MP's Decade's End Album Poll

As 2009 is approaching an end, I have begun compiling my Decade's End Top 10 List...

I'm trying to not have more than one album by any band on the list...and with that self-imposed rule, I'm finding several bands who put out consistantly great CDs throughout the decade and I'm having trouble picking "THE ONE" that I consider their best of the decade...

(Its like trying to pick just ONE Beatles album as their best of the 60's, same with Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd for the 70's, Metallica or Iron Maiden for the 80's...etc)

Of course you could say this about any band...but I found (for me) with a lot of bands like say Muse, Lamb Of God, The Mars Volta, etc. there was always one particular album that was clearly the strongest IMO....

The bands that I am finding very consistant quality album from and finding it hard to choose the DEFINITIVE album of the decade from are Opeth,  Porcupine Tree and Pain Of Salvation.

And although I don't count albums I played on for my year/decade's end lists, I do think all of the Dream Theater & Neal Morse releases are all incredibly strong and I'm not sure which I'd choose as THE album from the past decade of those either....

So.....
What would be your picks from the below bands/artists?
ONLY ONE CHOICE allowed!!!
(And no live releases...just full-length studio albums)


DREAM THEATER:
-- Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence (2002)
-- Train Of Thought (2003)
-- Octavarium (2005)
-- Systematic Chaos (2007)
-- Black Clouds & Silver Linings (2009)


NEAL MORSE:
-- Testimony (2003)
-- One (2004)
-- ? (2005)
-- Sola Scriptura (2007)
-- Lifeline (2008)


OPETH:
-- Blackwater Park (2001)
-- Deliverance (2002)
-- Damnation (2003)
-- Ghost Reveries (2005)
-- Watershed (2008)


PORCUPINE TREE:
-- Lightbulb Sun (2000)
-- In Absentia (2002)
-- Deadwing (2005)
-- Fear Of A Blank Planet (2007)
-- The Incident (2009)


PAIN OF SALVATION:
-- The Perfect Element Pt 1 (2000)
-- Remedy Lane (2002)
-- Be (2004)
-- Scarsick (2007)


I know...its very hard!!! 

MP

Only bands I can vote for are DT and PT and it's actually very easy IMO.


DT - 6DoIT
PT - In Absentia

My first post!!!!  Hello World!

DT:
Octavarium

NM:
One

PT:
Fear of a Blank Planet

PoS:
Be

DT were the only band I was not sure about. 

Bye
S

I can only pick for DT and Opeth, and I pick Black Clouds and Watershed.  Newbie choices, yes, but I do think those are the two best albums by those bands this decade. 

Black Clouds had (for me) the best 12-step song, the best "single" (Wither) by DT since PMU, and then we have the *teensy* matter of The Best of Times and The Count of Tuscany.  Both of which are amazing.  I've always made it clear that I'm not a massive fan of Nightmare or AROP, but the rest of the album is fantastic.

Watershed got a bit of flak for maybe being too "accessible"...  But I rate it super highly (almost as good as Still Life) because it's so varied.  I've sometimes complained in the past about Opeth because I'll forget which of their songs I'm listening to halfway through since they all seemed to follow the heavy > acoustic > heavy >acoustic > heavy > end pattern, and the last two albums seem to have broken that.  Each song on Watershed is totally unique, and Porcelain Heart is the only one I find to be less than incredible.

So there's my votes, for what they're worth

Dream Theater and Opeth are the only ones I can vote for.

Dream Theater
Octavarium
:: It was actually really tough and came down to 6DOIT and Octavarium however seeing as Octavarium was the first DT Album I bought and because I enjoy the title track just that slight bit more then 6DOIT it gets the nod.

Opeth
Watershed
:: This to was remarkably tough, came down to Ghost Reveries and Watershed. However due to Burden & Lotus Eater this one goes.

Dream Theater - Black Clouds & Silver Linings
Opeth - Damnation
Pain Of Salvation - Remedy Lane

Can't say for Neal Morse and only heard two of PT album so wouldn't be fair to vote.

Very very tough.

DT: BC&SL

PT: In Absentia

NM: One

Here goes:
 
Dream Theater - 6DOIT (or Black Clouds & Silver Linings)
Porcupine Tree - Lightbulb Sun (or The Incident)
Neal Morse - Sola Scriptura
Opeth - Watershed
Pain of Salvation - Remedy Lane
 
 

DREAM THEATER: Octavarium
OPETH: Ghost Reveries
PORCUPINE TREE: In Absentia
PAIN OF SALVATION: BE

Dream Theater:
-- Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence (2002)

Very close call with Octavarium as close second. I think DT has released 5 excellent cd's over this decade and some of the best songs ever written (Octavarium, TCoT, MOLS, Glass Prison etc.). But 6DoIT has two cd's filled with excellent music, and the overall quality is just so close to perfection i just have to choose this cd as the best one. 


Neal Morse:  -- Sola Scriptua (2007) 

 I usually don't listen that much to Neal Morse, but this cd is actually pure gold. Has some really great melodies!


OPETH: 
-- Ghost Reveries (2005) 

For me this is the cd that got me into Opeth. Watershed is a close second with wounderfull songs as Hessian Peel, but Ghost Reveries is filled with songs in Hessian Peel's quality. It also has the best combination of growl and ordinary singing.


PORCUPINE TREE: 
-- Fear Of A Blank Planet (2007) 

I only really like this album and In Absentia by Porcupine Tree, but those are really good though. Took some time to like, but there is much quality music to find here.


PAIN OF SALVATION: 
-- The Perfect Element Pt 1 (2000)

Iam so glad you choosed Pain of Salvation to be in this list Mike. This album is one of the best ever written. This is not an album that relies on strong individual songs (don't get me wrong, the individual songs are fantastic), but more on the overall feeling and structure! This is Pain of Salvation at it's best.

Hi everyone, interesting poll Mike !

DT - Six Degrees
NM - Sola Scriptura
O - Damnation
PT - Deadwing
POS - Be

DT: Octavarium (Runner up: ToT)
PT: In Absentia
Pain of Salvation: Too hard to judge. Depends on my mood. Right now: Be > TPE1 > Remedy Lane. It'll probably change tomorrow.
Opeth: GR

DREAM THEATER:
-- Black Clouds & Silver Linings (2009)


NEAL MORSE:
-- Testimony (2003)


OPETH:
-- Deliverance (2002)


PORCUPINE TREE:
-- Deadwing (2005)


PAIN OF SALVATION:
-- Be (2004)

That wasn't too bad

Not an easy task indeed! Nevertheless, here are my .2 cents:

DT: Black Clouds & Silver Linnings (hard choice leaving Six Degrees out)
PT: In Absentia
Opeth: Ghost Reveries (this one makes my "favorites of all time" list!)
PoS: The Perfect Element pt 1
NM: ?

Portnoy

I do think all of the Dream Theater & Neal Morse releases are all incredibly strong and I'm not sure which I'd choose as THE album from the past decade of those either....

wow Mike, not so confident about Transatlantic's releases?? :D


my picks

DT: Six Degrees. I wish I had been a fan of DT back when Scenes and Six Degrees came out. what a follow up album. 

Opeth: Ghost Reveries has always clicked with me the whole way through. Damnation comes a close second

Porcupine Tree: to be honest i get a bit tired of some parts of FoaBP. the title track and anaesthetize are outstanding, but in between things get a little bland. In Absentia is solid but is defined by Trains. Lightbulb Sun comes close, but it has to be Deadwing

DREAM THEATER:
-- Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence (2002)

NEAL MORSE:
-- Testimony (2003)

I'll pass on the other bands because I'm not such a fan... And choosing those albums I don't mean that the rest are not good! I just love those two a little more that the others : )

Dream Theater - Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (with Octavarium coming in a very, VERY close second)
Opeth - Watershed

DT: Octavarium, cos it was the first I bought, a blind purchase cos I knew Petrucci was in it, and it just blew me away as something unlike anything I'd ever heard. But I probably love the others as much or more. It's too hard, I pick Earth Wind & Fire.

Opeth: Very close call between GR and Watershed, but I'd have to say Ghost Reveries, as Watershed seems more like a progression from the nut they cracked with GR, rather than the growing of a new nut 

Porcupine Tree: It may just be cos it's new and I'm on a high, but The Incident  is a superb album. I didn't even like it when I bought it but then it clicked. FOABP almost ties with it. Who knows!? 

NO WONDER MIKE CAN'T CHOOSE, IT IS FUCKING HARD!

DT's TOT & NM's One. Very difficult to pick I know.

DT-Octavarium
NM-One
Opeth-Watershed
PT-Fear of a blank planet
PoS-Be

that was hard, and i'm not totally convinced...

DREAM THEATER:
-- Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence (2002)

it´s the only album that I heard countless times... sometimes goes on and on...

I don´t listen to the other bands, although I could choose sola scriptura from neal, but I only admire is work from transatlantic or spocks beard´s snow album...

I´m not into opeth... don´t like the cookie monster vocals...(it´s just an opinion) :$ that´s one of the reasons that I didn´t went to see you in oporto in the fall other is the venue... I would prefer the coliseum, since I didn´t know where to stay for the night in a hotel very near the palacio de cristal... But if it was in lisbon the story could be diferent...

Porcupine tree makes me fall asleep... I listen to a 20min song and I found it totaly boring for me...

I don´t remember to listen pain of salvation....

Thank you so much for all the dream theater albuns... specially the 6DOIT

Toni

Wow, this will be hard. Excellent choice there Mike!
I've got every album you mentioned there.


Dream Theater :: SDOIT
This was the hardest one ofcourse. I was struggling between that and BC&SL but 6DOIT won in originality, great lyrics, great production/sound/mix, metal, prog, melodic, long songs, short songs, very very long songs, the beginning of the 12 steps suite, ballads, The Glass Prison (sickest DT intro ever!), awesome sampling (TGD), Disappear (first DT song that made me cry ), Overture (Jordan at his very best), About To Crash, War Inside My head, The Test That stumped them All (sick! ), Goodnight Kiss (that JP solo! ), Solitary Shell, About To Crash, Losing Time.... GRAND FINALE!!!!.... WOW!!!  Now that's prog with a capital P.

Neal Morse :: Testimony
Beyond a shadow of a doubt... still one of Neals greatest achivements in his whole career and I got see it live here in Holland... still moves me everytime I hear it. Great musicianship by every single person.

Opeth :: Ghost Reveries
No contest, best album they made so far. Brutal and chilling at the same time.

Porcupine Tree :: Deadwing
Another tough one!... But Deadwing won this because of the production and the mix. Open Car, Arriving Somewhere, Lazarus and Halo are one of my alltime favorite PT songs. To bad the production of FOABP wasn't as good... although lyrically and musicly it's a better album than Deadwing... does that make sense?

Pain Of Salvation :: BE
Easy! Maybe one the best concept albums of this decade. It has everything POS stands for.

The End!

Steve

I found it very easy to make these picks, the most difficult choice for me was the tossup between PoS's TPE or RL


DREAM THEATER:
-- Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence (2002)

NEAL MORSE:
-- ? (2005)

OPETH:
-- Watershed (2008)

PORCUPINE TREE:
-- In Absentia (2002)

PAIN OF SALVATION:
-- Remedy Lane (2002)

I'm at work man... now, how am I to concentrate??? I guess I'll have to do my picks first :D
 

Portnoy


DREAM THEATER:
-- Octavarium (2005)
NEAL MORSE:
-- One (2004)

OPETH:
-- Ghost Reveries (2005)

PORCUPINE TREE:
-- Fear Of A Blank Planet (2007)


PAIN OF SALVATION:
-- Remedy Lane (2002)

MP

 
ahh.. thats better!
 
for dt & nm albums I simply chose the ones that I had on my cd player most. I think all those albums are so awesome and I'm "too close" to them to pick them by taste.
 
opeth's "ghost reveries" is my favorite album when I'm doing sports.
 
"fear of a blank planet" feels most pt for me...
 
with PoS's "remedy lane" I love to do my work at the lab.

Well... That's tough...

Neal Morse
If I'd have to pick one from NM it would be ?, easily. Even if I am not a friend of his lyrics, but that's another story...

Porcupine Tree
Well... That's a lot harder.
I like FOABP a lot, too, but compared to IA and Deadwing it's loses this competition. But listening to it is an adventure, nonetheless.
IA was the first PT release I listened to. I just listened to this record and Deadwing in one go about two weeks ago to compare them. The sound is better on Deadwing and the mix of styles a bit more "even" to my ears at least.
I just can't choose... Today I'd maybe say IA, but tomorrow it could easily be Deadwing as well.
So I name IA for today- it has got Blackest Eyes, Trains and The Sound Of Muzak on it- so it's worth the win...

Pain Of Salvation
Be just clicked for me about two weeks ago- beforehand the only song I loved was Diffidentia.
I enjoyed listening to Scarsick, when it was released, but when I listened to it again a few month later I had the proof that it isn't as strong as TPE and RL.
And that is the problem.
They are both incredible.
Remedy Lane has got A Trace Of Blood, Rope's End, Of Two Beginnings and This Heart Of Mine on it.
TPE was my first POS album. It knocked me off my feet, when I listened to Used for the first time.
Plus I LOVE the lyrics of Morning On Earth.
Plus the whole concept is just awesome.
Plus there are a lot of good memories connected to this album.
It's really tough, but I have got to go with The Perfect Element.
But RL is really as great as TPE.

Opeth
They have become one of my favorite metal bands over the years.
I enjoy listening to their albums a lot.
Ghost Reveries is really an outstanding album, but the clear winner for me is Watershed. Love that album just too much...

Dream Theater
Train Of Though is great. I enjoy listening to the real heavy DT-side a lot. I LOVE Honor Thy Father...
BC&SL is my favorite album since ToT without a doubt. My favorite is easily A Nightmare To Remember.
But SDOIT is the clear winner in that competition. CD 2 is just way to awesome...
Plus SDOIT has got The Glass Prison on it.
Plus good memories are connected to CD 2.

But if Metropolis would've been released in 2000...

NM - ?
PT - IA
PoS - TPE
Opeth - Watershed
DT - SDOIT

Hmmm.

Dream Theaters best album this decade is Octavarium. I love all of Dream Theaters albums but the first time I heard this album I just,  I just absolutely loved it. And everytime I hear the album I remember that feeling. Perfection. Thats why Octavarium is the album for me. And Octavarium is by far the best song i´ve ever heard.

Neal Morse I choose Testimony. NUFF SAID

Opeth. Watershed. The first time I heard the 4.09 part in Heir Apparent I literally creamed my pants. And The Lotus Eater is one of my all time favourite songs.

/Jimmy

6doit
?
damnation
deadwing
remedy lane

I've only heard the DT and Opeth albums, but:
 
Dream Theater:
Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence
 
Opeth:
Damnation
 
 
And yes, I indeed do think that all of DT's releases this decade are awesome. (In fact, my DT bottom 5 is:
 
5. ...Scenes From A Memory (Holy ****, I can't believe I'm saying this. This is how awesome this decade's albums are! )
4. Images & Words
3. Awake
2. Falling Into Infinity
1. WDADUnite)
 
Of course, these albums are awesome as well, but to me just less strong than the others.
 
As for Opeth, I think Watershed is awesome, because it's so different from their other albums.

DT:

Train of Thought

Opeth:

Blackwater Park

Neal:

One

Dream Theater: BC&SL
Porcupine Tree: The Incident
Neal Morse: Sola Scriptura
Pain of Salvation: Remedy Lane (if i could, i would choose linoleum.)

+and my addition

Transatlantic: The Whirlwind

DT: 6DOIT
Neal: Sola Scriptura
Opeth: Blackwater Park
PT: In Absentia
PoS: The Perfect Element I

I guess for the most part I preferred the earlier part of the decade.

DT: SDOIT
NM: Sola Scriptura (but actually i'm not really a NM fan, sorry!)
Opeth: Watershed
PT: The Incident
PoS: BE

A few of these albums would also make it on my own personal Decade list, but i'd also include Lateralus, Insurgentes, Amnesiac, The Resistance, Illinois (Sufjan Stevens), Is This It (The Strokes), Ágætis Byrjun, Alice (Tom Waits), and Blinking Lights And Other Revelations (Eels).

As of 12/2/09 This is (after careful consideration and understanding MP's pain) what I would choose.

Dream Theater-Black Clouds and Silver Linings
*This album just has it all for me. Coming in at #3 behind Awake and Images and Words on my all time DT list.
As much as I love the other albums and love each one for its own uniqueness, BCSL just has that mystery about it that I can't pinpoint. I feel the same about Awake and I&W. I may never know if the fact that BCSL and SC are only similar in my opinion due to being put together with no sort of preempted concept unlike 6,TOT, and, Octavarium gives it that special something that I don't feel about the previous albums. 

771992 6232009 17 8.5 whatever the reason...

Neal Morse- ?
*This was a tough one to choose between ? and Sola Scriptura. For whatever reason I am very partial to this one particularly because I think it was the first Neal album I picked up. 

Porcupine Tree-Deadwing
*This catergory has been the toughest so far as I continue down the list. Each one of these albums has it's own magic that separates it from the next. I had to go with Deadwing cause it was the only album that really slowly sucks you in with the faster ambient songs and then just completely rips you apart. When "Glass Arm Shattering begins and then you end with the Bonus Track remake of "She's moved on". I consider those songs some of the most beautiful music I have ever heard. It's a winner start to finish. 

Opeth-Blackwater Park
*And as I continue I think this will actually be the hardest category to choose. IMO "Black Water Park" is the album where Opeth truly defined there sound as we know it today. Carefully blending the elements of Death Metal and 70's inspired Progressive genius. How much influence Steven Wilson had on Opeth while producing this album and the next 2 would be up for debate for a long time until Prog Father Akerfeldt sets the record straight (which he may have b/c it's been awhile since I have watched Lamentations). "Black Water Park" is the choice based on my opinion above. I mark it as the beginning of Opeth's march alongside DT to cover the world with Extreme Metal Proggy Goodness (The new Ben & Jerry's flavor coming to a super market near you).

Pain Of Salvation-Remedy Lane
*I can relate and actually understand this album better than the others. It took a while to begin my journey into the land of Pain of Salvation. I had my production issues with "The Perfect Element I" and Remedy Lane". It made it very hard to get into them. Without sparking a debate I think the vocals on both those albums are buried in the mix and I find it hard to hear exactly what DG is singing. Now, I did do some tweaking with my equalizers which helped tremendously so MY issues aren't near like they were. The "Thing" about this album above the rest is not as much the music but the concept. I deeply relate to the concept and the music really helps to create the perfect atmosphere for the lyrical concept. "Beyond The Pale" is one of my all time favorite songs. I can't wait to see what DG delivers for 2010 and beyond. 

DT: TOT
NM: Testimony
Opeth: GR
PT: FOABP (but I still like The Incident more and more with each listen.)
POS: RL

Wasn't as tough as I thought it would be...

I can vote for the first 3

DT : SIx Degrees
NM : Sola Scriptura
Opeth : Ghost Reveries

POS - The Perfect Element Pt 1
PT - Deadwing
NM - ?
DT - Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence (Very hard choice)

I can't make a decision on Opeth as I only have a few of their albums.

I can only speak on the ones I know...
DREAM THEATER:
-- Octavarium (2005)...for now, BC&SL hasn't been around long enough to take over, but it's close.
NEAL MORSE:
-- V (2000)
OPETH:
-- Ghost Reveries (2005)

PORCUPINE TREE:
-- In Absentia (2002)

Not too hard

DT: Train of thought
Neal Morse: One
Opeth: Deliverence
PT: Deadwing
Pain of Salvation: Be

The last one might be controversial

DREAM THEATER:
-- Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence (2002) 
Easily the most daring album you've put out. CD1 still sounds fresh today to my ears. 
 

NEAL MORSE:
-- Testimony (2003)
I'm not sure it's his best, but it's the only one that I've really listened to a lot.
After that it all mostly felt just like "more of the same" musically and lyrically. 
 

OPETH:
-- Watershed (2008)
Blackwater Park is a close second. 
 

PORCUPINE TREE:
-- In Absentia (2002)
Easily their best. 
 
PAIN OF SALVATION:
-- Be (2004)
I love TPE and RL, but BE is one of my favorite albums by any artist.