What makes a great soundtrack? A collection of killer songs, the perfect encapsulation of a film's storyline and mood, a cohesive album that stands on its own ... or better yet, all that at once.
We sifted through decades of movie soundtracks in every musical and cinematic genre, and came up with a Top 40 list of albums that moved us -- in all senses of the word -- from crowd-pleasers ('The Wedding Singer,' 'The Big Chill') to audiophiles' love letters ('High Fidelity,' 'Rushmore') to single-artist experiments ('Superfly,' 'The Graduate') and everything in between ('Nashville'). Check out the best soundtracks of all time ... you may find yourself singing along. Click here for reasons we picked these albums.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This list does not include music documentaries, concert films, musicals or movies whose soundtracks are mostly (or entirely) scores. We'll be doing countdowns of the best of those genres too, so check back with us soon (we're talking to you, fans of 'Grease,' 'The Godfather' and 'The Last Waltz'). Can't wait? Subscribe to our Features RSS feed to see those posts the minute they land.
40. The Wedding Singer
39. Romeo + Juliet
38. Reality Bites
37. Quadrophenia
36. Friday
35. Pump Up the Volume
34. Nashville
33. Slumdog Millionaire
32. American Graffiti
31. Shaft
30. Almost Famous
29. The Wackness
28. Reservoir Dogs
27. High Fidelity
26. Once
25. Footloose
24. Mystery Train
23. Blues Brothers
22. Pretty in Pink
21. 8 Mile
20. Dirty Dancing
19. The Harder They Come
18. Grosse Point Blank
17. The Big Chill
16. Natural Born Killers
15. Easy Rider
14. Rushmore
13. Coal Miner's Daughter
12. Dazed and Confused
11. This Is Spinal Tap
10. Singles
9. Trainspotting
8. Garden State
7. Superfly
6. A Hard Day's Night
5. The Graduate
4. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
3. Purple Rain
2. Saturday Night Fever
1. Pulp Fiction
Reader Comments (187)
Brian at 5:55PM on May 28th 2009
What about Grease?
kayla at 7:51PM on Jun 2nd 2009
I cant believe grease didnt make it! I saw it on broadway 5 times last year! The music is awesome!!!!!!!!!
lilyr66 at 8:14AM on Jun 5th 2009
grease is my favorite.....
yoooo at 10:26AM on Jun 5th 2009
what about grease???? it so should be on here
dabarroness at 2:18PM on Jun 6th 2009
Ditto - Grease was definitely in the top 10!
esmith802 at 3:17PM on Jun 6th 2009
It said it did not include musicals, Grease was Broadway musical
Tim at 4:20PM on Jun 6th 2009
I agree. Without grease this whole list is just B.S. The starsky and Hutch soundtract was great too. At least top 40!!
Susan at 4:39PM on Jun 6th 2009
One more vote here for GREASE !!!
ChristianGramma at 4:48PM on Jun 6th 2009
To the ones who are sad that Grease didn't make it, read the "Important Note" after the article. It says why Grease isn't on this list. Some movies that are mostly musicals will have their own list, and that includes movies like Grease. Personally, I was really disappointed that Wedding Singer was last. I love that movie, especially the last song. If the movie is on, I'll switch to it near the end just to hear Adam sing "I Wanna Grow Old With You". At least I think that's what it's called.
ashpetal1983 at 12:29AM on Jun 11th 2009
ok people there is a disclaimer that says this list does not include musicals, etc.
erik at 3:41PM on May 28th 2009
hey, what about Star Wars and Indiana Jones? Those are classics!
oatbagg at 1:02PM on May 29th 2009
what about Goodfellas? The Departed??
mel at 2:27PM on Jun 6th 2009
What about grease with Travolta and Olivia? That was a killer track.
reedski at 7:25PM on Jun 6th 2009
Tin Cup not up there???
Travesty.
k at 11:22AM on Jun 7th 2009
For just a fun, headbanging soundtrack- Repo Man!
Joe at 1:44PM on Jun 12th 2009
well star wars and indiana jones weren't included because as they said, they weren't including movies that have mostly or only scores as music idiot
withgram at 8:35AM on Jun 26th 2009
umm...wow....twilights soundtrack went #1 before the movie even came out...and i was WWWAAAAYYY better then slumdog millionaires.
taylorets at 3:18AM on May 29th 2009
I think your list has fallen short! In my opinion, "MOMMA MIA" is the best movie sound track todate. I guess you all forgot to check that movie out?
Jonas Grumby at 9:15AM on May 29th 2009
They forgot Valley Girl!
marieuzzi at 9:43AM on May 29th 2009
WHAT ABOUT CINEMA PARIDISIO A SURE WINNER i HEAR IT ALL THE TIME IN BABKGROUND