Here's game soundtracks I like the most. I'll provide some examples for each game.
Arcade:
Golden Axe (1989) [You Takada] - Wilderness, Boss fight
Sega Genesis (Megadrive):
Golden Axe III (1993) [Naofumi Hataya & others] - The Vast Field, The Bloody Street
Sharp X68000:
Akimajou Dracula (1993) [Shin-chan & others] - Vampire Killer
PC (DOS):
MIDI:
Codename Iceman (1989) [Mark Seibert] - Bar theme 1
Duke Nukem 3D (1996) [Lee Jackson, Robert Prince] - Grabbag, Stalker
Dune II (1992) [Frank Klepacki] - Rulers of Arrakis
Heretic (1994) [Kevin Schilder] - The Dungeons
Highway Hunter (1995) [Serge Shishkin] - Prologue
Magic Carpet 2 (1995) [Russell Shaw] - Main Menu
Ski or Die (1990) [Rob Hubbard] - Main theme
Space Quest V (1993) [Timothy Steven Clarke, Christopher Stevens] - Starcon Academy, Cleaning the Academy Crest
Time Commando (1996) [Philippe Vachey] - Ending Titles, Rome
Tyrian (1995) [Alexander Brandon] - Gryphons of the West
UFO: Enemy Unknown (1994) [John Broomhall] - Intercept, Geoscape alternative
Warcraft II (1995) [Glenn Stafford] - Orc 2, Human 2
Tracker modules:
Another World (1992) [Jean-François Freitas] - Ending
Epic Pinball (1993) [Robert Allen, Joshua Jensen] - Menu theme
Jazz Jackrabbit (1994) [Alexander Brandon] - Main Menu, Bonus
One Must Fall 2097 (1994) [Kenny Chou] - Menu
Vanguard Ace (1997) [Björn Gustafsson] - Alone
PCM or CD Audio:
Baryon (1995) [SeokGee Jeon] - Stage 1, Stage 4
Carmageddon (1997) [Lee Groves & Fear Factory] - Zero Signal
Command & Conquer (1995) [Frank Klepacki] - Act on Instinct, Industrial
Descent 2 (1996) [Type O'Negative & others] - Haunted
Dungeon Keeper (1997) [Russell Shaw] - The Horned Reaper, Soft Flute
Dungeons of Kremlin (1995) [unknown Russian composer] - Intro
Heroes of Might and Magic II (1996) [Paul Romero] - Swamp, Battle Theme 3
Little Big Adventure 2 (1997) [Philippe Vachey] - LBA Theme
Lords of the Realm 2 (1996) [Keith Zizza] - Setup, Scroll 1
Redneck Rampage (1997) [The Beat Farmers & others] - Baby's Liquored Up, Gettin' Drunk
PC (Windows):
Tracker modules:
Fury 3 (1995) [Kyle Richards] - Terran, Fog
Unreal Tournament (1999) [Michiel van den Bos] - Run, Foregone Destruction, Botpack #9
PCM or CD Audio:
Beyond Divinity (2004) [Kirill Pokrovsky] - Crystal Cave
Civilization V (2010) [Geoff Knorr & Michael Curran] - Askia peace theme
Darkwood (2014) [Artur Kordas] - Morning theme, Menu theme
Diablo (1997) [Matt Uelmen] - Tristram, Catacombs
Diablo II (2000) [Matt Uelmen] - Sisters, Docks
Disciples II (2002) [Philippe Charron] - Battle 2, Ingame 3
Divine Divinity (2002) [Kirill Pokrovsky] - Stones and Trees, A Wind of Aleroth, The Song of the Wind
Divinity 2 (2009) [Kirill Pokrovsky] - Here be Zandalor
Evil Islands (2000) [Andrey Fedorenko & others] - Kania, Ingos
Frostpunk (2018) [Piotr Musiał] - The Last Flame, The City Must Survive
Heroes of Might and Magic III (1999) [Paul Romero] - Rampart, Combat Theme 4
Heroes of Might and Magic IV (2002) [Paul Romero] - Sea, Hope
Icewind Dale (2000) [Jeremy Soule] - Kuldahar Theme
Icewind Dale 2 (2002) [Inon Zur] - Skeleton of a Town
Mass Effect (2007) [Sam Hulick] - Map theme
Might and Magic VI (1998) [Paul Romero, Rob King] - Moonlit Journey - Snow, The Hive
Neverwinter Nights (2002) [Jeremy Soule] - Main Theme
Paradise Cracked (2002) [Alexander Shukaev] - Title 01, Skytown 01a
Power of Law (2004) [Alexander Shukaev] - In The End, Megapolis
Quake II (1997) [Sonic Mayhem] - Descent into Cerberon, The Underworld
Starcraft (1998) [Derek Duke, Glenn Stafford & others] - Terran 1, Zerg 1
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006) [Jeremy Soule] - The Watchman's Ease, Wings of Kynareth
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011) [Jeremy Soule] - The Streets of Whiterun, Ancient Stones
The Witcher (2007) [Adam Skorupa, Paweł Błaszczak] - The Dike, Ominous Place
The Witcher 3 (2015) [Marcin Przybyłowicz] - Outskirts of Novigrad, The Nightingale, King Bran's Final Voyage
The Wolf Among Us (2013) [Jared Emerson-Johnson] - Office theme, Woodlands
Total Annihilation: Kingdoms (1999) [Jeremy Soule] - Song of the Siren
Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War (2004) [Jeremy Soule] - Force Commander theme, Fallen City, Chant, Acid
After I compiled everything I thought that there are many Russian composers on the list. My overall top of game composers is:
- Jeremy Soule (US) - incredibly immersive orchestral music
- Marcin Przybyłowicz (Poland) - very immersive medieval music
- Piotr Musiał (Poland) - incredibly immersive orchestral/ambient music
- Matt Uelmen (US) - incredibly immersive and atmospheric music, with rock elements
- Kirill Pokrovsky (Russian but migrated to Belgium in 1991) - very immersive music but he lacked mixing skills, at least by the times of Divine Divinity (2002). He was a keyboard player and songwriter in several Russian rock bands (Aria, Master) before his emigration, so his lack of sound engineering skills is explainable.
- Paul Romero (US) - incredibly immersive orchestral music, often with female choirs
- Philippe Charron (France) - very immersive and catchy orchestral music
- Andrey Fedorenko (Russia) - immersive music but lacks mixing skills, at least by the times of Evil Islands (2000). He is a leader and a vocalist of Russian power metal band 'Archontes' existing since 1993, example: Archontes - Lullaby.
- Alexander Shukaev (Russia) - electronic dreamy music. He is not much of a gaming composer but he runs an electronic project by the name 'Sensorica'. Example: Sensorica vs. Jin Key - Only One. Actually, I know him personally, and we even had a collaboration track: Sensorica & Geryon - Euphoria.
Hardware comparisons and game system requirements: https://technical.city