What are the best FFXVI songs?

I've been going through the soundtrack, and it doesn't have a lot of standouts, IMO. Feels kinda like FFXII in that regard - huge soundtrack from a great composer that's consistently good, but without any amazing hits.

Find the Flame is excellent, though.

Away is my personal favorite, but Find the Flame is also really good.

Others I really like:

To Sail Forbidden Seas
No Risk No Reward
Blood Beats Black

But generally I'd agree with you that it's a solid ambient soundtrack without a ton of standouts.

Acsension is really good imo

All the Eikon themes are great. Bahamut's Titan's, and Phoenix' stand out of course.

The final boss theme is good but the part where the horns hit in the back half is clearly the standout. It's very obvious from the part of this video that is "most replayed" that I am not alone in that, lol.

https://youtu.be/ldXgvfZzXwg?si=joJ1xYgSJjBivCL_

But yeah, it ain't no XIV, and the best parts of it are the tracks where Sokken pushed back against the theming mandate. Makes it real obvious that they should just let this man cook.

I really love all the battle themes actually

my XVI battle playlist got a fair bit of listening-to over the past half year, not nearly as much as my 7R battle playlist did in the 6 months following that game (or 3+ years thereafter) but still.

You'll find conventional favs in the eikon themes and boss themes for sure, I think "Before the Storm - Caer Norvent" is a hidden gem. "Into the Mire - Stillwind" instantly became one of my favourite FF area themes of all time. And not part of my regular playlist but "Sever" as the Barnabas/Odin theme.

Actually I also want to shout out "The Riddle", which I fear gets forgotten when compared to the (superior?) other tracks like Control, Away, Ascension and the Titan smorgasboard of songs. The Sever-Riddle duo just feel like they fit so perfectly for Odin more than any other Eikon themes, even if it's not better than them.

Also recommend listening to "The Grand Duchy of Rosaria - Unused" on the last disc of the OST, even if it never appears in the game proper I also loved it, especially the way it ends. Missed opportunity there.

My thoughts on these songs:

To Sail Forbidden Seas - This is really good, but the track doesn't need the loop, IMO. Maybe I should make an edit of it or something.

No Risk No Reward - This is the hunt battle theme, right? It's good. I always enjoyed when it played. Not exceptional, but I like it.

Blood Beats Black - Solid area music. Doesn't really thrill me, but I don't have a problem with it.

Ascension - This works perfectly in-game, but it's not the sort of thing I care to listen to on its own.

All Is One - This is my second favorite tune after Find the Flame. Not every section hits, but some are amazing.

The Grand Duchy of Rosaria - Unused - Sounds kinda like an ending theme, hehe. Must've been planned for some dramatic part of the story or a cutscene.

Into the Mire - Stillwind - It's nice. Kinda reminds me of another FF song, but I can't think of what.

Before the Storm - Caer Norvent - Really great in game. The story it goes on isn't something I love on its own, though.

Away - Might I say that the 1987 version of this is pretty fun? I'm not huge on the first part of the song, but damn if it doesn't get awesome. Think this one's a keeper.