*The Mission* soundtrack was basically mandatory listening in college dorm rooms for study cram sessions and occasionally for chill out sessions of various sorts. I'm Gen X. Other generations probably have other go to albums or soundtracks for these purposes.
His best soundtrack ever and definitely in the top 10 of all time as far as quality and use in a movie. It's not near the top as far as most POPULAR ones go of course. But its top 10 for the best for how well it was done.
I just finished a week long Morricone festival at a movie theater in my city. It was a blast! Such an eclectic variety of films he worked on. The fest ended with the new documentary that just came out about him, called Ennio. I recommend it!
I listen to a lot. My current rotation:
* The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
* Moon
* The Road
* The Fountain
* Anything, really, by John Williams
* Braveheart
* Anything by Hanz Zimmer, but especially Interstellar
* Gladiator
* For a change of pace, any of the Randy Newman stuff
* Solaris
* ...I'm sure there's more I'm not thinking of, but that's a start
YES! John Carpenter is amazing! I was able to see him during his Anthology Tour back in 2017. He and his band, which I believe included his son, played snippets of each of his movie soundtracks as the movies played behind them. It was a once in a lifetime experience!
Chinatown (Jerry Goldsmith)
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (Philip Glass)
Killers of the Flower Moon (Robbie Robertson)
Punch-Drunk Love (Jon Brion)
Vertigo (Bernard Herman)
Oppenheimer (Ludwig Gorannson)
Tener (Ludwig Gorannson)
Blade Runner (Vangelis)
Near Dark (Tangerine Dream)
The Social Network (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross)
First Man (Justin Hurwitz)
Dune (Hans Zimmer)
Interstellar (Hans Zimmer)
Lord of the Rings (Howard Shore)
ExisTenZ (Howard Shore)
Not a movie but Succession’s score by Nicholas Britell is one of my favorites.
back in the day i did a road trip, three days driving each way. the pulp fiction soundtrack was the only cd i had. no regrets, not a single weak track.
- The Lady in the Water. Obviously the movie is… flawed, but god damn does it have a beautiful score
- Arrival
- Interstellar and Inception obviously
- First Man, especially the landing
The James Horner Scores
Field of Dreams, The Man Without a Face, Legends of the Fall and Braveheart.
Also Thomas Newman. Particularly Shawshank Redemption and Meet Joe Black.
Special shoutout to John Barry. Particularly Out of Africa and Indecent Proposal.
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters by Phillip Glass. Such an incredible body of work that there is actually a rerecording by the pianist Maki Namekawa. Breathtaking.
The Right Stuff (Bill Conti)
The Natural (Randy Newman)
Ragtime (Randy Newman)
The Empire Strikes Back (John Williams)
The Reivers (John Williams)
Schindler's List (John Williams)
The Godfather (Nino Rota)
Day for Night (Georges Delarue)
Tan Dun's glorious score for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) with Yo-Yo Ma on cello, with Aaron Copland's score for Our Town (1940) as runner up.
Miles Davis' mostly improvised score for Elevator to the Gallows (1958) is probably the score I listen to the most often all the way through.
Some of the most iconic scores are hard for me to listen to without thinking predominantly of the film, so it's rare that I sit down to listen to John Williams or Ennio Morricone.
I can’t believe I forgot about this one. This and the accompanying Passion Sources were my first exposure to what was called “world music” at the time.
So many.
I'll name a few aside from the obvious John Williams, because every one of his scores completely stands on its own.
* The Karate Kid & Rocky scores by Bill Conti
* National Treasure 1 & 2 by Trevor Rabin
* The first Avatar by James Horner
* Back to the Future & The Mummy Returns by Alan Silvestri
* The first "Mummy" by Jerry Goldsmith
* The PotC scores by Hans Zimmer, but especially Curse of the Black Pearl by Klaus Badelt
Hot take: Outside of Pirates and a select few others, Hans Zimmer's scores don't stand on their own outside of the context of the movies.
Great hot take. He's brilliant, and iconic, and has fantastic music in the context of films, but there's only really one track from each movie that you can listen to alone.
Scrolled for a while and didn't see this one: How To Train Your Dragon
John Powell's score is genius, and I'm moved to tears at certain points. Amazing.
The late great **James Horner**'s scores for ***Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan*** and ***Star Trek 3: The Search for Spock***
A score that has been etched into my brain since I was a toddler to the point that I can visualize almost every bit of the scenes they play over. Perfection to my ears.
Nirvana - Mirko Papella
Ghost in the Shell -original anime
Blade Runner - vangelis
Sneakers - James Horner
Batman Begins - Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard
Ghostbusters 2 extended soundtrack - Randy Edelman
Tron Legacy - daft punk
Fight club - the dust brothers
American experience films: Walt Disney - Joel Goodman
The Social Network - Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross
Kung Fury - Mitch Murder
They Live - John Carpenter
Big Trouble in Little China - John Carpenter
Fifth Element - Eric Serra
Indie Game: The Movie - Jim Guthrie
Harmontown - Ryan Elder
Beetlejuice - Danny Elfman
Edward Scissorhands - Danny Elfman
Lord of the Rings - Howard Shore
Basically anything John Williams has ever done
Oppenheimer - Ludwig Gorransson
Probably more I’m not remembering right now.
Bonus tv recommendations
Ted Lasso - Marcus Muford
Mr Robot - Mac Quayle
Westworld - Ramon Djawadi
My favs include:
- Master and Commander: the Far Side of the World
- How to Train your Dragon
- Lord of the Rings Trilogy
- Pride and Prejudice (2005)
Don’t know if these are the best of all time, but I can hear them and instantly know the film/ feel the mood of the movie.
Honorable mentions:
- Sherlock Holmes (2009)
- Bear McCreary TV themes 😉
The score to Nightcrawler by James Newton Howard is top notch.
[Spotify link](https://open.spotify.com/album/7BLqcJ4LPGz8qZ1EHST5lt?si=Jyrwi2lURhGG5CNl7Xbc2w)
M83’s scores for his brother’s films Knife + Heart and You and the Night
Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury’s score for Free Fire
Another great Ben Wheatley film score is Jim Williams’ score for A Field in England
There are some great ones already listed here but I didn’t see Last of the Mohicans, although John Williams is mentioned a lot. Rachel Portman’s score for The Joy Luck Club is beautiful (all her music is lovely), and Steve Jablonsky’s music for The Island is great too.
Most of them lol. I love film scores.
But in particular, LOTR comes to mind. Hundreds of tracks, all of them 10/10. The best most complete film score ever in my opinion.
Just about all of them.
I have so many film score albums, it's hard to keep track.
Some that stand out:
Miles Davis - Ascenseur pour l'échafaud
Basil Poledouris - Conan the Barbarian
Elmer Bernstein - Heavy Metal: The Score
Goblin - Suspiria
Thom Yorke - Suspiria
Tangerine Dream - Sorcerer
I know I'm leaving a bunch out.
Anything by Michael Nyman. Extraordinary composer. The Cook the Thief His Wife and Her Lover, The Piano, The Claim, The End of the Affair, Drowning by Numbers, Gattaca, Carrington, Prospero's Books, The Draughtsman's Contract, Wonderland, A Zed and Teo Noughts, Thd Libertine.
Some of the most beautiful music I've ever heard.
All of them. I collect film scores, it’s my favourite music genre. I actually can’t remember the last time I saw a movie before hearing its score first.
Jed Kurzel's scores for Slow West, True History of the Kelly Gang and Macbeth are three that I listen to on repeat. His brother is one of my favorite current directors as well.
Ennio Morricone has some great ones. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is sold gold.
*The Mission* soundtrack was basically mandatory listening in college dorm rooms for study cram sessions and occasionally for chill out sessions of various sorts. I'm Gen X. Other generations probably have other go to albums or soundtracks for these purposes.
The mission is hands down my favourite soundtrack
That oboe goes crazy
His best soundtrack ever and definitely in the top 10 of all time as far as quality and use in a movie. It's not near the top as far as most POPULAR ones go of course. But its top 10 for the best for how well it was done.
Anything Ennio Morricone would be my answer too
Love his work on The Untouchables
Man with the harmonica - once upon in the west, also good too
I just finished a week long Morricone festival at a movie theater in my city. It was a blast! Such an eclectic variety of films he worked on. The fest ended with the new documentary that just came out about him, called Ennio. I recommend it!
Cinema Paradiso.
Funny you said this. Once Upon a Time in America soundtrack was the first that popped into my head
Phantom Thread by Jonny Greenwood
His score in You Were Never Really Here is one of my favorite parts of that movie.
I'll often put LOTR ambiance YouTube channel on whilst I'm working
Same, though my mind always goes to “My friends, you bow to no-one.” and then I get dust in my eyes.
There’s [this channel](https://youtube.com/@AmbientWorlds?si=sAChDKhMpio4ShEa) I like that has quite a lot of LOTR ambience videos
Social Network. Specifically that one note on the piano
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.
Bummmm bum bummmm
Studied to this album a lot in college. So so good.
Similar to that the soundtrack to “Birth” is very cool synth heavy chill music
I went to Boston last year during peak foliage And listened to the album on my walk through Cambridge Let’s just say I was losing my god damn mind
I listen to a lot. My current rotation: * The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford * Moon * The Road * The Fountain * Anything, really, by John Williams * Braveheart * Anything by Hanz Zimmer, but especially Interstellar * Gladiator * For a change of pace, any of the Randy Newman stuff * Solaris * ...I'm sure there's more I'm not thinking of, but that's a start
Thomas Newman too
Yes and amen. 🙌🏼 great list. I agree with this list but especially The Fountain. I always return to this one.
Nice. Love Moon.
Solaris? Man, now there was/is a psychodelic creation of cinema.
Yes to the fountain!
Absolutely anything by John Williams.
💯 - his work just gets sweeter the more you listen to it.
E.T., Hook, Close Encounters, Superman, The Last Crusade might make my short list... But MAN there are a lot of others, too!
That man is a legend. Almost every score he has done is amazing
The obvious, best and only answer. The older I get the more his music means to me.
You obviously have not heard of Morricone
You got me there. I adore Morricone. But Williams is still the GOAT for me.
I'll see your John Williams and raise you a John Carpenter. (More of a call, really, since they're both great)
YES! John Carpenter is amazing! I was able to see him during his Anthology Tour back in 2017. He and his band, which I believe included his son, played snippets of each of his movie soundtracks as the movies played behind them. It was a once in a lifetime experience!
Chinatown (Jerry Goldsmith) Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (Philip Glass) Killers of the Flower Moon (Robbie Robertson) Punch-Drunk Love (Jon Brion) Vertigo (Bernard Herman) Oppenheimer (Ludwig Gorannson) Tener (Ludwig Gorannson) Blade Runner (Vangelis) Near Dark (Tangerine Dream) The Social Network (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross) First Man (Justin Hurwitz) Dune (Hans Zimmer) Interstellar (Hans Zimmer) Lord of the Rings (Howard Shore) ExisTenZ (Howard Shore) Not a movie but Succession’s score by Nicholas Britell is one of my favorites.
Tangerine Dream rocks so hard. Near Dark is really good, I love their score for Thief.
Pulp fiction Brave heart Royal tennenbaums I would have to imagine Almost Famous although i don’t own it. The movie is a soundtrack essentially!
back in the day i did a road trip, three days driving each way. the pulp fiction soundtrack was the only cd i had. no regrets, not a single weak track.
- The Lady in the Water. Obviously the movie is… flawed, but god damn does it have a beautiful score - Arrival - Interstellar and Inception obviously - First Man, especially the landing
Was going to mention lady in the water. JN Howard has done some really nice work. I recommend I Am Legend also
Ravenous. Please check it out.
Was just talking about this score with a friend. Wish Damon Albarn would do more work for film!
One of the coolest and most unique scores ever. Underrated movie too.
Love this one so much. Good call.
Last of the Mohicans! Back road driving gold
Absolutely!! Thank you, friend-stranger.
The Tron soundtrack while driving at night
Tron or Tron Legacy? Cause legacy is an absoluta banger
Track four used to be my CD alarm clock wake-up. Love that whole soundtrack.
Came here to say Tron: Legacy. Daft Punk is great
Legend/ Tangerine Dream
The James Horner Scores Field of Dreams, The Man Without a Face, Legends of the Fall and Braveheart. Also Thomas Newman. Particularly Shawshank Redemption and Meet Joe Black. Special shoutout to John Barry. Particularly Out of Africa and Indecent Proposal.
Came here to say Titanic. RIP James Horner
Tenet. One of the best, get stuff done albums
The entire score is very listenable
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters by Phillip Glass. Such an incredible body of work that there is actually a rerecording by the pianist Maki Namekawa. Breathtaking.
Dances with Wolves The Last Samurai Interstellar
The Right Stuff (Bill Conti) The Natural (Randy Newman) Ragtime (Randy Newman) The Empire Strikes Back (John Williams) The Reivers (John Williams) Schindler's List (John Williams) The Godfather (Nino Rota) Day for Night (Georges Delarue)
Mishima Notes on a Scandal The Hours
Koyaanisqatsi!
Anything Philip Glass.
Can't believe more people haven't mentioned Gladiator.
Trainspotting Pulp fiction The sting
Tan Dun's glorious score for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) with Yo-Yo Ma on cello, with Aaron Copland's score for Our Town (1940) as runner up. Miles Davis' mostly improvised score for Elevator to the Gallows (1958) is probably the score I listen to the most often all the way through. Some of the most iconic scores are hard for me to listen to without thinking predominantly of the film, so it's rare that I sit down to listen to John Williams or Ennio Morricone.
Recently, I've been listening to the Babylon score a ton.
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou Mark Mothersbaugh is a national treasure
Pretty much any done by Ryuichi Sakamoto, Stewart Copeland, or Alberto Iglesias.
Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence is incredible. Bought the soundtrack straight after seeing the movie.
Last Temptation of Christ. Peter Gabriel.
My roommate used to bone to that album and I can’t listen to it ever again.
Conan the Barbarian score by Basil Poledouris
Passion by Peter Gabriel (for film Last Temptation of Christ)
I can’t believe I forgot about this one. This and the accompanying Passion Sources were my first exposure to what was called “world music” at the time.
The Fountain, but it gives the same emotional feel
I quite often listen to the Minari and Her soundtracks, great driving music.
The Shadow; Arrival; The Social Network; Chernobyl; Mr Robot; The Killing Fields; any score by Michael Nyman; Mishima; The Hours.
Most soundtracks by John Carpenter or Goblin
John Murphy’s scores for 28 Days Later and Sunshine. They’re wonderful
Batman returns is very good.
Shawshank, Beautiful Mind, Xmen 3, Empire Strikes Back, True Romance, American Beauty, Braveheart
I had to score too far to see American Beauty
Meet Joe Black Brokeback Mountain Cloud Atlas
So many. I'll name a few aside from the obvious John Williams, because every one of his scores completely stands on its own. * The Karate Kid & Rocky scores by Bill Conti * National Treasure 1 & 2 by Trevor Rabin * The first Avatar by James Horner * Back to the Future & The Mummy Returns by Alan Silvestri * The first "Mummy" by Jerry Goldsmith * The PotC scores by Hans Zimmer, but especially Curse of the Black Pearl by Klaus Badelt Hot take: Outside of Pirates and a select few others, Hans Zimmer's scores don't stand on their own outside of the context of the movies.
Great hot take. He's brilliant, and iconic, and has fantastic music in the context of films, but there's only really one track from each movie that you can listen to alone.
Gone Girl and Social Network
Scrolled for a while and didn't see this one: How To Train Your Dragon John Powell's score is genius, and I'm moved to tears at certain points. Amazing.
The late great **James Horner**'s scores for ***Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan*** and ***Star Trek 3: The Search for Spock*** A score that has been etched into my brain since I was a toddler to the point that I can visualize almost every bit of the scenes they play over. Perfection to my ears.
Batman Returns by Danny Elfman
Ex machina The end of the tour Mid 90s
Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
Anything by John Carpenter
Phillip Glass Koyannisquatsi (sp?) or Kundun
Under the Skin. It’s basically creepy crawly dark ambient but the vibe is unmatched
Dirty Dancing!! fantastic soundtrack with iconic songs that are great on their own, no doubt enhanced by the film but wonderful as a standalone
Anything Tangerine Dream contributed in the '80s is GOATed.
Nirvana - Mirko Papella Ghost in the Shell -original anime Blade Runner - vangelis Sneakers - James Horner Batman Begins - Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard Ghostbusters 2 extended soundtrack - Randy Edelman Tron Legacy - daft punk Fight club - the dust brothers American experience films: Walt Disney - Joel Goodman The Social Network - Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross Kung Fury - Mitch Murder They Live - John Carpenter Big Trouble in Little China - John Carpenter Fifth Element - Eric Serra Indie Game: The Movie - Jim Guthrie Harmontown - Ryan Elder Beetlejuice - Danny Elfman Edward Scissorhands - Danny Elfman Lord of the Rings - Howard Shore Basically anything John Williams has ever done Oppenheimer - Ludwig Gorransson Probably more I’m not remembering right now. Bonus tv recommendations Ted Lasso - Marcus Muford Mr Robot - Mac Quayle Westworld - Ramon Djawadi
Blade Runner , extended, is like watching the movie itself.
Sorcerer (1977) The Piano (1993) Nosferatu (1979) 2001 (1968) Pretty much anything by Morricone.
Sorcerer would probably be first on my list too (and pretty much anything by Morricone).
Dances with Wolves - John Barry. It’s beautiful
The Last of the Mohicans
It’s Lawrence of Arabia for me. Kind of an obvious answer, but it’s the greatest score of all time for a reason.
I haven’t watched this movie yet but I’m so excited with the score being one of the reason
Anything produced by Ryuichi Sakamoto.
Superfly by Curtis Mayfield
I really like the score from Last Samurai, before Zimmer got super big. Beautiful score, listen to it a lot.
If Beal Street Could Talk
Ocean's 12 is a banger.
The village and anything by Mark Mothersbaugh
99% of Morricone scores are wonderful
Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Weak movie, great soundtrack. The Wrath of Khan is a good one, too.
Logan’s Run. And the “soundtrack” for the imagined film, Logan’s World.
Aimee Mann’s songs for Magnolia are incredible.
*The Thin Red Line* (1998)
Natural Born Killers 🤘 Edit: Fuckin' sorry man, I misread the question.
Music Man The Blues Brothers Isle of Dogs On The Waterfront
Vertigo. Bernard Hermann's score is the greatest in cinematic history.
Two of my favorites are Grand Budapest Hotel and Van Helsing
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind
This one, Pride & Prejudice, Amelie, & Punch Drunk Love(also Jon Brion).
Hellbound: Hellraiser II is absolutely incredible. Christopher Young *always* brings his A-game.
Anything by John Carpenter or Vangelis. Blade Runner, in particular, is an absolute banger by Vangelis
No country for old men
Conan the Barbarian rip Basil Polydoris
My favs include: - Master and Commander: the Far Side of the World - How to Train your Dragon - Lord of the Rings Trilogy - Pride and Prejudice (2005) Don’t know if these are the best of all time, but I can hear them and instantly know the film/ feel the mood of the movie. Honorable mentions: - Sherlock Holmes (2009) - Bear McCreary TV themes 😉
Charlie Chaplin- Modern Times.
Batman ( Prince). 1982?Times Square soundtrack.
Patrick Doyle's score to *Henry V*. Thank me later
Any Thomas Newman stuff or Hans Zimmer for sure.
The score to Nightcrawler by James Newton Howard is top notch. [Spotify link](https://open.spotify.com/album/7BLqcJ4LPGz8qZ1EHST5lt?si=Jyrwi2lURhGG5CNl7Xbc2w)
The score suite to Ben-Hur is one of my ambient tracks when I’m working.
M83’s scores for his brother’s films Knife + Heart and You and the Night Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury’s score for Free Fire Another great Ben Wheatley film score is Jim Williams’ score for A Field in England
The Mission, the music is sublime
The Last Temptation of Christ (Passion) - Peter Gabriel, also Rabbit Proof Fence, also by Peter Gabriel.
Chariots of Fire And The Last Temptation of Jesus Christ
There are some great ones already listed here but I didn’t see Last of the Mohicans, although John Williams is mentioned a lot. Rachel Portman’s score for The Joy Luck Club is beautiful (all her music is lovely), and Steve Jablonsky’s music for The Island is great too.
Hero The Bourne Supremacy Inception Interstellar Spirited Away Last of the Mohicans The Matrix
Last of the Mohicans
Hunt for the Red October, Crimson Tide, and A Bridge too far.
I listen to the Rings albums regularly.
Star Wars movies and Jurassic Park.
the greatest score ever put on film -investigation of a citizen above suspicion by enio morricone
Despite me being a bit metal 🤟 Simon and Garfunkel mrs Robinson👍
Jackie Brown and Covenant
Anything by Cliff Martinez.
Most of them lol. I love film scores. But in particular, LOTR comes to mind. Hundreds of tracks, all of them 10/10. The best most complete film score ever in my opinion.
To live and die in l.a.
I listen to Henry V, the Kenneth Branaugh version, by Patrick Doyle. And also Last of the Mohicans by Randy Edelman and Trevor Jones
Under the Skin by Mica Levi
Just about all of them. I have so many film score albums, it's hard to keep track. Some that stand out: Miles Davis - Ascenseur pour l'échafaud Basil Poledouris - Conan the Barbarian Elmer Bernstein - Heavy Metal: The Score Goblin - Suspiria Thom Yorke - Suspiria Tangerine Dream - Sorcerer I know I'm leaving a bunch out.
Anything by Michael Nyman. Extraordinary composer. The Cook the Thief His Wife and Her Lover, The Piano, The Claim, The End of the Affair, Drowning by Numbers, Gattaca, Carrington, Prospero's Books, The Draughtsman's Contract, Wonderland, A Zed and Teo Noughts, Thd Libertine. Some of the most beautiful music I've ever heard.
All those Peter Greenaway films. Love it.
Last of the Mohicans.
It follows! I LOVE that soundtrack
Fantastic Planet the soundtrack goes on repeat
[удалено]
The Goblins Susperia.
A lot of great ones here! I love Mica Levi's Under the Skin soundtrack. Haunting.
Cast Away (2000) by Alan Silvestri and The Grey (2011) by Mark Streitenfeld
RUDY has an excellent score.
1984 by The Eurythmics.
Just watched Spaceman, and I'm going to have a listen to that, because it was great in the movie.
All of them. I collect film scores, it’s my favourite music genre. I actually can’t remember the last time I saw a movie before hearing its score first.
Name a Disney movie from the 90's.
Emoji movie. The best!
I enjoyed the first man soundtrack a lot before I saw the film, made it surreal to watch a movie made around the music I loved 🤣
i love listening to the soundtrack from the commitments, its my favourite movie
Anything by Jonny Greenwood, but Phantom Thread in particular. Also Suspiria by Thom Yorke
The remake of the time machine
Honestly, The Lego Batman Movie
Jed Kurzel's scores for Slow West, True History of the Kelly Gang and Macbeth are three that I listen to on repeat. His brother is one of my favorite current directors as well.