10 Film Scores Every Record Collector or Audiophile Should Own
The sounds that amplify the sights on the silver screen.
I’ve used this newsletter as an excuse to wax nostalgic about 10 incredible film soundtracks that should be in every audiophile’s collection. This week, I’m tackling the other side of the (theater) aisle: film scores.
What’s the difference? In short, soundtracks are usually compilations of licensed songs (sometimes explicitly recorded for the flick) that are played during the film. In the case of soundtracks like the one for Pulp Fiction, dialogue snippets from the movie are also included.
Conversely, film scores refer to the original music accompanying on-screen scenes or moments. Traditionally, these are instrumental pieces created by a composer hired to work on the movie instead of a compilation of already-released songs from various artists.
Often, a film’s score plays an integral role in amping up the emotional heft of the visuals. Think how much worse off a movie like Psycho or any entry in the James Bond franchise would be without scores that terrified or excited? Often, no hit song from decades past can replicate that synergy.
With that in mind, here are 10 film scores that I’d consider essential listening for any music fan or audiophile. Streaming links and samples are included in each section, but if anything deserves to be heard on physical media hooked up to the best sound system you can muster, it’s these.
Before we jump in, a quick reminder to subscribe and share the newsletter!
Avanti!
1. "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly" by Ennio Morricone (1968)
You can’t post a list of fantastic film scores without including at least one Ennio Morricone composition. I’m told it’s actually illegal in multiple countries.
To pick his “best” score would be a tall order, as he’s got at least half a dozen classics in his repertoire. That said, the one I’ve listened to the most often in my life has to be his definitive Spaghetti Western masterpiece, The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly. Featuring iconic tracks such as the main theme (with those faux coyote howls), "The Ecstasy of Gold," and "The Trio,” it perfectly captures the essence of the Spaghetti Western and the outlaws that permeate its cinematic landscapes.
Also, if you’re wondering how much power a film score can wield, try watching this film with the sound off. In a vacuum, the images go from tense and exciting to unintentionally funny in an instant. Without Ennio’s contribution, this movie wouldn’t be a classic.
2. "Out of Africa" by John Barry (1985)
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more epic or stirring film score than John Barry’s Out of Africa. Known primarily for his influential contributions to the aforementioned Bond films, he also had a knack for conveying grand, sweeping emotion in music written for historical epics like this one and Dances With Wolves.
Here, the heartfelt strings and woodwinds pair perfectly with the many visual sequences that emphasize the vast, natural beauties of the African plains. I’ve always thought there’s something so captivating about how Barry builds a motif throughout a composition, whether it’s the film’s main title theme or the awe-inspiring “Flying Over Africa,” he starts small and, piece by piece, adds vibrant bits of color to his sonic canvas in often breathtaking fashion.
It’s worth mentioning that recent physical releases of Out of Africa’s soundtrack have included pieces not written by Barry, such as a well-known Mozart concerto. If you crave a pure, unadulterated film score, you may have to crate dig, digitally or otherwise.
3. "Lawrence of Arabia" by Maurice Jarre (1962)
My first viewing of Lawrence of Arabia was a hugely formative experience for me creatively, and the score played a significant role. Like the protagonist at the film’s center, it’s unorthodox and unexpected and, from start to finish, nothing less than captivating.
Maurice Jarre, whose other credits include David Lean’s other early-60s epic, Doctor Zhivago, and Peter Wier’s Witness, set a template from which many other film composers, such as John Williams, have drawn inspiration ever since. A franchise like Indiana Jones owes a considerable debt to this score, notably the opening overture, where pulsating drums give way to one of the most beautiful string passages I’ve ever heard in a piece of classical music. From the main title to the sunswept grandeur of “That is the Desert,” this score deftly brings pomp and circumstance to the widescreen action picture.
Or maybe it’s the reverse. Either way, this is one of the best scores ever written.
4. "Raiders of the Lost Ark" by John Williams (1981)
Speaking of all-time action adventure scores …
Here’s the issue with John Williams: he has almost too many excellent scores that it’s next to impossible to pick just one for inclusion on this list. Star Wars, Superman, Home Alone, Schindler’s List, the list goes on and on and on and ON. But, when I forced myself to stay on task and pick arguably the most “representative” Williams score, I landed on Raiders of the Lost Ark.
It has everything you want from the music accompanying such popular entertainment. Williams’ uncanny ability to craft an instantly recognizable theme is on full display with the “Raiders March,” while cues like “The Map Room” and “The Miracle of the Ark” showcase his ability to inspire awe and wonder. If that weren’t enough, Williams also has a tender romantic side, with “Marion’s Theme” emerging as one of the under-the-radar highlights in a considerable catalog.
Few film scores will serve up as much ear candy as the inaugural outing in the Indiana Jones universe.
5. "Vertigo" by Bernard Herrmann (1958)
Like Ennio Morricone, this list could’ve easily been a Bernard Herrmann highlight reel. From the Bond precursor North by Northwest to the iconic strings-only Psycho soundtrack, Herrmann is best known for his collaborations with the Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, and no Hitchcock score encapsulates the music legend’s strengths better than Vertigo.
Through its innovative use of instrumentation, Herrmann’s contribution to Vertigo solidifies its fever dream aspect. The repetition, circling back to the same phrases and melodies over and over again, reflects the unhealthy fixation that drives the film’s narrative. Martin Scorsese agrees with me, by the way, describing the Vertigo score as “built around spirals and circles, fulfillment and despair. Herrmann really understood what Hitchcock was going for — he wanted to penetrate to the heart of obsession.”
Few classical music listens are as hypnotizing as this one.
6. "Blade Runner" by Vangelis (1982)
When I published my film soundtrack article, Blade Runner was the omission I got asked about the most. How could I leave it off the list? Well, because it was already earmarked for this one.
Funny enough, this moody, synth-heavy masterpiece wasn’t the score that won Vangelis an Oscar. That honor was bestowed on the previous year’s Chariots of Fire, which is good but nowhere near this sci-fi treasure's greatness. From the first melancholic notes of the main titles cue, it’s impossible not to picture the film’s rain-soaked, neon-lit dystopian hellscape. It’s also one of the most cohesive film scores ever made, with every subsequent composition melding seamlessly with the other. From the Kraftwerk-ian “Blush Response” to the gorgeous electric piano on “Love Theme,” it all fits together incredibly well.
Similar to the movie itself, which was a box office disappointment upon its initial release, appreciation for Blade Runner’s score has only grown in the intervening years.
7. "Thief" by Tangerine Dream (1981)
Let’s stay with groundbreaking electronica in film scores and tip our caps to Tangerine Dream for their transcendent work on Michael Mann’s Thief.
Like Mann’s other 80s work, which includes the TV touchstone Miami Vice, this score crackles with a pulsing energy. Whether it’s the menacing chords over 808s on “Dr. Destructo” or the humming, warring synths on “Diamond Dairy,” the music legitimately becomes a character unto itself, riding shotgun with James Caan’s expert safecracker protagonist.
Said Mann on the choice to have Tangerine Dream score the film: “My normal instinctive choice for music would have been Chicago Blues. [However], I felt that to be so regionally specific in the music choice would make Frank’s [Caan] experience specific only to Frank…So I wanted the kind of transparency if you like, the formality of electronic music, and hence Tangerine Dream.” Clearly, he made the correct choice.
8. "Mad Max: Fury Road" by Junkie XL (2015)
Seeing Mad Max: Fury Road in the cinema was a visceral, at times overpowering sensory experience. Bodies flying, metal crunching, desert winds howling—it was more than enough to get your pulse racing. Tom Holkenborg’s (aka Junkie XL) muscular, industrial-leaning electronic score gives the film much of its propulsive energy, never letting you stop and catch your breath for much more than a nanosecond before it hits you with another gut punch.
Holkenborg spent a year tinkering with the score after seeing a work print that he described as “mind-boggling.” With that much time to experiment, it’s no wonder that tracks like “Brothers in Arms,” “Storm is Coming,” and “Blood Bag” hit as hard as they do. He also manages to squeeze in a couple of vulnerable moments, the most memorable being the beautiful and tragic “Many Mothers.”
Too often, action movie scores operate at one volume or pitch, pummeling the audience into submission with one repetitive music cue after another. Not so with Mad Max: Fury Road—there’s a sonic depth and finesse on display here that’s so often lacking in big-budget spectaculars. This one in particular merits a listen on the loudest sound system you can get your hands on.
9. "The Social Network" by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross (2010)
The first of several award-winning collaborations between Nine Inch Nails alums Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, The Social Network broke new ground when it came to what the average filmgoer (and filmmaker) thought a score could sound like.
Full of intriguing, unorthodox rhythms and textures, the compositions are both minimalist and subtly detailed. Consider the opening track on the official soundtrack release, “Hand Covers Bruise.” The sparse piano captures the sadness welling to the surface of the protagonist’s mind, while the cutting, jagged synths belie the anger and resentment that’s coming to a rolling boil. Even poppier cuts, like “In Motion” and “Intriguing Possibilities,” have notes of danger tucked into various corners of the soundscape.
Like the story at the movie’s center, the score for The Social Network is all about the pain that lurks behind the cerebral.
10. "Ascenseur Pour L’échafaud" by Miles Davis (1958)
Last but certainly not least, we have a personal favorite: the greatest film noir scores, courtesy of jazz legend Miles Davis.
After director Louis Malle screened the film for Davis, he famously asked his four sidemen—Pierre Michelot on bass, René Urtreger on keys, Barney Wilen on tenor sax, and Kenny Clarke on drums—to record the score without any prior preparation, save for a few chord suggestions. The resulting music perfectly complements the movie’s smoky, seductive visuals to create what is arguably the defining noir sound. Tracks like "Générique" and "L'Assassinat De Carala" are perhaps the best-known to casual Davis fans, but digging deeper yields at least a half-dozen certified gems, including “Au bar du Petit Bac” and “Florence sur les Champs Élysées.”
I dare not say this is Davis’ best album, as I may be struck down by the jazz gods or sneered at relentlessly by the scholars and snobs. However, the more I’ve sat with it over the years and let it grow in my mind’s eye, you could make a compelling argument that it’s his most sensual.
Which film score is your favorite? Any classics that should’ve made this list? Sound off in the comments!
I’d add ‘Passion’ by Peter Gabriel (The Last Temptation of Christ).
Some listening for me in your list, thank you Matt.
Why was Chariots of Fire given the Oscar and Blade Runner wasn’t? Well, the Academy is notorious for loving WWII, and hating Science Fiction.