I prefer MW music over OB in most cases. Although I did put some Pirates of the Carribbean soundtracks in there too.

I guess the Morrowind soundtrack fit incredibly well with the game, except for the combat bit which was more frustrating but I'm trying not to remember that. It was very consistent with the gentle coloring of the non-blight storm land together with the calm but eerie aspect of it. In the Red Mountain area, the sound of the storm sort of covered the music (if I remember correctly) so it wasn't a big deal.

Oblivion's soundtrack could have been a bit more fast paced and similar to the main menu theme for consistency, but wasn't bad. Still, I don't remember it as well as Morrowind's.

To say I like one or the other would be a bit like taking them out of context I think. I mean, I absolutely love the Battlestar Galactica (re-imagined series) soundtrack but would it fit in either Oblivion or Morrowind? Not really is my guess (though drums are a bit underrepresented in combat music...).

I loved the Morrowind soundtrack (the title is obviously epic). Oblivion had some great immersion tracks ... like the soft sad piece with piano (atmosphere track 6). The first time I had noticed it I was wandering by a lake and found a dead body floating in the water with the nearby love letter. Fit the music perfectly.

Assuming the next elderscrolls will be in Skyrim, I would expect a lot of brass and heavy bass drums. Doubtful you'll ever hear any electric guitar or synth in an elderscrolls game.

I'd like the series to have a more medieval feel in the soundtrack. Not to harp or anything, but I think Daggerfall did that well.

I preferred Morrowinds music simply because it was more subtle than Oblivions, however not by much.

The music in a game is a VERY different thing than one for a movie or even a cutscene. You have to hear it over a very VERY long time, not just 5 minutes, you have to hear it for several hours. AND the mood isn't always the same.
In a game it needs to be much more subtle and simply UNDERLINE what is going on, not jump into the foreground for attention.

A good attempt would be to have adaptive music, not just playing one track but several tracks the same time that can blend over into each other depending on the situation, so it plays a base layer and overlayers it with one fitting for the time of day, maybe the weather and an extra layer that kicks in when a battle starts. This way the music would be much more fluent and still remain subtle when you just walk around.

Being a musician myself, I prefer Morrowind's.

I actually have the morrowind music on a CD in my car.

Wow. Thank you for posting that link. Until now I'd never even heard of the guy and I don't know how. Just beautiful.

I prefer Morrowind's theme tune but I like Oblivion's exploration music better.

Thanks for introducing me to this, I'll be sure to look up more of his work. And yes, if done subtly, electronics could greatly improve the atmosphere.

Glad I could introduce you two to him. Johann Johannsson is one of my favorite artists. I'm particularly fond of Englab?rn and Fordlandia (which is what the link is from).

If I listen to them out of context, I love both soundtracks.
But in-game, as mentioned by Freddo, I much prefer Oblivion with at least music for the dungeons. Wandering inside "that last dwemer ruin" in Morrowind with http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3DAYNtVvAk&feature=related breaks the "big bad guy is just a few feet away" feeling.

Now all we need is even more localized music. Especially taverns.

Oblivion Title
Morrowind Exploration Music
Oblivion Combat music

I think I covered everything?

There was something very foreign about Morrowind exploration music. Something that fit with its alien setting. The Oblivion title was like an epic version of the Morrowind theme. I found it more suiting as Kvatch was being destroyed in the background and Dagon was invading.

Combat music is combat music to me, and Oblivion's seemed better. There was too many stupid horns in Morrowinds.

Being a muscian and a pianist, i'd like to see a classical piano song or at least a piano given the lead of a future song (like Oblivion again).

Scratch that.

I think its the modernization of western fantasy music which made Oblivion's exploration score lesser in comparison to Morrowind's. Perhaps if they throw it back?

i like morrwinds more appeals to me

Morrowind's music, hands down. Morrowind's explore music was just so different - it was mystical and eerie, kinda bleak at times. It had so much more variety than the oblivion music, it could switch from playful to depressing really fast but it was just all so well-done. It underlined the mood of the game really well. Hearing this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0P9NZqgh6Q&feature=related on a cloudy day is just one of the best moments you can experience in the game. Oblivion's music seemed really tacky and cliche to me. It just sounded like generic epic fantasy soundtrack music to me, and imo we have enough of that [censored] already.

When it comes to atmosphere, one can't deny that Oblivion's dungeons had the right idea with music while Morrowind did not. Also, Oblivion actually has more songs than Morrowind. Honestly, does the Oblivion bashing need to find its way into every thread? Also, honestly, the two games had a very similar music style. Oblivion songs would fit well in Morrowind and the same is true the other way around. I've yet to hear video game music like Oblivion's and Morrowind's. Where is this generic fantasy music floating all around us? I don't hear it. I love both of their soundtracks and they ARE very similar. The "generic" argument doesn't apply to everything, and all I would love to see is some logical thought behind choices, not Morrowind or Oblivion fanboyism. Of course that could just be overreacting and most people seem to take the actual music into account, but is it not too much to ask everyone to respect both games and take their actual merits into account? These games are of the same series, yet people seem so adamant on maintaining a schism between siblings who come from the same parents. The music also comes from the same creator. Both soundtracks are very unique and peaceful. I truly believe it is impossible for one to genuinely love Morrowind's music, but hate Oblivion's music and call it "generic epic fantasy ". If you don't like Oblivion's, that's fine, but trying to divide the two when they sound perfect as part of the same soundtracks doesn't make much sense to me. :shrug:

:thumbsup:

Speaking of music, NPCs who sing add some atmosphere.

"Fly, cliffracers fly sooo highhhhhh..."

"Oh hail sweet lady of Wayrest..."

I love the cliffracer song.

Too bad only the Reguard pirate actually sings it.
The Breton pirate simply says the lyrics without really singing it. I'm sure they earn a lot of money singing in taverns, both of them.

Same-same. It's the same artist and it sounds identical, not that that's a bad thing. Soule's music is pretty good. I do prefer the Morrowind theme over Oblivion's theme. But that's about it.

Well sorry if I offended anyone by saying that, but it IS subjective. Oblivion actually had the capability to play different music in different cells, but Morrowind didn't so I think Soule went for a more all-purpose kinda soundtrack for Morrowind, and I really liked it. Yeah, there were more tracks in Oblivion, but personally I think a lot of them conveyed the same mood. Oblivion's dungeon music didn't fit for all dungeons, IMO they were only really fitted for tombs and a few caves. Morrowind's music IMO was a lot different from Oblivion, the instrumentation was quieter, and many of the tracks were a lot bleaker than Oblivion's. Oblivion's soundtrack went more for the more uplifting, grander symphonic kinda sound IMO, and that fits Oblivion pretty well, but I've played through Morrowind with it and I don't think it's very suiting for Morrowind's environment. I think Oblivion's music is generic because it sounds more like what one would expect from a medieval sorta fantasy RPG. I know, not the best explanation but there's also a big gut feeling that you can't really explain when you listen to the music. Stylistically, I think Morrowind's music is much more unique. I'll admit, I am kind of a Morrowind really devoted fan, but I don't exactly hate Oblivion. Oblivion IMO really lacked in the atmosphere, story and character, the most important aspects of an RPG in comparison to Morrowind. I'm gonna drop it at that, but again, to each his own. They're both good games and I've gotten 40+ hours on both, don't get me wrong, but I just like Morrowind a lot better. I know that the 2 soundtracks are both by Soule, he did Guild Wars as well (its soundtrack sounds a lot like Oblivions) but his style obviously changed a bit in 4 years between Morrowind and Oblivion. And sorry for the cussing, its a bad habit of mine and it carries on into posting stuff as well.

They should add this to the fight scene soundtrack in TESV http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=318PDSn-3nA&feature=related

Of course you're right. Both soundtracks sound great in their own right as pieces of music and both convey their game's themes and atmosphere very well in my opinion. But that's kind of the thing: if you didn't like those themes and atmosphere very much in the first place you're bound to have a better emotional reaction to the soundtrack of the game you preferred. So, to me, if I were to say I liked Morrowind's music better - which I do - I'm not necessarily saying it's better implemented in that game or of a higher quality, I'm just saying that my liking of said soundtrack mirrors my feelings about MW's global setting and story.

They are both good in their own respect, but I usually end up either one of the following:

1. Turn off music entirely and listen to the bird singing and the great form of ambient sound.

2. Overhaul the soundtrack with soundtrack from other RPG games (Guild War's and Daggerfall's soundtrack tend to be the candidate here).

I love Morrowind's music more than anything else. But Oblivion's was less distruptive (Morrowind's music sometimes foregrounds itself too much)

I love oblivion's intro. Morrowind had an overall better soundtrack and I found myself eventually turning oblivion's music off so.. yeahh.