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Product Description:
First Ever Best-Of Spanning 1991-2005 22 Songs On 2CDs Featuring Rare Radio Edits, 3 New Re-Mixes, and Liner Notes After recently celebrating the band's 20-year anniversary, Dream Theater returns with its first-ever best of collection. Spanning 1991-2005, the two-disc set contains rare single edits, B-sides, and a trio of new remixes that spotlight that band's nonpareil musicianship, complex arrangements, and amazing songwriting. Referring to Dream Theater's first and only major radio hit, "Pull Me Under," the compilation's tongue-in-cheek title is a testament not only to the band's sense of humor but also highlights the acclaimed New York-based quintet's ability to make music and cultivate a legion of fans on its own terms, without help from radio or MTV. The collection features more than two hours of progressive hard rock from James LaBrie (vocals), John Myung (bass), John Petrucci (guitar/vocals), Mike Portnoy (drums/vocals), and Jordan Rudess (keyboards). " 22 songs spanning 14 years including 3 newly remixed versions of tracks from their 1992 breakout album. " Images And Words by Kevin Shirley (Led Zeppelin). " Divided into Disc 1, "The Dark Side" (metallic) and Disc 2, "The Light Side (melodic). " "The Dark Side" stand-outs include new remixes of "Pull Me Under" and "Take The Time" plus rare single edits of "Lie," "Home," and "Misunderstood." " "The Light Side" highlights includes a remix of "Another Day," an alternate mix of "Through Her Eyes," a single edit of "Solitary Shell" and "To Live Forever," a rare U.K.-only b-side from the single "Lie."
Disc 1
1. Pull Me Under
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2. Take The Time
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3. Lie
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4. Peruvian Skies
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5. Home
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6. Misunderstood
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7. The Test That Stumped Them All
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8. As I Am
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9. Endless Sacrifice
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10. The Root Of All Evil
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11. Sacrificed Sons
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Disc 2
1. Another Day (2007 Remix)
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2. To Live Forever
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3. Lifting Shadows Off A Dream
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4. The Silent Man
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5. Hollow Years
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6. Through Her Eyes (Alternate Album Mix)
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7. The Spirit Carries On
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8. Solitary Shell (Single Edit)
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9. I Walk Beside You
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10. The Answer Lies Within
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11. Disappear
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Good compilation - 
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Greatest Hit Review
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I'm a very big fan of dream theater and this compilation was very very good, although i wanted a few songs instead of others but it's pretty cool how they remastered songs.
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Disappointed - 
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Greatest Hit Review
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Ok, so this written from the perspective of someone who isn't opposed to prog rock and listens to a fair amount of punk/hardcore/alternative but isn't really into heavy metal. Why I bought this abomination I don't know. Well, actually I was interested in the prog angle and have yet to come across a decent metal band. So Dream Theater being an innovative metal band crossing the boundaries sounded like a reasonable alternative to my usual fare. This double CD has a "dark" and a "light" side.
Impression of "dark" side: Ok songs but nothing special, overproduced, probably technically brilliant. Reminds me of Metallica, probably because of the singing but less memorable and I don't really consider Metallica a very memorable band. Guess these songs are decent if you like metal. No prog rock here and as "dark" as a day on the ski slopes.
Impression of "light" side: Is this a joke? Come on, even metal heads must cringe at this. Sounds like Bon Jovi meets Europe (not the continent). Who listens to this? Metal fans on Valium? Your little sister? And no prog rock here either.
Summary: Utterly forgettable. No wonder there was only one greatest hit. According to the other reviewers here the prog songs are missing here but going by this boring introduction I doubt that Dream Theater are anywhere in the same league as old Yes, old Marillion or old Pink Floyd even when they play their better songs.
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Great Introduction to Dream Theater! - 
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Greatest Hit Review
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If you're new to Dream Theater, go ahead and start with this CD. But trust me, you're going to want to buy the individual albums as well. My favorite is still Images and Words.
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No Metropolis!? C'mon!!! - 
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Greatest Hit Review
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How could this be DT's best album without Metropolis? It just doesn't make sense. It'd been even worth eliminating a couple of songs for. I know they couldn't put everything particularly epics like "A change of seasons" and "Octavarium". AS a DT fan, I can even live without "Lines in the sand" and "Blind faith" on this, but Metropolis... In my opinion, the best albums are for non-fans. The song represents what DT is about. To anybody who doesn't know DT, the very first song I'll play is Metropolis. People can get the right idea about the band from the song. I'm quite sure DT fans out there agree with me on this. (I can't believe MP missed this one) And what is "Misunderstood" doing on disc 1?
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Even though this release is filled with edited or remixed versions of DT songs, it's still a nice package -
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Greatest Hit Review
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THE BAND: James LaBrie (vocals), John Petrucci (guitars), John Myung (bass), Jordan Rudess (keyboards), Kevin Moore (keyboards on 7 songs), Derek Sherinian (keyboards on 2 songs), Mike Portnoy (drums & percussion).
THE DISCS: (2008) 22 songs on 2 discs clocking in at approximately 138 minutes (79+ minutes on disc-1, 58+ minutes on disc-2). Included with the discs is a 14-page booklet containing band photos, a 2-page intro regarding song choices from drummer Mike Portnoy, 4-pages of historic text about the band from author Rich Wilson who wrote DT's authorized biography ("Lifting Shadows"), and what songs came from which albums and year released. This compilation follows DT from 1992-2005. Remastered sound. Label - Atlantic / Rhino.
ALBUM REPRESENTATION: Images And Words (3 songs), Awake (3), Falling Into Infinity (2), Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory (3), Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence (4), Train Of Thought (2), Octavarium (4), B-Side to "Lie" (1). No songs from DT's debut (with Charlie Dominici on vocals) When Dream And Day Unite (1989), A Change Of Seasons (1995), or Systematic Chaos (2007).
COMMENTS: For me, this Dream Theater compilation has been a long time coming. With nine studio albums, why not put out a "Best Of" compilation? Though the band's music receives very little airplay... they've amassed a nice following in the world of progressive rock music. The musicians here are consummate pros at their instruments - Petrucci and Portnoy are Gods in their respective fields. THE GOOD: Most of the fan favorites are here in all their remastered glory - including "Pull Me Under" (the Hit), "Take The Time", "Another Day", "Lie", "Peruvian Skies", "As I Am", "Through Her Eyes", "Misunderstood", "The Root Of All Evil", "Solitary Shell", etc. To me, Disc-1 (the metallic side) rocks harder and shows off Petrucci's guitar (as the rest of the band tries to keep up with him (and of course they do). Disc-2 (the melodic side) is geared more toward the story being told, LaBrie's singing, and song structure. THE NOT SO GOOD: You can't tell from the back cover track listing, but once you open the liner notes you'll notice - 8 of the 22 songs are either edited versions or 2007 special 'remixes'. When I first opened the booklet and read this, the acid in my stomach began to rise and I cringed... another 'Greatest Hits' package marred by gimmicky studio tricks. After dozens of spins though, the slight changes in the songs are now somewhat acceptable, and the edited versions are not as bad as I thought (since so many of DT's songs are close to the double-digit number in minutes) - I'm okay with it. The 4 'remixes' are decent on the first few spins... but after weeks of listening, I find myself longing for the original studio versions. The drums (specifically the snare) on their remix of "Pull Me Under" sounds tinny and downright cheap. The song selection is very good. In my opinion, however, several classics are missing - "Caught In A Web", "The Mirror", "Metropolis (Part I)", "Fatal Tragedy", a great jam in the "Overature 1928" and "New Millennium" (the heaviest track from "Falling Into Infinity" - one of my personal favorites in their entire library). I totally dig the ultra crunchy marathon DT songs... of which the album "Train Of Thought" has many. My heart tells me that "Train Of Thought" is underrepresented here... however, with 5 of the 7 songs lasting 10 minutes or longer, I understand why more songs are not here. Skipping past all tracks from DT's debut is understandable, but I think a song or two from "Systematic Chaos" (2007) could have made it onto disc-2 with its 20+ minutes of unused space... perhaps their new label (Roadrunner Records) had something to do with that. Even a live track or two would have been a bonus here. And lastly, I wish the writing on the slim binder side of the cover was larger - my 20/20 vision can barely read the verbage from only a few feet away. OVERALL: A very good introduction to Dream Theater's music catalog despite some minor flaws. Like any decent mix, it's great to have so many wonderful songs all in one place. Looking for a single studio album to start with - I'd recommend "Images And Words" or "Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory". As Mike Portnoy stated in the CD liner notes - this "Greatest Hit" collection is hopefully "something that will lure the listeners in and inspire them to dig deeper..." In my opinion, it should (4.5 stars).
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