The Best Movie Soundtracks Of All Time

You remember many things from great movies, from great scenes to memorable endings. And one of the other standout features, usually of excellent films, is the soundtrack. The music that is incorporated can often elevate scenes, invoke emotions and even get viewers singing along. But which soundtracks stand out as some of the best?

Pulp Fiction

Pulp Fiction is one of the greatest movies of all time, and it is, of course, directed by Quentin Tarantino. What Tarantino does incredibly well is to deliver redemption for the characters in the film, even though many of them have endured violent and criminal pasts. And another string to the iconic director’s bow is his use of music, often to invoke emotion, which you could say has inspired others, with some online roulette games having unique soundtracks. Misirlou and You Can Never Tell are the picks of the soundtrack, one which has sold nearly seven million copies.

The Breakfast Club

John Hughes’ The Breakfast Club is a movie that is based around the lives of five high school kids who have been put in detention. And each of the five kids has a different personality and outlook on life, with the film being one of discovery about stereotypes and the like. Hughes ensured that The Breakfast Club would immediately become renowned for its soundtrack by including Simple Minds’ Don’t You (Forget About Me), which can be heard at the beginning and end of the film.

Top Gun

Top Gun, which stars Tom Cruise as Maverick and was directed by the late Tony Scott, sees Cruise take on the role of a pretty impulsive pilot tasked with proving how good he is to his flying instructor. But as the film continues, he realises he must prove his worth to himself. The theme song used in Top Gun, which Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock wrote, went on to win an Academy Award and Golden Globe in 1986 for being the best original song, which is quite an achievement. Danger Zone and Playing With The Boys, performed by Kenny Loggins, are also iconic pieces of music from the soundtrack.

Dirty Dancing

Do films come more iconic than Dirty Dancing, which stars Jennifer Grey as Baby and Patrick Swayze as Johnny? The story details how Baby, who is attending a summer camp, falls in love with dancing instructor Johnny. This soundtrack stands out more than most because the music is in line with the various stages of the relationship between Baby and Johnny and how things progress. Hungry Eyes is the track playing when Baby begins to learn to dance with Johnny. Love Strange plays when they’re dancing in the studio. And Cry to Me is the song when Baby confesses her love for Johnny. They’re all prime examples of how the soundtrack in Dirty Dancing is used effectively to convey emotion and the different stages of love.