The 50 Greatest Movie Soundtracks Of All Time!!

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Thursday, May 22, 2008
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From Apocalypse Now to Lost In Translation, from The Wicker Man to Control, we count down Gigwise’s favourite 50 movie soundtracks of all time - excluding concert films like Shine A Light and wholly orchestral works. Click through below and see who makes number one!

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50. 8 Mile - It was inevitable that the soundtrack to Eminem’s movie debut would go down well with the record buying public. Debuting at number one on America’s Billboard, the soundtrack shifted 702,000 copies in its first week alone. Consisting of five songs that feature Eminem, including his massive smash ‘Lose Yourself’, it accompanied the film perfectly. The soundtrack has so far sold 9million copies around the world – proof that Em’s move onto the big screen was a lucrative step worth taking.

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didn’t see one morricone score :(
~ by max 5/23/2008
- didnt see one morricone score :( They were doing soundtracks, not scores.
  ~ by RnB 5/23/2008
- who the hell compiled this list...complete disrespect to the master of the soundtrack
  ~ by themanwithnoname 5/25/2008
You left out The Big Chill? Seriously?
~ by mynamehere 5/23/2008
ARGH! Stop including movies that use previously written songs! A soundtrack should be original to count.
~ by Ludvic 5/23/2008
- Wait, do you want the score as opposed to the soundtrack? Or do you mean films that have songs, but only original ones, in which case youll have nothing but musicals?
  ~ by puzzled 5/23/2008
- I dont think that thats what makes a soundtrack good, or at least, should be the main thing to judge soundtracks by.
  ~ by Yup 5/23/2008
- Absolutely, this list just caters to those who like pre-composed ’stock’ music. We could have purchased all that stuff in separate records without ever having SEEN the movie in question. Ridiculous. But most of the so called ’soundtrack’s are just an insipid collection of ’marketable pop tunes’ designed to appeal to the most shallow of movie music fans.
  ~ by tsjones 5/24/2008
- Soundtracks with all original music besides scores and musicals are hard if not impossible to find. I think this list is going for the music that fits the best with the story.
  ~ by Sarah 5/25/2008
Natural Born Killers would be my number 1 - daring and innovative.
~ by BritSwedeGuy 5/23/2008
Where’s the Cohen brothers on this list? The Big Lebowski?
~ by Shoes 5/23/2008
- Its the coen brothers
  ~ by ,f 5/23/2008
- no its not.
  ~ by dan 5/25/2008
What about Top Gun? From Dusk Till Dawn? Grease?
~ by ak 5/23/2008
This is more like the 50 worst and most dated soundtracks. I would not but a majority of these. Bending the rules to add ”Blade Runner”? What’s wrong with good scores? Morricone, Schifrin, Williams, Shore, Goldsmith, Elfman and others.Those last the test of time. These ”Best Of” soundtracks from K-Tel are a dime a dozen.
~ by Wyngarde 5/23/2008
Ugh, I’ve never seen such a terrible top soundtrack list. Seriously, who came up with this?
~ by Erwin 5/23/2008
Queen’s Flash Gordon music is too good to ignore.
~ by Temmere 5/23/2008
Magnolia? O’ Brother? Good Night, and Good Luck? anything by David Lynch? Hmmm...
~ by Dany 5/23/2008
I have to agree with the poster who mentioned no Morricone scores. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly especially.
~ by JAS72 5/23/2008
1. Grease 2. O Brother Where Art Thou? (speaking of Cohe Brothers)
~ by Mr. Tibs 5/23/2008
Where’s my Little Pony ?
~ by Grandpopo 5/23/2008
Gigwise YOU NEED TO PUT MORE THAN ONE ENTRY ON EACH PAGE IF YOU’RE GOING TO MAKE A TOP 50 LIST. You have so much crap on your site that even if someone has a high speed connection it takes way too long to get through your lists. Try 5 or 10 at a time. If its like a top 10 list, then go ahead and make it one per page, but nobody wants to click ”Next” 49 times to see who you think is the best.
~ by DM 5/23/2008
Morricone did scores, not soundtracks...them’s two different things :)
~ by Baron 5/23/2008
What’s with the no love for Cameron Crowe. The ”Almost Famous” soundtrack--including the 20+ songs in the movie but not on the soundtrack, and originals by the Nancy Hart/Pete Frampton team--is surely in the top 50, if not top 10. And the ”Singles” soundtrack? I can’t think of a Soundtrack that better captured a genre of music. Even more impressive was that the movie and soundtrack were made before any of the bands involved took off (remember, all pre-Neve
~ by AS 5/23/2008
THE WANDERERS???
~ by sar 5/23/2008
I agree that The Big Chill is a HUGE omission. And what about Harold & Maude?
~ by DR 5/23/2008
”Gigwise YOU NEED TO PUT MORE THAN ONE ENTRY ON EACH PAGE IF YOU’RE GOING TO MAKE A TOP 50 LIST.” i agree with this guy
~ by dgt 5/23/2008
Ummm, Dazed and Confused? Best ever! Come on...
~ by Brits are weirdos 5/23/2008
Kim Deal’s vocals on Where is My Mind? Really? Don’t you mean Frank Black’s?
~ by ET 5/23/2008
Couldn’t find room for ”That Thing You Do”?!?!
~ by dlee25 5/23/2008
I like the top pick but where’s the love for Cameron Crowe? Almost Famous and Vanilla Sky had two killer soundtracks and more importantly, the music was utilized to perfection in both films - the most important thing for a soundtrack, rather than just collecting songs. And what about Richard Linklater’s great Dazed and Confused soundtrack?
~ by Jon 5/23/2008
AS IF YOU DIDNT PUT REQUIEM FOR A DREAM ON THAT LIST. Faggot. Gladiator and Black Hawk Down have great soundtracks too.
~ by waaaaaaaaa 5/23/2008
What about Cameron Crowes Singles?
~ by From the early 90s 5/23/2008
Hello?!? You forgot the soundtrack from my 2002 smash film Crossroads. Greatest. Soundtrack. Ever.
~ by Britney S. 5/23/2008
what a waste of time, not a single spaghetti western
~ by Joe Blow 5/23/2008
pulp fiction should be number 1 and the seconded should be dead presidents
~ by james 5/23/2008
hello? empire records?
~ by Shiva 5/23/2008
Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?? I mean really, where???
~ by Santiago 5/23/2008
Agree with most posters here... Where the eff is O Brother, ALmost Famous, Vanilla Sky, Dazed and confused (Aerosmiths Sweet emotion never sounded better), Spinal Tap.... Kill Bill?!? Really?
~ by Manju 5/23/2008
Nice, got a virus warning when I posted a comment. Add it to the long list of improvements Gigwise needs to make. I bet they dont approve this post.
~ by dhz357 5/23/2008
Guess you guys arent fans of The Harder They Come. Shame, because its better than all of those soundtracks.
~ by thomas 5/23/2008
The list seems to comprise of far too many pre written musical songs that are just added to the soundtrack rather than brilliantly composed orchestral works of genius....The person compiling this obviously needs to watch more movies....Where is Morricone or Jerry Goldsmith or the works of Bernard Herrman....
~ by Mad Dog McCauley 5/23/2008
Honorable mentions: Bringing Out The Dead, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Help, Yellow Submarine, Good Night and Good Luck, Get Shorty
~ by Linda Frost 5/23/2008
Were your hands so slippery you forgot Grease, not to mention The Blues Brothers!
~ by R. Jimmy G. 5/23/2008
Oh come on! what about Run Lola Run! one of the greatest original soundtrcks ever made.
~ by zach 5/23/2008
Where da fuck is Ennio Morricone?
~ by WHAT IS THIS? 5/23/2008
requiem for a dream?
~ by ilikepoop 5/23/2008
Does anybody really consider Labyrinth a ”George Lucas” film? George is great and all (and is an Executive Producer), but we all know that this is Jim Henson’s film. Give him his due.
~ by Muppets 5/23/2008
I woild add Pink Floyd The Wall, The Crow, Strange Days, and Romeo + Juliet (1996)
~ by David 5/23/2008
Great! Another 20-year-old giving us the roundup of movies seen.
~ by James Early 5/23/2008
No Almost Famous? No Royal Tenenbaums? Throw this whole list out because it’s clearly worthless.
~ by Kyle 5/23/2008
Until the End of the World, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
~ by Videous 5/23/2008
The graduate number one
~ by YOCHILLYPHATBOY 5/23/2008
I’ve got to echo with the calls for Almost Famous and Singles, and speaking of Cameron Crowe, I’ll add the soundtrack to The Crow, too. Grunge may have gone the way of the dinosaur, but that was a phenomenally influential soundtrack in the 90s-- Stone Temple Pilots, Nine in Nails, Rage Against the Machine, The Cure, Violent Femmes, Jesus & Mary Chain, and on and on. That having been said, kudos on including About a Boy, Layer Cake, and Lock, Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels--gre
~ by Bryan 5/23/2008
Where is Singles? Come on.
~ by guy 5/23/2008
How could you possibly make this list and leave The Crow off it. Top to bottom the best soundtrack there is.
~ by Beaver 5/23/2008
Ugh...way too many nods to films with Caucasian, indie-geek rock soundtracks. I know Caucasian geeks always want to pat their own backs and remind each other of how hip they are, but this does not excuse the fact that 90% of that musical style is God-awful and overrated. Putting this tripe in a soundtrack shouldn’t garner you any special attention...it does, but it shouldn’t.
~ by Mike 5/23/2008
How about The Wall?
~ by bytor 5/23/2008
I was expecting Herrman, Nyman, Morricone, Gerrard, Newman or Glass. From what this article lists soundtracks have become K-Tell compilations with pictures.
~ by Origami 5/23/2008
Dirty Dancing, That Thing You Do!, come on!
~ by g 5/23/2008
Just about any movie by Cameron Crowe. Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire, Say Anything!
~ by G 5/23/2008
I would’ve liked Rocky Horror up there...
~ by Justin 5/23/2008
Seriously? As a composer I’ve got to say this list sucks. Where are all the beautiful orchestral scores that actually move an audience with the action? Songs are great but they have no place at the very top of a film score list. That place should be reserved for actual film composers like John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, Howard Shore, Danny Elfman ...
~ by Fritz 5/23/2008
Baron, no. That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. A soundtrack is just music from a movie. Original scores for film are the heart of the soundtrack genre. Go to any CD store and see what you can find in the soundtrack section.
~ by Fritz 5/24/2008
i agree with max and mynamehere -- where are morricone and the big chill?? morricone wrote some of the most iconic, moment-defining scores of all time -- the mission, the untouchables, malena, cinema paradiso, fistful of dollars, the good, the bad and the ugly, to name just a few. as for the big chill --- its music defined a generation. you’ve got creedence clearwater revival there, the temptations, the rolling stones, marvin gaye, aretha franklin, procol harum, and many more great artists
~ by marti 5/24/2008
i agree with max and mynamehere -- where are morricone and the big chill?? morricone wrote some of the most iconic, moment-defining scores of all time -- the mission, the untouchables, malena, cinema paradiso, fistful of dollars, the good, the bad and the ugly, to name just a few. as for the big chill --- its music defined a generation. you’ve got the temptations, the rolling stones, marvin gaye, aretha franklin, procol harum, and many more great artists.
~ by marti 5/24/2008
a hard day’s night should be the #1
~ by rain 5/24/2008
The soundtrack to The Crow needs to be on that list. The Cure,STP, Rollins Band, Rage Against The Machine, NIN,and Violent Femmes just to name a few.
~ by that dude 5/24/2008
What? No Lost Highway? Now THAT’S an awesome soundtrack!
~ by random person 5/24/2008
how the fuck does this not have the Rocky SOundtrack !!!! THis list sucks major ass
~ by 1046 5/24/2008
no cameron crowe (especially Singles)...
~ by spacedog 5/24/2008
I agree. No Grease, Almost Famous, This Is Spinal Tap or Big Chill? Plus no soundtracks featuring Morricone, Glass, Goblin or Rota? If you can fit the score for A Clockwork Orange in this list, you should be able to fit these composers in too!
~ by Danny Steel 5/24/2008
where’s the crow?
~ by calvin ash 5/24/2008
where’s the crow?
~ by calvin ash 5/24/2008
How is ”Amadeus” no where on there?
~ by Organs 5/24/2008
Instantly lost credibility by starting with 8 Mile
~ by Denny Crane 5/24/2008
Ever heard ”The Crow” soundtrack?
~ by Steven 5/24/2008
No no no! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no...
~ by Jackie 5/24/2008
yeah, I totally agree with putting more than one entry on a page, that not only took me forever to get through the list, but so anti-climactic. Seriously, ONCE is NOWHERE to be found? And if you’re going to mention instrumentals, than how can you not include Brokeback Mountain, There Will Be Blood, and ANY movie scored by Philip Glass!!
~ by JenMessapotamia 5/24/2008
am i the only one who thinks it a little obnoxious that this is applauding what are essentially just good mixtapes that we make in our teens?
~ by brightsize 5/24/2008
Not a bad list, but how in the world do you leave off The Matrix and the Mission Impossible II soundtracks! They are both definitely top 10 of all time. The number one of all time might well be the Blues Brothers soundtrack.
~ by Richard 5/24/2008
What about Clint Mansell? Requiem for a dream and the masterpiece ”The Fountain”?
~ by ((( airWave ))) 5/24/2008
”Angel Heart” was the first score I’ve ever listened with spoken dialogue from the movie in it. And the jazz songs made it better than some of the scores you’ve mentioned in here.
~ by Fer 5/24/2008
Repo Man?
~ by aiabx 5/24/2008
A nice list. I would also include Lost Highway, Wild At Heart, The Life Aquatic, The Royal Tenenbaums, Velvet Goldmine, Hedwig & the Angry Inch, The Godfather, American Psycho, Back to the Future, There Will Be Blood, Punch Drunk Love, and even Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny. Also, I strongly agree: more than one entry a page next time, please.
~ by Casketcase 5/24/2008
I wonder where Empire Records was....
~ by Rizzo 5/24/2008
I didn’t see the ”The Bodyguard
~ by by coop 5/24/2008
You forgot Once.
~ by Chris S. 5/24/2008
how the hell is forrest gump not in the first 5?
~ by hm 5/24/2008
LOST HIGHWAY! You’ve got the Pumpkins, Bowie, NIN, Lou Reed, and Marilyn Manson. Not to mention that it was produced by Trent Reznor (who also did an even better job with Natural Born Killers). Wake up.
~ by JKW 5/24/2008
How could you forget about ’The Crow’ soundtrack?? Let me just say, if you don’t know, you better ASK somebody! ’Dazed and Confused’ is another noticeable absence!?
~ by ilovemusic 5/24/2008
WHERE’S GREASE,DAZED AND CONFUSED,BREAKFAST CLUB,AND REPO MAN!
~ by JOHN 5/24/2008
the mission, field of dreams, dances with wolves ,titanic, These are the real soundtracks
~ by eric 5/24/2008
where’s ”the crow”?
~ by john 5/24/2008
Quadrophenia? Help!? Very, very poor.
~ by Bertie Big Plums 5/24/2008
Just collections of songs? Lame list.
~ by Ace Hamilton 5/24/2008
While Moulin Rouge was technically a musical, the movie blended such iconic songs such as Nirvana’s ”Sounds Like teen Spirit” and Elton John’s ”Your Song” to make a completely original soundtrack. One of the best.
~ by Cassie 5/24/2008
Where did the alleged Kubrick quote come from regarding ”2001”? There’s no Beethoven on that soundtrack.
~ by Avery L 5/24/2008
Whoa, how could ”The Crow” not be listed here? Kinda makes me question the validity of the whole thing!
~ by Kagewolf 5/25/2008
Typical ”Best” list: recent hits we won’t even recall in ten year (Juno) get a place and classics like the Big Chill is ignored. No ”Best of” list should EVER be written by anyone in their 20s or maybe even 30s!
~ by ChuckG 5/25/2008
natural born killers. talk about dropping the ball, gigwise. otherwise, great list.
~ by El Bargo Diablo 5/25/2008
Lonely Shephard, not ”Good Shephard”!!
~ by mrguy 5/25/2008
I think it’s a pretty well balanced list. I agree with some of the comments above as well but I just don’t know which soundtracks you’d take out. Some other honorable mentions, ”Breaking the Waves”, and if we’re going to do scores, in my opinion the best score of all time, ”The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.”
~ by ryan 5/25/2008
Hello, Jurassic Park? Anything at all by John Williams? I agree w/ Ludvic, anyone can just pick a song for a movie,it’s a score specially written for the movie that makes a difference. Try watching Jurassic Park on mute-it doesn’t evoke the same feeling at all, if any. Who made this list? Did they just pick random movies?
~ by beccity98 5/25/2008
How about The Bodyguard. Not only is it amazing but it is the number one selling movie soundtrack of all time.
~ by Jalal 5/25/2008
Have to agree with so many of these posters here. what the HELL are you basing your top 50 on? definitely not quality of music! Agree with Waaaaaa, where’s Gladiator? or Jurassic park? or hell ANYTHING by Williams or Zimmer? This list really does suck! and is no way a top 50. Why the HELL would you exclude orchestral works? you’re all IDIOTS!!!!! get some taste!
~ by Joeski 5/25/2008
Where’s Gladiator?!
~ by s 5/25/2008
Where is Dazed and Confused? Seriously?
~ by howvca 5/25/2008
where is into the wild??
~ by intothewild 5/25/2008
one of my favourite movies of all time got number one. cheers!
~ by Melanie Newman, Beatrice, AL 5/25/2008
Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda were in Easy Rider not Terry Southern...and I agree about the difference between a score and a soundtrack. Also about songs made specifically for the movie and songs just put in the movie because it fits, Taratino does that perfectly.
~ by Sylvia 5/25/2008
”Soundtrack” is a very ambiguous word. — http://dictionary.com/browse/soundtrack http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soundtrack — I hereby coin the term ”songtrack” to refer to the songs in a movie, but not the score. — Oh, someone already coined that word, for soundtrack music albums without the score (and also for karaoke, video games, etc.).
~ by asten 5/25/2008
Some good stuff, but where is The Godfather or music form Ennio Morricone?
~ by JOeho 5/25/2008
Where was Dazed and Confused. Both soundtracks could have made this list and the first one should be #1. Some of the best rock ever. Black Sabbath, Foghat, Alice Cooper, ZZ Top, Nazareth, Kiss, Deep Purple, Sweet, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Ted Nugent. No over album even comes close.
~ by steve 5/25/2008
Goodfellas will always be No.1 in my eyes.
~ by GG 5/25/2008
what about requiem for a dream?
~ by caitlin 5/25/2008
once upon a time in the west? -morricone?!
~ by whatthe.. 5/25/2008
Heh no Highlander and Queen, no Flash Gordon and Queen?, you must be kidding
~ by torni 5/25/2008
You forgot ”Into the Wild”. You ust have, it’s the only explanation. Surely you could not have intentionally left it off.
~ by Eddie Vedder 5/25/2008
Some of the stuff look good, but it is still to much of a joke (mainly because they didn’t have Titanic, and nearly ALL the Disney movies that have a soundtrack...oh yeah that best soundtracks in the world LOTR AND E.T.
~ by JN 5/25/2008
Almost Famous? Anyone?
~ by AndyMcW 5/25/2008
Hey! What about ”The Rocky Horror Picture Show”?
~ by Kelso Horror 5/25/2008
WHERE THE FUCK IS ALMOST FAMOUS ?
~ by perezhiltron 5/25/2008
i think ”the crow” soundtrack was a very strong album
~ by M 5/25/2008
someone please send me or type the list! IDIOTS 1 movie on each PAGE!!!
~ by CHAD 5/25/2008
wtf kind of list is this? it’s awful... you left out the greatest of all time... DAZED AND CONFUSED!!! HELLO!!!!!!!!!
~ by SHAFE 5/25/2008
Moonwalker? Really? Wasn’t that more of a promotional video for the music already created? Calling it a soundtrack is a bit of a stretch. And where’s Footloose or Top Gun?
~ by Nick 5/25/2008
Seroiusly is this some kind of joke no GREASE
~ by seriously 5/25/2008
dude! where’s suspiria?!?
~ by me! 5/26/2008
’strange days’ had a great soundtrack, so did ’vanilla sky’
~ by Les Gomez 5/26/2008
I know you want a lot of page views, but can’t you just list them all without making us click through 50 pages?
~ by viewer 5/26/2008
Devil’s Rejects and Outside Providence
~ by fart 5/26/2008
dude what about: Arizona Dream , Cruel Intentions, The Matrix and The Beach??:d
~ by Johnny 5/26/2008
The Crow. O’ Brother Where Art Thou?
~ by Drawnfunny 8/29/2008
Both the Kill Bills have Morricone tracks. Death proof should be on there too. Tarantino puts together a great soundtrack.
~ by Matt 2/21/2009
where is the crow ST?????
~ by fer 20 hours 55 minutes ago

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