1.
Xenoblade
Having a huge soundtrack seems to be something that comes with the territory of being a jrpg, this of course runs a risk of having quantity over quality, for me though this soundtrack hits a consistent high of quality for the games lengthy duration.
Satorl Marsh: Night
This track ran away with my top position from the moment the sun went down in the marsh, while most areas in Xenoblade make use of an altered version of the day theme for the night theme the marsh instead goes for a more contrary option which in turn matches the visual change to the environment.
Makna Forest/Forest of the Nopon
I guess it's really more of a jungle than a forest, i'd say it's quite a different tone than i'd expect from a jungle theme which helps in stand out to me over the many usual types of jungle music i'm used to hearing in games.
Frontier Village: Day
There's something I find oh so uplifting about this piece of music, probably due to those Nopon all over the place.
2.
de Blob 2
While the game itself didn't do too much for me the soundtrack blew past my expectations which were in fact pretty high due to the first games great soundtrack. de Blob 2 contains the most funky music you'll hear in a game from 2011. Music plays a pivotal role in de Blob as painting the environments increases and builds upon the music with the more areas covered and each paint colour corresponds to an instrument, which extends to me painting the town literally red for the saxophone.
The Colourist Agenda
My main pick from this soundtrack. A slow build that leads into a very disco styled theme.
Pinked
Peppy and upbeat, I don't have much else to say so just give it a listen!
Blob in Space
It's like the bizarre cross between a surfer theme and sci-fi strangeness, somehow this works.
3.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Personally i've always thought that Zelda soundtracks after ALttP and OoT have been kind of underwhelming with only a few truly great tracks and then a bunch that just sort of fill the void. Skyward Sword is the first Zelda soundtrack in years that feels very consistent in high quality across the game. While it's not quite the Mario Galaxy level I was hoping for (what with the news that they were going to use orchestration) it is still a great soundtrack.
Lanaryu Desert: Skipper's Retreat
I'm thinking that this is the games most underrated song.
Romance Theme
Notable for being one of the very few trailer themes for the game that wasn't ballad of the goddess for a change.
Lake Floria
A water theme that has a kind of pleasant almost dreamlike feel to it.
Honorable Mentions
Sonic Generations: I avoided putting this as number 3 since like 95% of the soundtrack is all previous Sonic music which doesn't seem right for a soundtrack of the year. Still it's great stuff with
Rooftop Run being my track of choice. (also here's the
act 1 version)
Rayman Origins: Could have made the top 3 if there was less of the silly voices, I get that it's going for craziness but it's a bit too much for me, most people love the underwater music for the zany lum singing, personally i'll take
this version.
Pokemon Black/White: You can usually expect a solid soundtrack from pokemon and this one is no exception, in fact it feels like a great step up as well,
the rival theme is an odd one that grew on me over the course of the game, oddly addicting I guess.
There's still time before the poll is done so I guess it's still possible for another game to speed in and take 3rd place as i'm not entirely solid on that position right now. Alas I don't think AAI2 and VC3 are going to be replacements due to their non localization, I feel like i've been cheated out of great soundtracks!