The Best Movie Soundtracks of All Time
Too often, the music accompanying a film feels like an afterthought-a few songs tacked on to heighten the mood, a ballad to tie a montage together. But in these 18 movies, that's thankfully not the case; the audio is integral, sometimes even overshadowing the visuals with a masterful compilation. Check out the 18 best movie soundtracks below.
1) High Fidelity
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As is the case with many well-soundtracked movies, High Fidelity features a plot centered around music. John Cusack's character, Rob Gordon, owns a failing record shop in Chicago. Gordon's business is handicapped by his prestige taste in music-the same thing that makes this soundtrack so good.
2) Kill Bill Vol. 1
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Kill Bill just wouldn't be what it is without its eclectic soundtrack. Whether it's Nancy Sinatra crooning "Bang bang, he shot me down," or The 5.6.7.8's rocking out to "Woo Hoo," these songs make the scenes they're in.
3) The Big Chill
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Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, and Aretha Franklin? This is one soundtrack that stands on its own-no movie needed.
4) I Am Sam
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It's a good thing that I Am Sam couldn't secure the rights to the original songs from The Beatles, because there's something irreplaceable about these Beatles covers by the likes of Eddie Vedder, Sheryl Crow, Aimee Mann, and so many more.
5) A Star Is Born
Interscope
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If you haven't yet seen A Star Is Born, you should-if only for the one scene when Lady Gaga belts out a primal song-scream so addictive, you'll want to hear it on a loop for months. (The rest is good too, of course.)
6) Reality Bites
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Songs from Lenny Kravitz, The Knack, and Dinosaur Jr. made this quintessential '90s film what it was. Listening to the soundtrack feels like opening a time capsule.
7) Top Gun
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Now here is a soundtrack that fits its film, like mirror image of its onscreen counterpart, converted into audio waves. Really though, Kenny Loggins's "Danger Zone?" Honestly, that song should be played in ever Tom Cruise movie, period.
8) Black Panther
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Black Panther's soundtrack almost feels like a parallel project to its film-and the result is something that carries equal cultural weight. But with Kendrick Lamar, one of the greatest musicians of our time, at its helm, it was never going to be anything less.
9) The Graduate
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The Graduate is a good movie, if very of its time. But honestly, it's the soundtrack that feels like it's survived the test of time. Simon & Garfunkel's haunting, lilting tunes will feel resonant for a long time to come.
10) Dazed and Confused
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With Dazed and Confused, director Richard Linklater set out to capture a moment in American culture. And with the 1970s (and most eras), that's simply impossible without assembling a killer soundtrack. It's more of a mixtape, perhaps, than a real soundtrack-but worth a listen nonetheless.
11) Rushmore
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Wes Anderson's depiction of youthful revolt needed some good audio to go with it. After all, what's an angsty teenager without their even angsty-er music? This compilation of songs from The Who, Cat Stevens, The Kinks, and more certainly does the trick.
12) Purple Rain
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Purple Rain is basically a Prince album that plays out onscreen. So obviously, the actual album part is pretty good on its own.
13) Space Jam
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Space Jam is bizarre, iconic, and forever culturally relevant. The same could be said for its soundtrack, which mixes songs from Salt-N-Pepa, Coolio, D'Angelo, and many more. Per Spin, the record went six times platinum after its release, a ringing endorsement in itself.
14) Pulp Fiction
Mca
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This is the second Quentin Tarantino film on the list, which says something of the director's well-placed priorities. For Pulp Fiction, he whipped up the perfect mix of rock, pop, and soul to set the mood for the movie's comically gruesome violence and gratuitous cocaine use. In a word, it's lit.
15) Marie Antoinette
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The real Marie Antoinette was not listening to Bow Wow Wow and Aphex Twin-but the songs perfectly suit Sofia Coppola's take on the vilified queen.
16) Guardians of the Galaxy
ONE SOURCE DISTICOR
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Yeah, Guardians of the Galaxy is about outer space crime, but it's also, somehow, about classic rock. It's not common to see a blockbuster Hollywood action movie with a critically-acclaimed soundtrack, but then, Guardians of the Galaxy wasn't really your typical Hollywood action movie.
17) The Bodyguard
Arista
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With Whitney Houston starring, The Bodyguard simply had to have a good soundtrack. Houston didn't disappoint her fans. The album made music industry history with its stunning sales, and was generally a crowd-pleasing hit.
18) Dirty Dancing
Rca
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Another commercial success, Dirty Dancing's soundtrack feels like the movie: classic, uncomplicated, and definitely in touch with the power of teenage hormones.
These records stand on their own.