Ranking The 21 Best Movie Soundtracks Of All-Time

Ranking the best movie soundtracks of all-time is virtually impossible task. There have been so many incredible soundtracks throughout Hollywood history. On top of that, you have a million and one people who don’t understand the difference between a ‘soundtrack’ and a ‘score’ in film and that muddies everyone’s opinion.

Never one to shy away from a challenge, I have taken on the task of ranking the 21 best movie soundtracks of all time. Though they are not necessarily in order because let’s be honest, this is an entirely subjective topic because what one person might deem to be the best movie soundtrack ever might only be top 50 on another person’s list.

Ranking The 21 Best Movie Soundtracks Of All-Time

A qualitative comparison of one movie soundtrack to another is challenging for a million reasons, not least of which is the perfect soundtrack for one movie would obviously be totally lost if it were supplanted onto another film. Soundtracks drive the storytelling in film in a way that rarely gets fully appreciated. But with each of the movie soundtracks below on this list they were the perfect collection of songs for that piece of art.

1. Dazed and Confused

The team behind Dazed and Confused (1993) never had a clue how much of a lasting impact this cult classic would have. It managed to perfectly capture the teen angst at every transition period in high school, the ascension from middle school to high school, rising seniors coming to grips with being on the cusp of graduation, and post-grads not yet finding their place in the world.

The Dazed and Confused soundtrack featured hit after hit after hit. Some of film’s most memorable scenes were framed by iconic tracks like Foghat’s ‘Slow Ride,’ Alice Cooper’s ‘School’s Out,’ and Rick Derringer’s ‘Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo.’ I had this soundtrack and a copy of the movie at way too young of an age, before I could fully appreciate it, because my older brother’s roommates were extras in the movie when he was living in Austin and he turned me onto it and opened up a whole new world I never knew existed, both musically and culturally.

2. Forrest Gump

The beauty of the Forrest Gump soundtrack is while Forrest himself lives a thousand lives throughout the course of the film the music is able to jump around as well. Iconic tracks include ‘Hound Dog’ by Elvis Pressley, ‘Fortunate Son’ by Creedence Clearwater Revival, and ‘All Along The Watchtower’ performed by Jimi Hendrix.

I’ve often heard that no film ever captured the musical zeitgeist around the Vietnam War better than Forrest Gump and while I wasn’t alive for the Vietnam War Era I’m inclined to agree. The transition above from Forrest in Greenbow, Alabama in his mother’s arms to riding into camp on a helicopter in Vietnam with CCR playing in the background is a nearly perfect scene.

3. The Crow

1994’s The Crow starring the late Brandon Lee, who tragically died on set of the film at 23-years-old while they were filming in North Carolina, is absolutely on the Mt. Rushmore of the Best Movie Soundtracks of All-Time. This soundtrack didn’t rely too heavily on music form the past but instead primarily pulled from the absolute best contemporary songs of that era to aid in the legendary storytelling.

The Crow did win a 1995 MTV VMA for ‘Best Song’ for ‘Big Empty’ by the Stone Temple Pilots and it won a 1994 Chainsaw Award for ‘Best Soundtrack.’ So the soundtrack certainly did not go unappreciated. But somehow The Crow tends to get lost in the conversation of the most epic movie soundtracks of all-time until someone brings it up and then everyone unanimously agrees ‘yup, you’re right, that’s 100% up there.’

4. Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1

To be fair, all three installments of the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy from James Gunn could be on this list but I thought it best to start with the first. James Gunn deserves his roses though because that man knows music and he knows the value of forking over $$$$$ to place the perfect song in a scene.

The Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1 soundtrack includes one of my top-3 favorite songs of all time, ‘Moonage Daydream’ by David Bowie. Other memorable tracks woven into scenes throughout the film include ‘Cherry Bomb’ by The Runaways and ‘Escape (The Piña Colada Song)’ by Rupert Holmes.

5. Romeo + Juliet

The fact that Romeo + Juliet (1996) exists at all feels like a fever dream. That movie was unhinged from start to finish in a way that Hollywood simply wouldn’t touch with at ten foot pole these days and honestly, that’s what makes this one of Leonardo DiCaprio’s greatest films in his career.

The Romeo + Juliet soundtrack is chock full of songs that were quite literally perfect for the film and the scene. A major shout out to everyone in the Music Department on this film from someone named Robert Kraft (coincidence, I’m sure) who was listed as the Executive in Charge of Music, Music Editor Mark Jan Wlodarkiewicz, and Music Coordinator Richard Ziegler.

Iconic tracks from the 1996 Romeo + Juliet include ‘#1 Crush’ by Garbage, ‘Talk Show Host’ by Radiohead, and ‘Local God’ by Everclear.

6. O Brother, Where Art Thou?

With 2000’s O Brother, Where Art Thou? we enter a different realm of movie soundtrack. Within the film itself, the lead triumvirate of characters formed the Soggy Bottom Boys band with George Clooney as the front man, they were at one point in a recording studio and recorded ‘I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow’ which becomes a massive hit in the South, within the film, and it ultimately leads to them being exonerated by the Governor as their heads were on the proverbial chopping block.

It is kind of wild that this Joel and Ethan Coen film leaned so heavily on Bluegrass and managed to produce one of the greatest film soundtracks of all-time given that Bluegrass tends to have a limited audience compared to Pop Music, but the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack can be played from start to finish on repeat and never get old. My personal favorite track aside from the aforementioned ‘Constant Sorrow’ is the ‘Down to the River to Pray’ track by Alison Krauss, which occurs in the film (loosely based on ‘The Odyssey’) as sirens call the boys to the river.

7. Almost Famous

Similar to the entry above, Almost Famous is a film where music is at the forefront. Only in this instance the entire film revolves around a Classic Rock band, Stillwater, and the music isn’t a tertiary plot line but instead sits right at the forefront.

‘Fever Dog’ by Stillwater is the band’s big hit in the film but other scenes with classic songs steal the show like ‘America’ by Simon & Garfunkel, ‘Simple Man’ by Lynyrd Skynyrd, and ‘Tiny Dancer’ by Elton John.

8. Garden State

When Zach Braff dropped Garden State in 2004 when the world primarily knew him for Scrubs it was incredible how quickly the film world latched onto the sentiment of ‘this is a movie for people who like music.’ Sure, there was all of the early adulthood angst and father-son complications, how our pasts always follow us wherever we go, and the over-prescribing of medications in that era, but that scene above is arguably the one scene that everyone remembers from that movie the most.

The major hits from this iconic soundtrack include ‘Caring Is Creepy’ by The Shins, ‘Don’t Panic’ by Coldplay, and ‘The Only Living Boy In New York’ by Simon & Garfunkel.

9. Pulp Fiction

When it comes to soundtracks Quentin Tarantino knows ball. It is a veritable dealer’s choice when it comes to his films but if someone stopped you on the street and asked you to name an iconic Quentin Tarantino soundtrack then Pulp Fiction would almost immediately come to mind first, and it’s likely the one that reigns supreme across his body of work.

With too many tracks to pick from, I’m going to go with ‘Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon’ by Urge Overkill as one that will always stand out. As does ‘Bustin’ Surfboards’ by The Tornadoes. Now I pose a question to all of you: is tht dancing scene above with Uma Thurman as his opposite the best John Travolta scene from any of his movies?

10. The Blues Brothers

Navigating back to the genre where Music is the focal point of the film we have The Blues Brothers which produced one of the most iconic soundtracks in history. While the ‘Soul Man’ performance above is from Saturday Night Live and not the film I think it’s the track that stands above the rest for me. Either that or Aretha Franklin’s ‘Respect’ cameo.

11. Empire Records

While one of the enduring legacies of Empire Records is everyone celebrating the annual ‘Rex Manning Day’ for me, the musical highlight of the film is the ‘Sugar High’ performance on the roof at the end of the film. I recently rewatched Empire Records and it holds up better than 99.999% of the films from that era.

Any movie that takes place inside of a record store has to put forth a 10 out of 10 soundtrack and Empire Records certainly pulled that off with tracks from the Gin Blossoms, The Cranberries, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Cracker, Better Than Ezra, and others.

12. Trainspotting

Trainspotting is a movie I have only been able to watch twice. It is, for lack of a better word, disturbing. But the soundtrack sure is cool as hell. With multiple Iggy Pop tracks featured in the film, the Trainspotting soundtrack is often recognized not just as one of the greatest of its era but one of the best of all time.

Highlights from the Trainspotting soundtrack include ‘Perfect Day’ by Lou Reed, ‘Lust For Life’ by Iggy Pop, and ‘Mile End’ by Pulp.

13. High Fidelity

I mentioned before that if a film takes place inside of a record shop then the soundtrack has to be perfect and that has never been truer than High Fidelity (2000) starring John Cusack, Jack Black, Lisa Bonet, Iben Hjejle, and Catherine Zeta-Jones. For the unfamiliar, the film chronicles a record store owner going through a breakup who goes back through his dating history to find out what he’s been doing wrong and along the way he organizes his entire record collection autobiographically according to his life.

Some of my favorite tracks from the High Fidelity soundtrack include ‘Who Loves The Sun’ by The Velvet Underground, ‘Dry The Rain’ by The Beta Band steals a scene, Bob Dylan’s ‘Most of the Time’ hits at the perfect moment in the film, and Jack Black’s rendition of ‘Let’s Get It On’ cannot be appreciated enough. For my money, this might be the greatest soundtrack of all time.

14. Scott Pilgrim vs The World

While the plot of Scott Pilgrim vs The World revolves around a league of evil exes out to kill Scott Pilgrim for dating Ramona Flowers the subplot throughout the film is the Sex Bob-Ombs trying to win the Battle of the Bands. In one scene, Scott goes up against his own ex who is now dating one of Ramona’s exes.

To say that Brie Larson fronting as the lead singer of The Clash at Demonhead and performing ‘Black Sheep’ by Metric is an epic scene is still somehow an understatement. The entire trailer of the film could just be Envy Adams belting out this song and they’d have still sold tickets.

Other highlights from the Scott Pilgrim vs The World soundtrack include ‘Under My Thumb’ by the Rolling Stones, ‘Garbage Truck’ and ‘Summertime’ by Beck, and a whole host of Sex Bob-Omb originals. It should be said that original tracks don’t always work in film but in Scott Pilgrim vs The World they crush it.

15. The Big Lebowski

First off, the Gipsy Kings’ rendition of ‘Hotel California’ featured in The Big Lebowski during John Turturro’s bowling scene is one of the all-time great covers. Also ‘Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In’ by Kenny Rogers is placed so perfectly in The Big Lebowski it’s hard to compare to any other scene.

Other track highlights from this epic soundtrack include Elvis Costello’s ‘My Mood Swings’ and ‘The Man In Me’ by Bb Dylan.

16. Snatch

Another director that knows the power an incredible soundtrack yields is Guy Ritchie. He has nary missed with his films but the Snatch soundtrack stands on a pedestal above the rest.

So much of the music in Snatch is driving the tension, moving the plot along, and interwoven perfectly into the background of the film. I’ll always be thankful for this film introducing me to ‘Ghost Town’ by The Specials but other epic tracks on this soundtrack include ‘Dreadlock Holiday’ by 10cc and ‘Lucky Star’ by Madonna.

17. The Bodyguard

This is on here for obvious reasons and by that I mean, do I really need to explain to anyone why The Bodyguard is one of the best soundtracks in history? The final scene with Whitney Houston singing ‘I Will Always Love You’ might be the defining moment of her career. But for my money, ‘Queen of the Night’ was the most fun song in the film.

18. Saturday Night Fever

This movie defined the disco era with Disco Music taking over both the clubs and the vibe in America at that point. 19-year-old John Travolta was a dancing fool in this film but the music stole the show.

Pretty much every top-tier Disco track that had been produced by the time this film came out made an appearance in Saturday Night Fever including, but not limited to, ‘Stayin’ Alive,’ ‘Disco Inferno,’ ‘How Deep Is Your Love,’ and ‘More Than A Woman.’ If future generations forget about the existence of Disco this film and its soundtrack will always serve as a reminder of its heyday.

19. Goodfellas

Martin Scorsese is another director who knows ball when it comes to soundtracks but as he is one of the greatest directors in Hollywood history that should come as no surprise.

The most iconic scenes from Goodfellas were framed by tracks like ‘Sunshine of Your Love’ by Cream, ‘Laylya’ by Derek and the Dominos, and ‘Rags to Riches’ by Tony Bennett. Tracks on the Goodfellas soundtrack were paired perfectly to enhance the moment in which they appear in the film.

20. Boogie Nights

For whatever reason, Boogie Nights seems to get lost in the pantheon of the best soundtracks of all time and that makes no sense when you take a look at the tracks. First up, ‘Spill The Wine’ by War is an all-time great song and any Director with the stones to place it perfectly in a scene is a genius in my eyes.

Other epic tracks from the Boogie Nights soundtrack include ‘Got To Give It Up’ by Marvin Gaye, ‘Sister Christian’ by Night Ranger, ‘Jungle Fever’ by Chakachas, and ‘Livin’ Thing’ by Electric Light Orchestra.

21. American Pie

Last but certainly NOT least is a soundtrack that captured the Pop Punk era like no other: American Pie. It was also the film that reignited coming-of-age high school comedies for millennials after the genre had fizzled out with Gen X in the 80s.

Every single song on the American Pie soundtrack is perfect. I still listen to many of these songs on repeat. It has Blink-182, Goldfinger, Dishwalla, Tonic, Third Eye Blind, Sugar Ray, and more. It really captured that musical era in a way other films couldn’t and the subsequent American Pie sequels were also heavy hitters.

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We have arrived at the end! Did we miss any of the best movie soundtracks of all time that you think should be included here? You can email me anytime at cass@brobible.com with feedback! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the article and will consider sharing it around if you did.