The ultimate XBOX music playlist

When I finally received a new XBOX 360 last Christmas, I knew I immediately wanted to make the ultimate video game playlist.

I'd tried this type of music project back when I first downloaded pirated music from Napster in the early 2000s era. However, it really wasn't built the way I liked because I used a slow 56k modem that could only download an entire album in two days.

I also didn't know too many groups I liked. Back in the early 2000s, most of the popular rock stations were repeating music from nu metal bands such as Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park. Some of the kids liked nu metal. Some people switched and started listening to indie rock. I was somewhere in-between.

With new knowledge of my favorite rock and rap groups, I decided to start by organizing my entire collection of over 1000 songs into a playlist. In case you're wondering, I spent almost an entire night ripping CD music from all my favorite groups.

My first list, "Jon's Insane Gaming List," was intended for my hardcore online multiplayer matches. My list was a massive project with over 100 songs from musicians ranging from Joni Mitchell to Rage Against the Machine. At first, this list was the ultimate playlist to pump me up to play Monday Night Combat.

After a while, though, I noticed that I never even finished listening to the entire playlist after every XBOX session. I then remembered how silly my humongous project was in the first place. I don't even listen to music as long as I thought I would.

I also realized that my previous playlist was too loud for me to concentrate on other things. So I ended up settling with a combination of old-school hip-hop and underground rap. Some of the rap groups on the list include Danger Doom and Run D.M.C.

The XBOX 360 really helped me organize a hip-hop list of some of my favorite rappers of the 90s and the 2000s. After two weeks of cutting songs and adding new ones, I finally created a reasonable mix that wasn't too hardcore for Monday Night Combat.

I also made sure that I left Joni Mitchell out of the playlist. Imagine if Joni Mitchell was singing, "Help me, I think I'm falling in love again" while I'm killing players with headshots. That would sound really disturbing.

Anyhow, here's my playlist, Beats 2 Battle:

1. Run D.M.C. – Peter Piper
2. Beastie Boys – So What'cha Want
3. Danger Doom – Old School
4. OutKast – The Rooster
5. Beastie Boys – Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun
6. Rage Against the Machine – Down Rodeo
7. Cee-Lo Green – Love Gun
8. The Go! Team – Junior Kickstart/Air Raid GTR
9. Beck – The New Pollution
10. Portishead – Strangers
11. OutKast – Tomb of the Boom
12. Danger Doom – Basket Case
13. Dr. Dre – Lyrical Gangbang
14. M.I.A. – Paper Planes
15. TV on the Radio – DLZ
16. OutKast – Reset
17. Michael Jackson – Billie Jean (2008 Kanye West Mix)
18. Run D.M.C. – Proud to be Black
19. Danger Doom – Bada Bing

What kinds of music do you like to listen to while playing the XBOX games? Feel free to write your ideal playlist in the comments below.