8 Video Game Soundtracks Make It Into The 'Classic FM Hall Of Fame 2014'

Woo! We did it guys, for the third straight year in a row, we came out in force and made sure video game music was represented in the world's largest list of the best classical music. In 2012 we got Elder Scrolls and Aerith's Theme high up into the top 300, last year we got 3 soundtracks into the  top 300: Viva Piñata, Elder Scrolls and Final Fantasy and this year, well, see for yourself below:

Journey, Austin Wintory (289th) – http://halloffame.classicfm.com/2014/chart/position/289/
Kingdom Hearts, Yoko Shimomura/Hikaru Utada (177th) – http://halloffame.classicfm.com/2014/chart/position/177/
Kingdoms of Amalur, Grant Kirkhope (75th) – http://halloffame.classicfm.com/2014/chart/position/75/
Viva Piñata, Grant Kirkhope (54th) – http://halloffame.classicfm.com/2014/chart/position/54/
World of Warcraft, Russell Brower (52nd) – http://halloffame.classicfm.com/2014/chart/position/52/
Banjo Kazooie, Grant Kirkhope (50th) – http://halloffame.classicfm.com/2014/chart/position/50/
The Elder Scrolls, Jeremy Soule (17th) – http://halloffame.classicfm.com/2014/chart/position/17
Final Fantasy, Nobuo Uematsu (7th) – http://halloffame.classicfm.com/2014/chart/position/7

What strikes me most is the variety that gamers voted for. Compared to last year where Aerith's Theme came 3rd but only 2 other soundtracks throughout the entire rest of the countdown, I much prefer having a video game soundtrack be further down but have more soundtracks in the top 300 overall. Having such a good spread, with video game soundtracks dotted throughout the top 300, shows the creative breadth that the medium has, and ultimately I think that's far more valuable in the long run. Eventually we want gaming to be taken as seriously as other legitimate artforms, and representing ourselves well in charts like this is an important step.

I'm a bit disappointed that we didn't get more obvious soundtracks onto the list (no Zelda? No Mario?!) but hey, there's always next year! For now just enjoy seeing Banjo Kazooie make the list of the top 50 classical soundtracks of all time. Amazing.

Congrats to Grant Kirkhope, 3 entries in the top 300, with his score to Banjo Kazooie in the top 50. Incredible!