Will toss in a few noms that I like. May not be my personal top 15; I picked out tunes I like that aren't mainstream for the most part. I plan to include links for some of my picks since most are far off the beaten path.
"Love Colored Master Spark" Touhou 8: Imperishable Night (plays during Marisa boss fight)
- The only "automatic" pick of mine because my absolute favorite ficticious character ever.
'Don't Wait Until Night" Haunted Castle (final stage theme)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHgAYzVo-Ag- I have this weird fascination with tunes that very few people will hear in game (I have only heard it in Youtube videos myself) It's the regular stage theme but the game is also brutal and doesn't allow credit feeding, an anomoly for an arcade game.
"Legendary Beast" Final Fantasy 8
- See above on few hearing it ingame. I suspect everyone here kills off Griever quick with Limits and only hear the first 30 seconds of this since the next form uses a different track.
Dr Wily Patchy's Castle stage 1&2 Megamari
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mhz8aMI1SZY- Popped into my head after seeing Wily stage 1 from Megaman 2 in the noms above. Decided to throw it in as a joke due to Megamari borrowing heavily from Megaman 2's design such as a lack of slide and losing E-tanks on gameover. Even has the wiggling eyebrows. The music holds up well enough as its own thing in a "Mega Man meets bullet hell" game.
Protoman whistle: Mega Man 3 (full version that plays in ending)
It cuts off before the whole thing is played normally. By holding up +A on controller 2 for long enough when the whistle starts though, the song will keep going while Mega Man is frozen in Dr. Light's lab and the whole tune can be heard in-game (unless you're playing something other than the original NES version since I think all the ports disabled the controller 2 tricks).
"Lame" Darius Force/Super Nova (plays in Zone L and M)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXJ48JJW6zU&list=PL09D241B4CA5D4883&index=10 Title is a misnomer. Unless it's talking about the tempo, it's a slow paced piece. A personal favorite. haven't touched the game in years but still find it memorable. Oh yeah, zones L and M are both endgame. The game also strips all weapon upgrades upon death and throws the player back to a checkpoint making it hard to recover. It takes lots of persistence to reach either stage and even more skill to live long enough for it to loop.
i've also heard Taito is really aggressive about taking down uploads of their music on Youtube so there's an above average chance the tune could become unfindable. I guess this nom will become a casualty, worst case.
Act 12: Kidou Senshi Gundam F-91
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrYMbbz79dQ I don't know anything about the game of origin. Heard it elsewhere and sounded awesome.
"City of Flickering Destruction" Legend 0f Mana (Jumi city theme)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HRzKkD20YM A sad sounding theme for a race with a story full of misfortune.
"Pride and Honor" Front Mission 4 Plays on Mission 28; defend the EC Assembly
Felt catchy for me in a mostly decent but forgettable soundtrack. (credit to super for title)
"Go, go, go" Lunar SSSC (final battle theme)
I may be wrong on the title since I didn't look up the sound test before typing this. For a fight likely to last a half hour, a theme that doesn't get on the nerves is most welcome and this delivers.
'Departure for Space" Gradius 3 arcade (most outer space pre-stage sections)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezISQchcvlo The very first tune upon gameplay starting after picking weapon loadout: I find it likeable. Conveys a sense of wonder before dying in stage 2 and the game grinding most players to a pulp.
stage 1 theme; Super Earth Defense Force (SNES version)
Ear worm. The game is rather average.
"Dark Groove" Jazz Jackrabbit 2
Heard it elsewhere and liked it enough to care about its origins. I have no in-game context.
'Menu" Crusader No Remorse/Crusader No Regret (plays on main menu, derp)
It's one of those pieces that gives me a happy tingly feeling and hasn't already been nommed. I think it's listed as "menu.mod" on modarchive.org, at least that's where I'm looking to redownload this after replacing my old PC.
Title Theme, Megamari (also used in final battle)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnx1J2KuPlM I'm reluctant to do two noms from the same game but well... This one might be more enjoyable without context. A high energy piece for an action game, I find it catchy whenever i cross it. The link includes the prologue ditty that plays when the game starts up.
Extra Stage: the tunes not part of my 15 (even if I don't make it to 15)
'Crystal Labyrinth" Gradius 3 arcade (crystal stage)
I have strange tastes, taking a liking to the song from the stage with one of the most notorious segments in any shmup, ever. This was my phone ringtone for a while.
boss battle - Castlevania Chronicles
Strangely catchy. Don't like it as much so into the reserves it goes. Likely to be cut if I trim my list. There's four versions of this on the disc but I don't think they're different enough to care.
stage 1 - Dragon Spirit (arcade)
Again with the shmup tunes. Picking the arcade version because of better sound quality than the NES port.
Captain America stage - Marvel Super Heroes (arcade)
Capcom does licensed games right. This shows up several times in their games but I like this rendition the best. Also happens to be the first appearance of the theme and of Cap in a fighting game.
Title theme - Summon Night: Swordcraft Story 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Zp13bc--v8 Another "I bet no one's heard this before" pick or if you have, it's because it's the title music for the Rockman No Constancy romhack. Had I thought of it earlier, I might have put it in the main 15 but that's how the cards fall.
"Garden" - Doom PWAD Jenesis: Map 10
Apeing the others nomming tracks from Doom mods. Composed by Stuart Ryan and simple enough to locate on his channel, among other sources. It's an Extra pick so locating this will probably never come up though I can track down a link.