So, umm...yeah. Ace Combat. The soundtracks. Which ones should I get (if any at all)? And what can you say about any of them in particular?

(Heck, why AC music threads tend to be posted by those who I don't like?)

After AC6, my love for AC music in general has drifted apart. While I'm still a big fan of Keiki Kobayashi (he is my #2 favorite composer), the other composers (especially Nakanishi and Okubo) are pretty weak in comparison to Kobayashi. Nakatsuru is okay, but he seems to focus much more on Soul Calibur.

As a Kobayashi fan, I think AC5 is the most consistent and definitive AC soundtrack available, despite the first half of its 4th disc being dull. It also accompanied the game very effectively. Aside of that, there is not much to choose from... they're all almost alike for me (Kobayashi's tracks are always pretty damned good, but the rest are...bleh).

Lastly, I have little interest in the earlier entries and spin-offs, but I don't think there is any intrinsically terrible album. They may or may not cater to some people, and it's totally up to you.

I haven't heard the first three soundtracks, but out of the rest, Ace Combat 5 is definitely my fav. It also has a wide variety of styles spanning four discs.

I actually think that, excepting the arcade tracks, the Ace Combat 5 soundtrack is rather homogeneous, a problem that is made more acute by the soundtrack's length.  And The Journey Home is painful.

If I were to recommend a single Ace Combat soundtrack, it would be Zero's.  I like that the way that the electric and Spanish guitar accompaniments elevate the soundtrack from conventional military action music.  The tracks Juggernaut, Sortie III, Zero, and Epilogue make the soundtrack worth buying.

Like Kaleb, I haven't heard the Ace Combat 1 - 3 soundtracks (I'm pretty much a newbie to older Namco soundtracks). However, I've checked out all the subsequent ones apart from Skies of Deception. As it's the only game in the series I've played, I'm often attracted to the Ace Combat 4 soundtrack. However, I agree that the Kobayashi goodness of Ace Combat 5 and the flamenco influence of Ace Combat Zero result in stronger soundtracks overall. So far, I haven't found much that characterises Ace Combat 6 relative to the other soundtracks but I'm still exploring it.

I'll agree; I found Ace Combat Zero immediately accessible; I'm not really liking Ace Combats 3-5, though, I could probably stand to give them more in depth listen.

I'm not even finding Ace Combat 1 or 2 anywhere, but I think Ace Combat 3 was the first PS2 game, and for the most part, I really don't listen to anything that's less than PS2 synth, especially when I haven't even played the game for it (though I still like my FFVII & VIII soundtracks more than all get-out).

I just really want some jet fighter music in my life!

I feel so sorry for you right now.

AC1 to AC3 had little, if any, internally sequenced music (which you're calling 'less than PS2 synth'). That's why the fact that AC3 was a PSX game doesn't matter for this discussion. They're CD-XA at odd sampling rate (37 or so). If my memory serves, the guitar was even performanced. Also, in just my humble opinion, AC4 and AC5 are, while streamed too, are definitely not among the most masterfully synthful soundtracks available.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1a_ikfUico
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v69yX3qZUZQ

There ya go!

I recently listened to the soundtracks for Ace Combat 1-3.

Ace Combat 3 was a big turn off for me. Really ambient electronic tracks. Not even as good as the electronic tracks in the newer Ace Combats.

Ace Combat 1 & 2 are good stuff (I think I like 2 more). Mostly guitar tracks, but a few other styles splashed in. I think the guitar style is a lot more interesting here than it was in the arcade tracks of AC5.