Varitek said:Dream Theater in 2003 is also pretty shitty. When there's singing, the lyrics and voice suck, and the music is kind of circus-y.
This is true. Jordan Rudess has been the keyboardist since 1999, and he just makes everything sound like a circus. He may be a virtuoso who can play incredibly, but that doesn't make anybody sound good.
My general stance:
When Dream And Day Unite (1989): Under-rated. Kind of like Rush, but better.
Images And Words (1992): Definitive prog classic.
Awake (1994): Their best album. Intelligent and artistic.
A Change Of Seasons EP (1995): The title track is what it means to write prog.
Falling Into Infinity (1997): Under-rated; despite a few shit tracks forced upon them by a record label seeking hits, the proggy stuff is really good and well-written.
Scenes From A Memory (1999): Starts well, gets overwhelmed by concept in the middle, finishes well.
Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence (2002): Stupid lyrics become more prominent, but still very listenable, especially the second disc.
Train Of Thought (2003): And the band decide to have more "balls" and "metal" and it doesn't work.
Octavarium (2005): Still not working.
Systematic Chaos (2007): Epic fail.