Top 10 DREAM THEATER riffs

The title says it all! These are my personal favourites, based equally on how cool they sound, and just how fun they are to play. I have MANY more that I wish I could have squeezed into this video, so let me know your favourites in the comments!
#DreamTheater #guitar #riffs

[@yourilevesque2]

Excellent video! Thank you for making great content (and list!) like that!

[@GarryParker]

Absolutely perfect list. They played Count Of Tuscany when I saw them last year and it was so good it brought me to tears. Great playing as well, mate.

[@FireManEditsCool]

This light makes my eyes look crazy😂

[@forentertainment3259]

Idk why but youtube has gotten really good at recommending videos I might like from small channels recently, very cool

[@JacobGorban]

Rock on 🤘 from Another Dream Theater fan here in Winnipeg!

[@andrewlipic8414]

I 2nd that 😈🤘Go Bombers!🏉

[@ryanoconnor_guitar]

that was fun, good to see some different choices in the mix

[@PurpleFlamingBird]

Nice🎉

[@iau]

Great list! Love when people dig deeper to find those hidden games. Hate that Top 10s are usually just most poular song lists.

[@CocoonMasterBrendan-wh3sd]

Great list, and it's nice to see some WDADU representation on it! That album's been growing on me a ton lately 🤘

[@thelokaboka1070]

Fantastic List! In the presence of enemies and ytse jam are criminally underrated. DT has so many amazing riffs, I can’t imagine trying to make top 10, though dark eternal night intro and Innocence faded outro are definitely in my top 10!

[@BigIsk52]

Great choices and great playing. ☮🤘

[@kagsu]

really love these kinds of videos, you need to make more ❤

[@HeartofthePiano]

No Dark Eternal Night?! 🤘🏼😂

[@john_tann]

The bit in the count of Tuscany you highlighted is one of my favourite head banging moments.

[@rvmusictv0122]

Great list Mark! ❤🙏

[@wordofmouth7679]

I need the Peruvian skies groove at the end and the verse riff starting for verse 2 of along for the ride at a bare minimum. Maybe a second list or some honorable mentions.

[@lchisholm5957]

Endless sacrifice 💪

[@bvq330]

I honestly agree with the entirety of your list. Yet to listen to The Astonishing, but that acoustic solo makes me more intrigued than ever before. Also, those more obscure picks, like ITPoE pt 1 and Ytse Jam are such good riffs as well.

[@Starcruiser81]

Had to watch to see if The Root of All Evil riff made the list, well done!

[@MarkBarronMusic]

Also one of the best Dream Theater choruses of all time! That chord progression is GENIUS

[@2501vai]

think i might just agree with this list! And although The Astonishing is hit n miss for me, i too love the acoustic riff for A Life Left Behind. Killing Hand too! WDADU is such an overlooked album that i believe would be far more appreciated if it only had better production. I’d like to throw the opening/main riff for Lie in as a possible 11th entry too

[@EvilCalle]

God choices! However... why didn't the main riff from "Breaking all illusions" make it to the list? It is awesome!

[@carlosnascimento9269]

The Test That Stumped Them All deserves a mention.

[@alexbl80]

Man, Strange deja vu cannot be left outside, the one after the first chorus.

[@alessandromariani99]

Right. Endless Sacrifice too, both the chorus riff and the one at the end of the instrumental section. In The Name of God has a glorious riff too.

[@malice96th66]

Best video EVER

[@erikrevier4053]

Great list, big fan of your #2 pick from The count, I love playing that one so much. I feel like this list could be pretty easily a top 100 DT riffs because Petrucci is just that good. I don't get it, he must have sold his soul. I would love to throw in the Riff from Endless Sacrifice right after the solo and unison section, so good. Also the main riff from Dark Eternal Night, and the Riff in Nightmare to Remember at 12:27, so many good riffs in that song but that one in particular keeps pulling me back ever time i pick up a guitar.

[@MarkBarronMusic]

You're right on, those riffs are killer!! I would LOVE to rank 100 riffs if I had the time to edit that madness 😅 Maybe one day!

[@fluntimes]

For me, Scarred is the best DT riff, closely followed by This Dying Soul and Dark Eternal Night. Test That Stumped Them All has some great riffing going on too.

[@lchisholm5957]

In the name of the father riff is one of the nastiest

[@lildino72]

Great list, but I always liked the guitar part in the song "goodnight kiss" right after James sings the lyrics "I'm so lonely without baby's love I want you to know I'd die for one more moment I'm just a poor girl Afraid of this cruel world Taken away from it all", the guitar riff just gives me goosebumps every time I hear it

[@MarkBarronMusic]

Are you talking about the solo? I agree it's brilliant, but not quite a riff.

[@macgyver77777]

Fair enough. Agree and agree to disagree. Appreciate your analysis and point of view.... Dream Theater are the musicians, musicians.

[@WinchurchGuitar]

Yeah man cool list. Panic Attack is a lot heavier than The Root of All Evil though. Faster, heavier tuning (Bb as opposed to Eb), and it just sounds a lot dirtier overall.

[@davesiddons8921]

Hard for me to choose a favourite never mind rank them. Riffs that stand out to me Glass prison intro riff The big long riff in innocent faded at the end before the solo The chug riff in under a glass moon First solo backing riff in a new beginning Petrucci is an animal, favourite player by far

[@pokerpoking3207]

Great video! straight to the point, enough time to appreciate each riff? if that makes sense? Really underrated in my opinion Edit: kind of weird to see someone talk about the glass prison and not mention the ELITE sweep picking solo, but this video is about riffs after all

[@vbarrto]

This mine TOP: Dream Theater - [When Dream And Day Unite CD1 #03] The Ytse Jam Dream Theater - [Images and Words CD1 #01] Pull Me Under Dream Theater - [Images and Words CD1 #05] Metropolis - Part I- 'The Miracle And The Sleeper' Dream Theater - [Awake CD1 #01] 6:00 Dream Theater - [Awake CD1 #04] Erotomania Dream Theater - [Metropolis Pt.2: Scenes From A Memory #02] Overture 1928 Dream Theater - [Metropolis Pt.2: Scenes From A Memory #09] The Dance of Eternity Dream Theater - [Train of Thought #01] As I Am Dream Theater - [Train of Thought #07] In the Name of God Dream Theater - [Systematic Chaos #02] Forsaken Dream Theater - [Systematic Chaos #04] The Dark Eternal Night Dream Theater - [A View From The Top Of The World CD2 #01] The Alien John Petrucci - [Suspended Animation #02] Glasgow Kiss

[@paccavelenosa]

their entire discography!!!

[@LocrianDorian]

My list would look very different but Constant Motion definitely belongs on it.

[@katmathler5776]

MORE TOP 10 LISTS!!!!

[@MarkBarronMusic]

YES!! And I'll just slowly become Musical WatchMojo!

[@johnbritain3707]

how can you forget sacrified sons riff man?

[@jankurdila5801]

Do you happen to have the tab for the song "The Count of Tuscany" (number 2 in your list)? Just the part that you play there, not the whole song.

[@MarkBarronMusic]

Ooh, I don't personally. I learned these at first by ear and then just double checked the songsterr tabs when possible just to make sure I was hearing it right in the mix. So you could search it up on songsterr and find that section

[@pedroordonez7031]

Not a single riff from their 2 best albums??

[@DrothBand]

Such a great choises you got ! 👍 This band just has way too many good riffs to include in one single video though. This video just actually reminded me that i created this guitar playthrough medley from best guitar riffs from Train of Thought album back in the days. kzbin.info/www/bejne/b4jFm3mpe6-Lndksi=xO4_Ib_aURrLMYLf Just to mention, Train of Thought is the very first album i ever heard from DT, so it's kind of important piece of history for me. Keep up the good work! 🤘

[@davidz5696]

Nothing from Images?

[@MarkBarronMusic]

You know, I was surprised too! That's one of my absolute favourite albums. I realized the instrumental elements that really shine on I&W are the keyboards and the guitar solos. It doesn't actually have a ton of "good guitar riffs" in the traditional sense, especially compared to some of their later work when their sound became heavier. Some of my favourite guitar riffs from I&W are really just unisons, which doesn't really count. That's just my opinion though!

[@fluntimes]

Under A Glass Moon!

[@jayripton3263]

Nothing from ToT?! Good riffs, but missing soo many good ones

[@MarkBarronMusic]

As I Am was literally the first one dude haha

[@jayripton3263]

@@MarkBarronMusic Fair enough, I skipped through it kinda fast, although ToT is FILLED with banger riffs, As I am isn't the best on the album

[@fajarrahmad8377]

Really no In the Name of God??

[@user-fz7sz7wy6l]

Ты точно медиатор правильно держишь?😂

[@giorgiolinas2]

Not a single memorable riff.

[@marcinmcula99]

L take

[@nasticanasta]

it all sounds the same.

[@75190255508]

I dont have a top 10 but I absolutely love Erotomania. Great riffs that aren't too complicated but still has a lot of that DT vibe.

[@MarkBarronMusic]

Yes!! Erotomania is definitely one of my favourite DT songs to play from start to finish! So much of what I love about Awake comes from Mike and Kevin though, so it didn't quite make my top ten of particular individual guitar-specific riffs