List of video game soundtracks considered the best

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This is a list of video game soundtracks that multiple publications, such as video game journalism and music journalism publications, have considered to be among the best of all time. The games listed here are included on at least three separate lists from different publications. Achievements are separately noted.

List[edit]

Video game soundtracks considered the best
Year Game Lead composer(s) Notes Ref.
1985 Super Mario Bros. Koji Kondo The Super Mario Bros. theme was the first musical piece from a video game to be inducted into the Library of Congress.[1] [A]
1988 Mega Man 2 Takashi Tateishi [B]
1989 Tetris Hirokazu Tanaka Game Boy version [C]
1991 Street Fighter II Yoko Shimomura [D]
Isao Abe
1992 Streets of Rage 2 (soundtrack) Yuzo Koshiro [E]
Motohiro Kawashima
1993 Doom Bobby Prince [F]
1994 EarthBound (soundtrack) Keiichi Suzuki [G]
Hirokazu Tanaka
Final Fantasy VI (soundtrack) Nobuo Uematsu [H]
Super Metroid Kenji Yamamoto [I]
Minako Hamano
1995 Chrono Trigger (soundtrack) Yasunori Mitsuda [J]
Nobuo Uematsu
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest David Wise [K]
1996 PaRappa the Rapper Masaya Matsuura [L]
Yoshihisa Suzuki
Super Mario 64 Koji Kondo [M]
1997 Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Michiru Yamane [N]
Final Fantasy VII (soundtrack) Nobuo Uematsu [O]
1998 Grim Fandango (soundtrack) Peter McConnell [P]
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Koji Kondo [Q]
2000 Jet Set Radio Hideki Naganuma [R]
2001 Halo: Combat Evolved (soundtrack) Martin O'Donnell [S]
Michael Salvatori
Silent Hill 2 Akira Yamaoka [T]
2002 Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Various [U]
2004 Katamari Damacy (soundtrack) Yuu Miyake [V]
2005 Shadow of the Colossus Kow Otani [W]
2007 Portal Kelly Bailey [X]
Mike Morasky
Jonathan Coulton Composed the ending song "Still Alive"[3]
2010 Red Dead Redemption (soundtrack) Bill Elm [Y]
Woody Jackson
2011 Bastion Darren Korb [Z]
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (soundtrack) Jeremy Soule [AA]
Minecraft (soundtrack) C418 Volume Alpha was nominated for Top Dance/Electronic Album at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards.[20] "Sweden" was labeled Certified Gold by the RIAA in August 2023.[21] [AB]
Lena Raine
2012 Hotline Miami Various [AC]
Journey Austin Wintory Nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media[22] [AD]
2013 BioShock Infinite Garry Schyman [AE]
2014 Transistor Darren Korb [AF]
2015 Crypt of the NecroDancer Danny Baranowsky [AG]
Everybody's Gone to the Rapture Jessica Curry [AH]
Undertale (soundtrack) Toby Fox As of 2023, "Megalovania" has the most listens on Spotify of any video game song.[23] [AI]
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Marcin Przybyłowicz [AJ]
Mikołaj Stroiński
2016 Doom Mick Gordon [AK]
Persona 5 Shoji Meguro [AL]
2017 Cuphead Kristofer Maddigan [AM]
Nier: Automata (soundtrack) Keiichi Okabe [AN]
Keigo Hoashi
2018 Celeste Lena Raine [AO]
God of War Bear McCreary [AP]
Red Dead Redemption 2 (soundtrack) Woody Jackson [AQ]
2019 Sayonara Wild Hearts Daniel Olsén [AR]
Jonathan Eng

Publications[edit]

The reference numbers in the notes section show which of the 13 selected publications list the game.

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

The reference numbers show which publications include the game's soundtrack.

  1. ^ Super Mario Bros.: [2][3][4]
  2. ^ Mega Man 2: [3][5][4][6][7][8]
  3. ^ Tetris: [2][9][3][10]
  4. ^ Street Fighter II: [9][3][7][8]
  5. ^ Streets of Rage 2: [11][9][3][6][8]
  6. ^ Doom (1993): [3][7][12]
  7. ^ EarthBound: [3][4][6]
  8. ^ Final Fantasy VI: [3][13][6]
  9. ^ Super Metroid: [3][8][14]
  10. ^ Chrono Trigger: [3][4][13][6][8][10]
  11. ^ Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest: [3][4][13][6][8][14]
  12. ^ PaRappa the Rapper: [11][9][3]
  13. ^ Super Mario 64: [3][7][14]
  14. ^ Castlevania: Symphony of the Night: [2][3][8]
  15. ^ Final Fantasy VII: [11][2][9][3][15][7][8][16]
  16. ^ Grim Fandango: [3][13][6]
  17. ^ The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: [3][9][4][7][17][16][14]
  18. ^ Jet Set Radio: [3][5][14]
  19. ^ Halo: Combat Evolved: [2][3][10][16]
  20. ^ Silent Hill 2: [3][18][7][12]
  21. ^ Grand Theft Auto: Vice City: [9][12][14]
  22. ^ Katamari Damacy: [3][13][6][7][14]
  23. ^ Shadow of the Colossus: [11][3][18][6][17]
  24. ^ Portal: [2][3][9]
  25. ^ Red Dead Redemption: [2][3][9]
  26. ^ Bastion: [3][19][4][13][6]
  27. ^ The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim: [2][9][18][6][10][16][12][14]
  28. ^ Minecraft: [9][4][7][14]
  29. ^ Hotline Miami: [19][13][6][14]
  30. ^ Journey: [11][3][15][4][13][6][7][8][10][14]
  31. ^ BioShock Infinite: [3][4][7]
  32. ^ Transistor: [4][18][7]
  33. ^ Crypt of the NecroDancer: [13][6][7]
  34. ^ Everybody's Gone to the Rapture: [13][8][10][14]
  35. ^ Undertale: [19][4][13][6][7][14]
  36. ^ The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt: [15][6][16]
  37. ^ Doom (2016): [5][13][7][14]
  38. ^ Persona 5: [19][4][6][7][18][17]
  39. ^ Cuphead: [19][13][6][14]
  40. ^ Nier: Automata: [19][4][13][7][14]
  41. ^ Celeste: [4][13][17][14]
  42. ^ God of War: [4][13][10]
  43. ^ Red Dead Redemption 2: [13][16][12]
  44. ^ Sayonara Wild Hearts: [19][13][17]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Shearon, Andrea (April 12, 2023). "The Super Mario Bros. Theme Is the First Video Game Music Enshrined in the National Recording Registry". IGN. Archived from the original on April 12, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Deane, Donald (October 4, 2013). "Nine Legitimately Awesome Video Game Soundtracks". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 18, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac Stabler, Brad; Twells, John; Bowe, Miles; Wilson, Scott; Lea, Tom (April 28, 2015). "The 100 best video game soundtracks of all time". Fact. Archived from the original on April 29, 2015. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Gurwin, Gabe; Hicks, Michael (October 24, 2021). "The best video game soundtracks of all time". Digital Trends. Archived from the original on August 25, 2017. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d Carnevale, Robert (August 30, 2018). "The 16 Best Video Game Soundtracks". Tom's Guide. Future plc. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Jensen, K. Thor (August 25, 2022). "The 25 Best Video Game Soundtracks Ever". PCMag. Archived from the original on March 2, 2020. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Bentley, James; West, Josh (June 25, 2022). "The 25 best video game soundtracks of all time". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Colliver, Jacob (March 1, 2023). "The 20 Greatest Video Game Soundtracks of All Time". Mixdown. Archived from the original on March 1, 2023. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barker, Emily (July 20, 2015). "23 Of The Coolest Ever Video Game Soundtracks". NME. Archived from the original on January 4, 2017. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h "The 20 best video game soundtracks of all time". Classic FM. March 20, 2023. Archived from the original on June 15, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  11. ^ a b c d e f Diver, Mike (September 16, 2013). "7 Of The Best: Video Game Soundtracks". Clash. Archived from the original on September 24, 2013. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  12. ^ a b c d e f Alderslade, Merlin (August 7, 2023). "The 10 greatest video game soundtracks ever". Metal Hammer. Archived from the original on August 7, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Petite, Steven (January 22, 2021). "Best Video Game Soundtracks: Where To Stream Them". GameSpot. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Raynor, Kelsey (September 1, 2023). "The best video game soundtracks to revisit in 2023". VG247. Archived from the original on September 3, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  15. ^ a b c d King, Candice (July 18, 2018). "Our Favourite Soundtracks in Video Games". Red Bull. Archived from the original on March 26, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g Cunningham, John (July 16, 2023). "6 Best Video Game Soundtracks". Game Rant. Archived from the original on July 16, 2023. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  17. ^ a b c d e f Woodrow, Ryan (July 15, 2023). "The 10 best video game soundtracks of all time". USA Today. Archived from the original on July 22, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  18. ^ a b c d e f Carpou, Madeline (November 28, 2022). "The Best Video Game Soundtracks of All Time, Ranked". The Mary Sue. Archived from the original on June 15, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h Martin, Garrett (May 5, 2020). "The Best videogame Soundtracks of All Time". Paste. Archived from the original on May 9, 2020. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  20. ^ Atkinson, Katie (May 15, 2022). "Here Are the 2022 Billboard Music Awards Winners: Full List". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 15, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  21. ^ "American certifications – C418". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  22. ^ Conditt, Jessica (February 11, 2013). "Journey soundtrack loses Grammy to Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". Engadget. Archived from the original on October 20, 2020. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  23. ^ Thomson, Cody Nery (March 31, 2023). "Titan Ice Does Science: Most Influential Gaming Soundtracks". NAG. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
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