3) Metal Trainer by Ro Panuganti

Metal Trainer pays tribute to the original Pokémon installments, Red and Blue, composed by Junichi Masuda. Even if you’ve never played a single Pokémon game in your life, chances are that you’ve heard at least a few tracks from these games. The soundtrack has completely saturated (some would say oversatured) the video game music world for years, but that notoriety and recognizability comes with a heavy price—how do you make Pokémon music feel fresh?

From the opening moments of “Pokémon Master”, it’s clear that Metal Trainer is going to be a singular experience. The mastering by AHmusic is crisp and clear, the arrangements are perfectly balanced, and the energy is palpable. Every instrument shines, whether virtual or live, and the guitarwork is some of the best I’ve ever heard. Ro is at the top of his game whether churning out prog metal anthems like “A Wild Encounter” or creating more ambient tracks like “Pokémon Hospital”.