Top 3 Best soundtracks

[Frosted Mouse]

For almost as long as there have been games, the games have had soundtracks to accompany their pretty flashy colors and innovative game play. So what game or games would you rate as having the best sound track to accompany them? This should be of course original tracks written for the game, I.E. Starcraft's Backgrounds, Portal's 'Still Alive' ect. Not music that was popular before it was added to the game. I.E. GTA radio stations.

So. My top three picks for Best Soundtrack are;
Portal
Sonic Games (Particularly Sonic Heroes)
Starcraft

I'm sure I am forgetting something good, but those are the 3 that stand out has having great sound tracks to them.

 

[irrelevantnugget]

Not music that was popular before it was added to the game. I.E. GTA radio stations.

What?
I already knew quite a lot of songs when I heard them in the GTA games (apparantly The Black Keys are in GTA4 as well?), I sometimes even used to sing along in GTA:VC and GTA:SA.

Anyhoo, to actually contribute to this thread:
Morrowind
Guild Wars
SW:KOTOR

Hmm. Apparantly RPG's get my pick here. Then again, GW and KOTOR had the same guy taking care of the soundtrack. Honorable mention would be UT2k4 music. Makes the (non-instagib) fun so much more fun when your adrenaline is pumped.

 

[Mikit0707]

Oblivion - awesome fantasy-epic kinda music
Mass Effect - the music added so much to that game!
Super Mario Bros - got to be the most recognised tune in gaming history

 

[poleboy]

Did Portal even have music except for the ending song? I love it, but it's hardly a soundtrack. Morrowind/Oblivion has the same problem. It's just 4 or 5 tracks looping endlessly.

Anyway, here goes:

Final Fantasy VI (includes a mini-opera in three parts)
Chrono Trigger (Robo and Magus' themes in particular)
Half-Life 2 (mostly for its effect, which is to get your adrenaline pumping for a fight)

 

[DarkHyth]

My votes go out to:

- Total Annihilation, epic orchestral soundtrack there
- Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, most notably "Escape from the City" and "Live and Learn"
- Red Alert, Hell March

 

[Jdopus]

Well, Portal has my favourite in-game song, but I quite like the Halo sound track. It did a good job of enhancing the atmosphere at certain moments and it was welll timed.

 

[Hey Joe]

Morrowind
Bioshock
Deus Ex

 

[laikenf]

Mass Effect, Metroid Prime and Super Catlevania 4 (SNES)

 

[KamikazeSailor]

While I'm not exactly a Halo fanboy, I do love the music for Halo 2...

Mass Effect had some great music, as did Portal, of course...

Music from the Sierra Quest games (King's Quest and Space Quest) have lasted in my head for a long time... they are my bleep-bloop music like Mario is to the younger generation

 

[Stammer]

1. Final Fantasy XI
2. Final Fantasy Tactics (ps1/psp)
3. Dark Cloud 2

 

[_Serendipity_]

So many games have great music in places, but are let down by repetitive background drones...

In no particular order, I guess my 3 favourites are;

Final Fantasy VII (because, *sigh* I'm a fanboy)

Beyond Good and Evil

Silent Hill 2 (assuming that the shuddering sounds of pure evil and fear count as soundtrack)

 

[slaygore]

In no particular order:

God of War (1 or 2, think they're both the same)
Star Ocean 3
Lost Odyssey (only thing I didn't like was when the singer was singing in engrish)

 

[Anton P. Nym]

Did Portal even have music except for the ending song? I love it, but it's hardly a soundtrack.

Portal had some, most notably the sequence played as you're about to celebrate your victory candescence. (Phrasing deliberately obscure to spoil no spoilers.) Not enough for me to count it as teh bestest, though.

My hands down favourite is the Halo series, not just for the awesome composition but also for how its looping system means the score always fits what's on-screen (save for a few regretable glitches in Halo 1) and how it ducks under the combat noise and dialog so that you don't miss any necessary cues to the rockin' beats.

Second would be Mechwarrior II, with its haunting, eerie soundtrack... the first I encountered that played the in-game music directly from the CD. I actually ripped those tracks to my mp3 player for times when I'm looking for something other than talking heads and screaming guitars on my morning commute.

I'm torn between XCom and Mass Effect for third place.

-- Steve

 

[Vault Boy]

Deus Ex
Brilliantly understated and subtle. Especially the New York levels.

Ridge Racer Type 4
Mellow chill out music with jazzy horns and tinkling piano. Awesomely relaxing, and a welcome change from the tedious, pounding dance/club music of previous Ridge games.

Gitaroo Man
If only for the scene where U-1 wins a girl's heart by playing her an acoustic version of The Legendary Theme by a campfire. Yeah!

 

[jezz8me]

I agree with crono trigger, the music matches up to games with full orchestras in midi.

MGS 3 had quite a good soundtrack (don't know about 4 yet)

 

[roekenny]

yet to find a new games soundtrack what as as much energy in them than these 3

Mortal combat
Anyone who says 17or older and into gaming remotely and dose not sing first 10 seconds of this game is a liar. (www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-_Wuv8ZJXM)

cnc hell march 1 and 2
They better use it for cnc 3 and is iconic as the Tesla and mammoth tanks
( www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHycoOExCPE&feature=related www.youtube.com/watch?v=srqOjppHqTo&feature=related )

battlefield 1942
cruising in in a 10 tank convoy and see others sides 10 tanks and this is in the background you cannot beat. (unless march Ride of the Valkyries and tanks are choppers )(www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LNiOeRVdGI)

 

[rayman 101]

My favourite soundtrack of all time from a video game has to be halo 3. I haven't gotten a feeling like that from a soundtrack ever since the lord of the rings thrillogy.

I've also enjoyed the soundtrack from spyro on the ps1.

MGS series also have made some really good soundtracks.

 

[haruvister]

BioShock's sound design was awesome overall, and any score that can lift music directly from my favourite film The Shining (whose soundtrack, I realise, is NOT wholly original) and get away with it has to go on the list.

The Chaos Engine must get a mention not simply for being the best of The Bitmap Brothers' brilliant techno compositions, but also for the fact that it was the first context-sensitive score I can think of.

Then there's The Secret of Monkey Island - so rich and atmospheric... even through ad-lib!

 

[Calobi]

Top pick for me is Civilization IV, followed by Portal, then probably Halo.

 

[PedroSteckecilo]

3. The Warriors (The way the music is integrated into the game is perfect, always using the right tracks at the right time)
2. Metal Gear Solid (I'm a Harry Gregson-Williams Fan)
1. Chrono Trigger