Movie soundtracks used to be the only way you could relive the experience of watching a motion picture at home, on demand. They evolved over the years from a collection of musical numbers into original concept albums, eclectic mix tapes and noble attempts to capture the sound of an entire generation. Everyone has their favorite movie soundtracks, many of them better than the movie they actually came from, and the film critics at CraveOnline have finally decided to put their heads together, nominate and vote for their picks for the top 40 best movie soundtracks of all time.
Why “Top 40?” Because it’s about the music, duh.
Film critics William Bibbiani, Witney Seibold, Fred Topel and Brian Formo were each invited to contribute their 40 picks for the best movie soundtracks ever recorded, ranked from #40 to #1. Soundtracks consisting entirely of an original orchestral score or music previously released as a soundtrack album from a stage musical were considered out of bounds, but soundtracks including some orchestral tracks, a collection of pre-existing orchestral tracks, and musicals that originated on screen were considered fair game. Contributors were invited to consider a soundtrack’s popularity when submitting their nominations, but were encouraged to focus the on the overall quality of the soundtrack, regardless of the album’s impact on the charts.
Their votes were then tallied (their picks for #40 each got one point, their picks for #1 got 40 points, and so on), resulting in the following, final list. Each of these movie soundtracks comes with analysis from one of the critics who championed its inclusion.
Did we pick your favorites? Did we leave out a timeless classic? Do you simply want to argue the rankings? Let us know by tweeting the contributors at @WilliamBibbiani, @WitneySeibold, @FredTopel and @BrianEmilFormo.
William Bibbiani is the editor of CraveOnline’s Film Channel and the host of The B-Movies Podcast and The Blue Movies Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
The Top 40 Movie Soundtracks of All Time
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40. Lost Highway
Produced by Trent Reznor, the soundtrack to David Lynch's most underrated film plays like a concept record about anxiety. It's all dark shadows, pulsating noisy fear, and puddles of jazz-scented blood. David Lynch's movies are all typically full of lazy, foreboding jazz (provided by Angelo Badalamenti), but Lost Highway adds an industrial undercurrent of sexual frustration, steely horror, and schizophrenic panic. It's a rough listen, but incredibly intense.
Iconic Track: “I'm Deranged” by David Bowie
The tight bass pulse of the song's opening are the first thing hear in the film, and the echo-y distant vocals set the tone for both the film and the soundtrack record perfectly.
Underrated Track: “This Magic Moment” by Lou Reed
The deep and dismissive vocals of the late great Lou Reed re-order The Drifters' famous doo-wop song into a deeply longing lust song.
~ Witney Seibold
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39. Amadeus
Milos Forman’s adaptation of Peter Shaffer’s play is a perverse master class in music appreciation: the jealous Antonio Salieri so admires Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s compositions that he conspires to destroy him. Salieri drinks in Mozart’s masterpieces, Mozart sports a pink powdered wig just in case you didn’t know he was punk rock, and producer John Strauss collaborated with conductor Neville Mariner to blast one opera after another and prove once and for all that classical music is totally classic.
Iconic Track: "Requiem In D Minor, K 626 (Exceprts)" by Neville Marriner: Academy of St. Martin In The Fields
Salieri plans to murder Mozart, but only after commissioning the master to compose his own requiem, which Salieri plans to pass off as his own. Mozart composes from his death bed, off the top of his head, while Salieri urges him along. The final product is just as bombastically morbid as the scene demands.
Underrated Track: "Die Entführung aus dem Serail, K 384 - Turkish Finale" by John McCarthy; Neville Marriner: Academy of St. Martin In The Fields
Although King Joseph II claimed that the opera he commissioned had “too many notes,” he couldn’t be more wrong. Mozart used just as many notes as he needed to create this pulsing, extravagant, joyous work.
~ William Bibbiani
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38. The Bodyguard
The crime of The Bodyguard is that it isn't a full-on Purple Rain for Whitney Houston. Warner Brothers put Kevin Costner -- at the height of his stardom -- in this thing. So there needed to be a plot and, as such, we only get a few tracks from Houston. But the ballad launched from The Bodyguard was so theatrically magnificent that, for better or worse, it gave us American Idol, The X-Factor and Seth Rogen's "All Bros Go to Heaven" (This is the End).
Iconic Track: "I Will Always Love You" by Houston
Houston's performance is so iconic (and subsequently overused for laughs) that it requires a re-listen. Whether you love or hate the singer theatrics of climbing-up-and-down-the-notes-with-a note, you must admit that Houston did it with the most ease. It doesn't even sound like work for her. Which is why this song is so amazing.
Underrated Track: "I'm Every Woman" by Whitney Houston
But that ease of note-climbing made everyone forget that Whitney used to sing some great up-tempo pop songs (like "I Wanna Dance With Somebody"). This is the least ballad-y track from The Bodyguard and Houston has fun with it.
~ Brian Formo
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37. Pink Flamingos
John Waters can assemble a soundtrack like no one else, somehow mutating rare novelty B-sides, obscure off-the-wall '60s never-hits, and well-worn bygone party jams into a surprisingly cool multi-headed, sickening punk rock hydra. His iconic 1972 cult film is exemplary of his taste, containing both Little Richard and Patti Page. Waters somehow turned known songs into a uniquely trashy experience, making his soundtrack feel like an awesome dance record played in a Baltimore thrift shop.
Iconic Track: “The Girl Can't Help It” by Little Richard
It's a wonderfully energetic jam, and Little Richard is one of the supreme rock gods of our time, but when applied to famed drag queen Divine, the song takes on a whole new dimension.
Underrated Track: “Chicken Grabber” by The Nighthawks
An instrumental of squeaking guitars meant to sound like a chicken, punctuated by a thudding narration of “Here chick, chick, chick.” It's hilarious and danceable at the same time.
~ Witney Seibold
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36. Mary Poppins
Whether you love Disney’s version of Mary Poppins or agree with the original author P.L. Travers (who famously did not), there’s no denying that the soundtrack contains the finest, funniest, catchiest of ditties, written by Robert and Richard Sherman, “The Sherman Brothers.” They wring galloping cadence from nonsense words and exact tear-jerking melodrama from a simple idea like feeding the birds.
Iconic Track: "Chim Chim Cheree" by Dick Van Dyke
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious may be the signature tune, but it gets on one’s nerves after a few minutes. So does Dick Van Dyke’s awful cockney accent, but he’s perfect for this catchy ode to the working class. When he takes it down a notch, he really captures the secret beauty of doing a job nobody appreciates.
Underrated Track: "The Life I Lead" by David Tomlinson
David Tomlinson plays the stick in the mud father in Mary Poppins, but he’s proud of that, as we learn in this joyous, Henry Higgins-esque celebration of stiff-upper-lipishness.
~ William Bibbiani
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35. National Lampoon's Vacation
I can tell you, no movie played more often in my house growing up than Vacation. so its songs are quite memorable to me. The soundtrack to the Griswold family excursion to Wally World is the perfect ‘80s mix of funny and ironic music. Original songs by Lindsay Buckingham just scream “Griswold!” Hits by The Ramones and Pointer Sisters are played ironically, although “I’m So Excited” didn’t make it onto the soundtrack, and was omitted from many later DVD releases of the film too. This soundtrack only officially exists on vinyl, but I found a CD at a Comic-Con dealer.
Iconic Track: “Holiday Road” by Lindsay Buckingham
“Holiday Road” is the Griswold theme song. It would open Vacation and European Vacation and have a reprise in Vegas Vacation.
Underrated Track: “Dancin’ Across the USA” by Lindsay Buckingham
“Dancin’ Across the USA” doesn’t get as much love, but closing out the film it is just as representative of a goofy family vacation.
~ Fred Topel
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34. William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet
Remember that four-year period in the 1990s where all the teen films seemed to be remixed William Shakespeare plays? Well, hate director Baz Luhrmann if you must, but he certainly understood that young love is a mix tape. Not only did he re-mix the Bard in a contemporary setting, but for this soundtrack, he curated a number of remixes of popular artist b-sides and turned them into a-sides.
Iconic Track: "#1 Crush" by Garbage
Shirley Manson (who "will never be ignored") coos, groans and whispers "I will die for you." Spoiler alert: they do.
Underrated Track: "Kissing You" by Des'ree
While Radiohead's "Talk Show Host" is a great song that's become a live staple for the band, this lovely ballad is perfect for youthful love at first sight: it's all warbles, longing and aching.
~ Brian Formo
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33. The Blues Brothers
Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi may not have been the most skillful singers of their generation, but they had the good sense to back themselves up with some of the most talented blues musicians in history, including Steve “The Colonel” Cropper and Matt “Guitar” Murphy on guitar, Donald “Duck” Dunn on bass, and Willy “Too Big” Hall on drums. Together they make glorious, brassy music that dares you to look away from the stage, even if the audience is filled with a suspicious number of cops.
Iconic Track: "Minnie the Moocher" by Cab Calloway
Cab Calloway co-starred in The Blues Brothers as Jake and Elwood’s mentor, who taught them to love the blues in the first place. And in his big showcase number he proves once again that he’s the real deal, playfully involving his audience in a tune with unrepeatable scatting and a killer horn section.
Underrated Track: "Gimme Some Lovin'" by The Blues Brothers
Poor Jake and Elwood don’t even get halfway through their rendition of The Spencer Davis Group’s “Gimme Some Lovin’” before they’re pelted with beer bottles. Too bad. Fortunately this wonderful cover is included in its entirety on the soundtrack.
~ William Bibbiani
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32. About a Boy
Hugh Grant really had a career renaissance when he started playing assholes. He had to share Brigit Jones’s Diary with costars Zellweger and Firth, but About a Boy was the ultimate unadulterated Hugh Grant. His hilariously sleazy plan to pick up single mothers leads to a genuine relationship with a child (Nicholas Hoult). He learns that being present is actually more important than being “good.” Badly Drawn Boy created the songs and score to keep the tone whimsical and still biting, yet never too dark.
Iconic Track: “Something to Talk About” by Badly Drawn Boy
“Something to Talk About” is the theme to About A Boy. It even says “about a boy” in the lyrics.
Underrated Track: “I Love NYE” by Badly Drawn Boy
“I Love NYE” is a piece of score with hints of “Something To Talk About” layered in it, but it’s distinct in providing another whimsical track for scenes that can’t support lyrics.
~ Fred Topel
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31. Nashville
Robert Altman was a supreme naturalist, and when he made a film about music, he was sure to allow for live performances, complete with all the twangs and natural idiosyncrasies intrinsic to live music. In his 1975 classic Nashville, he delved into the rich and varied world of country and bluegrass collecting old-sounding classics, but freshly written and given a theatrical spin by the film's actors. The songs are all well-known to country fans, and Nashville's soundtrack is easily one of the best of all country records.
Iconic Track: “It Don't Worry Me” written by Keith Carradine and performed by Barbara Harris
This is the song that ends the film, and it's a final blast of success for the woman singing it, who is finally getting her big break. The song has a tragic edge to it.
Underrated Track: “I'm Easy” by Keith Carradine
This song, ostensibly about sex, is actually a dark song, when one sees the context. A cad uses it to seduce and abandon a young lady.
~ Witney Seibold
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30. Fear of a Black Hat
One of my favorite movies of the ‘90s, it’s essentially This is Spinal Tap for rap music. N.W.H. (N-words with Hats) encapsulated everything going on in rap by 1993. As such, the soundtrack brilliantly spoofs all the anti-authority, boundary pushing, criminal lifestyle glamorizing and blatant misogyny of the era. Good thing music doesn’t do that anymore, right? “Fuck the Security Guards” has some unfortunate homophobia in it but so did real rap. “A Gangsta’s Life Ain’t Fun” didn’t make it onto the soundtrack but trust me, it’s ironic.
Iconic Track: “Come Pet the P.U.S.S.Y.” by N.W.H.
“Come Pet the P.U.S.S.Y.” is the best example of Ice Cold (Rusty Cundeiff) claiming a political message in a blatantly sexual song. It stands for Political Unrest Stabilizes Society, Yeah. Just try not to sing along with the words though.
Underrated Track: “I’m Just a Human” by N.W.H.
“I’m Just a Human” is more of a spoof of PM Dawn but the lyrics are so funny, Tone Def (Mark Christopher Lawrence) singing about the bodily functions that make us all equal, regardless of race.
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29. Streets of Fire
Songwriter Jim Steinman is perhaps best known for his truly epic, near opera rock songs written for hugely demonstrative stars like Meatloaf and Bonnie Tyler. The underrated 1984 rock and roll gangland Walter Hill should-be classic Streets of Fire is marked by a hard-edged collection of forthright, in-your-face rock songs (some of which were penned by Steinman) that is unlike any other movie's. The rock songs lend the film an almost mythic feeling, turning the characters from rock 'n' roll street punks into epic heroes.
Iconic Track: “Tonight Is What It Means to Be Young” by Fire Incorporated
Penned by Steinman, the wordy title says it all, encapsulating the defiance in the movie perfectly. The title, fittingly, was used in much of the films' promotional materials.
Underrated Track: “One Bad Stud” by The Blasters
I love everything I've heard by The Blasters to date, bopping to their dirty soul.
~ Witney Seibold
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28. Car Wash
Michael Schulz’s lively and subversive musical comedy Car Wash (written by Joel Schumacher, of all people) was never as big a hit as its soundtrack, which yielded three Billboard R&B Top 10 singles, for “I Wanna Get Next To You,” “I’m Going Down” and the title number “Car Wash,” all performed by the spectacular funk band Rose Royce. The playful lyrics and sweet licks combine in one of the outright coolest soundtracks ever collected.
Iconic Track: "Car Wash" by Rose Royce
Never before and never since has a mundane job like washing cars been given such a groovy and celebratory anthem.
Underrated Track: "You Gotta Believe" by Rose Royce & The Pointer Sisters
“You gotta believe in somethin’, why not believe in me?” That may be the possible weakest excuse to submit to Daddy Rich’s gross amalgamation of capitalism and evangelism, but add the sickest bass line ever recorded and you’ve got yourself a real compelling argument.
~ William Bibbiani
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27. Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
This is not only a brilliant spoof of musical biopics, but it is also the quintessential American hero’s journey. Dewey Cox (John C. Reilly) is both Johnny Cash and Ray Charles, but he’s also everything Joseph Campbell was talking about. His fictional life takes us through 50 years of American music styles, even a tidbit of rap that actually didn’t end up on the soundtrack. I truly believe this is the best film of the last 10 years, and it’s a travesty that not one song got nominated for an Oscar.
Iconic Track: “A Beautiful Ride” by John C. Reilly
“A Beautiful Ride” is the summation of everything Dewey Cox learned throughout the film, and evidence that while the story was fake, the music was real. It’s a swelling, showstopper of a melody and really good advice.
Underrated Track: “Royal Jelly” by John C. Reilly
The Bob Dylan spoof “Royal Jelly” is spot on and actually deeper than real Dylan music. “Mailboxes drip like lampposts in the twisted birth canal of the Coliseum.” I get it, man.
~ Fred Topel
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26. Pretty in Pink
What's the "post" in post-punk? That aching desire to be loved. Pretty in Pink is named after a Psychedelic Furs song (re-recorded and polished for the film); by tenderly showing the connections desired by some of the less-popular, all high school romances hereafter became post-Pink.
Iconic Track: "If You Leave" by Orchestral Movements in the Dark
Perhaps it says more about us that we want to put the broodier and darker "Bring on the Dancing Horses" (by Echo & The Bunnymen) here. But Pretty in Pink ends with rekindled love, a wink at Kristy Swanson and everything being status quo. That feeling's accented by OMD: all the way to the top of the charts and into our karaoke hearts.
Underrated Track: "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want" by The Smiths
This track has been used subsequently in Never Been Kissed, (500) Days of Summer and even John Hughes' next film, Ferris Bueller's Day Off. So we'll put it in the underrated slot for its first (and perfect) inclusion here. Duckie onward, Morrissey continues to make unrequited love a bit more bearable for teens.
~ Brian Formo
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25. Shock Treatment
Jim Sharman’s sequel to the cult sensation The Rocky Horror Picture Show recast Brad and Janet and fell prey to the 1979-1980 writers strike, forcing the actors to move the entire film to a soundstage in the UK. But although the resulting film is obviously a mess, the soundtrack is a flawless collection of catchy tunes and witty wordplay from master songwriter Richard O’Brien, viciously lampooning American avarice, and celebrity adulation. It’s at least arguably better than the soundtrack to Rocky Horror. In a vacuum at least.
Iconic Track: "Shock Treatment" by Richard O’Brien
You’ll be jumping like a real live wire to this gleeful song, villainously gloated over poor Brad after he’s been institutionalized by Janet in the middle of a game show. “So look out mister, don’t you blow your last resistor for a sister that’ll certify ya!”
Underrated Track: "Bitchin' in the Kitchen" by Cliff de Young and Jessica Harper
Poor Brad and Janet, now played by Cliff de Young and Jessica Harper (a much better singer than Susan Sarandon ever was), can find no solace in the many products TV tells them can improve their lives, and O’Brien finds one devilishly silly rhyme after another to describe their plight: “Micro digital awaker, why are we always sooner or later... bitchin’ in the kitchen or cryin’ in the bedroom all night?”
~ William Bibbiani
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24. Help!
The Beatles’ second film is also their silliest, transforming John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr into Dadaist comedians on the run from cultists who want to sacrifice their drummer for the most ridiculous of reasons. Like all Beatles movies, the songs are practically incidental (which is fitting, since so is the plot), but they’re always some of the best pop songs ever recorded by anyone. Ever.
Iconic Track: "Help!" by The Beatles
An alarmingly happy song about pathetic pleas for romantic attention plays in black and white on a theatrical screen, as cultists toss colorful darts at our beloved mop-heads. They’ll be needing a different kind of help very soon, but they’ll never stop being fun.
Underrated Track: "It's Only Love" by The Beatles
No one was ever a harsher critic of The Beatles than the actual Beatles. John Lennon composed this song but later claimed he hated it, citing the song's “abysmal” lyrics. (The original title was “That’s a Nice Hat.”) But it’s still a sweet and plaintive tune.
~ William Bibbiani
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23. Urgh! A Music War
This little-seen, truly awesome cult concert film from the early 1980s gathers up pretty much every amazing musical act of the time, and lets them play. It comes from a time when punk and glam were fusing with newly-found electronics to form what would eventually be called the New Wave, a varied and daring time of great, obscure pop acts. Oingo Boingo, The Police, X, Joan Jett, The Go-Go's, Steel Pulse, The Cramps, OMD, Gary Numan, Wall of Voodoo, XTC, Dead Kennedys, Devo, and even obscure opera weirdo Klaus Nomi appear.
Iconic Track: “Tear It Up” by The Cramps
You can't see Cramps frontman Lux Interior fellating the microphone on the soundtrack, but you can certainly hear his guttural, sweaty, bonkers rendition of rockabilly punk, filtered through The Cramps' unique psycho energy.
Underrated Track: “My Beach” by Surf Punks
Few people talk about Surf Punks anymore. Their name defines their genre, and there's something near-novelty about their spirited fusion of surf and punk.
~ Witney Seibold
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22. Labyrinth
This happens to be my favorite movie of all time (tied with Toy Story 2, not 3). Jim Henson’s original creatures and world of irreverent riddles make for the most supremely creative movie I feel I’ve ever seen. With David Bowie as the Goblin King, that means five original Bowie tracks, only one of which is sung by Muppets, interspersed with Trevor Jones score. Basically Bowie did a Muppet movie before Bret McKenzie, but he didn’t get the memo that it was a comedy so he did legitimate Bowie music.
Iconic Track: “Magic Dance” by David Bowie
“Magic Dance” is the signature song of the Goblin King and baby Toby. Bowie sings with the goblins about how he’s going to turn the baby into a goblin. And if this gets kids into Ziggy Stardust, then even better.
Underrated Track: “As the World Falls Down” by David Bowie
“As the World Falls Down” is the love song of the Goblin King to Sarah (Jennifer Connelly). Maybe a little creepy since she’s only 15 but it’s a haunting song with beautiful vocals by Bowie.
~ Fred Topel
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21. American Graffiti
What better way to ensure you're going to stand out on the record shelves than produce a 41-track collection of every song in your movie? The full title of the record is “41 Original Hits from the Soundtrack of American Graffiti.” No other soundtrack, through its sheer thoroughness, can really claim to be the exact soundtrack of a very specific time and place the way American Graffiti's does. 1962 Modesto was defined by these halcyon, seemingly eternal hip-shakin' doo-wop sounds, and George Lucas was there to hear them. This record pretty much provided the entire catalog of Oldies stations for decades.
Iconic Track: “Little Darlin'” by The Diamonds
The “ah-oos” and falsetto screeches of The Diamonds gather together the doo-wop sounds as perfectly any from the genre.
Underrated Track: “Green Onions” by Booker T. & the M.G.'s
A groovy near-surf, near-soul hybrid of awesomeness, “Green Onions” has gone on to punctuate many a soundtrack.
~ Witney Seibold
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20. Singles
Singles doesn't work so great as a romantic comedy/grunge culture mash-up. But it is a great memento to a handful of Seattle bands who got closer through the death of scene icon Andrew Wood (of Mother Love Bone) . Writer/director Cameron Crowe was reporting for Rolling Stone when he decided to make this movie, fortuitously, just before grunge (and that "Seattle Sound") exploded, following the back-to-back release of Nirvana's Nevermind and Pearl Jam's Ten.
Iconic Track: "Would?" by Alice in Chains
This is probably the best song in Alice in Chains catalogue. It also appears at the best moment of Singles: when Dick (Matt Dillon) is interviewed about being big in Belgium and his band's new single "Touch Me I'm Dick" (a play on Seattle's Mudhoney's song "Touch Me I'm Sick") while at an Alice in Chains show.
Underrated Track: "Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns" by Mother Love Bone
While this album went platinum because Pearl Jam and the Seattle scene just exploded a few months prior to the release of the film, Mother Love Bone was the band at the center of the Seattle community that Crowe wanted to film. This song is a little more Axl Rose ballad-y than grunge, but it ties the whole movie and grunge scene together and -- running theme! -- fits great in a montage of heartache and longing.
~ Brian Formo
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19. Back to the Future
Back to the Future is amazingly so ‘80s and timeless simultaneously. The whole point of the movie is that a teen from 1985 (Michael J. Fox) is out of place in 1955, along with our “modern” lingo of Pepsi Free and “This is heavy.” The soundtrack includes original ‘80s songs that would become classics and ‘50s songs redone by stars of the film, including Michael J. Fox himself doing “Johnny B. Goode” and “Marvin Berry” doing “Earth Angel.”
Iconic Track: “The Power of Love” by Huey Lewis and the News
“The Power of Love” made Huey Lewis and the News a household name, and became the theme song for the film. Its placement in the movie is oddly not central, though still pivotal.
Underrated Track: "Time Bomb Town" by Lindsey Buckingham
It only plays for a few seconds on the clock radio when Marty wakes up to meet Doc. Listen to the whole thing, it's good!
~ Fred Topel
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18. A Hard Day's Night
Not just one of the best soundtrack records of all time, but perhaps just one of the best rock records period, “A Hard Day's Night” contains rock classic after rock classic, in what was the clarion call for The Beatles, The British Invasion, a new page in rock history, and what eventually amounted to an entire re-writing of the way music was made and produced. The soundtrack record was also a two-fer, acting as both a soundtrack and The Beatles' third studio album. You know all the songs on this record, even if you think you don't.
Iconic Track: “A Hard Day's Night” by The Beatles
Just the raucous, jangling opening chord of this awesome, catchy classic is enough to set the tone for both the record and the movie. Twang. Here we are. We're going to change everything. And we'll have fun doing it.
Underrated Track: “You Can't Do That” by The Beatles
A Beatles song I've always loved, but is rarely talked about.
~ Witney Seibold
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17. Stop Making Sense
Jonathan Demme’s concert film featured The Talking Heads at the height of their powers, powering through one new wave classic after another at the Hollywood Pantages Theater in 1983. Demme almost never lets the movie audience see the audience in the theater, keeping his eyes on David Byrne and his stellar band as they slowly assemble on-stage, adding one musician per song. The opening version of “Psycho Killer” features only David Byrne with a boom box to back him. By the end they have finally united and rocked the joint with epic renditions of “Burning Down the House” and “Take Me to the River.”
Iconic Track: "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)" by The Talking Heads
The Talking Heads wrote songs about weird topics like starting a TV station to save your marriage and Baader-Meinhof. “This Must Be the Place” is their simplest song, lyrically and musically, and perhaps the one great tune they ever recorded about a topic as straightforward as love. In the movie, David Byrne sings it to a lamp.
Underrated Track: "Girlfriend is Better" by The Talking Heads
The title “Stop Making Sense” comes from a song that nobody really listens to because they’re too busy watching David Byrne dance in a suit that’s at least ten sizes too big. Don’t ask why he wore that suit. Don’t ask what the lyrics mean. Just watch him go and then rewind so you can focus on this underappreciated jam.
~ William Bibbiani
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16. Boogie Nights
Paul Thomas Anderson’s epic ‘70s ensemble drama had so much period music they had to release two soundtrack albums. We’ll stick with the first release for purposes of this list. The film actually traverses from the late ‘70s to the early ‘80s as video ruins the porn industry for its loving innovators. Amazingly, for all the tragedy in the story, Boogie Nights is never a downer. Part of that is the affection the film has for its characters, and I’m sure this peppy collection of ‘70s/‘80s hits helped.
Iconic Track: “Best of My Love” by The Emotions
Our very introduction to the world of Boogie Nights guides Anderson’s epic tracking shot through all the characters.
Underrated Track: “Livin’ Thing” by ELO
“Livin’ Thing” closes the film and may be a large reason why I consider the film optimistic. The harmonic, uplifting sounds give us hope. Also we’ve just scene a giant schlong.
~ Fred Topel
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15. Footloose
If dance is outlawed in your town, there's only one proper way to bring it back: with some pretty great routines and some pretty fun songs. In a perfectly 80's way, Footloose succeeds at including both.
Iconic Track: "Footloose" by Kenny Loggins
How many songs can you lasso twirl above your head and crotch grab at the same time and it actually makes sense as a dance move? This one, and ... ?? (Get back to us.)
Underrated Track: "Holding Out for a Hero" by Bonnie Tyler
This track should've been a far bigger hit. We fault where it was placed in the movie: during a (daytime) tractor chickie-run. Swap places with the Kevin Bacon warehouse (nighttime) dance session ("Never" by Moving Pictures) and all of Tyler's lyrics make a lot more (club) sense. "Where have all the good men gone and where are all the Gods?" They're in the warehouse, Bonnie. Practicing their forbidden moves.
~ Brian Formo
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14. The Commitments
Alan Parker adapted Roddy Doyle’s unlikely novel about an aspiring manager who assembles a group of underdog Scottish musicians and transforms them into – of all things – a soul band. Although they make spectacular music, performing some powerhouse renditions of classics like “Mustang Sally,” “The Dark End of the Street” and “In the Midnight Hour,” they collapse in on themselves through the sheer force of ego. But they made a hit soundtrack that remains one of the best ever recorded.
Iconic Track: "Try a Little Tenderness" by The Commitments
“Mustang Sally” was the track from The Commitments they released as a single, but this version of an iconic Ottis Reddig tune is the most unforgettable, starting slow and sincere, building to something almost precious before exploding in brassy passion.
Underrated Track: "I Can't Stand the Rain" by The Commitments
The Commitments brought some serious funk to Ann Peebles’ 1973 jam, a version frequently overlooked in favor of many other covers by artists including Tina Turner, Missy Elliott and Seal.
~ William Bibbiani
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13. The Crow
The first adaptation of James O’Barr’s graphic novels tragically became Brandon Lee’s final film when he was killed in a firearms accident on the set. Alex Proyas’s gothic vision is beautiful and the soundtrack, by then-popular alternative bands, became the anthems for grief and memoriam. A separate album with Graeme Revell’s score is also worth hearing, but as multi-band collections go, The Crow really remained on point across all the tracks.
Iconic Track: “Burn” by The Cure
“Burn” is essentially the resurrection theme. Viewing Lee crawling out of the grave a year after his actual death remains haunting to me 20 years later.
Underrated Track: “After The Flesh” by My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult
“After the Flesh” is a heavy duty industrial growler that plays during Eric Draven (Lee)’s raid on Top Dollar (Michael Wincott)’s headquarters. It is raw anger and makes a stunning fight scene.
~ Fred Topel
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12. The Graduate
Both Mike Nichols' film and Simon & Garfunkel's soundtrack are cultural touchstones of a generation trying to figure out what it wants to be. The Graduate was also the first film to use pre-existing pop music as a score. Taking pre-existing sweet -- but rebellious -- songs that touched on JFK's assassination and fading American dreams and re-packaging them as a "soundtrack" to a film because there's one new track? Seems like an appropriate response to someone who tells you tell invest in "plastics."
Iconic Track: "The Sound of Silence" by Simon & Garfunkel
This track opens and closes the film. The repetition works, however, because Nichols (and screenwriter Buck Henry) understand that a generation in upheaval often knows what it doesn't want to be and has no clue what it actually wants to be. And even at the end, after acting in rebellion and stealing the bride, Benjamin (Dustin Hoffman) is in that same uncertain place that he started. "Hello, darkness my old friend..."
Underrated Track: "Mrs. Robinson" by Simon & Garfunkel
Wait, how's the most popular Simon & Garfunkle song underrated? Because this song that we so closely associate with the movie was unfinished and not entirely used by Nichols. Almost all the lyrics you know were written later. But Nichols' uses the (now) familiar guitar-strum as a score. And it works very well as a repeated cue.
~ Brian Formo
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11. Trainspotting
Danny Boyle’s electric and eclectic ode to heroin addicts in Scotland boasted one of the best soundtracks of the 1990s, capturing the joy of self-destructive escapism, the haziness of lost weekends and the absolute tragedy of overdose through tonally perfect tracks from Iggy Pop, Blur and Lou Reed, amongst many more. The Trainspotting soundtrack was such a rousing success that it spawned a second volume, featuring some songs from the film that didn’t make the original album and several more that just feel right. Volume 2 is a fine addition to any record collection, but it’s the original that neatly encapsulates the wild and unpredictable energy of watching Trainspotting.
Iconic Track: "Lust for Life" by Iggy Pop
Trainspotting rockets into being with a trio of drug addicts racing down the street after a shoplifting spree, chased by the cops and smiling when they get hit by cars. They’ve got a “Lust for Life,” even as they throw it away, and they’ve got the perfect musical accompaniment.
Underrated Track: "Mile End" by Pulp
"Oh, it’s a mess alright." This spritely ditty isn’t one of the most popular tracks on the Trainspotting soundtrack but it’s a standout reversal from the rest of the album, musically claiming that everything’s just dandy but lyrically disproving its own thesis.
~ William Bibbiani
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10. The Harder They Come
The Harder They Come digs through the Island Records imprint and, essentially, aided in introducing reggae music to a larger audience. Director Perry Henzell and producer Chris Blackwell (of Island Records) use the music as extra notes to national pride in the portrayal of a Jamaican "Robin Hood" outlaw/real folklore hero, Ivanhoe Martin (Jimmy Cliff).
Iconic Track: "The Harder They Come" by Jimmy Cliff
Similar to "Mrs. Robinson" on The Graduate, this is the only new song on the soundtrack and it's also the most famous for the performer. However, this Cliff cut was complete for the film: it serves as the final anthem for Martin. A woman gyrates to it when the credits roll. You probably have, too. One and all.
Underrated Track: "You Can Get it If You Really Want" by Jimmy Cliff
There are great songs throughout The Harder They Come. We're choosing to highlight the two songs that play in their entirety: the closing (titular track) and this opening sequence song. Lyrically, this sets the story of an outlaw. And the titular track goes out in a blaze of glory.
~ Brian Formo
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9. UHF
The soundtrack record for the 1989 “Weird Al” Yankovic vehicle doubled as the famed parodist's sixth studio album, consisting of half music from his (sadly financially unsuccessful) film, and half original material. It's also perhaps one of his stronger records, containing parodies of “Money for Nothing,” re-imagined as a retelling of “The Beverly Hillbillies,” and his best polka to date, a medley of Rolling Stones songs called “The Hot Rocks Polka.” Interspersed throughout were audio versions of the joke movies seen in UHF, like the action-packed Gandhi II.
Iconic Track: “UHF” by “Weird Al” Yankovic
The title track, a “Weird Al” original, is a paean to Yankovic's own prolific TV-watching habits, invoking not the specific shows of fly-by-night UHF stations of yore, but the daring, punk-rock DIY attitude of low-rent public access stations. It's a power-pop anthem of stadium quality, all about the pleasurable joys of TV.
Underrated Track: “The Generic Blues” by “Weird Al” Yankovic
Although not included in UHF, this track is a hilarious spoof of modern electric blues, a genre that most people hate. Al himself seems bored with some of the conceits of the blues, making for glorious comedy. “I guess I got a pretty low self-image. Maybe it's a chemical imbalance or something.”
~ Witney Seibold
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8. South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut
The South Park movie was a satire that anticipated its own backlash and made a movie about itself. Also a spoof of the animated musical, the movie had Kyle’s mom go to war with Canada over the language in the Terrence and Phillip movie, thus unleashing Satan upon Colorado. The boys sung beautifully composed music with naughty lyrics. “South Park” TV music continues to be great. They should really release every episodic song on iTunes like “Glee” does.
Iconic Track: “Blame Canada” by Trey Parker
“Blame Canada” was nominated for the Oscar because it’s the theme of the movie, and really the cleanest song they could nominate. “It’s Easy MMMkay” is really the catchiest and even more biting about parents trying to insidiously control children.
Underrated Track: “What Would Brian Boitano Do?” by Trey Parker
“What Would Brian Boitano Do?” may seem like a random throwaway song, but it is a reference to the original “Spirit of Christmas” short, a sweet spoof of childhood hero worship and a damn catchy tune.
~ Fred Topel
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7. Saturday Night Fever
THE disco movie starred John Travolta as a Brooklyn kid who dreams of winning a dance contest, and the soundtrack is by The Bee Gees. Not just the Bee Gees, but a good half dozen, plus bonus tracks depending on the pressing. Any disco song you know probably comes from this soundtrack,and it rocks.
Iconic Track: “Stayin’ Alive” by The Bee Gees
It opens the film and has become the soundtrack for anyone strutting anywhere under any circumstances. It was the name of the sequel too, and licensed for the Saturday Night Fever parody in Airplane.
Underrated Track: “Jive Talkin’” by The Bee Gees
“Jive Talkin’” was from a deleted scene, so that may make it the most underrated. Time has been on “Jive Talkin’”’s side though, as it is a disco classic.
~ Fred Topel
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6. Repo Man
By the early 80s Britain and New York had already moved on to post-punk and new wave. Los Angeles punks however, moving at a slacker's pace, were behind. And angry. But they also weren't going to do much about it. Maybe they'd do crimes. Like go for sushi and not pay. Alex Cox's film is a genre mash-up of UFOs, GTOs and latino punks set against a landscape of highways and oil derricks. It works amazingly well together because, essentially, it’s all alien. You can have your post-punk: Repo Man is repossessing punk.
Iconic Track: "When the Shit Hits the Fan" by The Circle Jerks
The soundtrack and film features the Jerks' playing an acoustic, tongue-in-cheek, lounge act version of their three-chord shout anthem (from the album Golden Shower of Hits). Emilio Estevez looks on in disgust, "I can't believe I used to like these guys," he says as Keith Morris skats into a microphone.
Underrated Track: "Pablo Picasso" by The Burning Sensations
This track is a cover of a Modern Lovers song from the 70s. Jonathan Richman, bless him and his twee tunes, never sounded like much of a hardass, though. So the lines "Pablo Picasso was never called an asshole/not like you" sound better with the extra guitars, synths and deadpan delivery of The Burning Sensations.
~ Brian Formo
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5. The Wizard of Oz
What can one say about one of the most beloved movie musicals of all time? The Wizard of Oz has reached a strange sort of critical mass in the mind of the American public, becoming a deeply embedded part of our culture. The soundtrack, consisting of songs by Harold Arlen, contains some of the most beloved of movie-based songs, including one track that is not only a heart-breaking classic sung by the inimitable Judy Garland, but an American standard.
Iconic Track: “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” sung by Judy Garland
A sweet lullaby about longing (although possessed of some strange lyrics like “where troubles melt like lemon drops away above the chimney tops”), this is probably one of the best songs ever written for a feature film, vying with “As Time Goes By” from Casablanca.
Underrated Track: “If I Were King of the Forrest” sung by Bert Lahr
There is something so gloriously odd about Lahr's sideways operatic performance of the Cowardly Lion's song that is fathomlessly appealing. And I like the rhyme of “elephant” and “cellophant.”
~ Witney Seibold
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4. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Regardless of whether or not you like bluegrass or southern folk music, this soundtrack is an undeniable feat. Producer T-Bone Burnett selected various contemporary bluegrass and Baptist revival performers to re-record and re-arrange traditional songs from the Great Depression era of these United States. The songs themselves are a tribute to a musical genre that never had commercial success, which adds to the feeling of the movie as some passed down story that gets bigger with each telling.
Iconic Track: "Man of Constant Sorrow" by The Soggy Mountain Boys & Dan Tyminski
While the soundtrack has been a bona fide phenomenon, even winning Grammy's and Country Music Awards outside of film categories, what makes this tentpole revival song extra fun is that Tyminski, Harley Allen and Pat Enright's dubbing and syncing to the performances of George Clooney, John Turturro and Time Blake Nelson is pretty seamless.
Underrated Track: "O Death" by Ralph Stanley
For all the lovely collaborations with fiddlers and strummers, an ode to "The Odyssey" wouldn't be complete without an a capella, lonesome, god-fearing song. These are escaped convicts, after all. Don't let the fake beards and instruments fool you.
~ Brian Formo
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3. Superfly
The greatest blaxploitation soundtrack, and therefore – by definition – one of the very best soundtracks in history, actually outgrossed the film it’s based on. Watch the movie and you’ll see why. Gordon Parks, Jr.’s tale of a cocaine dealer trying to go straight is decent enough but unremarkable without the slick, groovy tracks laid down by Curtis Mayfield, which work even better on their own as a concept album about drug use and liberation from oppressive social mores.
Iconic Track: "Freddie’s Dead" by Curtis Mayfield
“Superfly” may be the chipper funk ballad you’ll want to dance to, but the darker, judgmental “Freddie’s Dead” is more musically complex, more profound, and even more distinctive.
Underrated Track: "Give Me Your Love" by Curtis Mayfield
Listening to this song on the Superfly soundtrack technically qualifies as having sex.
~ William Bibbiani
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2. Purple Rain
As far as vanity projects go, Purple Rain does prove that, circa 1984, Prince was indeed the fairest pop star of them all. Purple Rain is also a refreshing attempt from a megastar to put his hometown Minneapolis crew, a city not known for megastars, onto the map. But that's just how cocky and great Prince was: everything he touched became purple and gold (hey, that's his favorite crew, the Minnesota Vikings). Well, everything except "Sex Shooter."
Iconic Track: "Purple Rain" by Prince & The Revolution
It's hard to choose between "When Doves Cry" and "Let's Go Crazy" but we'll go with the ballad where Prince (as The Kid) became validated as a great performer after suffering constant harassment from Morris Day and his parents. Vanity films are made for such a ballad. No motorcycle getaway. The artist is understood.
Underrated Track "Darling Nikki" by Prince
This track is most widely known for Tipper Gore's "Exhibit A" example of the need for "parental advisory" stickers on albums. Particularly for the line about Nikki masturbating to a magazine. Salaciousness aside, "Nikki" rules. It's Prince at his most pop-Hendrix. Oh and the performance in the movie is awesome and pushes that area formerly known as a boundary.
~ Brian Formo
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1. Pulp Fiction
A display of Quentin Tarantino's excellent taste in trashy '60s surf instrumentals, funky '70s grooves, and helping fistfuls of mid-'90s indie film fuck-you defiance, the soundtrack to Pulp Fiction – which became suburban standard issue in 1994 – re-codified the way pop music was used in feature films, using them to convey attitude and tone for a new generation of filmmaking.
Iconic Track: “Misirlou” by Dick Dale and the Del-Tones
Thanks to this movie, “Misirlou” is one of the most recognized surf tracks of all time, and inextricably linked to the film. Nothing screams attitude like this track.
Underrated Track: “Rumble” by Link Wray
Kind of link relaxing in a garage that smells of spilled beer and petrol, “Rumble” is easy on the ear, but rarely namechecked.
~ Witney Seibold
