With the end of the year fast approaching let's see everyone's picks for their favorite game soundtracks of 2011.  Any album release of game music is eligible - CD or download, official OST, arranged album, or fan arrangement.

Results will be tallied January 23, 2012.

My top 5 for 2011.

Akai Katana Shin Arrange Album

ARMORDED CORE REPRISES

Bullet Soul Original Soundtrack

NEO CONTRA Original Soundtrack

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Original Game Soundtrack

1. SQ Chips
2. Distant Worlds - Returning Home - Music from Final Fantasy
3. Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Special Orchestra CD
4. Myth: The Xenogears Orchestral Album
5. Ni no Kuni ~The Black Wizard~ Original Soundtrack
6. Sonic the Hedgehog 1&2 Soundtrack
7. Sonic the Hedgehog: The Sound of Speed

Here are my temporary picks though I may tweak the order or squeeze in another album or two before the poll period expires.  Will add some short comments on each later.

Everybody who submits answers, be sure to use the "answer poll" link and not just reply to the forum thread.

Just pasted from my previous thread:

http://www.soundtrackcentral.com/forums … hp?id=6590

What are they and why?

Here are my nominations:

Catherine = soothing jazz + great classical arrangements! An original game, with a fantastic soundtrack that is both relaxing and exciting. The only bad thing about the soundtrack, a little too short!

Dark Souls = atmospheric to the max. Yes, it really is Sakuraba, and no it does not sound like any of his previous work. It sounds like a continuation of Demon's Souls, which is a good thing. The annoying thing was that in the US we were treated to some digital download crap (jerks), while Europe and Japan got a CD!

Dragon Knight Saga = beautiful! It's a mix of orchestral and... well, not sure how to describe it! Words that come to mind are "exciting" and "uplifting". Even includes a few guitar pieces that sound stellar! Best of all, the soundtrack was free! You can still get it at amazon if you purchase the game for a whopping $20. The game itself was absolutely fantastic, and deserved far more recognition than it received. It was well worth the retail price of $40, let alone $20 + free soundtrack!

Skyrim = best soundtrack I've only heard a smidgen of. I have not played the game, but I have heard some of music to the game and it sounds great. At some point I'll play the game... unless of course I take an arrow to the knee.

So that is it! Sad to say, that's about it for me and gaming in 2011. I look forward to hearing people's picks for best soundtrack of 2011.

1. Neo Contra Original Soundtrack
2. Sonic the Hedgehog 1 & 2 Soundtrack

These three are the only ones this year I'll bother returning to on a regular basis.

1. Elder Scrolls V Skyrim
2. Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Special Orchestra CD
3. Myth: The Xenogears Orchestral Album

Boo to Myth! It's so boring.

I know Eschatos and Sonic 1+2 are up there of course, but...lol, maybe someone else can jog my memory from this year. I have Shining Hearts OST sitting here, but haven't listened to it yet. And SQ Chips and Sound of Speed both sound interesting.

I would probably throw Myth in there as well. Nothing special, but was a nice listen.

I don't really have enough to fill a poll with.
Sonic Generations and Rayman Origins were my absolute highlights of the year, with the former firmly at the top.

SQ chips was much better than I thought as well, but had too many uninspired arrangements.
Haven't heard the Zelda album yet, haven't had a proper listen to Myth, and haven't heard Skyrim yet either.

Is it me, or did 2011 start off insanely weak and come up strong during the second half of the year?

Meanwhile, I wish I could make proper 'judgment' here, but I didn't buy very many tracks that were actually released in 2011. It makes it hard to give a good answer knowing that it may be something out there to warrant a nomination. That being said, from what I heard, I have to throw SQ Chips' name in the hat. This release (to me) somewhat came out of nowhere, and really surprised me on how good it actually turned out. Track 16 is the TRUTH.

Will there be any other categories for 2011? "Most Disappointing" comes to mind...

1. SQ Chips
2. Sonic the Hedgehog 1&2 Soundtrack

Edit: Poll answers changed.

I made a list of 21 albums that impressed me throughout the year, and there are many more I have not yet heard. So my knowledge is not that good of 2011 game music, since the percentage of the total released I have heard is quite small.

1. Ni no Kuni: Shikkoku no Madoushi OST
2. Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep & 358/2 Days OST
3. FICTION II / Yuki Kajiura
4. Akumajo Dracula Tribute Vol.2
5. Rockman Zero Collection Soundtrack -resonnant vie-
6. Pure2 -Ultimate Cool Japan Jazz-
7. Atelier Meruru OST
8. Noora to Toki no Koubou: Kiri no Mori no Majo OST
9. Never More -Reincarnation:Persona4-
10. Oboromuramasa Ongakushuu Hensou no Maku

My picks for the top 10 aren't exactly sorted. Also here are some additional runner-ups that didn't quite make it (but are still good):
Deus Ex: Human Revolution OST
Rewrite OST
Grand Knights History OST
SQ Chips
Cadena ~Atelier Series Jazz Arrange Album Featuring Mami Horie Vol.1~
Soil (Rewrite arrange album)
Saigo no Yakusoku no Monogatari OST
Tiara / Hiroki Kikuta
Crysis 2 Original Videogame Soundtrack
Myth: The Xenogears Orchestral Album
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Original Video Game Soundtrack
Shadows of the Damned Original Music

Not on the list, because I haven't received it yet:
Symphonic Odysseys - Tribute to Nobuo Uematsu

Some albums which I still haven't listened to:
Sonic the Hedgehog 1&2 Soundtrack
Final Fantasy XIII-2 Original Soundtrack

I'm very satisfied with 2011

no mention of Sonic CD so far :'(

Just a reminder that the poll expires in a few days on January 8.  Those of you who have yet to submit your picks be sure to send them in.

Edit: Changed the deadline to Jan 23.

1. Legend of Heroes: Zero no Kiseki Super Arrange Version
2. Oboro Muramasa Arranged Album
3. Rockman Zero Collection Soundtrack - résonnant vie -
4. Hino Tori Houou Hen
5. Alpha Squad: The Soundtrack
6. Tales Of Series Battle Arrange Tracks 2
7. Eschatos Soundtrack
8. Senjou no Valkyria 3 -Unrecorded Chronicles- Original Soundtrack
9. Pokémon: The Missingno Tracks
10. NEO CONTRA Original Soundtrack

I changed some things around in order to add this one: http://vgmdb.net/album/30709

Hino Tori Houou Hen is the best yet I've heard from Earth Japan Soft and at the level of Dangerous Mezashi Cat.

I'm gonna need an extension, or my list will be missing a few big name December releases that I'm still waiting on.

Uhm...so how does Konami Shooting Collection fit into all of this? Even though it was released in 2011, it's technically a re-release on a great deal of content. Plus it's not on the poll list.

Yeah December releases tend to get the shaft on these things don't they.  Alright I'll change the tally date to Jan 23, that should allow enough time.

Box sets are eligible, as long as they haven't been released in identical form previously.

Oh that doesn't matter at all.  If the soundtrack you want to pick doesn't pop up from the autocomplete list just enter it in yourself and it'll be added to the list.

1. Gyakuten Kenji 2 Original Soundtrack
2. Minna no Rhythm Tengoku Complete Music Collection
3. Nice To Meat You - Super Meat Boy!  Double CD Special Edition Soundtrack
4. SQ Chips
5. PPPPPPowerup! - PPPPPP Arranged
6. Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Special Orchestra CD
7. Ni no Kuni ~The Black Wizard~ Original Soundtrack
8. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Original Video Game Soundtrack
9. Gyakuten Kenji 2 Orchestra Arrangement Collection
10. Chrono Trigger ~Playing The End of Time~

Just a reminder for those who want to post their top game soundtracks of 2011 to get your picks in over the weekend. Will be posting the results come Monday!

1. Ni no Kuni
2. FFXIII-2
3. Distant Worlds - Returning Home - Music from Final Fantasy
4. Symphonic Odysseys - Tribute to Nobuo Uematsu
5. Seiken Densetsu Box
6. ... anything else.

And also a reminder if you want your picks to count towards the final tally to be sure to click the "Answer Poll" link and not just reply to the thread.

1. Ni no Kuni ~The Black Wizard~ Original Soundtrack
2. Final Fantasy XIII-2 Original Soundtrack
3. Distant Worlds - Returning Home - Music from Final Fantasy
4. Symphonic Odysseys - Tribute to Nobuo Uematsu
5. Seiken Densetsu Complete
6. ... anything else

Silly poll mechanic

1. Sonic the Hedgehog 1&2 Soundtrack
2. NEO CONTRA Original Soundtrack
3. Shadows of the Damned - Original Music From Akira Yamaoka
4. SEGA Sound Unit [H.] 1st Album
5. Sonic the Hedgehog CD Original Soundtrack 20th Anniversary Edition
6. Akumajo Dracula Harmony of Despair Original Soundtrack
7. We are ROCK-MEN!
8. Splatterhouse Volume 1: Metal
9. Dead Island Original Game Soundtrack
10. Play For Japan: The Album

Honorable mentions:

Akumajo Dracula Tribute Vol.1
Myth - The Xenogears Orchestral Album
Splatterhouse Volume 2: Cut Scenes, Ambient and Retro
SQ Chips
The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim Original Game Soundtrack
The Greatest Video Game Music

Albums I didn't listen to yet that could possibly make my top 10:

7th Dragon 2020 Original Soundtrack
Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY Returning Home
FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 Original Soundtrack
GUNBLADE NY & L.A. Machineguns Original Soundtrack
Re:Birth/Seiken Densetsu Kenji Ito Arrange Album
Senjou no Valkyria 3 -Unrecorded Chronicles- Original Soundtrack
Shining Hearts Original Soundtrack
SUDA 51'S SDATCHER -INSPIRED by "SNATCHER"-
The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Special Orchestra CD

Last.fm stats - most listened to artists of 2011

Jun Senoue (634)
Konami Kukeiha Club (618)
Nobuo Uematsu (552)
Masato Nakamura (537)
Yoko Shimomura (420)
Hitoshi Sakimoto (404)
Akira Yamaoka (397)
Yuzo Koshiro (387)
Howard Drossin (352)
Naofumi Hataya (338)

Last.fm stats - most listened to albums of 2011

Sonic the Hedgehog 1&2 Soundtrack (435)
Capcom Music Generation ROCKMAN X1~6 (357)
Sonic the Hedgehog 4 -Episode I- (241)
Golden Axe The Music (202)
Deadly Premonition (171)
SONIC ADVENTURE "Digi-Log Conversation" Original Sound Track (164)
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (156)
NEO CONTRA Original Soundtrack (139)
Seiken Densetsu Legend of Mana Original Soundtrack (134)
Sonic & Knuckles (131)

Last.fm stats - most listened to tracks of 2011

Tomoya Ohtani - Aquarium Park - Act 1 (27)
T.J. Davis - Back In Time (23)
Konami Kukeiha Club - Vampire Killer (22)
Jonathan Underdown - 5oul on D!splay (22)
Jun Senoue - Dr. Eggman's Secret Base (Mad Gear Zone Act 1) (21)
Jun Senoue - Impending Doom (Mad Gear Zone Act 3) (21)
Marlon D. Saunders - We are Burning Rangers (20)
Jun Senoue - Escape the Cog Trap (Mad Gear Zone Act 2) (20)
T.J. Davis - Super Sonic Racing (19)
T.J. Davis - Can You Feel The Sunshine? (19)

----------

- Sonic Generations was definitely my favorite soundtrack of the year but since the official release happened in 2012, I'll save it for next year's thread.
- Three of my top five were dream-come-true releases (pun intended) I never thought I'd see in my lifetime.  2011 was awesome just because of that.
- My top five are all solid listens, not a bad track on any of them.  Except disc 3 of Sonic 1&2 of course, ick.
- ROCK-MEN, Play For Japan, and Dracula Tribute Vol.1 each have a handful of amazing tracks but the rest range from average to good.
- Even with that said, I still enjoy my bottom five more than my honorable mentions overall.
- My vote for "Dead Island Original Game Soundtrack" includes the trailer theme and the "Who Do You Voodoo" single.
- SDATCHER and FFXIII-2 OST will most likely make my top 10 once I hear them.

I recommend everyone, listen to ARMORED CORE REPRISES before this poll ends.  It is the best arranged soundtrack you never listened to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ14vXxxF8w

Here goes, from what I actually got to hear this year.  I hope I didn't forget something!

1. Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Special Orchestra CD
2. Myth: The Xenogears Orchestral Album
3. SQ Chips
4. Ni no Kuni ~The Black Wizard~ Original Soundtrack
5. Distant Worlds - Returning Home - Music from Final Fantasy
6. Eschatos Soundtrack
7. Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep & 358/2 Days Original Soundtrack
8. El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron Original Soundtrack
9. Bastion Original Soundtrack
10. Play For Japan: The Album

^^ You forgot ARMORDED CORE REPRISES.

1. Symphonic Odysseys - Tribute to Nobuo Uematsu

3. Distant Worlds - Returning Home - Music from Final Fantasy
4. Cafe SQ
5. UnchainBlades ReXX Original Soundtrack
6. SQ Chips

8. Sonic the Hedgehog 1&2 Soundtrack
9. Earthbound Papas - Octave Theory
10. Myth: The Xenogears Orchestral Album

I was trying to think really hard about which albums I actually listen to and enjoy, and sort them in that order. I left some albums out, like:
Re:Birth/Seiken Densetsu Kenji Ito Arrange Album
The Last Story
More SQ
Tales Of Series Battle Arrange Tracks 2

I've actually listened to UnchainBlades quite a lot, I hope Tsutomu Narita composes some more music!
(By the way yeah, my picks are biased towards FF and Uematsu, can't help it.)

1. SONIC THE HEDGEHOG CD Original Soundtrack 20th Anniversary Edition
2. Symphonic Odysseys - Tribute to Nobuo Uematsu
3. Myth: The Xenogears Orchestral Album
4. ROCKMAN ZERO COLLECTION SOUNDTRACK - résonnant vie -
5. Legend of Heroes: Zero no Kiseki Super Arrange Version
6. Eschatos Soundtrack
7. AKAI KATANA SHIN ARRANGE ALBUM
8. PERSONA2 INNOCENT SIN. ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK
9. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Original Video Game Soundtrack
10. Oboromuramasa Ongakushuu Hensou no Maku

I'm sure Ni no Kuni would've made it as well, but i'm not going to listen to it before i've played the game. don't want to spoil it.

Edited my original answers/post due to me finally listening to the [H.] album.

Top poll results out of 57 unique answers submitted, as calculated by Soundtrack Central's automated poll system.  In parentheses are the percentage of respondents who selected that answer and the average ranking it was given.

1. SQ Chips (40%, 3)
2. Sonic the Hedgehog 1&2 Soundtrack (33%, 3)
3. Ni no Kuni ~The Black Wizard~ Original Soundtrack (33%, 4)
4. Myth: The Xenogears Orchestral Album (33%, 4)
5. Distant Worlds - Returning Home - Music from Final Fantasy (27%, 3)
5. Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Special Orchestra CD (27%, 3)
7. Neo Contra Original Soundtrack (27%, 4)
8. Symphonic Odysseys - Tribute to Nobuo Uematsu (20%, 2)
9. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Original Game Soundtrack (20%, 3)
9. Sonic the Hedgehog CD Original Soundtrack 20th Anniversary Edition (20%, 3)
11. Rockman Zero Collection Soundtrack - résonnant vie - (20%, 4)
12. Eschatos Soundtrack (20%, 6)
13. Oboro Muramasa Arranged Album (20%, 7)
14. Legend of Heroes: Zero no Kiseki Super Arrange Version (13%, 3)
15. Akai Katana Shin Arrange Album (13%, 4)
16. Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep & 358/2 Days Original Soundtrack (13%, 5)
17. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Original Video Game Soundtrack (13%, 9)
18. Play For Japan: The Album (13%, 10)

Ahh...the power of voting. Congrats to the winners, which is ultimately our ears if we own these soundtracks.