Ayreon is awesome.

Man Overboard wrote: I always had the impression that the prior albums were vaguely connected by universe and some common themes, but mostly existed as standalone stories. 01 turns this on its head, as the story it provides could be seen as a "big picture" for all of the other albums to fit into as closer examinations of events therein, providing a great deal of context for them. Even Actual Fantasy, which wasn't supposed to be a part of the story, feels like an alt-verse The Truth Is In Here. This new perspective reveals the Ayreon discography to exist as something of a clean, well-executed, cohesive musical novel, which strikes me as rather unique even in the prog world.

This is a great song actually with a lot of different parts in it, filled with good rocking guitars, the vocals are definitely the low side of the song i agree, but just take a look at the vocalists credit in other albums and take your pick from there.
If you like this kind of music don't miss out on Ayreon.

One of the greatest things about this band is the fact they use a lot of vocalists from other known bands to contribute to the story. Vocals are actually one of the high points of this band, maybe you just heard someone you didn't like.

I like a lot of ayreon's cds , sometimes it's cheesy yes but i always enjoy it , it's not the best music i've heard but i have a lot of 4 stars rating for them.
debut has a warm place in my heart!

Love Ayreon, but I don't truly love any album of the project. The 2-Cds format is a lengthy one and in prog I find it hard to keep the listener interested and deliver constant quality material at the same time ... I think Ayreon, through his blending of multiple influences, melodic ideas and narration succeds in keeping the listener interested, but I don't think that the albums I have - The Final Experiment, Into The Electric Castle and The Human Equation are flawless. Into The Electric Castle has The Tunnel of Light, for example (only to name one, and I really find that chorus irritating).

Also, the cheesiness is something that can come in the way - being a Rhapsody fan (just to name one) it doesn't bother me (although the story to The Electric Castle is really silly imo xD)

Haven't checked Arjen's side projects, will do in a near future !

I have Universal Migrator and 01011001.

I think all prog is cheesy, so no problems with Ayreon on that department.

Star Ones latest is a masterpiece - Ayreon are indeed awesome.

Equality 7-2521 wrote: Ayreon is bland, boring, and cheesy, and I'm not a superficial listener.

I'm probably most partial to The Human Equation and Into The Electric Castle, although some of my favorite Ayreon songs come off of Universal Migrator.  Shame that album was so inconsistent... but does it ever have some great parts.