The original Doom soundtrack has officially been inducted into the United States Library of Congress National Recording Registry. Bobby Prince’s 1993 score is one of 25 recordings selected in 2026 as audio treasures worthy of permanent preservation because of their cultural, historical, or aesthetic importance. After the Super Mario Bros. theme and the Minecraft soundtrack, another major piece of videogame music has now entered America’s official recorded sound heritage.

The United States Library of Congress has added the original Doom soundtrack to the National Recording Registry. Composed by Bobby Prince, the score is one of 25 newly selected recordings considered worthy of permanent preservation because of their cultural, historical, or aesthetic importance to the nation’s recorded sound heritage. For videogame music, this is a notable recognition. Doom was not only one of the foundational first-person shooters, but also a game whose sound gave PC action a sharper, heavier, instantly recognizable identity.

Acting Librarian of Congress Robert R. Newlen said: “Music and recorded sound are essential, wonderful parts of our daily lives and our national heritage. The National Recording Registry works to preserve our national playlist for generations to come.” He added that the Library of Congress is proud to select these audio treasures and will work with recording industry partners to preserve them.

The 2026 group of inductees includes several very different recordings alongside Doom. The list includes Taylor Swift’s 1989, Pérez Prado and His Orchestra’s original Mambo No. 5, José Feliciano’s Feliz Navidad, Weezer’s Blue Album, the Charlie Daniels Band’s The Devil Went Down to Georgia, Gladys Knight and the Pips’ Midnight Train to Georgia, and The Fight of the Century: Ali vs. Frazier, the broadcast recording of the famous boxing match between Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali, where Ali suffered his first professional defeat.

Doom Brought Metal Energy To MS-DOS

In its description, the Library of Congress notes that the 1993 release of Doom brought heavy metal energy to MS-DOS systems while helping pioneer the first-person shooter genre. A key part of the game’s popularity was its adrenaline-driven soundtrack, created by freelance videogame music composer Bobby Prince. Prince was a lifelong musician and practicing lawyer, and he was especially interested in MIDI technology, which had become increasingly important for instrument control and composition in the mid-1980s.

For Doom, Prince drew inspiration from a pile of CDs loaned by the game’s chief designer, John Romero. The collection included major works by Alice in Chains, Pantera, and Metallica, giving the soundtrack a clear connection to the heavier guitar music of the era. Despite the limitations of 1993 sound card drivers, Prince created a riff-heavy accompaniment that fit the game’s demon-slaying trip to hell and back.

Prince also paid attention to how the game’s sound effects would work alongside the music. Using his knowledge of MIDI, he assigned effects to different MIDI frequencies so they could cut through the soundtrack. That technical detail mattered in a game where rhythm, threat, gunfire, demon sounds, and music all combined to create the tense but propulsive experience that still defines Doom in videogame memory.

Prince has sometimes been criticized for staying very close to his inspirations. Common examples include comparisons between parts of Doom and Alice in Chains’ Them Bones from the album Dirt, as well as Bye Bye American Pie in Barrels o’ Fun, a Doom II map. Still, it is difficult to deny that the Doom soundtrack became its own videogame phenomenon, inspiring countless remixes and helping lay the foundation for later generations of game composers.

Videogame Music Is No Longer Just Background Noise

The Doom soundtrack is not the first piece of videogame music preserved by the Library of Congress. That honor first went to the Super Mario Bros. theme in 2023, and the Minecraft soundtrack is also in the registry. Doom, however, represents a very different side of game music. It is not cheerful mascot melody, but dark, mechanical, metal-driven intensity entering the broader cultural archive.

The recognition also shows that videogame sound is no longer treated as a minor accompaniment. A strong soundtrack can define a game’s rhythm, identity, and historical position. In Doom, Prince’s music gave the game’s visuals, speed, and brutality the aggressive pulse that helped make the experience so memorable. The Library of Congress decision is therefore not only a nostalgic nod. It is recognition that videogame music has become part of modern recorded sound culture.

Source: PC Gamer