21 Jan Racing Games: The Greatest Soundtracks of All Time

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Anyone who’s ever played Gran Turismo – perhaps with Dolby Atmos pulsing through their headphones – knows that feeling: You boot up the game, the title screen loads – and suddenly, that impossibly cool jazz track kicks in. You’ve never heard it before, but you’re already reaching for Shazam. Racing games boast a tradition unmatched elsewhere in gaming: Their soundtracks are often more thoughtfully curated than most streaming service playlists.

Gran Turismo: The Jazz Connoisseur Among Racing Games

Kazunori Yamauchi, creator of Gran Turismo, is renowned for his impeccable musical taste. Since the series’ debut in 1997, it has championed a blend found nowhere else: smooth jazz meets ambient electronica meets orchestral grandeur. The menu music of GT has become synonymous – for an entire generation – with relaxed, laser-focused driving.

Especially standout is Gran Turismo 4 (2004), featuring tracks by The Crystal Method, Junkie XL, and a selection of Japanese jazz that Western listeners had never encountered. And Gran Turismo Sport (2017) delivered arguably the series’ most elegant soundtrack yet – weaving classical motifs with minimalist electronica.

The 2023 film Gran Turismo, directed by Neill Blomkamp, brought this legacy to the big screen – while also telling the true story of Jann Mardenborough, who rose from PlayStation racer to real-world Le Mans competitor. Its score – balancing orchestral sweep and electronic precision – perfectly mirrors that duality.

Need for Speed: The Underground Sound Since 2003

If Gran Turismo is the gentleman, then Need for Speed is the rebel. Since NFS Underground (2003), the series has served as a platform for aggressive rap, drum & bass, and alternative rock.

The Underground soundtrack is legendary: Lil Jon’s “Get Low,” Rob Zombie’s “Two Lane Blacktop,” The Crystal Method’s “Born Too Slow.” These songs are so deeply embedded in the experience that many players still can’t hear them without instantly picturing neon-lit street races.

Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005) pushed further, mixing Disturbed, Mastodon, and Bullet for My Valentine – a soundtrack that cemented the game as one of the defining youth memories of the 2000s.

Racing games and music: A connection that’s worked for two decades. Pexels / Artem Podrez

Forza Horizon: The Spotify Playlist That Existed First

Forza Horizon takes a different approach: fictional radio stations with genre-specific, hand-curated playlists – Horizon Bass Arena for electronic, Horizon Pulse for pop, Horizon XS for alternative rock.

The brilliance lies in Microsoft’s deliberate use of the platform to introduce independent artists to a global audience of millions. Forza Horizon 4 (2018) brought tracks by CHVRCHES, Jungle, and Metronomy into players’ living rooms – bands many would never have discovered otherwise. Forza Horizon 5 (2021), set in Mexico, spotlighted Latin American artists, expanding the series’ musical horizons literally across continents.

The impact is measurable: Several indie bands have publicly confirmed that their streaming numbers surged by 200-400% following placement in a Forza title. Forza Horizon is thus one of the world’s most effective music discovery platforms – and it disguises itself as a racing game.

Burnout Paradise: The Punk of Racing Games

Burnout Paradise (2008) deserves its own spotlight. Its soundtrack is a love letter to punk: Guns N’ Roses’ “Paradise City” as the title track, plus Avril Lavigne, Killswitch Engage, and Saosin. The game proved that a racing game soundtrack doesn’t need sophistication – it just needs to match the mood. And Burnout’s mood was simple: smash everything, then grin.

Wipeout: Techno at 500 km/h

No overview of racing game soundtracks would be complete without Wipeout. The PlayStation series (1995-2017) pioneered the fusion of electronic music and velocity. The Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy, Underworld, Fluke – the label roster reads like a greatest-hits compilation of ’90s rave culture.

Wipeout ignited an entire generation’s passion for electronic music. If you were a teenager in 1997 and heard The Prodigy’s “Firestarter” for the first time, chances are you experienced it through Wipeout 2097.

Why Are Racing Game Soundtracks So Good?

The answer lies in the genre’s nature. Racing games hold a decisive advantage over other genres: Music doesn’t compete with dialogue or narrative elements. It has space – and sound teams fill that space with the same meticulous care usually reserved for film scores.

Then there’s the repetition effect. Racing games are played for hundreds of hours – same tracks, same menus. The music must therefore achieve two things simultaneously: grab attention instantly and remain fresh after the 200th listen. That’s a rare art – one mastered by few genres.

And perhaps the most important factor: Speed and music belong together. Developers know it. Curators know it. That’s why studios like Polyphony Digital (Gran Turismo), Criterion (Burnout), and Playground Games (Forza Horizon) invest years – sometimes – into crafting the perfect playlist.

Recommendations: The 5 Soundtracks to Start With

1. Gran Turismo 4 – for jazz and electronica fans
2. Need for Speed: Underground – for rap and rock fans
3. Forza Horizon 4 – for indie and pop fans
4. Wipeout 2097 – for techno and rave fans
5. Burnout Paradise – for punk and alternative fans

All soundtracks are available on Spotify as community-curated playlists. And if listening inspires you to experience a real race car on track: The 24 Hours of Le Mans is a musical experience in its own right.

Header Image Source: Pexels

Elias Kollböck
Tech Editor ››

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