Time Out's The 101 Best Movie Soundtracks of All Time

Time Out's The 101 Best Movie Soundtracks of All Time's icon

Created by Ares Capeta.

Favorited 0 times, disliked 0 times, added to 2 watchlists.

Scores, soundtracks and iconic music to watch movies by – as picked by great film composers.

Has movie music ever been better? With legends like John Williams and Howard Shore still at work, Hans Zimmer at the peaks of his powers, and the likes of Jonny Greenwood, AR Rahman, Mica Levi, and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross knocking it out of the park, the modern film score is a Dolby Atmos-enhancing feast of modernist compositions, lush orchestral classicism and atmospheric soundscapes.

What better time, then, to celebrate this art form within an art form – with a few iconic soundtracks thrown in – and pay tribute to the musicians who’ve given our favourite movies (and, to be fair, some stinkers) earworm-laden accompaniment?

Of course, narrowing it all down to a mere 100 is tough. We’ve prioritised music written for the screen, but worthy contenders still missed out, including Dimitri Tiomkin’s era-defining score for It’s a Wonderful Life and Elton John’s hummable tunes for The Lion King.

To help do the narrowing down, we’ve recruited iconic movie composers, directors and broadcasters like Philip Glass, Carter Burwell, Max Richter, Anne Dudley, AR Rahman, Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch, Edgar Wright and Mark Kermode to pick their favourites. Happy listening!

Remove ads

Pssst, want to check out the Time Out's The 101 Best Movie Soundtracks of All Time list in our new look?

Filter

  1. 1 -

    Blade Runner

    1982, in 36 top lists Check
  2. 2 -

    Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo

    1966 — a.k.a. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, in 29 top lists Check
  3. 3 -

    Star Wars

    1977, in 40 top lists Check
  4. 4 -

    Vertigo

    1958, in 42 top lists Check
  5. 5 -

    The Adventures of Robin Hood

    1938, in 17 top lists Check
  6. 6 -

    The Third Man

    1949, in 37 top lists Check
  7. 7 -

    Singin' in the Rain

    1952, in 37 top lists Check
  8. 8 -

    Purple Rain

    1984, in 3 top lists Check
  9. 9 -

    Aliens

    1986, in 24 top lists Check
  10. 10 -

    Ascenseur pour l'échafaud

    1958 — a.k.a. Elevator to the Gallows, in 10 top lists Check
  11. 11 -

    Jaws

    1975, in 29 top lists Check
  12. 12 -

    King Kong

    1933, in 26 top lists Check
  13. 13 -

    A Hard Day's Night

    1964, in 18 top lists Check
  14. 14 -

    Planet of the Apes

    1968, in 16 top lists Check
  15. 15 -

    The Magnificent Seven

    1960, in 11 top lists Check
  16. 16 -

    Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me

    1992, in 6 top lists Check
  17. 17 -

    Lawrence of Arabia

    1962, in 40 top lists Check
  18. 18 -

    Jurassic Park

    1993, in 23 top lists Check
  19. 19 -

    Wo hu cang long

    2000 — a.k.a. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, in 27 top lists Check
  20. 20 -

    Interstellar

    2014, in 13 top lists Check
  21. 21 -

    The Godfather

    1972, in 42 top lists Check
  22. 22 -

    Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters

    1985, in 6 top lists Check
  23. 23 -

    The Harder They Come

    1972, in 7 top lists Check
  24. 24 -

    E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

    1982, in 30 top lists Check
  25. 25 -

    Psycho

    1960, in 39 top lists Check
  26. 26 -

    Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes

    1972 — a.k.a. Aguirre, the Wrath of God, in 18 top lists Check
  27. 27 -

    Aleksandr Nevskiy

    1938 — a.k.a. Alexander Nevsky, in 10 top lists Check
  28. 28 -

    2001: A Space Odyssey

    1968, in 45 top lists Check
  29. 29 -

    Schindler's List

    1993, in 35 top lists Check
  30. 30 -

    C'era una volta il West

    1968 — a.k.a. Once Upon a Time in the West, in 29 top lists Check
  31. 31 -

    Jailhouse Rock

    1957, in 4 top lists Check
  32. 32 -

    Taxi Driver

    1976, in 34 top lists Check
  33. 33 -

    Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence

    1983, in 6 top lists Check
  34. 34 -

    On Her Majesty's Secret Service

    1969, in 3 top lists Check
  35. 35 -

    The Social Network

    2010, in 13 top lists Check
  36. 36 -

    Le mépris

    1963 — a.k.a. Contempt, in 17 top lists Check
  37. 37 -

    The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

    2003, in 29 top lists Check
  38. 38 -

    Suspiria

    1977, in 17 top lists Check
  39. 39 -

    Raiders of the Lost Ark

    1981 — a.k.a. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, in 29 top lists Check
  40. 40 -

    Paris, Texas

    1984, in 21 top lists Check
  41. 41 -

    Shaft

    1971, in 10 top lists Check
  42. 42 -

    Close Encounters of the Third Kind

    1977, in 23 top lists Check
  43. 43 -

    Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

    1982, in 6 top lists Check
  44. 44 -

    Trainspotting

    1996, in 18 top lists Check
  45. 45 -

    Mononoke-hime

    1997 — a.k.a. Princess Mononoke, in 18 top lists Check
  46. 46 -

    The Deer Hunter

    1978, in 26 top lists Check
  47. 47 -

    Super Fly

    1972, in 4 top lists Check
  48. 48 -

    There Will Be Blood

    2007, in 20 top lists Check
  49. 49 -

    The Virgin Suicides

    1999, in 6 top lists Check
  50. 50 -

    Inception

    2010, in 21 top lists Check
Remove ads
Show all 101 movies

Last updated on May 17, 2024 by Ares Capeta; source