Final Fantasy XIV (2.0 and onwards), NieR, Persona or Guilty Gear. They're all pretty much the pinnacles for me. Other games are close to my heart like Monster Hunter, Metal Gear and Castlevania, but these OSTs have had a profound effect on my musical tastes that lingers to this day.
Soken is a modern day great when it comes to composing new tracks, especially for so many diverse genres of music which he employs. Practically every new boss in the game gets a theme song tailor made for that encounter. Some standout examples being Equilibrium, Under the Weight, Oblivion, Fiend, Metal - Brute Justice Mode, From The Ashes, The Corpse Hall, Unbending Steel, seriously I could go on forever listing amazing pieces of music this man has worked on. At this point his work rates higher than Uematsu's best in my mind.
The singer for most of NieR's vocal track, Emi Evans, her voice is the stuff of legends. She really brings the soundtrack to life. Y'know she made up a fake language just for the soundtrack of NieR? She's got mad talent. Every track is like a kick in the feels, it's excruciatingly difficult to play NieR without it affecting you in some way. Such a great game, even despite its flaws. Can't wait to see Automata ruin me a second time... Good ones to listen to would be Song of the Ancients - Fate, Song of the Ancients - Devola, Emil Sacrifice, Shadowlord and Gods Bound by Rules.
Shoji Meguro's ability to put together such light and joy filled tracks is unmatched. So much of the Persona 3 & 4 soundtrack is just like auditory crack, tailor made to uplift the spirits with their cheery beats and catchy lyrics. Yet when it comes to the sombre moments of the games, the soundtrack's well capable of conveying emotion on the darker sides of the spectrum as well. The games are phenomenal, but without the soundtrack as well they wouldn't have been AS phenomenal as they are. Giving examples of why Meguro's soundtracks are so good doesn't really work because they won't have the same impact without the context that the game provides so honestly, The opening for Persona 4: The Golden is relentlessly cheery and upbeat. Guaranteed to brighten up a mood any day of the week.
And for Guilty Gear, I've never seen a man with more love for rock and metal in his heart than Daisuke Ishiwatari. Every single tiniest detail in the Guilty Gear franchise oozes with appreciation for music. Awe of She, Holy Orders (Be Just or Be Dead), Meet Again, Diva, Stolz, Feel a Fear, Have You Got Eyes in your Head, he's a phenomenal composer.
