Because it exists too! For instance, I found this one, on Gamespot, issued in 1999, called "The Ten Best Game Soundtracks". The list is in alphabetical order.

http://www.gamespot.com/features/tenspot_music/

This is complicated further by the fact that not all the video games soundtracks may have been released independently from the game they come from (yes, it happens), but they have technically been released on CD, on the game's CD.

This is more for fun than anything, but I'm curious about your decision on this one.

- Civilisation II (Various Artists)
- Diablo (Matt Uelman)
- Doom (Bobby Prince)
- Grim Fandango (Peter McConnell)
- Heroes Of Might And Magic II: The Succession Wars (Rob King & Paul Romero)
- Interstate '76 (Arion Salazar, of Third Eye Blind)
- MechWarrior 2 (Gregory Alper & Jeehun Hwang)
- Star Control II (Various Artists)
- Total Annihilation (The Northwest Sinfonia orchestra, composed by Jeremy Soule)
- Wing Commander (George "The Fatman" Sanger)

So, what do you think about it ?

The only game I've played out of those is Doom, which is one of my favorites. I remember hearing a while back that the Doom soundtrack ripped off a song or two from Metallica, Alice in Chains, and Black Sabbath (I think). Not that I'm complaining though, because all that game's audio is amazing.

Here's another from IGN and from 2007, even funnier, since it goes WAY back:

http://uk.games.ign.com/articles/811/811667p1.html

The best soundtracks of the 8-bit era:

1. Super Mario Bros.
2. Castlevania
3. The Legend Of Zelda
4. Contra
5. Shadowgate
6. Punch-Out
7. Dr. Mario
8. Wizards & Warriors
9. Blades Of Steel
10. Metroid

Honorable mentions:
- Ninja Gaiden
- Platoon
- Tecmo Bowl
- Kid Icarus
- Ghosts 'n Goblins
- Faxanadu
- Crystalis
- Mega Man II

Nintendo is highly favored for this time. I played some of these games, I'm getting nostalgic .

More lists! These come from gamesradar.com, and the guys there seem completely geek about video game music.

17 videogame soundtracks ahead of their time
http://www.gamesradar.com/f/17-videogame-soundtracks-ahead-of-their-time/a-20090428101958583089

Pitfall II (1984)
One Man And His Droid (1985)
Out Run (1986)
Mega Man (1987)
Castlevania III (1990)
Silver Surfer (1990)
Streets Of Rage (1991)
ToeJam & Earl (1991)
Sonic CD (1993)
King Arthur's World (1994)
Road Rash (1994)
Donkey Kong Country (1994)
Final Fantasy VI (1994)
Parappa The Rapper (1997)
Metal Gear Solid (1998)
Sonic Rush (2005)
Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008)

23 amazing game soundtracks you don't remember
http://www.gamesradar.com/f/23-amazing-game-soundtracks-you-dont-remember/a-2009031615610828021
- Atelier Iris
- Bionic Commando Rearmed
- Bioshock
- Blast Corps
- Call Of Duty
- Die Hard Trilogy
- Doom 64
- Earthworm Jim
- Ecco The Dolphin: Defender Of The Future
- F-Zero GX
- Final Fantasy Mystic Quest
- Freedom Fighters
- Ghouls 'n' Ghosts
- Gremlins 2
- Jet Grind Radio / Jet Grind Radio Future
- Plok
- Secret Of Mana
- Shadow Of The Beast
- Shenmue
- Silver Surfer
- Sonic Xtreme
- Wizards And Warriors III

And, even more singular:
The 10 best Zelda songs EVER
http://www.gamesradar.com/f/the-10-best-zelda-songs-ever/a-200803041031924088

1. Labyrinth (from The Legend of Zelda)
2. File Select (from Twilight Princess)
3. Title (from The Legend of Zelda)
4. Temple Theme (from Adventure of Link)
5. Dark World (from Link to the Past)
6. Gerudo Valley (from Ocarina of Time)
7. Lost Woods (from Ocarina of Time)
8. Dragon Roost Island (from Wind Waker)
9. Tal Tal Heights (from Link's Awakening)
10. Hyrule Castle (from Link to the Past)

When you see how little traction Broadway gets in these lists, video game soundtracks have no chance. I was surprised as hell when someone else (can't remember who now) mentioned that they also put a game soundtrack in their top 200 list.

We are at least 2 in this forum who remember Jet Grind Radio (Future or not) soundtrack. VanillaFire put them in his list and I would have too (for the "not future" at least) if I had thought about video games soundtrack.
I'm crazy about Final Fantasy VII soundtrack too, but I love everything about that game.

For non original soundtrack, my favourite would be SSX3 which had a bunch of great songs which totally fitted with the whole ambiance of the game, fun and wild !

The Zelda songs list is not relevant since the Wind Fish song from Link's awakening is not included !

And talking about the first list, the Donkey Kong Kountry music was indeed really ahead of its time (video-gamely speaking) with all its different moods and influences, still a pleasure to hear it now and then.

Yeah, I do remember Donkey Kong Country too (and Secret of Mana)! I would have liked to see the Final Fantasy VII ost somewhere, I'm completely crazy about everything around this game. Maybe StarCraft, too.

Well, it's already surprising these lists exist.

Regarding FFVII, it seems we're not alone. I went back on IGN, and here's a new list I found:

Top ten Final Fantasy Soundtracks:
http://uk.music.ign.com/articles/730/730189p1.html

1. Final Fantasy VII
2. Final Fantasy IV
3. Final Fantasy VI
4. Final Fantasy VIII
5. Final Fantasy IX
6. Final Fantasy X
7. Final Fantasy X-2
8. Final Fantasy Tactics
9. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
10. Final Fantasy XII

Top ten songs:
1. One-Winged Angel (FFVII)
2. Prologue (FFIV)
3. Aria Di Mezzo Carattere (FFVI)
4. Liberi Fatali (FFVIII)
5. Whom We Must Protect (FFIX)
6. Suteki Da Ne (FFX)
7. 1000 Words (FFX-2)
8. Hero's Theme (FF Tactics)
9. Kaze No Ne (FFCC)
10. Kiss Me Goodbye (FFX)

And I still disagree. "Aeris's Theme" should be the best song.

I can't believe none of these lists mentions Chrono Trigger--quite possibly the greatest videogame soundtrack of all time.

Remember that these lists are short, or specialized, I think that a longer list would be more relevant. For instance, I'd like to see StarCraft or Jazz Jackrabbit 2 (this game is whacky, and the soundtrack is in the same spirit), I never played Chrono Trigger but for what I gathered it seems that the soundtrack was acclaimed too.

Anyway, I'm still curious about what Henrik think about it?

Found some more. These are top ten... again... Why do they make only short lists?

These two come from Games.net, a spin-off of the GamePro website. GamePro seems to be an important magazine since it appears in international editions.

The lists are in no particular order.
http://www.games.net/article/netten/1/110942/rock-on-10-games-with-great-soundtracks/
http://www.games.net/article/netten/1/113581/the-10-best-hip-hop-game-soundtracks/

10 Games With Great Soundtracks

Halo
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Parappa The Rapper
The SSX series
Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Rez
Lumines
Guitar Hero
Katamari Damacy

The 10 Best Hip-Hop Game Soundtracks

Scarface: The World Is Yours
Def Jam: Fight For NY
Saints Row
NBA 2K6
Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure
NBA Live 2003
Madden NFL 2004
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
True Crime NYC
Fight Night

I gotta believe!

That was one great game soundtrack. Finished the game in a couple of hours, had the songs stuck in my head for a couple of months.

I'm not a video game specialist but this Jellyfish song from one the Mario Bros game kicks ass !

Aeris's Theme should be #2, Cosmo Canyon should be the best song ! It will make my all time top 500 (maybe 200) with its tribal rythms and delicate piano.

The soundtrack of Bust a Groove/Bust a Move (depending where you live), one of the first "dance" videogame, was really fun, with tome really great songs, including a remix of Mickael Jackson's 2 Bad far better than the original. I was unbeatable at that game (litterally, the best you could do was a tie if you made a 100% too ^^ )

I'm bringing this topic back for I've found a new list, a top ten once again, but which somewhat cheats, since it adds video game series soundtracks as a pack.

I've found it on the Daily Telegraph official site, a place where I did not expect to find a list like that. The date is september 2009.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/video-games/6127616/Top-10-video-game-musical-scores.html

- The Halo series
- Super Mario Galaxy
- The God of War series
- The Metal Gear Solid series
- The Legend of Zelda series
- American McGhee's Alice
- Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
- The Silent Hill series
- Riven
- The Final Fantasy series

Honourable mentions:
- Mass Effect
- BioShock
- Portal
- Quake
- Tetris
- Flower
- Sonic The Hedgehog