Vigil from Mass Effect. I think it's the song playing when you first get the galaxy map, and playing that game and seeing the world open up while hearing that song really put me in a great mood.

There are a lot of good songs, but today I will pick Megalovania by Toby Fox. https://youtu.be/KK3KXAECte4

The perfect synchronicity of the Metal song and the player character pumping their shotgun at the end of the opening sequence of DOOM (2016) when they exit the elevator towards the surface of Mars.

Tristram from Diablo

Guile's theme from Street Fighter 2

they still play in my head regularly, 30 or so years later

Mick Gordon and Tex Perkins track from Wolfenstein: The Old Blood, called The Partisan. Fantastic end piece to the game.

https://mickgordon.bandcamp.com/album/the-partisan-feat-tex-perkins

Later found out it's steeped in history as it's a cover/adaptation of a 1943 anti-fascist song written in French by Russian-born Anna Marly. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Marly

To Zanarkand just does something...

Red Alert Hell March

https://youtu.be/e3YzmjmAGoI

Hard to pick just 1, so here's a list of ones I deem notable from a few different games:

• 14.3 Billion Years — Outer Wilds
• Undertale — Undertale
• City of Tears — Hollow Knight
  • (with in-game ambiance)
• Under the Eye of Kibenya — Heaven's Vault
  • No publicly available version of this one; but the game and soundtrack are good, so they're worth a buy
• Private Room — Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location
• Tiny's Theme — Mario Golf
• Cleopactra — Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness
• Dive Into the Mellow — Sonic Adventure 2
• Fathomless Tomb — Deep Rock Galactic
• They Might As Well Be Dead — Risk of Rain 2
• xX_TF_CNS_FloatingBits_Mp3_Xx (Floating Bits) — The Finals

Cassette Beasts OST is amazing. "Wherever we are now" is probably my favorite.

Sonic 3: Ice Cap Zone Act 1

Chemical Plant Zone, Sonic 2.

I'm partial to the original Dwarf Fortress music

I have a new obsession: Sea of Stars

https://youtu.be/Xer_vasWKGQ

NieR: Automata - Weight of the World

This is at first so beautiful, and later on it just hits so hart. And listening to the other versions, japanese where the performer even cries, and chaos (a fantasy language) (video with spoilers, sadly), this is such a great piece of art. The perfect bittersweet song.

The entire Megaman 2 soundtrack.

Double Dragon

Punch Out

Ocarina of time - lost woods

Too many to list.

• Main theme from Assassins Creed Valhalla
• OST from both Ori games. Seriously, they're all awesome
• OST from Journey
• Bastion Theme (and all other tracks too)

Bonus:

• Super Mario Galaxy
• Tetris

Plok - Beach

This is gonna be an old cut but Paperboy the arcade by Atari frickin slaps.

A lot of the old Apple II game sounds mainly due to just growing up playing on an Apple II. The Ultima series had some of the best music. Ultima III Ultima IV

To me it's always been the B version of the original Tetris. This and most of Megaman X

FTL

'Trial Of Thunder (5-3)' from the 'Crypt of the Necrodancer' (Metal Soundtrack). I'm not a fan of this type of game and have never played it, but Familyjules totally shreds the original 8-bit soundtrack it had.

Gran tursimo 4 menu music.

The Great Sea from Wind Waker.

I'm sure nostalgia plays a part, but I'm a sucker for those classic Kondo tracks.

Ooh...I have an entire playlist of my favorite OSTs. Long term, I'd have to say One-Winged Angel, specifically the remake. Also worth mentioning:

Dark Soul 3 main theme

Feel from Lies of P

Dependent Weakling from Nier, specifically this version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePXlfGufSjk&t=0

Skyrim OST "unbroken road". It fits the open world vibes perfectly.

Gotta say, nobody knows this game and rare are thoses who even played it, can it even be considered as a video game track, but i will say the first theme from Irisu Syndrome!

Been getting into bullet hells lately and the OST for Espgaluda slaps so hard, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJSlYmeW_es&list=PL6N1UyX9iZqvHkgNTslgU0ivl2jiLjNk2&index=6

The whole game is a wild, 2000's anime fever dream and worth checking out even if you're not into bullet hells. The primary mechanic involves building up gems from enemy kills that allow you to activate a power up to slow time. When time is slowed, any enemy you kill has their bullets cancelled and added to your score, so it encourages you to build up insane amounts of bullets on screen before going bullet time and killing everything. With this insane, trance-y soundtrack playing in the background it is a V I B E.

"I wanna take ya for a riddee~"

Metroid Prime OST, too many good options to pick just one.

I don’t know about “absolute favorite”, but the Spanish Waltz / Shop theme from Castle Crashers routinely loops in my head

https://youtu.be/dLchXp8FCbI

Three way tie:

The Last of US : Horizon Zero Dawn: Morrowind

Menu screen for crackdown

https://youtu.be/GYLdQZQ0YT8 Distant Worlds II: The Prelude, if that counts as a video game track.

https://youtu.be/STPnXPSirT0 With this as continuation.

https://youtu.be/lndBgOrTWxo Otherwise Stickerbush Symphony.

My mind landed on Stickerbush Symphony from Donkey Kong Country 2 and kinda settled there. David Wise is damn good at composing video game music.

It has to one of these two for me, hard to pick: The Chersonese soundtrack from Outward or Fear Not This Night from Guild Wars 2.

The Outward one hits especially hard while adventuring through Chersonese!

Edit: typo

It's a deep cut but I used to play a ton of The Incredible Machine as a kid and the Zydeco song has always been a banger.

Higher quality remixed version from the 3DO version

“Duh nuh nuh naaaaaah! Dun nuh nuh naaaaah! Dun nuh nuh naaaah!….”

Original music: probably everything Solar Fields did for Mirror's Edge. Not original: No Rest for the Wicked is perfect for Borderlands. Hard choices though, there's a lot of good shit out there.

Humm hard to pick, my recent top two favourites are

The Legacy of Bhaal (BG3) https://youtu.be/kbQQAg3IPM8

Lord of Frenzied Flame (Elden Ring SOTE) actually, this whole OST is insanely good. Base game slaps as well

https://youtu.be/SHwLbyDlqG0

Mass Effect 3 - Leaving Earth

Scored by the great Clint Mansell, also check out The Fountain OST.

I don't know why my brain refuses to let it go, but Graeme Norgate's Astrolander from Timesplitters 2 is short and very sweet.

Also theres the opening theme from Escape from the Planet of the Robot Monsters.

Oh actually also the Italy round of Road Rash 3. I once worked in an Italian restaurant and would whistle this without knowing it was taken from some famous Italian opera, and the owner asked me how I knew the music, and I didn't have the heart to tell him.

Metal Gear Solid ending theme, the best is yet to come.

25 years later, it still gives me goosebumps and tears.

Thank you M. Kojima.

race against fate from metro exodus

Rusted apart from the unravel. That music is just too good

Missing You - Kingdom Hearts II

Laura Shigihara - Everything's Alright from To The Moon.

That game made me weep like a baby, so even now, some ten years after playing it for the first time, that song still stirs up those feelings.

And for much the same reason, Daniel Lanois - That's The Way It Is from Red Dead 2.

If you've played it long enough to hear that song, you understand.

Justin E Bell - All Gods from pillars of eternity

https://youtu.be/2bqVB1MCN2c

Riversong - Tonto's Expanding Head Band (Universal Paperclip)

Danger from Secret of Mana / Seiken Densetsu 2. I love me some boss battle music!

I'm just gonna say Rainbow Cliffs from the Ty the Tasmanian Tiger OST, just because it has been my ringtone for a few years now and I still can't get enough of it.

Runner up is probably The Reverse Will from the Silent Hill 2 OST (original, not remake)

Dearly Beloved

Metal gear solid- the best is yet to come

I had a soft spot for Icewind Dale’s soundtrack by Jeremy Soule.

Razorback - motorstorm Pacific rift

Max Payne 2: ”Late Goodbye” by Poets of the Fall.

The track during the balcony scene from the first Blade Runner point-n-click adventure game. Came out in 1997. It's Vangelis' iconic Blade Runner Blues

Ordinary from NFS:Hot Pursuit 2

Jazz Jackrabbit 2 OST Carrotus

Just one?

Portal - Self Esteem Fund by Kelly Bailey

The volumes this song speaks through it's atmosphere is incredible. The raw emotions and feelings of isolation are better conveyed through this song than words ever can in my opinion

My scrobbles say I've listened to this single song for more than 9 hours over the years... I have so many emotions bottled up in this song lol

Probably nostalgia but guild wars 1 specially prophecies ( the first / base game ) had some absolute bangers for an mmorp and specially fitted for zones.

https://youtu.be/Xi3uIEEhxo8

Towards Utopia (Nova Flare) from Stellaris, but I will say one of my favorite things in a video game is when suddenly a character sings a musical number, like The Great Mighty Poo from Conkers Bad Fur Day or Cosmic I from Psychonauts 2

Expedition Society theme from Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon. Has some commie marching song vibes.

Probably Coalescence from Risk of Rain 1

Fortress of Doors from the American McGee's Alice OST.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lz8dOeZCMjE&list=PLE6593A6F00DB9E4B&index=4

I think this might be at a sweet spot between being a well-known track and an unexpected top choice to answer this question - Kefka's theme is iconic.

I'd still put FF6 as my top game soundtrack, but I'll admit it's easily possible that's just a consequence of me not playing many games the past couple decades.