3. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqQ7W4UHqEM San Andreas is widely considered one of the best games in the entire franchise, and with good reason. The in-game world is gigantic, inviting you into its incredibly realised world of the 90's. As much as Vice City is a love letter to the 80's, San Andreas is a magnificent tribute to the following decade and the rise of gangster rap. The East vs West Coast feud that ripped through the 90's rap scene is a very clear inspiration on the plot, but perhaps even more on the soundtrack. It features some real classics of the genre, from Dre's "Nothin' But A 'G' Thang" all the way to N.W.A.'s "Express Yourself". The culture and harmony on display is absolutely amazing, and it curves into the dangerous path that protagonist Carl Johnson is on in a supremely perfect way. In the parameters for what makes a great GTA soundtrack, San Andreas hits all the marks, it stands on its own yet it's a flawless balance to the narrative of the game. Rap and hip-hop aren't the only genres represented, however. There's a killer classic rock station named K-DST, an entertaining country station known as K-Rose and a crazily-entertaining talk radio station called WCTR. It's a marvellous blend, and you haven't quite lived until you take a serene flight over Los Santos with the guitar solo from "Freebird" gently carrying you into nirvana.