delericho
Legend
Midnight Syndicate did an "Official D&D Soundtrack" that's actually quite good. They have also released a number of other 'gaming soundtracks', mostly aimed at the horror genre. I have "Gates of Delerium", which would be very good for the right sort of horror game (something set in an asylum, or similar). There was also a CD included in the "Sharn: City of Towers" sourcebook for Eberron, which I believe was by the same team (certainly, it's in much the same style).
Of course, there's also the soundtrack for the D&D movie, which is okay, but not great.
I know Interplay did a soundtrack for one of the Neverwinter Nights games, but I don't know if it was ever made available separately, or only with a 'deluxe version' of the game. I also have no idea how good it is, although the in-game music of the games themselves is generally pretty good.
Depending on the game, I've had some success with soundtracks from "Angel" (the TV series), "Batman Returns", "Conan the Barbarian", "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", the aforementioned D&D soundtracks, "Enemy at the Gates", "Final Fantasy" (the movie), "From Hell", "Gladiator", "Harry Potter", "Interview with the Vampire", the "Matrix" trilogy (scores, not soundtracks), "Planet of the Apes" (the Tim Burton version - the soundtrack's better than the film), "Reign of Fire", "Team America" (the instrumental/anthemic pieces at the end of the album), "The Crow", "The Man in the Iron Mask" (Byrne/Malkovich/Depardieu/Irons version), "The Mummy"/"The Mummy Returns" (I daresay "The Scorpion King" and the third "Mummy" film would probably have good soundtracks too), "The Patriot" (Mel Gibson) and "X-Men 2".
You might also try the "Indiana Jones", "Lord of the Rings" and "Star Wars" soundtracks, but the sheer familiarity of these may act as a distraction. In particular, "Star Wars" isn't really very good for any game except Star Wars. However, if you are running a Star Wars game, I highly recommend getting the soundtrack for the recent "Clone Wars" movie, which is just different enough to fit really well.
I second the advice to avoid anything with lyrics (especially in English), to avoid anything too familiar, and to keep the volume reasonably low. You should also be warned that a lot of soundtracks include at least one (usually very poor) attempt at a pop song at the end. For that reason, I would recommend the use of an MP3 player rather than the raw CDs for in-game music (this also allows much more flexibility in putting together playlists and audio cues).
Of course, there's also the soundtrack for the D&D movie, which is okay, but not great.
I know Interplay did a soundtrack for one of the Neverwinter Nights games, but I don't know if it was ever made available separately, or only with a 'deluxe version' of the game. I also have no idea how good it is, although the in-game music of the games themselves is generally pretty good.
Depending on the game, I've had some success with soundtracks from "Angel" (the TV series), "Batman Returns", "Conan the Barbarian", "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", the aforementioned D&D soundtracks, "Enemy at the Gates", "Final Fantasy" (the movie), "From Hell", "Gladiator", "Harry Potter", "Interview with the Vampire", the "Matrix" trilogy (scores, not soundtracks), "Planet of the Apes" (the Tim Burton version - the soundtrack's better than the film), "Reign of Fire", "Team America" (the instrumental/anthemic pieces at the end of the album), "The Crow", "The Man in the Iron Mask" (Byrne/Malkovich/Depardieu/Irons version), "The Mummy"/"The Mummy Returns" (I daresay "The Scorpion King" and the third "Mummy" film would probably have good soundtracks too), "The Patriot" (Mel Gibson) and "X-Men 2".
You might also try the "Indiana Jones", "Lord of the Rings" and "Star Wars" soundtracks, but the sheer familiarity of these may act as a distraction. In particular, "Star Wars" isn't really very good for any game except Star Wars. However, if you are running a Star Wars game, I highly recommend getting the soundtrack for the recent "Clone Wars" movie, which is just different enough to fit really well.
I second the advice to avoid anything with lyrics (especially in English), to avoid anything too familiar, and to keep the volume reasonably low. You should also be warned that a lot of soundtracks include at least one (usually very poor) attempt at a pop song at the end. For that reason, I would recommend the use of an MP3 player rather than the raw CDs for in-game music (this also allows much more flexibility in putting together playlists and audio cues).