But what if you are a proponent of this "aimless noodling”? What if part of your joy of listening to Phish improvise is getting lost with the band and then reveling in the energy created as they find their way back, often creating something far more interesting and exciting in the process?

Right on, Chris.

I'm a big 2.0 fan, warts and all, because they weren't afraid to get naked, even if it meant sloppy, too. I prefer much of the "aimless noodling" of 2.0, with all of it's wild, growling and thumping power to a good deal of the somewhat boring cow-funk of '97. Don't get me wrong, I'm not putting 2.0 ahead of 1.0 by any stretch, just that I like the period a helluva lot more than many of my contemporaries.

Like @J D G said before you, 2.0 still represented an attempt to push the envelope forward.

Phish has found their legs again and has also found themselves without peer in a land crawling with wannabe's.