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Sonic's more recent games are different in music, but that's not necessarily a bad thing

Sonic's oldschool music is great: very video game-style chiptune-like stuff that is upbeat and catchy. However, everything changed with Sonic Adventure, the first truly 3D Sonic game. All of a sudden, the music was rock-inspired and some of the songs had singing! I have to wonder why Sega decided to go this route, but no doubt they thought it would help make Sonic even more cool and distinct from Mario. I'm not a big fan of lyrics in video game music, but some of these songs are really great! So let's look at eight songs from the modern Sonic games that stand out to me as some of the best. 

Live and Learn from Sonic Adventure 2/Composed by Crush 40

Crush 40 is a band which Jun Senoue is a part of, and therefore is a big part of the first two Sonic Adventure games. While some of their songs are iffy, this one stands out as an instant classic. It's dramatic, exciting, and has a fast beat that fits perfectly with speed. This song is a huge fan favorite, and many think of Live and Learn when they think of Sonic music. Mario's got nothin' like this! 

Metal Harbor from Sonic Adventure 2/Composed by Jun Senoue, Kenichi Tokoi, Fumie Kumatani, and Tomoya Ohtani

Sonic Adventure 2 has a lot of great songs, and this one really sticks out to me due to its fast-paced feel, driving beat, and trumpets! Yes, trumpets, which you usually don't here in a Sonic song, but they fit in quite well here. This song is just so peppy and upbeat, it's simply fun to listen to, and that's how it should be with Sonic music. 

Solaris Phase 2 from Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)/Composed by Tomoya Ohtani, Mariko Nanba, Hideaki Kobayashi, Taihei Sato, Jun Senoue, and Takahito Eguchi

Sonic '06 may be a highly criticized game, but there's one thing that it has that's good: the music! This song is the final boss theme, and it is totally epic! This is actually a remixed version of the main theme of the game, "His World." I love the strings, which are constantly moving, making the song really stand out. Modern Sonic music just doesn't get any better than this. 

Levitated Ruins from Sonic and the Secret Rings/Composed by Hideaki Kobayashi, Kenichi Tokoi, Fumie Kumatani, and Seirou Okamoto

The music for Secret Rings is mostly not that great, but this song sticks out. Not only is the song intense, with a driving beat, but extra things are thrown in to make it interesting, such as the piano and sitar. Everything is used in a very interesting way, making it distinct from most Sonic songs, and I really like that. 

Deep Woods from Sonic and the Black Knight/Composed by Jun Senoue, Richard Jacques, Tommy Tallarico, Howard Drossin, Yutaka Minobe, Lennie Moore, and Hikaru Tanimoto

This song is really cool. It sounds more like a Zelda song than a Sonic one, implementing that mideival feel using instruments which Sonic games never have, such as the flute and accoustic guitar. This one is not as intense as most Sonic songs, but takes a step back to bring something completely new to the table, and it's a welcome addition. Of course, the entire setting for this game is different, meaning the music had to be different too, and that's a great thing! 

Windmill Isle (Day) from Sonic Unleashed/Composed by Tomoya Ohtani, Kenichi Tokoi, Fumie Kumatani, Hideaki Kobayashi, Takahito Eguchi, and Mariko Nanba

Get ready to relax to this soothing yet upbeat theme from Sonic Unleashed. Once again, this doesn't sound like a typical Sonic song, yet it's awesome! It has a French feel to it, using violins and an accordion, yet there's always a constant beat in the background to keep everything moving. That's what Sonic is all about: moving! 

Tropical Resort Act 1 from Sonic Colors/Composed by Kenichi Tokoi, Tomoya Ohtani, Fumie Kumatani, Mariko Nanba, Naofumi Hataya, and Hideaki Kobayashi

Sonic Colors may be the best Sonic game in the last ten years. Its music is also quite fantastic. This first level has a great theme which can easily get stuck in your head, which is the main theme for the game. The second half of the song is when things pick up and become exciting, so be sure to keep listening, as things don't let down for awhile. It's a really fun theme that is both energetic and bouncy. 

Modern Chemical Plant Zone from Sonic Generations/Composed by Jun Senoue, Naofumi Hataya, Kenichi Tokoi, Tomoya Ohtani, Richard Jacques, Yutaka Minobe, Yasufumi Fukuda, Cash Cash, and Circuit Freq

I know that a lot of you were saying that Chemical Plant Zone was your favorite Sonic theme from the old games, so I included this one just for you! Sonic Generations combined the old Sonic with the new Sonic, which was really neat. So we get old versions AND new versions of levels. This is the modern version for Chemical Plant Zone, and it's pretty awesome. Hearing old themes in a new style is really cool, especially if you're a big Sonic fan.