Top 10: Soundtracks

To finish up the month of music top tens, I’m going to look at my other musical passion, soundtracks. Now, I enjoy a good classical piece (Holst’s The Planets, 1812 Overture, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, etc) but I really enjoy a lot of instrumental soundtracks. A good soundtrack can make the difference in a good movie experience or a bad one.

So here’s a look at some of my favorites. I did a little bit of lumping together to squeeze it all in.

1. Battlestar Galactica (Bear McCreary)
2. Pirates of the Caribbean 1 (Klaus Badelt)
3. Lord of the Rings (Howard Shore)
4. James Bond theme (Monty Norman)
5. Star Wars (John Williams)
6. Superman (John Williams)
7. Indiana Jones (John Williams)
8. Star Trek (Esp 2, 6 and First Contact by Cliff Eidelman, James Horner and Jerry Goldsmith)
9. Ap0llo 13 (James Horner)
10. Rocketeer (James Horner)

As is probably no surprise given my love of Star Trek and Star Wars they show up on the list. Star Wars is easier to lump together since the main theme of each movie is always the same. Each Star Trek movie really had its own individual music, which is why I call out a few.

There’s also a lot of overlap in composers. James Horner and John Williams especially. Either its the movies they write music for or their style in particular, but much of what they’ve done I enjoy. I like big orchestral pieces with lots string, brass and drums.

The music for Pirates really is a big part of why I like that movie (even if I’m not a fan of the sequels). Really, for all of these movies, the music is a big part of what made them great. The sound fits the theme and style of the movie. And the composer really is able to capture and/or set the mood for many scenes and themes.