Paste's 50 Best Movie Soundtracks
Created by Panunzio.
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Published April 2016
The key to a great musical accompaniment in a film is imperceptibility. When a song is so perfect for a movie moment, audiences won’t even notice it until the scene has already begun. The fit is intuitive. But listening back to a soundtrack after seeing a movie immediately can create a different experience. The melodies and lyrics conjure visual memories from those other stories. Sometimes, though, a soundtrack stands on its own, independent of the film that united those individual tracks. Whatever the situation, movie soundtracks offer essential cultural contributions to both movies and music, and we’ve rounded up the 50 best of all time.
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1 new
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
2000, in 6 top lists Check -
2 new
Purple Rain
1984, in 3 top lists Check -
3 new
Garden State
2004, in 2 top lists Check -
4 new
The Graduate
1967, in 29 top lists Check -
5 new
Help!
1965, in 0 top lists Check -
6 new
Super Fly
1972, in 4 top lists Check -
7 new
The Harder They Come
1972, in 7 top lists Check -
8 new
The Royal Tenenbaums
2001, in 8 top lists Check -
9 new
Saturday Night Fever
1977, in 13 top lists Check -
10 new
Buena Vista Social Club
1999, in 3 top lists Check -
11 new
Easy Rider
1969, in 17 top lists Check -
12 new
Shaft
1971, in 10 top lists Check -
13 new
The Blues Brothers
1980, in 11 top lists Check -
14 new
Almost Famous
2000, in 9 top lists Check -
15 new
High Fidelity
2000, in 3 top lists Check -
16 new
2001: A Space Odyssey
1968, in 45 top lists Check -
17 new
Dazed and Confused
1993, in 7 top lists Check -
18 new
The Jazz Singer
1980, in 0 top lists Check -
19 new
Singles
1992, in 0 top lists Check -
20 new
Quadrophenia
1979, in 4 top lists Check -
21 new
24 Hour Party People
2002, in 5 top lists Check -
22 new
(500) Days of Summer
2009 — a.k.a. 500 Days of Summer, in 3 top lists Check -
23 new
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
2004, in 4 top lists Check -
24 new
Reservoir Dogs
1992, in 26 top lists Check -
25 new
American Graffiti
1973, in 17 top lists Check -
26 new
Drive
2011, in 8 top lists Check -
27 new
Grosse Pointe Blank
1997, in 4 top lists Check -
28 new
Pretty in Pink
1986, in 2 top lists Check -
29 new
Trainspotting
1996, in 18 top lists Check -
30 new
Rushmore
1998, in 11 top lists Check -
31 new
Repo Man
1984, in 9 top lists Check -
32 new
Dirty Dancing
1987, in 10 top lists Check -
33 new
Do the Right Thing
1989, in 25 top lists Check -
34 new
Rock 'n' Roll High School
1979, in 1 top list Check -
35 new
Once
2007, in 4 top lists Check -
36 new
This Is Spinal Tap
1984, in 22 top lists Check -
37 new
Belly
1998, in 1 top list Check -
38 new
Empire Records
1995, in 0 top lists Check -
39 new
Stand by Me
1986, in 11 top lists Check -
40 new
SLC Punk!
1998, in 0 top lists Check -
41 new
Juice
1992, in 1 top list Check -
42 new
Detroit Rock City
1999, in 0 top lists Check -
43 new
Goodfellas
1990, in 31 top lists Check -
44 new
A Clockwork Orange
1971, in 37 top lists Check -
45 new
Forrest Gump
1994, in 25 top lists Check -
46 new
Inside Llewyn Davis
2013, in 8 top lists Check -
47 new
Harold and Maude
1971, in 22 top lists Check -
48 new
Head
1968, in 4 top lists Check -
49 new
The Bodyguard
1992, in 2 top lists Check -
50 new
Labyrinth
1986, in 4 top lists Check
Last updated on Mar 7, 2017; source