Although this is a fairly old album (their 2nd one, after "When Dream And Day Unite," I think), it's one of their best, and a great place to start for anybody trying to figure out why so many musicians rave about this band. I especially recommend "Metropolis pt.1: The Miracle And The Sleeper" and "Learning To Live." Dream Theater songs are often quite long, and progress through several feels and moods. All of the band members are excellent musicians, and their songs are full of "showoff" parts where they show their technical skill. IMO, the worst aspect of this album is the vocals; although James LaBrie is an improvement from Dream Theater's first singer, his singing can still get annoying at times. However, the instrumental sections along make this album well worth buying!

A great album... I love very much this album because for me is the most melodic one of Dream Theatre and there is Mr. Moore, a great player and he's fantastic in composition. Probably the best album of DT with "Awake".

This is the breakthrough album from Dream Theater. Is's also the one that in the best way defines the band and their musical qualitys. Don't pass this one in the shelf of your record store!

Vocals
This album marks the beginning of a great era for Dream Theater with their new lead vocalist, James LaBrie. His voice brings such life to all the songs on this album without the annoying qualities of a typical "metal singer." In one word: Beautiful.

Bass Playing
The bass playing on this album is spectacular as well. John Myung set the standard on the first album, When Dream and Day Unite. But that standars has been raised with this album. Although the bass volume in the final mix was too low for my liking, it still holds the music together well. Myung's performance on this album was dazzling. From rock-solid 16th note machine-gun basslines on Under a Glass Moon, grooving funk on Take the Time, to his amazing odd-time-signature playing and killer solo in Metropolis... all amazing.
It is rare to find an album I've liked so much that I could listen to it start to finish dozens of times, and love it each time. Enjoy!