Artist · chart history · #555 in indie & aaa artist polls
Dream Theater
Band Boston United States Formed 1985
Dream Theater formed in 1985 in Boston, United States. Dream Theater has 10 chart appearances on 9 radio countdowns from 4 stations on RockLists, spanning 1994–2006. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Pull Me Under”, which appears on 6 lists with a best position of #489. The station that charted Dream Theater most often is KISW (Seattle-Tacoma, WA), with 7 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 2002.
Dream Theater started with three Long Island kids at Berklee College of Music, guitarist John Petrucci, bassist John Myung and drummer Mike Portnoy, who called themselves Majesty in 1985 and then dropped out to chase the band full time. Progressive metal has rarely had players this ferociously schooled: Petrucci's guitar races like an overclocked engine, Myung works a Chapman stick as well as bass, and the songs sprawl into suites that make a normal single look like a sneeze.
The singers took a while to settle. Chris Collins came and went, Charlie Dominici was let go soon after the 1989 debut When Dream and Day Unite, and James LaBrie arrived in 1991, in time for Images and Words, still their best-selling record. Keyboardist Kevin Moore left after three albums, Derek Sherinian took over for one, and Jordan Rudess, on keyboards and continuum, has held the chair since 1999.
In 2002 they delivered Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, home of "The Glass Prison", and Train of Thought followed in 2003 with the bruising "In The Name of God". Portnoy walked in 2010, Mike Mangini took the drum stool, and Portnoy came back in October 2023. With Queensrÿche and Fates Warning they're counted among the big three of progressive metal, and after a string of nominations they finally won a Grammy in 2022.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by Dream Theater on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pull Me Under | 6 | #489 | – | – | |
| 2 | The Glass Prison | 1 | #45 | – | 2002 | |
| 3 | In The Name of God | 1 | #80 | – | 2004 | |
| 4 | Take The Time | 1 | #934 | – | – |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
Year-end chart timeline
Combined year-end countdown points per year. Taller bars mean more songs placing higher across more stations.
Every countdown appearance
| Year | # | Song | Countdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 558 | Artist ranking | WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Artists (2006) |
| 2004 | 80 | In The Name of God | WIRS Top 107 Songs of 2004 |
| 2002 | 45 | The Glass Prison | KNAC Top 105 Songs of 2002 |
| 2002 | 960 | Pull Me Under | KISW Top 999 of All Time (2002) |
| 1999 | 489 | Pull Me Under | KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1999) |
| 1998 | 647 | Pull Me Under | KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1998) |
| 1996 | 510 | Pull Me Under | KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1996) |
| 1995 | 753 | Pull Me Under | KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1995) |
| 1994 | 589 | Pull Me Under | KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1994) |
| 1994 | 934 | Take The Time | KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1994) |
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