Top 3 Dream Theater Albums

Despite how much A View has grown on me since it came out, I think I still wouldn't put it in that upper echelon. It comes down to melody for me, and A View just makes those strong, soaring DT melodies less of a thing, either by choice or perhaps because of James' aging vocal chords. DoT has some super catchy lead melodies, on pretty much every song too, even if many of them aren't too high. I will say this in favor of View though, it's the most perfect sounding DT album since, probably...Octavarium? Maybe Train Of Thought? ... honestly... thinking about it... it might just be their best sounding album period. The drums are exactly as heavy as they need to be to really pop out of the mix, without ever becoming distracting (like the snare on 6DOIT sometimes can be), the Jordan picks some absolutely killer tones for the keys. The guitars sit just right perfect in the mix (those first few solo guitar riffs of Sleeping Giant, panning form one channel to the other... mmm, so good), the bass is not only audible but has a bit more character than on many DT albums. And the vocals don't sound mixed back and drenched in effects like they sometimes do on DoT, plus the vocal harmonies (an area I'm not sure DT has never really prioritized until the past couple albums, which I've been enjoying hearing more of) are really cool in many places (Sleeping Giant again comes to mind). The whole mix is just really really pleasing, everything super tight and super punchy, but still warm and inviting and colorful. DoT sometimes felt cold.

it's from 2014, probably during the tour promoting their self-titled album. 

It's better than 6 Degrees though 

Awake is my absolute favorite. The playing is heavier than I&W, which I dig, and the lyrics much more personal deal with struggling with one's religion, which is always a good topic to explore in my book.  The songs and the atmospheres feel more ethereal to me, like cascading waves of emotion and passing through various stages of a dream, rather than the very composed nature of much of I&W. However it still retains that early DT enthusiasm and willingness to try anything that was on I&W as well. Sure, there's no really long concept piece like on 6 Degrees or Scenes, and no 20 minute epic like Octavarium or The Count Of Tuscany, and it isn't nearly as bright and colorful as I&W... but it makes up for all that for me in its fascinating depth. It's the kind of easy to overlook record of DT's golden years, but it's got it where it counts. Voices. 6:00. Lie. Space-Dye Vest. This is the sound of a band reaching for something beyond the reach of any other group on the planet at the time.

Plus, it's probably James best performance on record. This was the last album he did before his major vocal injury, which did some level of permanent damage and affected the way he sings even to this day, certainly weakening his ability to hit high notes with great facility.  I find the work he's done on all subsequent DT albums to be admirable and often very moving, and indeed some of it does better his vocals here. But overall there's not another full album length of James' singing that's as killer as this album. He pushed himself to emote more, to use more distortion and aggression where it made sense, and also I think to annunciate things a little bit more clearly than I&W, and it makes all the difference to my ears.