There's lots of reasons why people loved Classic World of Warcraft - the questing, the dungeons, the social experience, and more. And while I appreciate all of these, I feel there's one aspect of the game that often gets overlooked - the music. Well, while sitting at my day job, listening to WoW music on YouTube, I thought to myself: "man, I really love the music of this game. I should do a top-5 list on it."
And so, I did.
Keep in mind that I love every single track from original WoW for one reason or another, so trying to narrow it down to just 5 was SUPER challenging - involving many hours of listening, re-listening, shifting placements, and so on. The composers and musicians really outdid themselves with these tracks. But anyway, with that disclaimer out of the way, here are my top 5 picks for the best music tracks from Classic World of Warcraft:
#5 - Darkmoon Faire
Ever been to a Renaissance Faire? Me neither, but this is basically what I imagine it would sound like. This track was definitely my favorite back in the day. And every time the Faire was in town in Elwynn (I played Alliance, as you know), I would head to Goldshire and hang out there, listening to this track.
It's just so upbeat and happy, yet old-timey that I can't get enough of it. Though I also like the new DMF track added in Cataclysm (if I'm not mistaken), the original is just way better in my opinion - really establishing the atmosphere of a medieval faire. And the memories of the time I spent getting Sayge's fortunes, delivering course weightstones, and just generally messing around in Elwynn whenever this group came to town always come flooding back whenever I hear this tune.
#4 - Ironforge
If you ask any Alliance player from back in the day for a song they remember, I'd be willing to bet that nine out of ten would say this track. A massive city that held the vast majority of Alliance players throughout most of vanilla, Ironforge is where many of us spent our time - waiting for dungeons/raids, looking for enchants, buying and selling goods in the auction house, or just idling for no reason. And so, with all that time spent there, Ironforge's theme is burned into our minds.
But that's not the only reason it's so high on my list. It's also got one of the most epic and dramatic beats in the game, stirring up a sense of pride as you listen. If you don't believe me, listen to it for yourself!
Whenever I hear this song, I think back to my priest and how I could march around the city streets, past the auction house, and out of the gates along with the hundreds of other proud soldiers of the Alliance. And how, at one point or another, we all called this dwarven city home.
#3 - Pirate Tavern
Ok let's face it - all of the taverns in Classic WoW have amazing soundtracks - some of the best in the game. They make you feel warm, safe, and cozy. In my opinion, however, the pirate tavern theme that plays in Booty Bay's Inn is the most unique and thematically appropriate. First off, it just sounds like fun. The heavy, swinging beat reminds one of a salty sea shanty, with appropriate instrumentals to add to this feeling. However, it still retains elements of the overall WoW tavern theme, making it recognizable as a place for rest as well.
Hearing this song always reminds me of my times back in the day when I'd hearth back to Booty Bay after questing, clear my bags of any unnecessary items, and then buy some super-potent alcoholic beverage from the bartender and get Silvite completely smashed all while jamming out to this jolly tune. Lots of fun memories with this one.
#2 - Zul'Gurub - Voodoo
It's no secret that I love trolls and everything about Stranglethorn Vale (seriously, have you seen my other posts and videos?). And while the STV theme is definitely amazing, I think that this particular jungle song is just a bit more engaging. It starts off slow, but heavy - giving an impression of something wicked in the distance. But in less than 12 seconds, it's upon you - an enemy giving chase. The trolls, with their voodoo magic, are up to something and you're right in the middle of it.
Though I never experienced ZG back in the day, I went there many times to grind Zandalar Tribe reputation in WotLK and this track always blew me away. The drums, the horns, and the twists in the song - they all still give me chills and remind me of this wild and exotic place. Plus, this track is extremely short when compared to others - only around a minute and 20 seconds, which makes it especially effective in drawing out that feeling of uneasiness in the jungle when it comes on and abruptly ends.
Personally, I can't wait to dive into ZG on weekends and run around, waiting for this track to come blazing in my headphones. Awesome song. Love everything about it.
Honorable Mentions
Tavern (Dwarf)
The dwarven tavern music, a relaxing tune, is one of the most iconic tracks in game. Listening to it, one can imagine sitting in front of a roaring fire drinking a cool pint. It's a personal favorite for when I need to study, work, or write blog posts about a 14+ year old video game. Love this track and that's about all I've got to say about that.Stormwind
Stormwind is, without a doubt, one of the most iconic soundtracks in the game. As a human priest, this was the first city that I entered, and so this song is forever etched into my memory for that reason. However, I believe that in terms of Classic WoW music, it's just a bit lower than Ironforge in terms of epicness. Still amazing though.Orgrimmar
Honestly, I like the Orgrimmar theme well enough. It really nails the feeling of a city filled with battle-hardened warriors living in a desolate land. However, as I didn't play as Horde too much back in the day, it doesn't have the impact that other tracks on this list do. Still a great song and I look forward to it becoming my anthem come Classic.
Thunder Bluff
More than Orgrimmar, Thunder Bluff's theme is much closer to my heart, as I spent a lot of time here when leveling my tauren druid back in the day. It has a sort of nomadic tribal feel to it, which always reminds me of my time here. Not in my top 5, as there's just too many amazing songs, but it's definitely in the top 10 in my opinion, hence its place here.Barren Dry (The Barrens)
"The Crossroads is under attack!"The message every lowbie Horde player saw while jamming out to this track killing Zhevras for their hooves. The slow winds and strings give a feeling of searing heat to the zone - which is further drawn out by your search for lions in the grass and shade and the constant dodging of raptors.
My favorite part of this song, however, is the grunting orc noises that it contains, which remind you that you are most definitely in a Horde zone. A really great touch to a fantastic track.
Enchanted Forest (Teldrassil)
The title of this track really says it all. The vocals, the quick, scaled violin section, and the horns give this song a feeling of moving through an enchanted forest. And really, until the introduction of Eversong in the Burning Crusade, this track was THE musical embodiment of an elven zone.Surely anyone whose first character was a night elf, as well as anyone like me who frequented this zone back in the day, will have fond memories of this song.
Mountain (Winterspring/Dun Morogh)
Appropriately titled "Mountain", the track used in both Dun Morogh and Winterspring makes wonderful use of a woodwind instrument (an Oboe, if I'm not mistaken) to set the atmosphere for the zone, followed by a long stretches of strings and slow plucking to get the feeling of a snowy day out in the cold.As I said in my Top 5 Classic WoW Zones list, the music matches the relaxed, snowy atmosphere so well that it's hard to imagine any other music for Winterspring and Dun Morogh. These are zones where there's not much going on (some troggs here, some furbolgs there), and the music really reflects that in my opinion. Again, another track that while not in my top 5, is definitely in the top 10.
Jungle (Stranglethorn Vale)
As you know by now, I ADORE Stranglethorn Vale. So it should come as no surprise that I love the soundtrack here as well. The instruments, the beat, and the overall feeling of this song really make STV feel like the wild, untamed jungle that it is. I feel that without this soundtrack, the zone might not even be as engaging or iconic as it is. So if you're one of the people that plays with the sound off and are about to go into STV, I highly suggest you turn it on, at least for this experience.#1 - Legacy
One of the only tracks I actually knew properly by name going into this list, Legacy is an amazing song with several great parts. First and foremost, it opens with an atmosphere of mystery about it - a single oboe (I'm really a fan of this instrument for some reason), before being joined shortly after by other instruments one by one. Then, all instruments work together, like the members of a party, to paint the image in the listener's mind. An image of mystery and discovery.
Then, finally, at around 1:43 the music begins to slow, dramatically, focusing your attention on what's to come. A boss? A puzzle? Your impending doom?
No.
To me, this song encapsulates the World of Warcraft dungeon experience. I still remember the first time I heard it (particularly the ending) play in Scarlet Monastery back in late 2005 when my group approached the ending. The epicness of that moment forever burned into my mind as my group died to zealots, ran back to the dungeon, and did it all again. I notice that whenever there was a particularly epic moment in a dungeon (or raid, as this comes on again during the Ragnaros room of MC), this song would be playing in the background.
And in fact, the ending is SO epic that I've noticed it used in other places outside of WoW as well. Of course, I'm sure that many people noticed that Alexensual uses it in his endscreens, but I doubt many know that there was a documentary that aired on a Mongolian television channel in summer 2018 about some famous Mongolian person (honestly, I don't remember who it was or what he did) that utilized that ending in loop as its background music. When I heard it, I turned to my wife and laughed:
"Darling, that's my favorite song from World of Warcraft they're using..."
And if it's epic enough to be used for a documentary in out in a country where next to no one has even heard of World of Warcraft, you better believe that it's my number 1.
Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read through my post about my favorite music tracks from Classic WoW. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed listening to the music and writing about it. I'm not sure what I'll cover next in my top 5 series, but I'm sure I'll do another one soon. So if there's anything you'd like to see, or if I missed any amazing music tracks that you think I should've listed here, let me know by leaving a comment. Follow me on Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to my YouTube channel for more content like this, including Top 5 and Memories of Vanilla videos, in the future.
Happy Holidays to you, wherever you are and whatever you celebrate. And, until next time, take it easy!
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