Carry On My Wayward Son one of my favorite songs but that cover just doesn't work for me

 

Oh the nostalgia in this thread.
Here is one of the few openings I remember liking in the recent past: Haikyuu!! OP1

 

Serial Experiments Lain

 

I mostly like it for the sheer novelty of having a Supernatural anime in the first place along with a blatant reference like that song as the ED. I do think the ED is better when watched after the episode as opposed to watching it on youtube. The flow is better and the mood has already been set.

 

I almost forgot. These are definitely not opening or closing themes, but Pain's Theme and Itachi's Theme from Naruto are masterpieces of atmospheric music.

 

These are some of the anime openings that I've enjoyed.

Code Geass R2 Opening 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osKkMKolWQ8
Gankutsuou Opening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CeAZyUs5ww
Yu Yu Hakusho Opening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK-9pAEmN9g
Zeta Gundam English Opening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVp_jCwhFB0
Berserk Opening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocQ6PDiP014
Chrome Shelled Regios Opening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjxIaKkv1LY

 

I've always liked the Stein;Gate ending. The piano melody seemed so full and/or big. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1JSPPMktcw

 

I forgot to recommend this one earlier.

Vandread - Ending - Himegoto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3okO3oMV5

 

It's a little sad how many of these shows I either am not that fond of or simply haven't watched.

Asobi ni Iku yo!
Sphere - Now Loading... Sky!!

Attack on Titan
Linked Horizon - Guren no Yumiya

The Big O
Robbie Danzie and Naoki Takao - And Forever...

Spoiler

Just to be spiteful, I'll list the original Big O theme song, which was a deliciously cheesy, blatant ri- homage to Queen's Flash Gordon theme song.

It was included in the first run of the DVDs but, curiously, the second run lacked the obviously Queen-inspired Big O theme, exchanging it for a new and... less than inspired theme.

Big O getting a second U.S. release so very quickly after the first was odd to begin with, because it was something of a niche show, and reportedly part of the reason Cartoon Network didn't fund a 3rd season was low DVD sales. The show flopped in Japan and the second season was only made because CN commissioned it, which makes me wonder why Rui Nagai felt the need to compose a new theme song for the show in 2007, eight years after it first aired. Coincidentally (or not), that same year, that of Big O's second DVD release, Sci-Fi channel started their new Flash Gordon TV series.

It occurs to me that maybe someone involved with Flash Gordon or Queen took notice, since they were finally doing something with the property, and put the litigious kibosh on the Big O theme, forcing any subsequent DVDs to be produced without it.

Bleach
{Say what you will about Bleach, it has given rise to a lot of cool music.}
Orange Range - Asterisk
Rie Fu - Life is Like a Boat
UVERworld - D-tecnoLife
High and Mighty Color - Ichirin no Hana
Younha - Hōkiboshi
Beat Crusaders - Tonight, Tonight, Tonight
Yui - Rolling Star
Yui - Life
Aqua Timez - Alones
Ikimono-gakari - Hanabi
Kelun - Chu-Bura
Aqua Timez - Velonica
June - Baby It's You
Stereopony - Hitohira no Hanabira
ROOKiEZ is PUNK'D - Song For...
Fumika - Aoi Tori
UNLIMITS - Haruka Kanata
Aimer - Re[noparse][/noparse]ray
Aqua Timez - MASK

Blood+
Hitomi Takahashi - Aozora no Namida
UVERworld - Colors of the Heart

C
School Food Punishment - RPG
NICO Touches the Walls - Matoryoshika

Code Geass
Flow - Colors
Flow - World End

Cowboy Bebop
Yoko Kanno & Seatbelts - Tank!

Dance In The Vampire Bund
Aiko Nakano - Friends

Deadman Wonderland
NIRGILIS - Shiny Shiny {...can't stand this fuckin' show.}

Durarara
Theatre Brook - Uragiri no Yuuyake {full}
Yuuya Matsushita - Trust Me {The ED that launched a thousand parodies.}
ROOKiEZ is PUNK'D - Complication

Eden of The East
School Food Punishment - futuristic imagination

Eureka Seven
Flow - Days
Home Made Kazoku - Shōnen Heart
Izawa Asami - Fly Away
Halcali - Tip Taps Tip
NIRGILIS - Sakura

Fight Ippatsu! Juuden-chan!!
Kaori Fukuhara - Onegai Sweetheart

FLCL
The Pillows - Pretty much the whole soundtrack, but here's one of the OPs and the ED.
Little Busters
Ride on Shooting Star

Girls und Panzer
ChouCho - DreamRiser
Ikumi Nakagami - Enter Enter Mission

Guilty Crown
Supercell/Koeda - My Dearest

High School DxD
StylipS - StudyxStudy

Inuyasha
BoA - Every Heart: Minna no Kimochi
dream - My Will
Do As Infinity - Fukai Mori

K-ON!
Yoko Hikasa - Don't Say Lazy

Kill La Kill
Aoi Eir - Sirius
GARNiDELiA - Ambiguous
Sawai Miku - Gomen ne, Iiko ja Irarenai
Sayonara Ponytail - Shinsekai Kokyougaku

Mahou Sensei Negima!
Luci Christian, Brina Palencia, Leah Clark, Jamie Marchi - 1000% Sparking (English version){Of course, if you're really ambitious...}

Maria Holic
Yuu Kobayashi - Kimi ni Mune Kyun

Mitsudomoe
Ayahi Takagaki - Mittsu Kazoete Daishuugou!
Ayahi Takagaki - Waga na wa Shougakusei
Nomiko - Randoseling

Monogatari series
Supercell - Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari (The Story You Don't Know) {Magnificent; and while for me, as someone who doesn't speak Japanese, the lyrics to these songs are usually a distant third to the music and overall sound/feel of a piece, the lyrics tell a poignant story of unrequited love.}

Neon Genesis Evangelion
Yoko Takahashi - Zankoku na Tenshi no These (Cruel Angel Thesis)
Fly Me to The Moon {You only have about 50 versions to choose from, though Utada Hikaru's is quite nice...}
Utada Hikaru - Beautiful World {Rebuild of Evangelion 1}

Papa no Iu Koto wo Kikinasai
Yui Horie - Coloring

Paranoia Agent
Hirasawa Susumu - Yume no Shima Shinen Kouen (Dream Island Obsessional Park)

Record of Lodoss War
Maaya Sakamoto - Kiseki No Umi (Sea of Miracles)

Samurai 7
Nanase Aikawa - Unlimited

Scryed
Ide Yasuaki - Reckless Fire

Seitokai no Ichizon
Hekiyou Gakuen Seitokai - Treasure

Soul Eater
T.M.Revolution - Resonance

Spice and Wolf
Rocky Chack - Ringo Biyori (The Wolf Whistling Song)

Suisei no Gargantia
Minori Chihara - Kono Sekai wa Bokura wo Matteita

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
Shouko Nakagawa - Sorairo Days

Tiger & Bunny
Aobouzu - Hoshi no Sumika
Tamaki - Mind Game
Unison Square Garden - Orion wo Nazoru {Sigh... this is truncated, but everything else on YouTube is either a fandub, a weird remix, is muted due to a copyright violation, is weirdly playing at some high pitch, or sounds like it was performed at the bottom of a well and recorded at the top... in a bucket... you goonie. I guess you're supposed to buy it after, I dunno, hearing it on local radio, right? I hear this on the radio all the time in Ohio; and if you believe that one...
Want to be sure you're hearing the proper OP theme? Watch the show.}

Toradora!
Rie Kugimiya - Orange
Yui Horie - Vanilla Salt

Trinity Blood
Tomoko Tane - Broken Wings

Un-Go
School Food Punishment - How To Go

Wolf's Rain
Maaya Sakamoto - Gravity

Working!!
Kana Asumi - Someone Else

Zero no Tsukaima
Ichiko - Futatsuki no Kishi (I Say Yes)

Neither OP, nor ED...

Spoiler

The Big O
Toshihiko Sahashi...
Brick Ballades: Houston St
Respect: Lower East Side
Respect: Upper West Side
Stand a Chance

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
Yoko Kanno (Jillmax) - GET9
Yoko Kanno (HIDE Hideyuki Takahashi) - Run Rabbit Junk
Yoko Kanno (Ilaria Graziano) - Velveteen
Yoko Kanno - Home Stay {Thanks for nothing, CopyrightTube...}
Yoko Kanno - Yakitori {Ditto.}

Kingdom Hearts
Utada Hikaru - Hikari (Simple & Clean) {I can't find a copy of the English version that isn't the slowed down one, so...}

Mahou Sensei Negima!
Yuri shiratori - Happy☆Material {There are more versions of this song than there are characters in the show. Just... just find one you like, I guess.}

Utada Hikaru - Passion {Is this even in an anime? Who the fuck cares, it's awesome?}

Hopefully nothing more in this post is broken because it took me forever. :facepalm

If I see the word "nightcore" one more time, when I'm looking for the original version of a song I like, I'm going to start scouting likely clock towers.

 

I should have just put music in the title I suppose. I just rarely listen to any of the music other than them.

Hey CheddarTrek, would you mind changing the title to Enjoyable Anime Music?

 

Since CheddarTrek brought up Raising Fighting Spirit, I was reminded that Naruto actually has tons of good fast-paced music.

The best example of which has to be Reverse Situation.

I used it myself as the soundtrack to a fight between an acrobat and a hand-to-hand specialist in my quest, once. That was fun.

Edit: I just recalled this piece of music, Mother Sea, when going through some videos from One Piece. Sads were had, let me tell you. I'm not ashamed to admit I teared up during Merry's Farewell.

Also, To The Grand Line.

 

I really, really like GAS GAS GAS from Initial D. Really fucking catchy. Also Red like Roses from RWBY if you count that as anime. Oh, and the Attack on Titan theme is pretty sweet.

 

I'm not an anime snob, it's fine by me though I prefer I Burn.

 

If we're allowed to post general soundtracks, Bleach has some really good ones, both salsa-ish like Get Smart and Scoundrels, but also shitloads of other genres like the rock/funk of Dominio del Chad, the techno(?) of Quincy's Craft, the jazzy Can't Back Down and whatever genre that On the Precipice of Defeat is.

Naruto's soundtrack is excellent too, but it's got less diversity in genres, IMO: you've got menacing tracks like Girei (Pain's Theme), fighting tracks like Need to Be Strong, calmer, fun tracks like Naruto's Daily Life or jokey tracks like this one.

Obviously there's also Redline. Its entire soundtrack is excellent.

 

Another from an anime I've never watched but it was very catchy.

Unbreakable Machine Doll - Ending - Maware! Setsugetsuka
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFVzZtjz3aA

 

I overlooked the opening and ending to Watamote before.

I'm also watching Erased at the moment, and I like the intro and outro there too.

 

Anyone got a good link to the original Aldnoah.Zero ending aLIEz. I'm finding a lot of covers and amvs.

Edit: This will do for now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqYN2hLVlNk

Edit2: I'm guessing those get taken down frequently.

Edit3: Kill la Kill - Ragyo Kiryuin Theme - Blumenkranz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRivqBxbHRs

 

So my finger slipped and I accidentally clicked and watch the One Piece film Z. The movie itself was nothing particularly special, but it did have a moment; one particular moment when Aokiji sings a song, Ocean guide as a tribute to fallen marine comrades. I really liked that song. Even the lyrics felt very fitting, for a tribute.