I love the music in Final Fantasy XIV. Over Thanksgiving I went down the rabbit hole looking for FFXIV music on Spotify to create a playlist or two. I found more FFXIV albums than I knew existed and none of them contain Dawntrail music. I also discovered that 43 songs had more than 1 million streams, with 20 of them listened to over 2 million times.
With 600 orchestrion rolls available in-game and another 118 rolls in existence through seasonal events, the online store and in bonus content, a lot of music is available to fill the 8 slots available for players to put in the orchestration lists to play in inns and housing. So I got the idea to list the most popular music in FFXIV and how to obtain the orchestrion rolls. Due to including YouTube videos, I'll divide the list into 4 posts, with 5 songs per post. I'll also list the number of times streamed as recorded on 1 December 2024.
Spots 5 down to 1:
5. Heavensward - 3,939,810
Album: Heavensward
Expansion: Heavensward patch 3.4
Obtained from: The online store ($3)
The Heavensward orchestrion roll is the only one solely obtainable from the online cash store. One of the themes for the Heavensward expansion (and trailer), the roll was available in-game as a reward for completing the 2016 version of The Rising anniversary event. Seasonal event items, including orchestrion rolls, show up in the cash shop one year after their initial appearance in the game. I should add that cash shop only orchestrion rolls do exist but are usually different versions of the original game OSTs.
4. A Long Fall - 4,098,737
Album: Shadowbringers
Expansion: Shadowbringers patch 5.0
Obtained from: random drop in the final boss chest of The Twinning.
The song from the Shadowbringers The Twinning dungeon is perhaps best known for one of Final Fantasy XIV's most famous memes. The song probably saw a resurgence on Spotify when The Primals recreated the meme with backup dancers at the Digital Fanfest in 2021.
As suggested in the music video, A Long Fall is the theme music for the dungeon The Twinning, an optional dungeon available in patch 5.0.
3. Dragonsong - 4,151,605
Album: Heavensward
Expansion: Heavensward patch 3.3
Obtained by: Completing the MSQ quest Litany of Peace.
Labeled the main theme of the Heavensward expansion, the song is the first of two on the list featuring the vocals of Susan Calloway. I think the popularity of the song is not only due to the talents of the musicians and composer Nobuo Uematsu, but its use in telling the story as well. The music playing in the final cutscenes with Nidhogg added to the scene, making the aftermath of the fight so emotional for many players.
2. Answers - 4,696,927
Obtained by: Level 60 Alchemist with Faded Copy of Thunderer, Faded Copy of Rise of the White Raven, and Faded Copy of Answers, dropped in The Binding Coil of Bahamut - Turn 5, The Second Coil of Bahamut - Turn 4, and The Final Coil of Bahamut - Turn 4.
The song most new players run into early in their days playing Final Fantasy XIV, the orchestrion roll is labeled as the theme to A Realm Reborn. But the song made its debut in the final cutscene of the original Final Fantasy XIV as the Battle of Carteneau raged, ending the Sixth Astral Era and ushering in the Seventh Umbral Era.
The song returned in A Realm Reborn, 21 months after the original game shut down and 5 years later in the game's lore. All players learn of the Battle of Carteneau with the full details revealed to those who complete the raid series The Coils of Bahamut.
And when the writers needed to explain the beginning of our current world in Endwalker, they returned to the powerful combination of composer Nobuo Uematsu, female vocalist Susan Calloway, and a male chorus. If any song is iconic to Final Fantasy XIV, I would reply, "Answers."
1. Shadowbringers - 6,149,482
Album: Shadowbringers
Expansion: Shadowbringers patch 5.0
Obtained by: Completing the quest The Syrcus Trench
The main theme for Shadowbringers, the orchestrion roll is obtained by completing the first main storyline quest in the expansion. I think the song is the most popular on the list because Shadowbringers was not only the most popular expansion, but the best as well. I'm going to conclude this list by mentioning the contributors to the song.
First is composer Masayoshi Soken. Born in Mexico, Soken has served as the sound director for Final Fantasy XIV since the 1.0 days. While composing much of the music, an illness to Nobuo Uematsu resulted in Soken writing the expansion's theme. Up until Shadowbringers, Uematsu had written each expansion's theme music. He formed up and plays lead guitar for the game's in-house band, The Primals. Perhaps unsurprisingly, The Primals have three albums up on Spotify. And for those who've played Final Fantasy XIV, perhaps it comes as no surprise that his favorite bands are Rage Against The Machine and Pennywise.
Surprisingly, Shadowbringers is the only song on the list sung by the lead female vocalist, Amanda Achen. Another song from Shadowbringers, Tomorrow and Tomorrow, just missed the list while Endwalker's Flow hadn't been listened to one million times at the time I compiled the list.
The male singer, Jason Charles (J.C.) Miller has a longer history with Final Fantasy XIV as the original English voice actor for Raubahn in A Realm Reborn. He also did voice work for Final Fantasy Type-0 HD, Mobius Final Fantasy, and Final Fantasy VII Remake. In addition to the Shadowbringers' theme, Miller sang To The Edge, the theme for The Seat of Sacrifice and the final fight in patch 5.3. In Endwalker, Miller sang Close in the Distance, the Ultima Thule zone music and background music to a memorable walk by the Warrior of Light on their way to the final confrontation in Endwalker.
And hungrychad. - I want to finish with a shout-out to hungrychad, who from my searching had done more for FFXIV karaoke than anyone else, at least in the English-speaking world. I really like their videos and would encourage people to make the channel the first place to look for FFXIV music videos.
