Halo 1, 3, ODST, Wars and Reach were the ones I played as a teen, and for some reason, I never played 2 until last year. The music is outstanding, and the abrasive Flood material aside, it plays even better on album that the previous score (though the diminished role for the "mystical synths" as one might call them is a little bit of a shame, it's more than made up for by the awesomeness of everything else). A lot of Halo favorites come from this score, and many of its tunes would show up in altered form in Halo Legends.

The split album is definitely an odd beast, though it's fun if you have a fondness for this era of pop rock (me lol). For some reason, as a teen I didn't like the Incubus sections, but on a first-time-in-years relisten last year, they were my favorite of the rock bits. Lemme tell you though, when I played Halo 2 last year, those needle-drops slapped me in the face with how out of place they were! Contrast between music that's of another era vs. music that comes off dated, tbh. (One of them was replaced in the remaster by another metal piece whose name slips my mind, and it was no less incongruous lol)

Seconded on the remastered album. Same thing as the previous one where it's not distinct enough to stand on its own, and its sequencing manages to be neither game order nor a satisfying order on its own. It's inoffensive, but inessential.

Again, loving this series! Until I started reading this, I didn't realize how little-discussed these were. I'm excited to see your thoughts on these!!