Over the years of listening to Radio Rivendell, I've certainly gravitated towards certain artists because of their consistently good works (or at least majority good). Do you recommend certain artists, albums, or tracks to others? Why are they your favorites? Some time ago, I actually compiled which artists and albums were 5-star for me (or at least "high 4-star". Here are artists, albums, and tracks that I highly recommend (the order of these change all the time, depending upon my mood): 1. Erdenstern. A huge compilation of fantasy music with a nice variety of styles. You'll find everything. 2. Inon Zur. He's certainly well known in the video-game world, though he also has some good independent compositions. He had to fill in Jeremy Soule's epic shoes at one point and I think it made him grow even faster. 3. Epic North (which includes Hannu Honkonen and Pauli Hausmann, who goes by Paul Houseman on RR). I'm including Hannu's and Paul's individual works on RR under Epic North because you just can't go wrong with any of them. Consistently great. 4. Andreas Waldetoft. He did lots of game music for Paradox Interactive before he went freelance, and his epic music just draws you in. 5. Denny Schneidemesser. Very creative and stirring pieces. Underrated, in my opinion. 6. Antti Martikainen. Lots of epic scores and great production. 7. Dynamedion SoundDesign. I wish I had played the SpellForce games, because Dynamedion's work on these games is very satisfying epic fantasy. I'm sure they (and the individual composers) have other great music to offer. 8. Angels of Venice. A great blend of classic feel with modern rhythm. They will move you in many ways. 9. Glorian/Borislav Slavov. Before he was known for scoring Baldur's Gate 3, I had already gotten a great impression of him from his work with Knights of Honor and Two Worlds right here on RR. 10. Dronolan's Tower. I wish Dronolan's Tower wasn't as obscure outside of RR, but I've just been surprised at how many of their small collection that I will listen to repeatedly. Honorable Mentions. Joran Elane/Elane. I've just always enjoyed her style and she draws me in. Elvya Dulcimer. An amazing musical talent with both voice and instrument. Celestial Aeon Project/Matti Paalanen. A large collection on RR and in general, with much of his work in ambience. In my opinion, he is one of the most underrated independent artists I've seen.

Oh, a couple of more mentions! I used to play The Battle for Wesnoth back in the day, and I love practically all the tracks that were made for it (it was a compilation of many artists). It's frankly one of my nostalgic favorites ever. One of the artists is Mattias Westlund. Not only did he do work for Battle for Wesnoth, but also for Talisman: Digital Edition (I've put many hours into that game), and other games as well. He also has some compilations on RR. Other quick mentions: Epic Soul Factory, X-Score, Gareth Meek, Laura Olson, Omri Lahav.

Updated 13 September 2024 (20:18)

Erdenstern: https://erdenstern.com/ https://soundcloud.com/erdenstern https://erdenstern.bandcamp.com/ My favorite songs of theirs on RR are "Anhjorai", "Die Alten", "Die Stadt in den Wolken", "Into the Blue", "Intruder", "Meeting with the Grey One", "Pryderi's Adventure", "The Reiters", "Sons of the North", "Wrath of the Gods". I also enjoy many others, and many of theirs I have yet to listen to because their catalog is so large. Admittedly, "Die Alten" (The Old Ones) is not for everyone, but I like Lovecraft and it gives that crazed cult vibe. By the way, I'm trying to figure out if this forum has any markdown capabilities because I'd really like to be able to format my messages. lol

Updated 14 September 2024 (05:50)

Inon Zur is very well known and you can easily find compilations of his music. My favorites from him that are on RR are "Fury of the Dawn", "I am the One", "Into the Storm", "Main Theme" (from Dragon Age: Origins), "Meneleya", "Tale of a Knight", "True Life". He has others and they are all very listenable. Note that "Tale of a Knight" is kind of a softer version of "Meneleya".

Updated 14 September 2024 (02:58)

Epic North: https://www.youtube.com/user/epicnorthmusic Hannu Honkonen: https://soundcloud.com/hannuhonkonen Pauli Hausmann/Paul Houseman: https://www.paulihausmann.com/ My favorite songs of Epic North/Hannu/Paul on RR are "Black Star" (Epic North), "Tiberius" (Epic North), "The City of Hope" (Hannu), "Descending River" (Hannu), "Don't Let Go" (Hannu), "Prophecy" (Hannu), "Sail to the Battle 2.0" (Paul), "The Adventures of Link" (Paul).

Andreas Waldetoft: https://soundcloud.com/andreaswaldetoft-music https://music.youtube.com/channel/UCiIOJxhPtBbk7jc4ig2kCOQ https://andreaswaldetoft.com/ My favorite works from him on RR are "City of Jerusalem", "Mare Atlanticum", "Prologue" (Europa Universalis III), "To Victory", "A Cruce Victoria".

Denny Schneidemesser: https://soundcloud.com/denny-schneidemesser https://www.youtube.com/@DennySchneidemesser My favorites of him on RR are "An Eislian's Tale", "The Flow of Water", "The Gift", "Heart of the Winter", "Limitless (Dreams of Flight)", "A Magnificent Journey (Alternative Version)", "Tenebrae Suite", "Far Beyond the Stars (2010 Version)".

Antti Martikainen: https://anttimartikainen.com/ https://anttimartikainen.bandcamp.com/ https://soundcloud.com/anttimartikainen https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyVTPFh9-6DuGbCjpT4_YKg My favorites of him on RR are "After the End", "Faraway (Excerpt)", "Imperia", "Northland (Excerpt)", "To the Ends of the Earth (Excerpt)", "Sons of Avalon (Excerpt)", "Titanium Sky (Excerpt)". He has a HUGE catalog (most of it not on RR) and I probably can't hope to listen to everything, but I'll try! When I first heard "Imperia" it was immediately one of my favorites.

Dynamedion SoundDesign: https://dynamedion.com/splash/ https://www.discogs.com/artist/2045684-Dynamedion It's not easy to find a full compilation of their works, but their discography will help you find some albums and tracks. My favorites of theirs on RR are "Cenwen", "Credits" (from SpellForce - The Breath of Winter), "The Return of Cenwen". And from their SpellForce: The Order of Dawn album on RR, I like "Song 1", "Song 23", "Song 2", "Song 34".

Updated 14 September 2024 (10:36)

Angels of Venice: https://www.angelsofvenice.com/ https://music.youtube.com/channel/UCCzMnTGyttMYycC_j2Og7ww My favorites of theirs from RR are "A Chantar Mer", "Lionheart", "Queen of the Sun", "The Reflecting Pool", "Trotto".

Glorian/Borislav Slavov: https://www.youtube.com/@borislav_slavov My favorites of his on RR are "Bard's Tale" (as Glorian), "The Die is Cast!" (Glorian), "Lands of Despair" (Glorian), "Pride or Pain" (Glorian), "Two Worlds II Theme (Reprise)" (Glorian), "Buccaneer's Route - Epilogue" (as Borislav Slavov, with Victor Stoyanov).

Dronolan's Tower: https://music.youtube.com/channel/UCRKMv0XNAKIQUQHdWxOh4YA I've only ever seen three albums from Dronolan's Tower...and I believe I found it was actually a project by a composer named David Allen Young, though I've been unable to determine if he's still making music. My favorite Dronolan's Tower tracks on RR are "Desert Journey", "The Battle of Shadow Pass", "Beast Riders Desert Journey Medley".

Joran Elane / also lead singer of the band Elane: https://joranelane.bandcamp.com/music https://www.youtube.com/user/Glenvorian https://soundcloud.com/joran-elane https://www.youtube.com/@ElaneMusic My favorite songs of Joran and the band on RR are "Quell Aus Smaragd" (Joran), "My Golden Land" (Joran), "Winter's Night" (Joran), "Die Geheime Melodie" (Elane).

Elvya Dulcimer: https://www.youtube.com/user/elvyaofficial https://soundcloud.com/elvyadulcimer https://elvya.bandcamp.com/ My favorites of Elvya on RR are "Ann'Vatu" and "Daddy".

Celestial Aeon Project / Matti Paalanen: https://www.youtube.com/@celestialaeonproject https://soundcloud.com/mattipaalanen https://mattipaalanen.bandcamp.com/ Matti also has a LARGE collection, especially in ambient music. It's hard to pick out any particular piece as a favorite because they aren't your typical compositions. But I do enjoy his contributions from all his albums on RR (and outside).

Epic Soul Factory: https://music.youtube.com/channel/UCuTppbQU8tXjcgryPicFdOw My favorites of theirs on RR are "The Path of the Silent Flower", "Overpowered", "Proditionis".

X-Score: http://x-score.de/ https://soundcloud.com/x-score https://www.youtube.com/user/XScoreOfficial My favorites from X-Score on RR are "Jugglers and Thieves", "Dragonwars (Excerpt)", "The King Fares North", "Maiden Flight".

Gareth Meek: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXZytO4sHfG2C9zc6i48C6kDTirq_FXto I found a playlist for him, but it's difficult to find any official page. Perhaps he's on to other things. But some of his tracks are pretty epic. My favorite of his on RR are "Iron Supremacy", "Relentless Barrage", "Those Who Rend Asunder", "Broken World".

Laura Olson: https://www.bluesteerstudios.com/ https://soundcloud.com/laura-olson My favorites from her on RR are "Through the Silver Forest" and "There's a Kid Out There!".

Omri Lahav: https://www.omrilahav.com/ https://www.youtube.com/@OmriLahavComposer https://soundcloud.com/omri-lahav My favorites from him on RR are "Sands of Time" and "The Road Ahead".