Top Ten Best Movie Soundtracks

The Top Ten
1 The Lord of The Rings (Howard Shore)

Not only does the soundtrack for Lord of the Rings increase the power and intensity of the films even more then could be thought possible, but by themselves they are ingenious pieces of work. The melodies, harmonies, and emotional strains are unforgettable and fits amazing with everything from Frodo's climb up Mt. Doom to the Riders of Rohan to the ethereal elves of Lothlorien. No matter how much you play it, the score refreshes and is emotionally riveting every time.

This is by far the best soundtrack I've ever heard. The music is so memorable, original, it sounds so good (it's like ice cream for your ears), and it fits the moods of the movies so well. Sure, I do like some other movie soundtracks, but never more than one or two songs. I love about a dozen of these songs, and all the rest are great too (I like listening to the happy music, it's so relaxing). THE BEST movie soundtrack, period.

Cannot stress the beauty of this score enough. The feeling of unearthliness associated with the elves, the sadness nostalgia felt when looking at the white tree, the minor themes like Eowyn's that just bring you into focus every time a certain character comes on screen. I will never, never grow tired of this score. Though I think that LOTR and Star Wars are more or less equal in terms of scores, LOTR will always be my personal favourite. It's just seamless.

It is great and also pretty much the fantasy equivalent of the SW soundtrack In my opinion (not relevant to the following reasons I like this soundtrack). It takes the usage of leitmotifs to a whole new level, and it fits the scenes its used in perfectly. Also the shire theme is so relaxing

2 Star Wars (John Williams)

Star wars has the absolute best tracks of all time John Williams is a huge legend and icon, and without his score, star wars wouldn't be nearly as great of a franchise as it is today. there are absolutely beautiful tracks from the original trilogy such as the princess leia theme, yoda's theme, han and the princess, luke and leia etc and absolutely iconic tracks like the throne room, binary sunset, cantina theme, imperial march and main theme. even the prequels have gorgeously epic tracks like the duel of the fates and across the stars. there is way too much to say about the different scores within star wars it's the best, it confirmed John as being the best movie composer of all time and it definitely deserves the number one spot

Considering all of the 6 movies, but not the soundtrack as an album, because it is so crucial to the storytelling and vice-versa that one cannot exist without the other. You could replace James Earl Jones himself and still have Star Wars, but never without that specific musical tones at each particular scene. The music is not there only for atmosphere, it is a main character.

Of course Star Wars music is the best! I know it places SECOND place on the list right now, but it will be in first place. It is iconic, is is epic, it is emotional, it is what makes the movie itself. Without the music in Star Wars, it wouldn't be as much as a popular movie. The music, and the movie itself, make Star Wars the best movie AND the best music on the list.

Undoubtedly the most iconic movie score of all time. How is this second? How are the scores to Indiana Jones, Requiem for a Dream, and 2001: A Space Odyssey not in the Top 10. Lord of the Rings has an excellent score, but Star Wars is incomparable. That anything else could take first place makes my question the sanity of The Top Tens users.

3 The Dark Knight (Hans Zimmer)

Perhaps the greatest soundtrack ever written.. But unfortunately that's what it is; a single track. Hans Zimmer excels in the recent art or thematic motif however fails to deviate and hence illuminate the intricacies of character and development through music. Although this allows audiences to re-experience the raw emotions associated with the theme's appearance, hence providing a powerful ending, it could do more in aiding the film through the exploration of further emotion

Epic... Really awesome, and completely soul stirring. When I listened to it I knew ihad to pick it up. (by the way did so in a week

This movie is really the best in so many ways, and soundtrack is one of them.

Undoubtedly the greatest, the movement and flow of soundtrack is the best.

4 Titanic (James Horner)

This is totally my favorite soundtrack of all time. My 3 favorite track's are, My heart will go on, Hymn to the sea, and The Sinking.P. S This is also my favorite movie of all time, And so far, the only movie I ever cried Watching.

The best soundtrack ever. This is on the top on my heart list. It never be forgetten. James horner is great composer ever. I always remember love of jack and rose the great titanic love.

His soundtrack to Titanic is utterly compelling and stands up as the single greatest soundtrack of all time. Definitely deserves to be number one.

It disgusts me that people think Twilight and other similar movies have good soundtracks when there are masterpieces like Titanic here.

5 Gladiator (Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard)

From the moment I started listening to the pieces of music from this film, chills ran up and down my spine non-stop. No one could ever create such an emotional complex of music that dives straight into your heart. Hans Zimmer is the best there is, was, and ever will be.

At the age of 8 you're dragged to the movies where you see an action packed monster of a movie, filled with violence and political drama. You revel in the action and sit with a smile on your face during the first 15 minutes and almost cry at the end. The movie came to life and the sheer magnificence and power of it all is almost overwhelming, but one thing stands taller than all. Walking out of the movie theater both my mother, myself and 20 others were humming D - B flat - D - D - E sharp - C - C - C - D. That being part of the opening battle Theme/Score and no other movie has ever done that to me. Hans Zimmer is a genius! He fitted one of the best movies ever with the best score/theme ever. Period!

This music is really special because if one listens carefully, gladiator serves as a precursor the the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack and you'll hear the similarities.
Go ahead- Listen for yourself.

The best soundtrack for a film ever made and probably the best work Hans Zimmer has done and will ever do. Unmatched by it's epic and brilliance this soundtrack it's an absolute masterpiece.

6 Pirates of the Caribbean - The Curse of the Black Pearl (Klaus Badelt)

Beautiful, powerful, moving, triumphant, energetic, intense, and relaxing all in one! It took a musical genius to compose these pieces. I mean, who doesn't love the piece "He's a Pirate"?

Although Zimmer's expansions upon the score were for the most part stronger than what Badelt did, many of Badelt's compositions fitted their allotted characters superbly.

It's just fantastic. Any tune is entertaining to listen to. A really underrated and overlooked one is Up Is Down. It's probably my favourite piece of music by Hans Zimmer.

What's there not to like? A composite range of music that accentuates this series with such ease and profession, I can't really go wrong voting for this.

7 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Ennio Morricone)

Best soundtrack ever. The Theme, Marcia, the Carriage of are Spirits, the Saint Anthony Mission, Father Ramirez, Story of a Soldier, Marcia without Hope, the Death of a Soldier, the Ecstasy of Gold, and the Trio are all amazing tracks making up the single best soundtrack ever.

Hands down for me the greatest theme song of all time. Just listen to it. It's the definition of epic. As well as that there's also plenty of other awesome tracks such as The Ecstasy of Gold and The Trio.

Every piece of music in this film is a masterpiece. Epic beyond words. Movies like this one will probably never be replicated to any real comparison. It sets the bar too high.

You could play any song off this soundtrack 50 years later and people will recognize it. It instantly brings me back to watching it as a kid.

8 Pirates Of The Caribbean - At World's End (Hans Zimmer)

While I do think that the first movie track was all around better, this one has so many moments of such perfection. Drink up Me Hearties Yo Ho is such a great song, Up is down is so amazing. The soundtrack really aided the movie. Still prefer the first, but some of these individual songs cause chills every time.

The music is genius! It is the living part of the movie and you can picture every scene while listening to the soundtrack. Will and Elizabeth Symphony is just amazing! Up and Down, Hoist The Colors, The Parlay, Singapore, etc. - every piece is brilliantly done.

Drink Up Me Hearties and Hoist The Colors from this movie are the best scores I've ever heard in a movie...and I listen to all of them very carefully.
The way they have been used in the movie is just epic...every scene enhanced by its sheer brilliance!

How is this not in the top 2. This is a modern classic. The music is just pure EPICness in the climax.. Not to mention that scene was one of the most EPIC fight scenes ever! This has to be no 2.. After Lord Of The Rings,

9 Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (John Williams)
10 Jaws (John Williams)

Some critics have cited parallels between this score (which consists of two notes), and Frank Churchill's theme music for "Man" in Bambi (which consisted of three simple notes).

So awesome, that it can make a room full of people scream!

The Contenders
11 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (John Williams)

I understand this not being in top 5 but come on it deserves to be in top 10. Just listen to the soundtrack; A window to the Past is a great musical piece. Every phrase of that music gives me goosebumps. Buckbeaks flight is another excellent composing.

Deserves to be Number 1! It's absolutely Beautiful! Even the films not scored by John Williams!

It's the most peaceful sound ever.

Are you guys forgeting something! Harry Potter soundtracks! Did you ever listen? MAGICAL(john Williams;Patrick Doyle;Nicholas Hooper;and Alexandre Desplat (go on give it a try and listen to the 2 last ones, and then post your comments to what did you feel).

12 How to Train Your Dragon (John Powell)

Staggering in its emotional expression. While its easy to acknowledge the epic themes of tracks such as Test Drive, its melody stirring to create a powerful motif such as that employed by Hans Zimmer in the Batman Trilogy, it is the raw and varying emotion throughout the film that should put it in the top 5. Forbidden Friendship, for instance, is a true masterpiece, reflecting character development in an experimental way alien to the generic and repetitive themes of recent blockbuster titles.

After Lord of the Rings, this is my favorite film score of all time. Forbidden Friendship is an amazing song and I could listen to it all day. This is Berk is such a great opener to the movie. The movie itself is quite good but the soundtrack is nearly unbeatable. The themes that carry throughout are gorgeous and carry along the storytelling. The soundtrack from LOTR is iconic, but I think that Powell's work deserves way more recognition than it receives.

Ultimate soundtrack. John Powell is my personally best composer. "Romantic Flight", "This Is Berk", "Test Drive", "Coming Back Around", "Where Is Hiccup" are certainly awesome, but "Forbidden Friendship" is best of all. It is the soul of soundtrack. It is unparalleled. It certainly deserves number one spot. This is the best soundtrack. Though movie is absolutely good but without John Powell is not the best. This soundtrack has influenced me most

This should totally be at number one. I could rant all day about this film and how amazing it is, but I'm just gonna stay on the soundtrack business. The soundtrack to this film completely blew me away. It sent chills up my spine and warmed my heart. It completely matched what was actually going on in the film and I could listen to it all day. John Powell did a great job with this soundtrack. It definitely deserves to be higher. Maybe second? I don't think it would beat LOTR but second will be good :) Love it

13 Jurassic Park (John Williams)

Why is this only at Number 16? This is one of the most powerful, most inspiring movie soundtracks ever. I bet that quite a lot of the scenes in the movie, as fantastic as it is, wouldn't be as good without the soaring soundtrack.

Such a great movie, but it's the music that really makes it memorable! Especially the Main Theme, every time I hear it that scene comes to mind.

Most epic theme ever! Awesome soundtrack, for awesome movies! Only number 38! Come on people, Jurassic Park wins, hands down!

Jurassic Park, where we don't build fences, cause' stuff just bites right through it, when the power goes out.

14 Batman (Danny Elfman)

The Nolan films are great in all ways except one: MUSIC! Elfman's soundtrack truly defines Batman. This should be at least in the top ten. (LotR first, of course)
Now if only Elfman and Nolan had worked together... Sigh...

15 Inception (Hans Zimmer)

Seriously, 14th? This soundtrack is so powerful that it brought me to tears. This and the dark knight are the only two soundtracks to do so and it is a truly incredible feeling. Hans Zimmer is definitely the most brilliant modern composer and is largely overlooked on this list. Please, vote for this soundtrack. Also, where is interstellar on this list? That is also an incredible brainchild of Zimmer.

Really great soundtracks especially "time"
It deserve to be in top 10 please listen to some tracks of this film especially "time", "dream is collapsing" and "one simple idea"
Hail Hans Zimmer. He is the founder of greatest Hollywood music studio.
Please see his website and you will notice that most of great composer of great Hollywood films are in his studio and in his team.

Come on, 20th! Time is so chillingly beautiful, and dream is collapsing is intense and amazing and keeps you on the edge of your seat for the duration of the song. Not just that, but the other songs in this aree always good. And somehow stuff like forrest gump and the godfather are ahead only because people think they are the best movie. In reality they are movies with barely and music in them. This is horrible

This is the best movie in my opinion, and the best soundtrack. I can't believe it is so low on this list and how other movies rated higher than this... Easily should be top 5 and in my opinion is a number 1 soundtrack, so motivational and incredible.

16 Sherlock Holmes (Hans Zimmer)

To me this is more thematic than Star Wars. the broken pub pianos and accordions compliment the fog bound streets, dark sewers and Sherlock's mindset.

An Oscar nominated score that's unconventional in it's usage of broken pianos. Shame Pixar's Up won that year because this score was a million miles above that sentimental pap.

From insanely action packs treats like Panic Sheer Bloody Panic and Psycological Recovery 6 months to the quirkiness of Catonic and My Mind Rebels at Stagnation, this Sherlock Holmes has it all.

A Gypsy like score in this Sherlock Holmes is very simmilar to Pirates of the Caribbean. Add in the Rocky Road to Dublin and there Are some Irish flutes in the background.

17 The Godfather (Nino Rota)

Absolute trash. Both the film and the music. I was bored to death

The best soundtrack... By far!

Never boring, only classy.

What a soundtrack

18 Pulp Fiction

Tarantino delivers, so many iconic songs from this movie because of this movie.

Tarantino never fails to put together a great soundtrack.

19 Braveheart (James Horner)

Far better than Titanic, easily one of the best soundtrack you may listen to. Horner tends to photocopy a lot, including himself. That score is less prone to xerox than many of his other ones. That score was so epic Horner kept using Gaelic/Irish musical instruments afterwards...

Gentle, romantic, sad, soulful, brave, free. It holds all the themes of the movie so perfectly. Truly a beautiful track, with such strong emotion in each melody.

By far the most powerful piece I have ever heard. Beautiful score for a equally as beautiful movie.

The best music I have ever hear in a movie! So powerful and emotional! Should be number one.

20 Saturday Night Fever

What? The best album ever below music from star wars and the lord of the rings?

Best selling soundtrack of all time with several number one hits

21 The Last Of The Mohicans (Trevor Jones and Randy Edelman)

All the scores in this classic-beautiful movie are EPIC. Just couldn't find another perfect word to describe them...

A really beautiful sound track that personifies the end of the movie.

One of the best movie scores in the 1990's.

22 Halloween (John Carpenter)
23 Back to the Future (Alan Silvestri)

Ugh, really? How to train your Dragon is above Bttf? Though not being my all time favorite movie, it DOES have the greatest soundtrack.

Not even in the top 10? My personal favorite.

Come on what's Twilight doing above this?

The best of the best of the best.

24 Once Upon a Time In the West (Ennio Morricone)

"Once Upon a Time In America" is a different movie, albeit made by the some of the same people.

"Once Upon a Time In the West" has a rich collection of themes, unlike other movies which have not more than 1 theme.

This movie should be a category of its own. The sound of Morricone is too great to be in this list. Where are the other spaghettis? This is just pure ignorance people!

At least top 20. This is original compositions not a gathering of previously recorded songs.

Great movie, Great music!

25 The Nightmare Before Christmas (Danny Elfman)

Danny Elfman also does Jack's singing voice as well.

Christmas songs and Halloween songs like no others? how is this not #1

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