I think it's safe to say there isn't another video game series where the music has not only been consistently compelling over its entire multi-decade lifespan, but also contributed so much to its atmosphere AND gameplay.
Composed primarily by Mario composer Koji "King of Melody" Kondo up to 2000's Majora's Mask, then sharing duties most notably with Splatoon composer Toru Minegishi, Mario Kart 64 composer Kenta Nagata, and Pikmin composer Hajime Wakai, The Legend of Zelda's soundtracks have produced many of the catchiest and most recognizable songs in all of gaming, not to mention some of the most intense battle themes, most emotional tracks, as well as soothing ambience and delightful quirkiness.
Zelda's composers have shown a magnificent ability to adapt music from any genre to match any mood. Bombastic orchestral, gentle piano, watery steel drums, flighty pan flute, dissonant Chinese opera gongs, ethereal chanting, and graceful harps. And the result always sounds like its own thing, rather than trying to ape classical or popular music. This holds true for Nintendo's music in general, but Zelda's strives to be so much more than just a cherry on top. It weaves itself into the fabric of the game, and becomes just as important a part of the journey as the dungeons, characters, and vistas.
And of course, while the heightened fidelity of the 3D Zelda soundtracks has contributed so much to these attributes, the tunes of the 8-bit and 16-bit eras still absolutely pack a punch. And the handheld entries haven't been slouches either.
More Majora
Title
Astral Observatory
Deku Palace
Stone Tower Temple Inverted
Battle Barrage
Blizzeta (Part 2)
Zant (Part 5)
Demon Lord Ghirahim (Part 2)
Phantom Ganon (WW)
Superior Interiors
Shop (OoT)
Potion Shop (OoT)
Renado's House (TP)
Knight Academy (SS)
Curated Covers
FamilyJules - Shooting Gallery
Amy Turk - Great Fairy's Fountain (New faster version! )
Dr. Pez - OoT medley
gabocarina96 - Hyrule Field (TP)
Spencer Register - Minuet of Forest
Will Vowels - Song of Storms (hammered dulcimer)
Little V's Zelda Covers
Links (the ones you click ^_^)
8-bit Music Theory - The Music of Zelda's Overworld
In-depth analysis of OoT songs
Mark Brown (Boss Keys) - mini BotW music review/breakdown
Mario & Zelda Big Band - Goron City
Smashing...Live! - Great Bay Shrine
Symphony of the Goddesses on The Late Show
Symphony of the Goddesses concert series official website
Prior Zelda music threads
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker's OST is musical genius
In Defence of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's Soundtrack | Game Score Fanfare
The less famous but still excellent tracks of The Legend of Zelda
Breath of the Wild's soundtrack is perfect and elevates every single aspect of the game.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - OST Appreciation Thread
The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses has been running strong for nearly 6 years now.
For those asking, you can post anything even tangentially related to Zelda music, even websites just talking about it. :)
edit - fixed a couple links
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