Stocking Stuffers: Budget-Friendly Video Game Music Under $20
Gamers (and friends of gamers), it’s that time of year again — time to consider holiday gifts for the people you love! Whether your celebrations include literal stockings full of objects or not, here are some budget-friendly video game music gift suggestions to place inside the metaphorical footwear of your friends, your loved ones, and most definitely yourself this holiday season.
Stocking-Stuffer Video Game Music CDs
Video game music isn’t just fancy-schmancy collectable vinyl. We think you’ll find these CDs affordable and also the perfect size to slide into a stocking or gift-wrap with a pretty bow.
Chamber Works: NieR Automata
Chamber Works: NieR Automata (Compact Disc)
Inspired by contemporary composers like Philip Glass and Steve Reich, Sean Schafianski has arranged one of the decade’s best game soundtracks into chamber pieces that would be at home in any concert hall setting. The instrumentation varies from track to track, but all the musicians are top-notch.
Best for: Instrumentalists, classical music lovers, and aficionados of well-dressed robots with existential issues. People who like to cry about games and music.
Rend: Original Game Soundtrack
Rend: Original Game Soundtrack (Compact Disc)
You know that friend who was like “Sure, I loved the Game of Thrones soundtrack, but it would have been way better with ancient instruments and lyrics in Old Norse?” This is for them. Rend is a survival game set in the realm of Norse mythology, and its soundtrack blends lush modern orchestration with raw, primal power. And yes, there are literally people singing in Old Norse on it.
Best for: Those who survive the winter by adding more winter (and possibly mead). Fans of folk music from around the world. Literature nerds who love reading epic poetry by the fire.
Parallelus
No matter what they think of the game, everyone loves the Chrono Cross soundtrack, and David Peacock’s seven arrangements of its beautiful tunes are welcome additions to the repertoire. The orchestration is thoughtful and rich, and the musicians favor an intimate tone that makes the album feel like coming home.
Best for: Fans of classic JRPGs, especially appreciators of Yasunori Mitsuda’s timeless work.
The Wild: Music from The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild
The Wild: Music from The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild (Compact Disc)
You know how Breath of the Wild had a soundtrack that was pretty much one (great) pianist all the way through? Now it’s prog rock and guitars! Much respect to that one pianist, but these arrangements are killer.
Best for: Guitarists, metalheads, and people who want to replace that sinking feeling they get at the beginning of the Guardian theme with intense hype.
Live at Grillby’s
Live at Grillby’s (Compact Disc)
You’re in a pub of monsters! Its proprietor is made of fire! You must cool off immediately! “I have something chill,” the proprietor says. He presses play on Live at Grillby’s. The masterfully executed jazz fills you with determination.
Best for: Classy UNDERTALE fans who enjoy a good jazz solo. YouTube aficionados who already know and love Carlos “insaneintherain” Eiene.
Atebite and the Warring Nations
Atebite and the Warring Nations (Compact Disc)
Composer Disasterpeace is now known as the mastermind behind the soundtracks of FEZ and Hyper Light Drifter, but Atebite was his first-ever album! It uses an 8-bit palette to depict the journey of a young protagonist during an imaginary war. There’s no game attached to this one, just pure unadulterated retro goodness.
Best for: Gamers, hipsters, and especially gamer hipsters who like to make new things out of old blocks. People who want to own a piece of game music history.
Sole: Original Game Soundtrack
Sole: Original Game Soundtrack (Compact Disc)
On this atmospheric jewel of an album, composer Nabeel Ansari and a team of top-notch musicians build an environment of quiet corners and hidden places, like you’re exploring the ruins of a mysterious civilization — which is, in fact, exactly what the game is about.
Best for: Your artsy friend who wants to strap on their noise-cancelling headphones, close their eyes, and take a sonic journey without leaving home.
Video Game Sheet Music Under $20
It may be hard to fit a book of video game sheet music in a stocking, but we believe in you!
Super Mario Jazz Piano Arrangements
Super Mario Jazz Piano Arrangements (Sheet Music)
May your pianist loved one never have to Google “Mario jazz sheet music piano pdf free not terrible” ever again. A proud addition to any overstuffed shelf, this book of sheet music features arrangements supervised by Koji Kondo, the big deal Nintendo composer himself. Warning: if you give this to a member of your household, you WILL have to listen to them practice it. But you’ll enjoy yourself, too.
Best for: Intermediate/advanced pianists who love Mario games, especially (but not exclusively) from the NES and SNES eras.
The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses Supplemental Edition
The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses Supplemental Edition (Sheet Music)
Not only is it great music, it’s a very, very pretty book featuring tunes from Skyward Sword and Breath of the Wild, two of the more recent Zelda titles. The sweeping arrangements everyone loves from the Symphony of the Goddesses concert series have been adapted to solo piano without losing any of the beauty or drama. This is a "supplemental edition" with two newer arrangements not included in the original Symphony of the Goddesses sheet music book.
Best for: Intermediate/advanced pianists who attended a Symphony of the Goddesses concert and came home humming.
BONUS: Materia Collective merch!
Shop all Materia Collective merch >>
Since we expanded our brand family, we’ll be ordering new merch with the new brands soon. That means that when this classic merch is gone, it’s gone! Rep your favorite video game music label in style with stickers, magnets, and more.