest 100 yard dash, but there's that person who would complain that I started with my left foot instead of my right.    

Hell, it still fits for my current volunteer organizations at times   and I'll crank it up to blow off steam and do a  to get it out of my system.  (then it's 'Here Comes The Sun' to mellow out.)  The music fits the angst, and I adore the percussion play during the instrumental middle.  The subtle things Portnoy did at times that stood out without 'standing out'.  Hard for me to drive because I want to play air drums and hit that occasion little cymbal  

'Savior in the Square'  the intro would be in my Top 50, because with 'Our New World', ends up like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agXk_VyRtZM    I use this for my 'best ofs' and TA 2 disc.  The combo fits really well.

I'll shorten my replies from here on in.  Oh, and thanks Kev for taking the time on this )

[erciccio]

'Never Enough' wouldn't be in my Top Ten if allowed to break down Six Degrees.    First, to 425, we're all in 'discussion mode', so here goes:  I'd become a fan in 2003, and still hadn't heard FII, ACOS, SFAM or ToT yet.  My first 'new' purchase.  Not familiar with Muse, so that wasn't a factor.  The lyrics...could have applied to my old man, former friends and acquaintances, and certainly various ex employers, coworkers, and bosses (being held over 2-8 hours, or not being able to do three things at once, or in the last ten minutes, or doing exactly what I was told to do, and doing it correctly, but what they meant was... etc etc etc.). Or one could run the fastest 100 yard dash, but there's that person who would complain that I started with my left foot instead of my right.    

Well, Never Enough is a clear tribute to "Stockholm Syndrome" by Muse.
It's certainly not a rip-off, but the inspiration is clear (in the riff, verses and also in the solo) and Dream Theater has always been quite transparent about it
See also the Wiki page- media section
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_Syndrome_(Muse_song)

I really loved Muse at the time, so I was quite "upset" with Dream Theater for this...but otherwise is not a bad song at all.

See also here https://www.musewiki.org/Dream_Theater

[bosk1]

The X Aspect:  I had it at 67.  I really like this song, and it concludes my favorite run of songs on TA.  The reprise of Xander's theme is done really well.

Never Enough:  84.  Good song.  It's funny how Mike even clarified that the lyrics were written, not about "entitled" fans in general, but about a very specific situation where some fans went WAY over the top and clearly crossed the line, but that has been totally forgotten.  Anyhow, it's a decent enough song that I enjoy when I listen to Octavarium.

A Savior in the Square:  69.  Lyrically and musically, this song does a lot of heavy lifting on the album.  Really fun ride.

Our New World:  71.  Unusually straightforward structure for DT.  I know this song had "hit potential," and it's a shame it didn't take off a bit more for them.

[bosk1]

'Never Enough' wouldn't be in my Top Ten if allowed to break down Six Degrees.    First, to 425, we're all in 'discussion mode', so here goes:  I'd become a fan in 2003, and still hadn't heard FII, ACOS, SFAM or ToT yet.  My first 'new' purchase.  Not familiar with Muse, so that wasn't a factor.  The lyrics...could have applied to my old man, former friends and acquaintances, and certainly various ex employers, coworkers, and bosses (being held over 2-8 hours, or not being able to do three things at once, or in the last ten minutes, or doing exactly what I was told to do, and doing it correctly, but what they meant was... etc etc etc.). Or one could run the fastest 100 yard dash, but there's that person who would complain that I started with my left foot instead of my right.    

Well, Never Enough is a clear tribute to "Stockholm Syndrome" by Muse.
It's certainly not a rip-off, but the inspiration is clear (in the riff, verses and also in the solo) and Dream Theater has always been quite transparent about it
See also the Wiki page- media section
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_Syndrome_(Muse_song)

I really loved Muse at the time, so I was quite "upset" with Dream Theater for this...but otherwise is not a bad song at all.

Why would you be upset that a band paid tribute to a band you like?  That doesn't make sense.  Do you get mad at people who pay you compliments?

[erciccio]

'Never Enough' wouldn't be in my Top Ten if allowed to break down Six Degrees.    First, to 425, we're all in 'discussion mode', so here goes:  I'd become a fan in 2003, and still hadn't heard FII, ACOS, SFAM or ToT yet.  My first 'new' purchase.  Not familiar with Muse, so that wasn't a factor.  The lyrics...could have applied to my old man, former friends and acquaintances, and certainly various ex employers, coworkers, and bosses (being held over 2-8 hours, or not being able to do three things at once, or in the last ten minutes, or doing exactly what I was told to do, and doing it correctly, but what they meant was... etc etc etc.). Or one could run the fastest 100 yard dash, but there's that person who would complain that I started with my left foot instead of my right.    

Well, Never Enough is a clear tribute to "Stockholm Syndrome" by Muse.
It's certainly not a rip-off, but the inspiration is clear (in the riff, verses and also in the solo) and Dream Theater has always been quite transparent about it
See also the Wiki page- media section
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_Syndrome_(Muse_song)

I really loved Muse at the time, so I was quite "upset" with Dream Theater for this...but otherwise is not a bad song at all.

Why would you be upset that a band paid tribute to a band you like?  That doesn't make sense.  Do you get mad at people who pay you compliments?

Well, it's not exactly like that...on the booklet you don't see "credits" for Muse if I'm not wrong, and many Dream Theater fans are still not aware of where that song comes from...
So the compliments were not that explicit..

[DragonAttack]

One more addition as to my enjoying NE :  the setlist for Constitution Hall in DC '08 (it fit perfectly) Psycho intro, Ant Odyssey, In the Presence of Enemies, Part I, Strange Deja Vu, Through My Words, Fatal Tragedy, Never Enough, Misunderstood, As I Am, The Ministry of Lost Souls, Take The Time  plus encores

I did become aware of 'Stockholm Syndrome' a few years later when I found the former DT and MP sites.  It is certainly a homage in various spots, and credit or 'inspiration' certainly should have been listed.  Zeppelin was certainly guilty of that (corrected decades later).  There's others, so I get and understand all that.

At least it wasn't as blatant throughout and disputed like 'Ice Ice Baby' 

[erciccio]

I did become aware of 'Stockholm Syndrome' a few years later when I found the former DT and MP sites.  It is certainly a homage in various spots, and credit or 'inspiration' certainly should have been listed.  Zeppelin was certainly guilty of that (corrected decades later).  And various other tunes, so I get and understand all that.

At least it wasn't as blatant throughout and disputed like 'Ice Ice Baby' 

F&@k, I thought that was a blatant and legit sampling of Under Pressure wihin a rap song, I knew nothing about the controversy..😅😅

[bosk1]

'Never Enough' wouldn't be in my Top Ten if allowed to break down Six Degrees.    First, to 425, we're all in 'discussion mode', so here goes:  I'd become a fan in 2003, and still hadn't heard FII, ACOS, SFAM or ToT yet.  My first 'new' purchase.  Not familiar with Muse, so that wasn't a factor.  The lyrics...could have applied to my old man, former friends and acquaintances, and certainly various ex employers, coworkers, and bosses (being held over 2-8 hours, or not being able to do three things at once, or in the last ten minutes, or doing exactly what I was told to do, and doing it correctly, but what they meant was... etc etc etc.). Or one could run the fastest 100 yard dash, but there's that person who would complain that I started with my left foot instead of my right.    

Well, Never Enough is a clear tribute to "Stockholm Syndrome" by Muse.
It's certainly not a rip-off, but the inspiration is clear (in the riff, verses and also in the solo) and Dream Theater has always been quite transparent about it
See also the Wiki page- media section
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_Syndrome_(Muse_song)

I really loved Muse at the time, so I was quite "upset" with Dream Theater for this...but otherwise is not a bad song at all.

Why would you be upset that a band paid tribute to a band you like?  That doesn't make sense.  Do you get mad at people who pay you compliments?

Well, it's not exactly like that...on the booklet you don't see "credits" for Muse if I'm not wrong, and many Dream Theater fans are still not aware of where that song comes from...

Last I checked, none of the members of Muse wrote or played on Never Enough, so of course they would not be listed in the credits.  Bands generally only appear in another band's album credits if they wrote a song or played on the album.  So if you were going to be mad at somebody, you should have been mad at the music industry as a whole for their standard practice. 

As far as where the song "comes from," it comes from Dream Theater.  The fact that it might sound similar to another band's song doesn't change that.

[Elite]

It's Dream Theater, clearly inspired by Muse.

[geeeemo]

Neither song made the top 100 for me. I don't care for the music of NE. I think the story of the song is interesting, though. I wasn't into DT yet back then, so I don't have any emotion tied to it.
I really dig TA, but I simply liked other songs more than The X Factor.

Always nice to see a subtle Iron Maiden mention. 

I wish I were that clever. Just late in a crazy day and not really paying attention.

[Ben_Jamin]

Surprisingly, Savior In The Square and Our New World did not make my 100 list. I can not break up SITS and WYTHC as I consider both one continuous scene. I see Gabriel sliding his guitar on his back to the front, as soon as he does he sees Faythe and mutters "An angel just appeared before my eyes" then he starts playing his song. Our New World is just okay for me, It does it's job though in addressing how the characters are now going to be living in their new world, which is like the happy/uplifting moment of the story before the end credits/summary song begins to play.

I also realized that I somehow missed adding in Stream Of Consciousness onto my rankings. Ooops...Guess I just wasn't feeling it at the time...

[Revenge319]

A Savior in the Square
My ranking: #42. If they had combined this with When Your Time Has Come, this would probably be in the Top 30. But as it stands, #42 for A Savior in the Square is a pretty great placement. This song, like quite a few others on The Astonishing, has this very pleasant and uplifting feeling, and that strong emotional aspect in this song and others is probably the main reason why I rank TA so highly. The guitar intro is beautiful, one of the best moments on the album. I love when the song gets more dramatic; the story and music fit together so well here. The "I'll treat them all to sonic ecstasy" moment is an amazing way to top off that section. And then that last quiet part is a great segue into WYTHC.


Our New World
My ranking: Not ranked (#103). Good song, though I never considered it one of the best on TA. It's got a good chorus, the guitar solo is nice, and the song is simply quite good all around. There's just many other songs from Dream Theater that I like more.

[jammindude]

A Savior in the Square - on my earlier lists, it just barely cracked my top 100.  But as I kept revisiting the TA songs entering my third list, this song dropped off a bit, and ended up being #141 on my final list.   The individual parts are nice, but like so much of TA, it just doesn't stand on its own that well.  It's almost like there should have been I/II/III subsections, but I suppose that would be silly for a 4 minute song. 

Our New World  - This is my second favorite from TA and I placed it at #57.  It tries to be the "About to Crash (Reprise)" of the album, and it juuuuuuust about pulls it off. But not quite.   It's still an excellent song. 

[Trav]

I can't argue with anything, thus far.

[425]

@Dragon Attack, thanks for sharing about Never Enough. It's interesting how people's personal experiences can influence how they respond to a song, especially if they find it at the right time.

Comments on the next couple of songs:


A Savior in the Square
My ranking: #77

I understand the complaint that this one is a bit disjointed, but overall I think the storytelling is good, through both the music and the lyrics, and the parts that can be seen as disjointed are part of the storytelling.

I really like the beautiful, serene section and the build up to the heavy vocal section. And the best vocal part is Gabriel's first section ("Brother, worry not today") despite the slightly out-of-character "sonic ecstasy" line. Overall, one of the stronger songs on The Astonishing—proggy, melodic, and a little bit heavy.


Our New World
My ranking: Unranked (approximately #120)

Gotta say, I don't really understand the love for this one. I think it's a decent penultimate song for the album, but not a great one. The main riff is pretty good, but the vocal melodies just aren't great. The chorus in particular is a letdown for me, which is interesting, since it seems to be such a highlight for others.

A Savior in the Square at #70, Our New World at #120 in mine

o/

[Wim Kruithof]

I was about to write down why a Savior In the Square is so high on my list, but Revenge did a perfect job on that and I follow it totally.

But, next to the Killing Hand, it has one of the best slow guitar openings in their discography. Raises the hair on my arms every time, especially with the story in mind and Gabriel standing there. The weight of Ravenskill on his shoulders and they all seem to believe in this gift, which he still is insecure about.

[TAC]

I'll shorten my replies from here on in.

Don't ever shorten your replies. Love reading DT stories.

But I do ask one favor..
If you ever post a setlist again, please put it in list form.

[devieira73]

Being very honest, I think my top 100 is pretty faithful until the 60th spot, from then onwards, I think I could exchange several positions of a lot of the songs. Besides The Gift of Music and A New Beggining (that made my top 50), I put the rest of my TA Top 100 songs, in the album order, from no. 62 to 76 (like if they were a one song), with A Savior in the Square in no. 65 and Our New World in no. 76. Interesting that, between the TA songs I choose, Our New World is truly that I like less. And, like Ben_Jamin said, I never separate in my mind A Savior in the Square from When Your Time Has Come (no. 66).
That intro solo from Savior and the lead guitars from New World are really inspired JP moments!!

[TAC]

100. X Aspect (#18)

I feel that this is one DT most emotional moments in their entire catalog. The song is stunningly beautiful. Great interpretation by James.

99. Never Enough (#35)

I used the ranker and I honestly don't think Never Enough is my #35 tune, but here it is. The first time I ran the ranker it was #64. Anyway, whatever..I think I deleted 2 View tracks to sneak it up there.
That said, I think this is a sneaky excellent track. People get all hung up on the lyrics, but the lyrics are perfect. And speaking of sneaky...this is one of my favorite James 'performances from any album. He kills it.
DragonAttack mentioned setlists, and while I was not thrilled with the Boston Gigantour set, I loved hearing Never Enough. Cool effect with JP and JM coming up front to play that second verse together.
I love the Romavarium performance. Ridiculous unison between JP and JR.


98. Savior In The Square (#52)

I had Savior at #52. I love this song. The intro gives me goosebumps. It's beautiful. The whole "Brother, worry not today..." line literally chokes me up. Fucking amazing.

97. Our New World (not rated)

I don't consider Our New World all that great. I mean, it's nice enough but just feels like they had an extra tune when they finished the album. My Astonishing Abridged ends with Hymn Of A Thousand Voices.

[wolfking]

I put zero Astonishing songs in my 100.