The 25 Best Movie Soundtracks Of The 21st Century So Far

5. ”Inherent Vice” (2014)
The soundtrack to Paul Thomas Anderson‘s beach-lazy masterpiece has become essential listening not even two years since its release. Largely indivisible from Jonny Greenwood‘s fantastic score, the choice of preexisting tracks is strong enough to warrant its entry on this list: it’s not every day you get such an eclectic lineup without the result feeling insolently too-cool-for-school. But there’s a laid-back amiability and almost a humility to this seemingly haphazard selection of 1960s surf rock tunes and classic soul tracks from Sam Cooke and Anderson’s late mother-in-law Minnie Riperton, among others. And while Krautrock standard-bearers Can introduce some darker notes of stoner paranoia, Neil Young regularly resurfaces to save the day, most memorably in a remastered version of “Harvest” that feels brightly dipped in newness. Combining classics, obscure cuts and new takes on old favorites, this is a soundtrack so great that the addition of Radiohead‘s otherwise unreleased “Spooks” is just gravy.

4. “The Royal Tenenbaums” (2001)
To the point of often being roundly mocked, Wes Anderson has become one of the masters of the modern movie soundtrack, with so many choices over the years, from The Proclaimers in “Bottle Rocket” to the more classical approaches for his recent films, proving to be utterly inspired. If 2001’s “The Royal Tenenbaums” isn’t his very best soundtrack, it might be the one that most defined the director and how he uses music. It’s in some way the most mainstream song selection, with Paul Simon, The Rolling Stones (famously, the film is one of a very few to play two tracks from the same album back to back, in this case “Between the Buttons”‘ “She Smiled Sweetly” and “Ruby Tuesday”) and Bob Dylan rubbing shoulders with Mark Mothersbaugh’s Beatles-echoing score. But every song here, whether the raucous energy of the Ramones‘ “Judy Is A Punk” to the deeply sad feel of Nico, Nick Drake and Elliot Smith, fits the film precisely and does much to create the very specific world that Anderson lives in from this point on.

3. ”24 Hour Party People” (2002)
The deconstructed, postmodernist story of erratic, solipsistic, sometimes delusional Factory Records pioneer Tony Wilson (Steve Coogan), brought to you by occasionally brilliant but wildly uneven director Michael Winterbottom could have gone horribly wrong. But it goes so right instead, and it’s only fair, given the caliber of pertinent music talent on display. The soundtrack features choice cuts from era-defining geniuses as Joy Division (and later New Order), Buzzcocks, The Clash and of course Happy Mondays. It’s a period in music that is pretty close to the heart of more than one Playlister, but the brilliant selection featured on the soundtrack also serves as the perfect primer for those unschooled in the messy but briefly magical Madchester scene of the late ’80s and early ’90s, and even includes, as the opener, “Anarchy in the UK” by the Sex Pistols —reportedly the band that first inspired Wilson to get into the music promotion business in the first place.

2. “Kill Bill” (2003-4)
In the 1990s, Quentin Tarantino was the filmmaker most responsible for making the soundtrack cool again, and even when his films themselves disappoint, they’re invariably a pleasure to listen to (see “Death Proof”). But “Kill Bill” might be his magnum opus musically speaking: more effectively than anything since, it combines surf-rock, soul, hip-hop, country, appropriated film scores and the occasional surprise, like Krautrock courtesy of Neu!, Malcolm McLaren’s trip-hoppy “About Her,” and most famously, Nancy Sinatra’s “Bang Bang,” and makes the combination oddly coherent. While great music moments have come in his films subsequently (“Chick Habit” in “Death Proof,” “Cat People” in “Inglourious Basterds”), “Kill Bill” stacks a dozen movies’ worth into its two volumes.

1. ”Inside Llewyn Davis” (2014)
While perhaps it’s not quite as groundbreaking in its respectful reappropriation of an entire neglected genre as “O Brother Where Art Thou?” —the 1960s-style “folk” song hadn’t quite disappeared off mainstream radars in the way the Appalachian bluegrass dirge had— there’s still a case to be made that with “Inside Llewyn Davis,” the Coens and music supervisor T-Bone Burnett outdid even their own high watermark. Again, it’s their music-first approach that really pays off here, with the songs knitted so seamlessly into the story that they largely become the story. Or at least they become the best part of Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) with inherent sweetness and sensitivity counterpointing the series of fuck-ups that Davis visits on himself, while dumb luck also cheats his hand. With just two original tracks on the album (the previously unreleased studio version of Bob Dylan’s “Farewell” and the character’s inspiration, Dave Van Ronk’s “Green Green Rocky Road”), the soundtrack also boasts a higher proportion of newly-recorded tracks than any other soundtrack here. Featuring Justin Timberlake, Marcus Mumford, Carey Mulligan, Adam Driver and more in backup and in particular elevated by the blissful revelation of Isaac’s authentically beautiful singing voice, the music of “Inside Llewyn Davis” feels both like a tribute to the period it references, and like something totally new, deeply intimate and everlastingly lovely.

There’s a very, very, very long list of soundtracks we could have picked here instead of the 25 above: it would take all day to go through them all, but we can certainly run through a few that nearly made the list. “Friday Night Lights” is the odd in-between zone where it’s hard to know if it’s a score or a soundtrack, but either way, Explosions In The Sky’s work is terrific. Similarly, DJ Shadow’s work on “Dark Days” is a hybrid, but also brilliant.

In terms of more traditional compilations, “Donnie Darko,” “Adventureland,” “American Hustle,” “Squid And The Whale” and of course “Garden State” were ones we discussed and that nearly made the list, while in terms of early ’00s hip-hop, “Romeo Must Die” and “Baby Boy” are both pretty good. Outkast’s “Idlewild” is flawed but interesting, and the little-seen “Cadillac Records” has some great takes on Etta James and others by Beyoncé, Jeffrey Wright and Mos Def.

“Vanilla Sky” is arguably better as a soundtrack than as a movie, while Jamie Bell-starring indie “Mister Foe” had a terrific collection, and Todd Haynes’ “I’m Not There” had some fascinating takes on Dylan classics. We’d also mention films like “Dancer In The Dark,” “Bronson,” “Death Proof,” “The Life Aquatic,” “School Of Rock,” “American Gangster,” “Diary Of A Teenage Girl,” “Once,” “Moulin Rouge,” “Frances Ha,” “500 Days Of Summer,” “The Comedy,” “Mysterious Skin,” “Broken Flowers” and “The Man With The Iron Fists,” to name but a few.

Anything else you think we’ve missed? Let us know in the comments.