Most people enjoyed like the music from GTA III, but everyone agrees that Grand Theft Auto: Vice City features what was (at the time) the greatest soundtrack in gaming history. Since the game was set in a hard partyin', coked-up 1980's Miami, it was no surprise to hear some of the decades biggest hits pumping through the speakers of your Maserati clone. From the heavy metal stylings of Judas Priest to the funky vibe given off by Rick (R.I.P.) James, every time you turned the dial, an old favorite would whisk you back to the days of big hair and pastel pants.
He's listening to that rap music! He must be doing something illegal!
It was no surprise, then, that one of the first things people asked us (or just about any other game journalist) was what would be on the soundtrack to the new game, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Since the game is set in the early 90's, we all knew that there would be plenty of gangsta rap, lots of grungy rock, and maybe even a little smooth R&B for those laid back moments when you just want to twist a tree and roll with your homies. However, with the release of the game, I'm happy to see that the music producers were a lot more ambitious than they were in the previous titles.
While I'm a die-hard Grand Theft Auto fan, one thing that always bugged me about the music was that it was more-or-less specific to the era in which the game was set. Vice City was laden with tunes from the 80s, and although they were awesome, it got a little tiring after a while. However, San Andreas went a different route, offering up a variety music from many eras, on a bunch of genre specific stations. You've got everything from K-DST, which is the place to turn when you want to hear some of greatest rock songs of the 70s and 80s, to SF-UR, the station that offers up some hits from the burgeoning house music movement. In fact, let's take a look at the stations, tell you a little bit about them, and let you know some of the high and low points of each, as well as a few songs you might not have heard before.
