Before anyone votes, please make sure you are familiar with all of these themes. Do NOT just pick from the one(s) you already know if you do not know all of them. Daggerfall's theme, sadly, never made it into the final game, but it is in the demo. I just assumed the Arena theme is the song that was playing during it's start-up. Here are the themes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUaMOUKYYX4&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nhk8T1ejU9g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v95NBKMFMbo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFRnqQSty2s&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWuNf4gxwuM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3EOibiVzq4&feature=related



My favorite is Daggerfall's theme. It gives me a sense of pride and majesty.

Following Daggerfall's, my runner ups are Morrowind's, Redguard's, Oblivion's, Battlespire's, and Arena's, in that order.

They're all good, but nothing beats Nerevar Rising.

Morrowind's theme is my favorite, with Daggerfall in a close second.

It's pretty hard to determine which one I like best, but I think it has very much to do with the combination of being an amazing song along with reminding me of fond memories of playing the games. For Arena I do remember the song from the game, but I haven't really played it that much, and... it's not really much of a song is it? Daggerfalls theme... too bad it wasn't actually in the game because the song itself is great (was it composed by Heberling?), but I probably would've liked it much better if it was in the game. Battlespires theme is actually pretty good hearing it for the first time. It sounds kind of different from the rest, but I think it's composed of too many noises (bells, thunder, ect.) and not enough music. It gets a little cheesy. I like Redgaurds theme mostly for the fact that it sounds to me like what you would get if you mixed the music from Ocarina of Time with The Winder Waker (both Zelda games). But there's not to much special about the theme itself to me really.

Okay now the two big ones that everybody is always debating about. Morrowinds theme, Nerevar Rising, is just complete serene beauty. It really captures the magic of the world along with the mystery. To me right when I start up the game and hear the music it just instantly draws me into the game, and makes me feel like I'm right back on Vvardenfell. (an interesting fact that the original theme for Morrowind was supposed to be "The Road Most Travelled", another track that I absolutely love from the game, and I really wouldn't have minded having that as the opening song)

Now Oblivion. Reign Of Septims is a track that starts off really big, fast, and exciting. I really liked that they kept the base theme from Nerevar Rising (an Elder Scrolls theme now?) and just completely rewrote it to fit with the next game. To me it sums up what the game was supposed to be about, action packed, but there's still another softer side of the song too which I equate with the exploration of the beautiful calm Cyrodiil, as Oblivion presented it.

In the end it really just comes down to Morrowind vs. Oblivion and I really feel myself caught in the middle. Both games, and there soundtracks are amazing. This time I think I'll give the upper hand to Morrowind because the theme really just represents the game much better IMO and it's just a beautiful song on its own.

Morrowind, Oblivion, Daggerfall, Battlespire, Redguard, and then Arena (in order from most favorite to least favorite).

For me, Oblivion's theme was too fast paced and frenetic. The only TES theme with both the memories and the quality behind it to rival Oblivion for me is Morrowind. It feels a lot more fantasy...ish. Its passivity compared to Oblivion makes me feel like I'm in this proper world that doesn't just revolve around action and combat, whereas the focus on big noises and fast pace in Oblivion's theme just made me feel like the entire game revolved around these climactic moments.

So for me Morrowind has to win because of the memories it holds, the beauty of the piece itself and the way it portrays its game.

Yes, that theme was by Heberling.

Nerevar Rising, for a lot of reasons. Like shadow said, it captures the mood of the game incredibly well, and every time I hear it I feel nostalgic. It's beautiful and eerie and suits its game perfectly. Reign of the Septims suits Oblivion perfectly, sure, it's a LOT easier to write a really epic-sounding piece like that than it is to write something as fantastic as Nerevar Rising.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPEEp5R_pOo

:cryvaultboy: WHY WAS THAT NOT THE OBLIVION THEME?

Of those, Morrowind.
Of games in general. Fable 2, or Halo, maybe Mass Effect 1. So many good ones to choose from.

Then again I don't think discussing music on these forums is almost ever productive. Any mention that anyone besides Soule or Zur might be better is met with nothing more than derision.

I take it you're not a fan of Heberling, either?

This is a very tough poll... I gave them all a fresh listen and this is the order of best to worst for me. ( Arena is the only one that is actually bad in my opinion. )

Morrowind
Daggerfall
Redguard
Oblivion
Battlespire
Arena

I vote Nerevar Rising.

Also, Daggerfall "theme" sound a hell lot like a revamp version of Arena's Blacksmith/Weapon Shop theme, which is still great.

Morrowind's is by far the best sounding theme, closly followed by Daggerfall, imo.

I have to vote Morrowind. I just prefer it so much, due to nostalgia, perhaps.

After listening to them all here is my ranking, from most favorite to least favorite:

1. Morrowind
2. Battlespire
3. Daggerfall
4. Oblivion
5. Redguard
6. Arena

I think they improve as they go along.
Though I think it peaks at the Morrowind theme; which is my favoruite, with Oblivion in 2nd Place.

I like Oblivion's the best. It's not just nostalgia because it got my blood pumping and sent chills down my spine the first time I heard it.
My next favorite are Daggerfall and Battlespire. Morrowind is very pretty but it's just not my taste.

Morrowind’s theme for sure #1. It captured the game’s spirit to a T.

Redguard (never heard it before today), Oblivion and Daggerfell, all tied at 2nd.

Battlespire 3rd…. I would of liked a lot more if the music just got changed up a bit in the middle. Sounded like what you would get if gothic music and elevator music had a love child.

Arena is last place.

Morrowind is the best
2nd is Oblivion
3rd is daggerfall
4th is battlespires
5th is arena
6th is redguard

Battlespire

Morrowind's as a close-ish second.

Morrowind is something form another world and not just in TES series. I remember few things of M, but this awesome track was Beth true finding.

Of the great RPG's I can remember, only one surpasses it for sure: Baldur's Gate (others like NWN Hordes of the Underdark can compete).

Though I have to thank the OP for the links, Battlespire's which I never bothered to play (like Redguard) was a good surprise.

Has anyone else here thought certain songs in the games' soundtracks would have made better themes than the actual themes? I would have rather http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPdL2nSuiYM&feature=related and I would have rather http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHGgBugeyHI.

Listening to the other theme songs from previous games. I like I still have to say that really, the only ones that can truly be a contender for me are the Morrowind and Oblivion themes. I think a lot of it has to do with not just how I feel about the sound of the songs in question, but also a bit of the memories associated with them. I have never played Arena, Battlespire or Redguard before. I have played Daggerfall, but not as extensively as the most recent two games, primarily because of the difficulty of actually getting it to work on a modern computer, and not due to its age in and of itself, so I don't have as many fond memories of it as I do of Morrowind and Oblivion, and in any case, it never appeared in the actual game, I didn't even know about that song until I listened to the link in this thread, because of this, though, I might be especially biased towards Morrowind's theme because Morrowind was the game that introduced me to the Elder Scrolls series.

Still, I have to say that my favorite is probably Morrowind's theme song, with Oblivion's coming in second. Regardless of memories associated with it, I just kind of like the sound of Morrowind's theme better. I think one thing I like about it is that Morrowind's theme kind of starts off slow and sort of builds up, whereas Oblivion's has that epic sound from the start. I kind of like it when a song has a bit of build-up up that, I also like that Morrowind's theme somtimes plays during gameplay, and seems to always play when you first start a new character, whereas Oblivion's only plays in the main menu and the opening cinematic, thus I hear it much more often, since I don't usually sit around and do nothing in the main menu just to listen to the theme song. Regardless, though, I feel that both themes are good songs which fit the games they are used in. Morrowind's theme kind of has a slower paced feel to it, which fits with the game, I think, since Morrowind is a game where you need to take your time to get the best experience, whereas Oblivion's theme song kind of has a more epic feel to it. And when I come back to Oblivion after an extended absence, seeing the camera pan over the Imperial City while the theme song plays in the opening cinematic is always good for getting me into the right mood for the game. For Morrowind, this role goes to the bit where you first get off the boat while the Morrowind theme is playing and look around at Seyda-Neen and the surrounding area.

And I'm not at all surprised to see that the Morrowind theme has the most votes, by far.

I like Oblivion's theme

I just love the general epic feeling you get from the Morrowind Theme. Don't tell me you have never had butterfly's in your stomach when listening to it.