Your Favorite BEST-mix files

[BLueSS]

Throughout the years of BEST-mix, there have been many files that I have enjoyed, some that did well and others that happened to not do so well. I wanted to highlight the ones I've had the most fun playing.

These are my personal favorites. Post your favorites in a reply!
Do note, I still may have liked your file, even if it's not listed here.

Files are in no order, but are organized by BEST-mix.

BEST-mix 1:
The Eleventh Hour [k//eternal] - I love the speed changes, and it just always felt like a great boss song.

Vodka [Chmurek] - The first time through playing this, the part where the background video got "drunk" due to the vodka was so memorable and just added to the overall top quality put into the rest of the file.

Kokoro Odoru [zeh] - I thought the song was unique and catchy, and despite a few flaws I kept playing it.

tko [lrxevan] - One of my all time favorites. This file changed my music tastes and got me into hard dance/hard trance.

BEST-mix 1.5:
Sunny the Ride [k//eternal] - Simple, fun file that felt like it came right out of a DDR mix.

LAZY [x0_000] - I'm a sucker for trick BPM changes.

BEST-mix 2:
SO HOT [mintessence] - With the exception of the Pokemon background, I thought this deserved more praise than it got.

i-revolution [Sir.Rendr/will-i-am] - Mostly because of the song choice here. :)

TWINKLE SNOW POWDERY SNOW [lrxevan] - Solid file, one of my top favs. I've liked pretty much most of lrxevan's files he made. And I started to listen to Perfume after this file...

BEST-mix 3:
Back 2 Back [jammitch!] - The challenge chart is amazing. Great song choice, good graphics, and an amazing challenge chart. (Yes, I said it twice).

MY BOY [Zounder] - All around solid, very catchy song, and the video banners that look good.

Nobody [Akira] - (From Community Pack) I think I started liking k-pop around this time...

BEST-mix 4:
Due to getting married around this time, I didn't have much time to play the files... and upon compiling this list I realized I don't recall playing many of them. :(

BEST-mix 5:
Bubble Pop [Yuke] - Wow, more k-pop... I swear I rarely listen to k-pop compared to the rest of the music I listen to, but I liked this one as well.

GANGNAM STYLE [Zounder] - ... Zounder, you once again get a slot on the list. Congrats. :P

Rising [Chmurek] - Another repeat entrant on my list. The variety of the song and the steps work great together. I was surprised at how much fun this was on my first play-through.

[Lisek]

My favourite file from BEST-mixes is... Monster oh Monster from BEST-mix 4. Still on my list of all time faves :)

BM1:
Cafe Cafe for the DDR feeling. I like DDRs from 4th to Supernova so I really liked quality of that file.
kokoro odoru because you can't go wrong with songs from Ouendan ;P

BM1.5:
Chou! and Artillery were really solid files there.

BM2:
I totally loved LK4D4 file Liar Game still playing it's heavy for MA attack (got 99% on ITG a lot of times already).
Pendulum duo - Propane Nightmares and Mutiny was solid too!

BM3:
Still love Birthday. Same for My Boy.
The "Sugar Before Bedtime" Polka is as fun as it was when it was released :)

BM4:
Like I said before - Monster oh Monster. Simple, yet fun. Awesome song choice and creative fun video.
PARANOiA HRX, yeah, my file. My personal best in BEST-mixes I think. I LOVE how it turned out.

[Hainaut]

BEST-MIX #1:

+ She Blinded Me With Science / FadeInn (Titiln)
I can't believe this simfile didn't make it all the way to win this competition. These steps are basically Titiln at his best - packed with energy, yet creative and controlled.

+ Onna ni Sachi Are / Morning Musume (sanchny)
Also a really tight entry that deserved to finish higher than it did. The sharp song choice definitely helped, but sanchny's clean and focused style put it to perfect use.

+ 't Smidje / Laïs (cheeseman.pl)
Probably the biggest guilty pleasure simfile for me in a major tournament. I wasn't even prepared to take this seriously when I first glanced at it on the songwheel, but when I finally played it, I was blown away by the sheer originality, powerful emphasis, and all-around effectiveness of the steps. I've used it as the prototypical strong 12th-note simfile ever since.

+ wish / DJ Yoshitaka feat. Sugimura Kotomi (Ebisumaru)
Sometimes, less is just more.

BEST-MIX #1.5:

+ CHOU! / DJ Ozma (Titiln)
Wow. I mean, WOW. THIS is so incredibly fun and bouncy that I can easily call it my favorite Titiln simfile overall, and that's saying a lot, considering how many hits he produced during his rich career as a simfile author. It kind of has a bit of everything, perfectly blending technical complexity with structural simplicity for a groundbreaking result.

+ Time to Move / Flip & Fill (Spork!)
I somehow didn't completely take to this when I originally tried it out, but coming back to it now, I gotta say I can really see why it won, even though I personally would've put CHOU! in first. There's a ton of energetic movement and great pattern variety in this chart, and the graphics are very nice. The song honestly sounds like something that Kyle Ward would produce, but that's a good thing in my opinion.

Ievan Polkka (Tiegel Radio Edit) / Tosh from RIGHT STUFF (kkmax)
This has a ton of doublesteps, but they're all in good spirit, akin to classic Konami stepcharts.

BEST-MIX #2:
There were a LOT of simfiles I enjoyed in this competition. These are just what I consider the VERY best of an overall excellent batch.

+ Can U Feel It? / John Robinson (jammitch!)
This is a great example of a stepchart that just keeps you super focused all the way through. It has lots of long streams and algorithmic patterns, but spot-on perfect placement puts all of them into clear focus and brings the track to life.

+ Twinkle Snow, Powdery Snow / Perfume (lrxevan)
Just an all-around solid lrxevan stepfile. I don't have a whole lot to say about it, but its presentation and steps are both wonderful.

+ WOW / Kylie Minogue (kkmax)
Pretty much lives up to its name. Its steps are creatively sporadic and its presentation is downright stellar.

+ Superstar / Rollergirl (CoreyBlaze)
An addicting song with really effective songs to match. It's more of a personal pleasure for me than it is an all-around well-rounded simfile in comparison to the other three entries here, but it still has a ton of replay value for me, and that's what matters the most, really!

+ i-revolution / SySF. (will-i-am)
Wow, I forgot just how much I enjoyed this simfile. This has steps that are variably creative. It feels free and flowing, yet it never loses focus. Truly it deserved to rank higher in the finals.

BEST-MIX #3:

+ Gee / Girls' Generation (Chmurek)
Probably my favorite Chmurek simfile from Best-Mix. It exploits the track marvelously without overshooting its purpose. It's probably one of the most creative fast-paced simfiles to come out in recent years.

Revolution / Aquasky & Epedemix feat. UK Apache (cpubasic13)
Clean, focused, and well-presented. It's full of pretty rhythmically straightforward, yet surprisingly creative steps algorithms.

Sonic Speed Riders / Tomonori feat. runblebee (Kewing)
How did this not do better? It may not be a super in-your-face song, but its steps are really spot on and impressive all the way through.

BEST-MIX #4:
Again, there were so many entries I loved in this competition that I can't quite list them all, so I'm just posting the best of the best here.

DDR:

+ Groundhog (Beat Juggle) / Noisia remixed by Scratch Perverts (jammitch!)
This may be a rather cheesy entry, but I absolutely love it! How many other simfiles actually act as if they're interacting with the player? This file utilizes the song's fourth-wall theme to its fullest potential.

+ Love Symphony / Quartissimo feat. Martina (Juub005)
Juub005 is probably the most avant-garde step artist in the community, but too often I feel that his simfiles don't receive the attention that they deserve, so I was really happy when I saw this get second place in Best-Mix #4. Perhaps stepping a more rhythmically mainstream tune worked to his advantage, as it did with Wowowee in OSC 5 and Pito Pito in Cheesemix 4, but either way, his artistic ability really showcases itself beautifully in Love Symphony.

+ Maybe (Mikk Remix) / Phobic (Kewing)
One of my most played Best-Mix simfiles ever. The song is endearingly reminiscent of mid-era Konami happy hardcore songs like Seduction and Love is Dreaminess. The steps are full of energy and utilize the awesome song fabulously.

+ Monster oh Monster (remix) / Blue Monster and Bikki (Jinxie)
I feel like I was one of only a handful of people who truly appreciated this entry. Its steps are extremely karaoke-based, but thanks to the incredibly effective placement, they work marvelously for me. I also absolutely adore the custom background video - it's obviously homemade, but it's just so cute and funny. It definitely had some serious effort put into it, since it utilizes the camera and dolls quite cleverly.

ITG:

+ All I Do Is Win (Remix) / DJ Khaled feat. T-Pain, Diddy, Nicki Minaj, Rick Ross, Busta Rhymes, Fabolous, Jadakiss, Fat Joe and Swizz Beatz (Juub005)
I know this was apparently supposed to be a joke file, but it's still incredibly fun and creative, nonetheless.

+ Perfume / Perfume (will-i-am)
Just an all-around solid ITG simfile. It keeps you busily engaged the whole way through.

BEST-MIX #5:

DDR:

+ Gangnam Style / PSY (Zounder)
It may not follow the music video's dance routine, but it's still an all-around really well-rounded simfile.

+ Fireflies / Owl City (itzJV)
Surprisingly creative and well-presented. It leaves an impact on me that's honestly kind of rare in these days of simfile designing.

+ Electric Shock / f(x) (Zounder)
An incredibly enjoyable stepfile with virtually nothing wrong with it.

+ Space Truckin' / moonbug feat. Shinichi Ubukata (Telperion)
I think most of us really like this one, am I right? :P

ITG:

+ Apocalypse / The Qemists feat. Rob Hawkins (cpubasic13)
Great presentation, and great Hard + Expert steps that are creatively energetic without going overboard.

+ Hardkore of the North / Diclonious Kid (cpubasic13)
Even at such a high difficulty, this simfile works extremely well on all levels and doesn't feel overdone.

+ Twisted / xilent (Telperion)
Putting the bpm gimmicks aside, this is still one of the very best ITG simfiles I've played, both for steps and presentation.


Just for kicks, this is my personal ranking of all the Best-Mix contests, in terms of quality of simfiles, from least favorite to favorite:

6. Best-Mix #1
This first pack felt like a bit of a regression in comparison to the last two major OSC competitions that preceded it. While it definitely had its fair share of standouts, it mostly left me disappointed in terms of presentation and steps. I'd probably consider only about half of these simfiles truly worth playing at all.

5. Best-Mix #1.5
Overall decent, but not horribly exciting. CHOU!, Time To Move, and Ievan Polkka! are honestly the only entries that truly left an impact on me.

4. Best-Mix #3
Again, not much stood out to me in this pack aside from a few entries. Some fairly strong showings, but still far from the best mix.

3. Best-Mix #5
This pack doesn't really have a whole lot of downright incredible simfiles, but it's probably the most consistent and well-balanced contest this website has hosted overall.

2. Best-Mix #4
Just all-around stuffed with high-quality entries. I mostly enjoyed everything, but there were lots of true gems as well.

1. Best-Mix #2
It may have had a few duds, but holy cow, the real standouts more than compensated for them. This pack had so many really fun simfiles that it's very difficult for me to decide my favorites.

[Juub005]

I think I'll come up with a more detailed list later... Keep in mind, by the way, that I missed virtually all of Best Mix 2, but I think my favorite files that I played in past Best Mixes are The Game of Love from BM1, Somewhere Over the Rainbow and Wow from BM2 (I only played like 5 files from BM2), and Far Away from BM4 (one of the rare times that I actually have agreed with a simfile contest's winner). I'm definitely missing quite a few, but I'll transfer old files from my external hard drive before the end of this week and give a few other people their well-deserved mentions :)

[Aki]

Vodka and Artillery... hands down. In this mix, Gangnam Style and Twisted.

Also, is it me or DDREvolved is showing a blank page...

[Hainaut]

Also, is it me or DDREvolved is showing a blank page...

The same thing is happening to me. I honestly don't know how to take care of the situation, as I don't have control over the technicalities of the website itself. If necessary, I may contact the_ditz so that he can take care of it.

[Zounder]

It's been so long so it's hard for me to remember which files came from which packs/contests, so I would need to skin through the older Best-Mixes to come up with a full list. Unfortunately, after my hard drive wiped I no longer have any Best-Mix except this one.

While I can't come up with a full list, I do remember a couple files: Lady Chopper and Onna ni Sachi Are from Best-Mix 1. Those were both incredibly fun!

As for this Best-Mix, my two favorites are Space Truckin' and Vertex.