I was planning on doing this late last week, but I slipped up. My bad! I know there are some people holding back on Dracula CDs for this post... myself included.

Dracula Battle I & II, Perfect Selection

I could never put another "D" before these two amazing CDs. They're my favorite Battle albums of the collection, my favorite versions of these specific Castlevania tunes, and some of the best all around ass-kicking power rock that I've heard. I picked these up a while ago when I first really started collecting VGM, and they haven't been far from my CD player or iPod since. The DBII version of "Thrashard in the Cave" still blows me away. I'm also a huge fan of having two different styles of "Beginning" to kick off each disc. Hell yeah!!!

Honorable mention goes to an uncommon one: Devil May Cry 2 OST. Not a lot of people I know have this album, but I really love it. Between the surprisingly un-boring ambience (take that Resident Evil!), the sweet interludes and, above all else, the awesome electronic-rock boss tunes, this album really epitomizes the best of Capcom survival horror-esque music. "Parasitic Evil" is my favorite tune from the disc, with its death disco hand claps and downtuned guitar riffs, and I'm a huge fan of the quick "All the Way to Hell". It's just so badass! I never really cared for DMC or DMC3, but DMC2 does just enough different to make it a worthwhile listen.

EVERYTHING Dragon Quest

I never really got into DQ. Do you have that crazy ass Symphonic Suite set?

-Dance Dance Revolution 2nd Mix
-Dance Dance Revolution 3rd Mix
-Dance Dance Revolution 4th Mix
-Dance Dance Revolution 5th Mix
-Dance Dance Revolution Disney Mix
-Dark Chronicle Premium Arrange
-Dew Prism
-The Dig
-Disgaea Arranged Soundtrack
-Dracula Best 1
-Dracula Best 2
-Dracula X
-Dracula X Nocturne in the Moonlight
-Dracula Apocalypse
-Castlevania Chronicle
-Castlevania Circle of the Moon & Harmony of Dissonence
-Castlevania Aria of Sorrow & Minuet of Sorrow
-Castlevania Lament of Innocence
-Dracula Yami no Juin
-MIDI Power Pro 6
-Dracula MIDI Collection
-Dragon Ball Z3
-Dragon Quest I Symphonic Suite and SFam OST
-Dragon Quest II Symphonic Suite and SFam OST
-Dragon Quest III Symphonic Suite
-Dragon Quest IV Symphonic Suite
-Dragon Quest V Symphonic Suite
-Dragon Quest VI Symphonic Suite and OST
-Dragon Quest VII Symphonic Suite and OST
-Dragon Quest VII Piano
-Dragon Quest Songs -Loula-
-Dragon Quest Monsters 2

...and that's just the ones I own the CD of.

Og those, it's really hard to choose, but Nocturne in the Moonlight (SOTN) probably just edges out stuff. Other top ones are MIDI Power Pro 6, Disgaea Arrange, and Dark Chronicle Premium Arrange.

As for unowned? Possibly the Dracula Battles...

-Joshua

Seconded for LIFE.

Zane: You should definitely get your hands on that "crazy ass Symphonic Suite set," but keep in mind it's set up in an odd way. Disc 1 is all overtures, disc 2 is all town themes, disc 3 is all cave themes, etc. (I may have the discs backwards, but the point is they are all themed.) So don't get weirded out on disc 1, ha.

My personal faves are probably "String Quartet" Dragon Quest and Dragon Quest Legend.

The Dig  -- Greatest Soundtrack Ever.
Diablo, Diablo II
Dragon Quest IV (all the albums involved with this game)

Dracula Battle II Perfect Selection, one of the best rock albums ever.

This will probably be my hardest and easiest week because their are so many great albums (top 10 all-time material), but I know which I like the best:

Albums that could have taken it:

Dracula Battle - The prime Battle record.
Dracula Battle II - Amazing drumming on this baby.

And if it wasn't for Dracula, DoDonpach or DDS could have easily taken top honors, but that belongs to:

Dracula New Classic - The myth, the legend, the CLASSIC.

I think the replies to these topics would be a lot more interesting if people actually tried to choose just one favorite soundtrack and then really write something about it. Posts containing merely a list of 30 names are rather pointless. The world needs always more personal opinions and stories.

Dragon Quest V Symphonic Suite, probably. It has some of my favorite music from the series (and it's my favorite game as well). The emotional music in particular is fantastic.

My runner-up would be Dragon Quest VII Symphonic Suite. The game was a long 100+ hour stranglefest but the music was glorious. I only wish that there were more of it (especially with a game of that length).

(And there's always the immortal Dracula X Nocturne in the Moonlight)

I'm going to lend my vote to the Dungeon Explorer II redbook music.  A classic from the days when the PC-Engine was still relevant.  Great composition for an engrossing game, reminiscent of classic Falcom power rock.

Edit:  I had said some inflammatory things about Dracula Battle II here, but on listening to it one more time, I withdraw these comments.

Dracula Battle 1 and 2, Dew Prism OST, D2 OST and both Sketches albums.

-Mike

No love for the DKC series yet?

My pick is Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest.  A lot of the things I could say about Castlevania IV I could also say about this one.  It's melodic and ambient at the same time.  The music has a great rythmic and often majestic quality to it.   Plus there's a lot of cool pirate-esque music.  Stickerbrush Symphony is especially popular for that ethereal quality it has.  It makes those intimidating bramble stages have a peaceful feeling.  Forest Interlude is probably my personal favorite but nearly every track is awesome.

I think I'll go with Deus Ex as the honorable mention.  The music fits the game so perfectly and gives it a certain cyberpunk feel that is part of what makes the entire experience so unforgettable.  Gotta love the "action" themes which may have inspired the similar approach in Kingdom Hearts.  They add to the immersiveness by being based off of the area themes.  My favorite track from Deus Ex is DuClare Chateau.  It's just an amazing track.

I only wanted to go with one honorable mention, but I also have to mention the soundtrack of Darius II/Sagaia.  It has such a wonderful outer-spacey feel to it.  The compositions might seem weird for some, but the whole soundtrack has grown on me in a big way.  My favorite track is Olga Breeze, which I never tire of listening to.  Planet Blue is also great.

I'll second Dungeon Explorer 2 and Dracula Battle 1.

I'll also throw in my votes for Dracula X: Rondo of Blood, Deep Fear and Deception 2 (which might also go under "Kagero").

This is not easy. I would have to go and proclaim...

Double Dragon II The Revenge (arrangement album). "Low Pursuit" is probably one of the most superbly arranged rock tracks I've ever heard and Kanekuni on the Sax makes it perfect.

...as the best D album.

Donkey Kong Country 2 featured some of the best music in any DK game yet.

Dragonball Z3 Original Soundtrack comes in as an honorable mention - some fantastic mashing of jazz, rock, and techno/electronica music there at high quality composition.

Dai-Rantou Smash Brothers DX has some of the best Nintendo and friends arrangements out there. Hard to not mention that.

Daytona USA gets some mention... it's video game music history in it's most vivid Engrish so-bad-it's-good form!

The Dracula Battles (especially V.1) are good but I'd have to wait to classify those under "P", since they're "Perfect Selection...". They wouldn't win the "D" column, but they must be mentioned.

Wow, there were a lot more good D soundtracks than I thought there'd be. =O

Descent II
Two different soundtracks to this game, both excellent. The Red Book audio/MP3 soundtrack is filled with wonderful industrial grunge. Riffs, noise, and beats are thrown all over the place for an awesome experience. The MIDI soundtrack is more melody and groove oriented, but manages to be just as good as the MP3 one, which is high praise. The credits theme is just amazing.

Runners-up
First off, we have two NES Disney/Capcom duck games, DuckTales and Darkwing Duck. Insanely catchy chiptunage.

Going to arcade, I've got three shmups. Dangun Feveron is just awesome, but I wish the stage themes weren't so short. Dogyuun, composed by my boy Tatsuya Uemura, has the great Toaplan flavor; the soaring arranged version of Dogyuun Magic on the CD is possibly my favorite Toaplan song ever. Dragon Saber is my favorite soundtrack by Shinji Hosoe, and features both great original tracks like Center of the Earth and great arranged versions of tracks from Dragon Spirit.

Back to Nintendo for some odds and ends, we first have DynamiTracer, a soundtrack it seems Nobuo Uematsu couldn't possibly have had anything to do with. The creative instrumentation and sound is great, and who doesn't crack a smile after the "BANG" in the title song. Diddy Kong Racing is mainly a nostalgia favorite (that game was awesome, don't lie). And Dairanto Smash Brothers DX Orchestra to bring up the rear, partially because it's the first VGM album I ever bought (eBayed with Famitsu Cube + Advance <3), and partially because I wuv wuv wuv the arrangements.

I think I have my Dracula Battle albums filed under "P," so I'll probably get to those later.  For today:

-Dark Chronicle Premium Arrange
-Dew Prism Original Soundtrack
-Dracula Best 1
-Dracula Best 2
-Dracula X Original Soundtrack

Wow, thanks XISMZERO and CHz for making my picks even more hard...

Winner: I have to concur with anyone who picked the two Dracula Battle Albums. Classic in every sense of the word. I'm not sure which one I prefer...I think I find something new everytime in Dracula Battle 2. My favorite is constantly jumping around with this one (used to be Den...now it's a dead heat between Illusionary Dance and Iron Blue Intention). Probably because I've had Battle 1 MUCH longer (about 3 years) and I know everything on it by heart. Only gripes: Road of Enemy #1 is easily my least favorite "Battle" arrangement and I never got the same satisfaction out of the Battle "Bloody Tears" that I have from the NES original or from other versions (Ailsean's Bloody Hell, The Dracula Perfect Selection "rap", Magical Trick Society).

1st RU-Double Dragon 2 Arrange

Synth rock arranged with class from start to finish. If Dracula Battle is the answer to 80's hair metal, this is the answer to the catchy synth pop/rock from the same decade. The themes for the Industrial Area, the Forest and (especially) the final boss are among my favorite game arrangements.

2nd RU-Dance Dance Revolution 3rd Mix

I generally don't lean towards this type of music unless I think it's REALLY good. As it was, I ended up with the 2nd Mix OST (it was included in a bundle of soundtracks I won), liked it and decided to go onto 3rd Mix. It's just...Everything about the megamix clicks, from beginning to end. Tracks are nice and long (a HUGE issue that started in later albums), the announcer calls are spot on, the track selection is perfect (great instrumentals to go along with the vocals...Paranoia FTW)...Really great way to make an hour and ten minutes go away. I don't listen to it a huge deal anymore (my interest in DDR faded), but this definitely was one of my go-to CD's for at least a solid year and still secures a well-placed nostalgic listen now and then.

3rd RU-Dragonball Z Budokai (Rip)

Ducktales, Digital Devil, Z3, Dracula -something-...Na, I'm still impressed by Kenji Yamamoto's score for the original Budokai. Classic bad-ass synth rock OST that demands more attention. Too bad the Dragonball Z1 and Z2 OST released was such a poor effort. The original deserved a full OST treatment by itself.

Ah, such a truth-bringer, you are.  Low Pursuit, Breaking The Barrier and Roar of The Double Dragon are my power trio tracks, but it's Dead Or Alive that seals the deal for me.  Having a vocal rendition of one of my most favorite VGM pieces ever..... well, that really does beat all.  Low Pursuit..... still always leaves me thinking of Rafferty's Baker Street.

Also with ya on Dance Dance Revolution 3rd Mix.  My first and only STC review can attest to that, but while 3rd still remains to be my top DDR soundtrack, MAX 2 deserves an honorable mention as well.  One thing MAX 2 has over 3rd is diversity; so many more music styles were implemented since then, including eurobeat, trance, J-pop/dance, and just more Speed in general.  The megamix work for MAX 2 -- although shorter in song lengths -- is absolute aces, too.

That's an interesting observation. I see a lot of Phil Collins "Easy Lover" in that arrange.

If you're refering to mine, I was making a list of all I owned, not a list of the best.

And I could write something about the music, but it'd either be too moment-specific, or pointless gushing praise.

-Joshua

Did you know that the letter 'D' constitutes an entire game by itself!?
Of course you did, but its music sucks, so I will ignore it.

Ehem.

I filed my favorite Dracula stuff under 'C' so that leaves me with:

Original:
I'll also give my love to the Donkey Kong Country Series, not just 2, but 1 was great as well. 3 was decent, and 64 was forgettable, but 1 and 2 were DA BANANA.
My absolute number 1 favorite OST (rip actually) is Demon's Crest/Quest.
GOD, how I love that music. I actually like it better than most Castlevania stuff really.

Honorable mention goes to Dirge of Cerberus

Arranged:
Dracula New Classic is great of course, and so is most of the Dragon Quest Symphonic stuff. I like VIII most, since it's the only one I actually played.

Yes, I have some of the old ones too.  Symphonic Suite set + the 9cd daisenshou or whatever set is contains 99% of all dragon quest music.  There are about 3-4 different prints of all the old symphonic suites, but the only difference is the orchestra that plays them (New Japan Phil, London Phil ... etc)

...that's a pretty big difference.

That's like calling, say, FF1 vs. FF1-PSX, that the "only difference is the synth quality".

-Joshua

D is unfathomably difficult, as there are many that I listen to frequently.

It terms of happiness, I'll have to pick the Double Dragon II arrange album. I had been collecting game music for several years before I even discovered it existed. And, as usual, in order to obtain it, a wagon full of gold was necessary. I could've kept the mp3 files from Quasi's server, but I had to have the original. It was worth it, to own an original for a while. It's also the best of the MECG catalog numbers (refer to gmronline.com)

Others that I like:

Dracula, such as Dracula X OST, Dracula Battle, etc. (very obvious stuff)
Dragonball Z arrange albums (not so obvious stuff)
Darius, Darius Gaiden, Darius Twin
Dragon Gun (Data East game; Gamadelic)
DYNASTY WARRIORS 4 (this is some wickedly cool shit)
Dinosaur Resurrection (Falcom synthy goodness)
Donkey Kong Country (ever heard this soundtrack with 2 12" subwoofers?; the SNES was crystal clear)
Dragon Warrior/Quest series (ummm....obviously)
Daiva Image Album (great little find; I once wrote a review for it)
Detana!! Twinbee (it's Konami)
DOOM Music

That's all I have time for; there are others, of course.

The only difference I've noticed between the different versions is the size of the orchestra's.  London seems to be the largest, Czech/Prague is the smallest and New Japan is somewhere in between. As classic and wonderful as the DQ Series' music is, it's pretty much guaranteed to be a straightforward arrangement of the original piece(s).  There's hardly, if any, experimental sounds or non-classical approaches to them.

~jb

Man alive, there are some super excellent cds in the "D" section, where to start...

In no particular order:

Dragon Quest DQ IV and the first DQ Monsters are my two faves
Dragon Force I&II I'd love to know who composed these, as well as who the vocalist who sings the op/ed for II is.
Dracula New Classic I was finally able to obtain this cd, I can die happy now
Dracula Battle I&II Easily the best rock vgm arrangements I can think of.
Dracula X: Rondo of Blood I love the game ost, but one of my favorite aspects of the cd release are the few arranged tracks from Castlevania X6800.
Dragon Slayer PCE I know there's a cd for this, but I don't have it so I listen to the redbook audio.  Did Yuzo do this ost too?  I can't remember.  Sad that Dragon Slayer II's audio wasn't nearly as good.
Devil May Cry I personally think the first game had much better tracks that the other two games.  The ending theme is my personal favorite.
Dew Prism I love Junya Nakano's work
D2 Currently I only own Sketches.  Who composed this, btw?
Deus EX Thanks for jogging my memory about this one, Megavolt.  I'd nearly forgotten about it as it's filed with the game and not on my cd shelf.  And yes, DuClare Chateau is a most excellent track.
Darius Gaiden I love all of Darius' music, but this one wins it for me.

For now, I'm just sticking to original game soundtracks.

FAVORITE:
Destiny of an Emperor (NES)
I have so many good memories of playing this game and the soundtrack was just so good.  The ancient China-inspired quality was its strong point for me I'd say.  I just love that opening theme when it shows all the characters' portraits, and most of the battle music was good too, along with the second overworld theme and the throne theme.  Even the Inn theme was kinda cute.

RUNNER UPS:
Dinoland (Genesis)
Vintage Telenet goodness.  I remember renting this game back in the day and recording its music on tape, like I did with just about all the games released by Renovation in America.

Dark Wizard (Sega CD)
No explanation needed really.  Live orchestral music that rocked.  Nuff said.

Dragon Slayer: LOH I and II (PCE SCD)
I guess I'll put these under D.  Yonemitsu's arrangements on the SCD versions were easily the game's best.  And for the record, DSII's soundtrack kicks ass.

Double Dragon II (Mega Drive)
Of course everyone knows this soundtrack rocks, but I'm a sucker for the Gen sound chip so I liked this version the best.

Double Dragon III (NES)
NES only!  The arcade BGM blew badly.  The NES versions seriously sound better.  I especially like Stage 1's theme.

Dracula X: Rondo of Blood (PCE SCD)
I still say this game has the best versions of "Vampire Killer" and "Beginning" ever.  As for "Bloody Tears," I've heard better.  I'm not a big fan of Bloody Tears to begin with so I tend to like the arrangements that dramatically alter its tonality.

Dark Savior (Saturn)
Hadn't thought about this game for a while.  The sound quality was a little shoddy but I liked a lot of the music, especially the dungeon themes.  What a weird game though...with the parallel worlds and everything.  I should go back and play it some day.

Dragon Force (Saturn)
This soundtrack took a while to grow on me.  I owned the ST before I actually got very far in the game, and didn't take a liking to it until I had heard the music in-game. 

Digital Devil Saga I and II (PS2)
Freakin' awesome.  Go Meguro.  He may just be the best battle theme composer ever.

- Justin Pfeiffer

OST: Doshin the GIANT not much to say about it.

Arrange: Dracula Battle II Favorite battle album nowadays. Nearly every track is killer.

Some followups: Dungeon Explorer II redbook, Dracula: SotN & Bloodlines.

http://www.altpop.com/stc/reviews/gitaroomanost.htm

So that was done by a different Angela Liu...?

...

I kid, I kid...Just happened to remember that when I had it on the other day. "G"'s still a while off.

"This is MY world now...You're just a squirrel looking for an amp!"

Poutin' Puma, I totally forgot that I had submitted that G-Man review for STC.   Color me cardinal. ^^;

I'm still deciding whether Gitaroo should take my top "G" soundtrack or not.  After all, Higashino and Iwadare are vying with their contributions, and there's that other Konami Bemani series to consider as well.  Not to mention that thrashin'-rockin' fighting series from Sammy. Hmm...

I'd have to go with DKC2, as it contains one of my favorite themes ever: the previously mentioned "Stickerbrush Symphony." I enjoyed the gameplay immensely in the bramble stages, but the music just made the experience all the more enjoyable.

Probably my favorite of the series as well, though DW3 comes awfully close. I can never get enough of Lu Bu's Theme.

I actually remember reading that review shortly after I had gotten the soundtrack (which was a bootleg, though that has since been rectified) and thinking how spot on it was.

Gotta disagree about MAX 2, however. I do think the song selection is better and more varied than 3rd's, but I wasn't as impressed with the nonstop mix. None of the songs were really mixed into each other, and, even worse, there were no new remixes of Konami Originals, which was one of the drawing points of previous releases. That said, I'd place the underrated Solo 2000 soundtrack as my second-favorite DDR OST. The bass-heavy tunes weren't all to my liking, but the new remixes of Konami Originals were simply breathtaking.  DDR MAX is also up there with its fantastic new arrangements of "On the Jazz" and "Look to the Sky." We can only hope SuperNOVA returns the OSTs to their glory days.

I wanted to like this one more, but I HATED the DJ they used on this one. She just kind of kept me from fully getting into the mix...The guy from 2nd/3rd Mix was awesome in sort of a dorky way, but the girl was too annoying to listen to. That, and I still cringe thinking about "My Baby Mama".

"Now who DAT is?"

You bring up My Baby Mama, but not Don't Clock Me?  My Baby Mama at least has fantastic comedic value, with such lines as, "I'll break your neck if I catch a disease," and, "You've got more hoochie-mamas than the 2 Live Crew.  Now who that is?"  Don't Clock Me's pre-adolescent rap is just painful to listen to.

I've only listened to the megamixes from 3rd, Solo 2000, DDRMAX, and Extreme, but I have to say that DDRMAX is far and away the best one.  It's the only one that I can get totally lost in.  It has the right balance for a megamix; it doesn't have too many songs, so every song gets its proper treatment, with space to extend some of the truly awesome ones (Healing Vision (Angelic Mix), Somewhere Over the Rainbow, etc.)

-Extreme's megamix is kind of lifeless, and having Paranoia Survivor and Paranoia Survivor Max back-to-back was a fatal mistake (I have a hard enough time listening to one of them).

-Solo 2000 has a lot of garbage tracks, but that is made up for by the totally awesome remixes of older tracks (particularly Sexy Planet).

-3rd is pretty decent, but the peppiness makes it harder for me to get totally involved with it.  It's also a little strange listening to it because, even though I got started in the arcade on 3rd Mix, it was a 3rd Mix Korean Vol. 1, which is missing four songs from the regular 3rd Mix songlist.  When If You Can Say Goodbye comes up on the CD, I have to stop for a second and remind myself that this song really was on regular 3rd Mix machines.  I really wish they had included the Korean songs from 3rd Mix Korean Vol. 2 on the 3rd Mix soundtrack...