The US Library of Congress has amassed numerous treasures deemed worthy of preservation over the years, and recently, the original Doom soundtrack has made the cut. Now sitting alongside other cultural artifacts that were added this year–like Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” and Weezer’s debut blue album–Robert Prince’s Doom soundtrack is being honored for its part in ID Software’s genre-defining first-person shooter.
As part of the selection criteria for the National Recording Registry, sound recordings need to be “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” and can only be added 10 years after it was first created. The program has been running since 2002 following the creation of the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, and the first 50 entries were officially announced in 2003.
So what Doom so special? According to the Library of Congress, Doom’s soundtrack earned its place by being an “adrenaline-fueled soundtrack” produced during an era when video game composers had to deal with limitations of the time. “Prince composed the perfect riff-shredding accompaniment for the game’s demon-slaying journey to hell and back,” the Library said in a statement. “Taking advantage of his knowledge of MIDI, Prince even worked to ensure that the sound effects he created could cut through the music by assigning them to different MIDI frequencies.”
Inspired by bands like Alice in Chains, Pantera and Metallica–after Doom’s chief designer, John Romero, loaned him those CDs–Prince would craft a soundtrack that is instantly recognizable. He followed that up with work on Doom 2 and several more games over the years, including Duke Nukem 3D and Balls of Steel alongside Lee Jackson. His last video game soundtrack credit was for 2014’s Wrack, a cel-shaded action game. If you’re interested in listening to some history-making soundtracks, both Doom and Doom 2 are available to stream through platforms like Spotify.
In related retro video game news, the Strong Museum recently revealed its inductees into its 2026 Hall of Fame. Games like Angry Birds, Dragon Quest, FIFA International Soccer, and Silent Hill all made the cut, thanks to their lasting legacy and innovative design. Doom was one of the first games to enter the Hall of Fame, when the Strong Museum launched the program in 2015.
