I found all three used in a local CD shop and am considering trying one.  My only experience with Sakuraba soundtracks thus far has been Beyond the Beyond and Tales of Series Battle Arranges.  The former I find solid all-around with a couple outstanding arrangements, while the latter is mostly generic and dull.

The impressions I got from checking a couple earlier threads:

Valkyrie Profile Arrange Album: Good (No idea about musical style)
Star Ocean Till the End of Time OST1: Orchestral, love/hate
Star Ocean Till the End of Time OST2: Progressive rock, mostly positive

Any recommendations as to which to go for?

I find Valkyrie Profile Arrange Album to be a bit generic. Every arrangement has the same basic popular song format really. It's good but I much prefer Star Ocean The Second Story's arranged album.

I'm really fond of both Star Ocean Till the End of Time's soundtracks. Together they constitute Sakuraba's best work in my opinion. But whereas a lot of people seem to dislike the orchestral album in favour of, say, Baten Kaitos, I've heard almost universally positive reception about the second soundtrack.

If you want the best of both worlds -- Sakuraba doing both rock and orchestra creatively -- I'd highly recommend the first Baten Kaitos soundtrack instead.

I dig the VP Arrange, even though it doesn't push the boundaries too much and is basically a synth/live upgrade/extension of tunes from the VP OST. It's solid, but I don't think it's as great as I used to previously think. I couldn't get into SO3 V1, but I did enjoy V2. Out of the three that you found, I would recommend VP Arrange if you're looking for a more solid listen or SO3 V2 if you're looking for more energetic and melodic music. Personally, I would stay away from SO3 V1, but if you dig orchestral style music.

As far as other discs go, I'd second Chris' recommendation for Baten Kaitos if you're looking for both orchestral and rock style music, but I would also recommend his first Live Concert album if you're more interested in the prog-rock side of Sakuraba. It's way intense!

This.

If I were to pick only one of those three, it'd be the VPAA.

...no, not "vice presidential alcoholics anonymous". That wouldn't be very anonymous, would it?

Never liked SO3 Vol. 1 at all. Total disappointment right out of the box (well, after a few listens anyway). Wouldn't mind the fact that it's all orchestral, but, about 3 exceptions aside, none of the tracks seem to make much of an impact and they blend together. I enjoyed Vol. 2 more, but I still consider it disappointing compared to Star Ocean 2 and Valkyrie Profile's OST and rarely listen to it (sold my original, but kept about half of the mp3's)

I'm a huge fan of VP's Arrange Album. It definitely rocks harder than Vol. 2 and the orchestral pices outclass anything I found on Vol. 1 (see: Valhalla) And also, I heard the album before the OST or playing the game and loved it then, so no nostalgia talking there. I'd rate it about equal with Star Ocean 2's Arrange album.

I'm a casual fan of the first BK OST. I find it a little inconsistant and many of the slower pieces unmemorable (and frankly, a little cheesy), but there is some goodness in there, most definitely. Second one...er, not so much. About a half hours worth of good content spread across three CD's. Like your average Tales album, give or take a disc (or Infinite Discovery...)

I'm one of the ones who feels Sakuraba peaked when he did SO2 and VP1, then started deteriorating after SO: Blue Sphere. I've more or less gotten over being constantly disappointed with him and his massive output.

Ha, my view is a combination of different opinions that have been stated here.

I feel the same way.  In fact, the VP arrange album reminds me of the Phantom Brave arrange album.  The alterations hardly add anything to the originals, and in some cases, they seem to take away from them.

I don't think I dislike Vol. 1 like you do, but I agree that Vol. 2 is better, and I also agree that SO2 and VP trump them both anyhow.  In the end I sort of like the SO3 soundtrack but it's nothing that really sticks too much.  I'd say that it's good, but it doesn't leave a lasting impression like SO2 and VP do.  I like StHA (the original score, though since the only official release is an arrange album, I'll add that that's awesome too) and the original SO more as well.

I never went crazy for BK either and it's easy for me to agree that SO2 and VP were his best.

Going back to the main topic, you might check out SO3 Vol. 2, which could also mean picking up SO3 Vol. 1 for completion's sake.  If it were me, I'd skip the VP arrange album for sure.

Maybe, but at least it's not like VP2's Arrange, where the tracks are almost literally EXACTLY the same, with some different passages thrown in or they're part of a medley (where the individual tracks are pretty much the same).

On that note...The DS VP OST is out soon...Along with an accompanying arrange album. Definitely trying before I'm buying, but I liked the original VP's arrange enough that I still maintain a tiny glimmer of hope...

.

True.  Vol. 1 has a lot of event music.  Vol. 2 has mostly area themes and combat themes.  Event music doesn't always fare too well on its own, particularly when it's slower and more atmospheric, which happens to be the case here.

Anyway, I happen to like orchestral Sakuraba, but most of his orchestral stuff used to be of the epic variety.  In SO3, a lot of it is low key.  It's well done and everything, but it's not particularly memorable for me.

You know, maybe part of SO3's problem is that it does clearly have two sides.  There was more cohesiveness in SO2 and VP.  In SO3, the difference in instrument quality and/or style when it comes to the orchestral tracks versus the prog rock tracks makes the whole thing seem a bit schizophrenic.

I still want a track list for SO3 that combines the albums into chronological order.  I'd like it as a listen a lot better that way, I think.  For me, though, the first BK still beats all for Sakuraba.

I actually tried that, largely based on the track order in SO3's sound test. Well, it took some creative wrangling, as the guide to the sound test I read was written before the Director's Cut came out. (Not to mention that I'm handicapped by not having even played the game yet.)

This was my jumping-off point:
http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/ps2/file/924199/23892

And here's what I did next. (NOTE: I don't have my tracklist in front of me, so I'm going by memory.)
1. The two versions of "The Little Bird That Forgot How To Fly" were moved. I think the regular version would go after "Gaiety Company", and the instrumental one...I think can fit in front of "Brilliant Future"...?
2. On that note, the jazzy "Star Ocean Forever" moves to the very end, after "The True Nature Of All", and where the "Little Bird" tracks were. For some reason, the resulting pairing of "Brilliant Future" and "Mission To The Deep Space" just works for me.
3. I moved "Starless Wavelets" before "Cutting Edge Of Notion", to provide a less jarring transition.
4. Needless to say, the three versions of "So Alone, Be Sorrow" were spread out.
5. I put all the regular DC tracks right after "Powerbroker", which is probably QUITE incorrect, but I had to do SOMETHING.
6. I also made the decision to exclude the band-version tunes and piano solo from the DC OST, as I'm not sure they're part of the DC game's sound test or not. Same with the extra versions of "Brass Wings" and "Moody Goddess".

I think there were more, too, but you get the idea.

Anyway, it DOES seem a lot more fun in this layout, not to mention schizophrenic. Going from the tranquil "Till The End Of Time" to the ferocious rock of "Expiration" is a trip.

And get this...the resulting order will fit nicely on three CDs. That's right, only three. Tsk tsk, Team Entertainment.