It goes without saying that soundtracks can either make or break your movie, and choosing the right one is an art of its own. Of course, scores, movie music specifically composed and arranged for a particular film, are very important too, but one might argue that since it is written from scratch for your movie, you have more creative power over it. On the other hand, selecting music for movies among the songs that have existed before can prove to be very challenging, as you have to make sure it matches the vibe of your film, makes sense for the scene, and its lyrics don’t clash with whatever message you are trying to convey.
Though usually movie soundtracks are comprised of well-known songs, this is not an obligatory condition at all. Some songs that went unnoticed at the time of release become hits only after they appeared in a soundtrack, thanks to the way the director highlighted their potential. It also happens that a song long forgotten gets a second life — and wave of popularity — after being used in a film. So if you find yourself humming the songs from a movie you recently watched, the director probably did a good job with the soundtrack.
For this article we have collected some of the best movie soundtracks of all time. But if you don’t agree with this ranking, you can actually vote for your favorite soundtrack on the list and make it climb all the way to the top. And of course, don’t forget to let us know which movie has the best soundtrack in your opinion.
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#27 Vanilla Sky (2001)
When you have your title track composed by none other than the Paul McCartney, that alone sets your soundtrack aside from others. However, for Vanilla Sky, that’s only a part of its charm. Enter R.E.M., Radiohead, Sigur Rós, Peter Gabriel, and more, and you will understand why this soundtrack works on a level that is almost impossible to describe in words.
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#28 Do The Right Thing (1989)
R&B and jazz are a perfect match for a summer day. But what if something ominous occurred on that summer day? Something like a racism-induced fight between Italian and African American communities living in the same NYC neighborhood. Spike Lee brought together a soundtrack that enhanced his message in Do the Right Thing, a movie that will go on to become one of the most iconic pieces in film history.
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#33 Friday (1995)
You may or may not like buddy stoner comedies, but Friday is iconic in so many ways. From some of the most quotable dialogues in film history to performances by Ice Cube and Chris Tucker, to a power-packed hip-hop and R&B soundtrack, it became a source of pop culture references and internet memes for years to come. The soundtrack, which includes Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, among others, went on to become number one on Billboard 200 and stayed in that position for two weeks.
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#39 Back To The Future (1985)
Back to the Future could have very well just included that one song on its soundtrack, and it would still be one of the most iconic ones in the world. Creating a scene that played so well off the popularity of the era-appropriate “Johnny B. Goode” spoke volumes about Robert Zemeckis’ power of storytelling, but the filmmaker went on and added more modern and classic hits to the soundtrack that, along with Alan Silvestri’s score, created a timeless masterpiece.
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