30. “Prisoners” (2013) – Jóhann Jóhannsson
An underrated score from a perennially underrated composer, Icelandic musician Jóhann Jóhannsson’s chilling work for Denis Villeneuve’s gloom-noir drama, “Prisoners,” creeps into your bones like an unforgiving chill. It’s one of the scariest scores on this list, and yet it acts nothing like a spiky, jump-scare-laden horror score. Instead the ghostly church organs, throbbing cello drones, and chimes that glisten like icicles in the frigid air combine into a strange sort of desperate hymnal. Contributing to ratcheting tension at some points, and wild yawning grief at others, it’s the sound of prayers falling, unanswered, on frozen ground.
29. “Irreversible” (2002) – Thomas Bangalter
Putting music together for Gasper Noe‘s nightmarish, brutally violent, backwards revenge movie is a tall order, but Bangalter (one half of robotic French phenomenon Daft Punk) delivers. Mirroring the movie’s descent into claustrophobic darkness, and tinged with throwback horror and giallo flourishes, it’s not subtle, but then subtlety is not what the film is about. Instead the sometimes grandiose, sometimes jagged, occasionally danceable score (“Spinal Scratch” is an electro gem, both the bleak and borderline psychedelic) is art-freak provocation in its own right. Also interspersed with a few classical music tracks, it’s a fascinating, disquieting vision of a dark demi-monde hurtling towards its end – which is also its beginning.
28. “The Fog Of War” (2003) – Philip Glass
Aside from music documentaries (like “Junun” or “Shut Up and Play the Hits,” etc. which we excluded) it’s rare to find a non-fiction film that fully exploits the enhancing power of a score. But Errol Morris never showed such hesitance, working with acclaimed composer Philip Glass multiple times. “The Fog Of War,” which visually is just a guy talking in a dark room intercut with archive footage, really needs the pirouetting, overlapping orchestral swirls of the score to come to life and across 34 separate pieces, most of which run a mere two minutes long, Glass manages to bring the whole world into the “Interrotron.”
27. “Like Crazy” (2011) – Dustin O’Halloran
Rising composer Dustin O’Halloran first turned heads with a few elegant, period-perfect original score pieces for Sofia Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette,” but it’s his work on Drake Doremus’ wistful indie romance that best typifies the fragile, melancholy piano we associate him with now. It may not even be our actual favorite work of his – his gorgeous music for Jill Soloway‘s TV show “Transparent” probably takes that crown – but there’s no doubt his introspective, tremulous, devastatingly tender compositions perfectly occupy the exact nexus between bitter and sweet, which is the precise emotional territory occupied by Doremus’ breakout, and to this date best, film.
26. “The Fountain” (2006) – Clint Mansell & Kronos Quartet & Mogwai
Working with frequent collaborator Darren Aronofsky on the director’s grand mystical sci-fi folly “The Fountain,” towering 21st century composer Mansell’s talent shines through in every moment, but this is also a masterpiece of cleverly chosen collaboration. Reuniting Mansell, after “Requiem for a Dream” with contemporary classical string quartet The Kronos Quartet and further adding Scottish ambient post-rockers Mogwai to the mix, the combination has levels that have levels, and the score arcs through every register, from a dormant, burning-ember glow to a roaring conflagration to a swarm of sparks flying heavenward. In fact, the music achieves the film’s ambitions of divine transcendence better than the film does.
25. “Only Lovers Left Alive” (2014) – Jozef Van Wissem & SQÜRL
Jim Jarmusch often hands scoring duties over, like to The RZA or to Japanese avant-garde metal band Boris on “The Limits of Control” (which oh-so-nearly made this list), but he occasionally takes a more DIY approach. This collaboration is between SQÜRL, Jarmusch’s own ambient noise-rock band and minimalist composer Jozef Van Wissem, whose lute plucks out plangent melodies above SQÜRL’s swirls of forlorn, decaying, echoey feedback (check out exemplary track “The Taste Of Blood”). The resulting score, punctuated with exquisite songs, sounds like the mournful exhalation of a creature who cannot die, and for whom history, music, love, irony and ennui are all part of the same decadent neverending continuum.
24. “25th Hour” (2002) – Terrence Blanchard
Perhaps a more “traditional” score than some of the films on this list, nevertheless Terrence Blanchard’s meditative-yet-grand accompaniment to Spike Lee’s best film of the last decade, “25th Hour,” has a somber, death-rattle-like disconsolateness to it, as it counts down the final hours of its protagonist. But there’s also a resilient, patriotic tenor as well, which mirrors the post-9/11 mood in which the film takes place. Understated and nuanced, Blanchard’s scores knows just the right moments to elevate itself and aim for a dignified air of redemption.
23. “Sunshine” (2007) – John Murphy & Underworld
Turbo-charged and gloriously over-the-top, with the help of Brian-Eno-esque brainy techno rockers Underworld, John Murphy’s co-written score for “Sunshine” is also incandescent and heavenly. This maximal, high-pitched score both soothes with ambient soundscapes and thunders with molten lava gushes. Musically, it’s essentially an emo-melodrama in space, but that blinding sense of staring the mother of creation right in her face is simply radiant.
22. “Her” (2013) – Arcade Fire and Owen Pallett
Before you even see anything in “Her,” Spike Jonze‘s completely beguiling sci-fi romance, you hear some notes from a jangly guitar – appropriate for a film about a man who falls in love with an invisible entity. Canadian indie gods Arcade Fire are known for combining leading-edge technology with ancient instrumentation, and that atmosphere of timeless futurism, is perfect for this lo-fi high-tech romance. The push-pull between rudimentary garage-band riffs and space-age coolness might even be too clever, too thematically on-the-nose, except that the score is used so sparingly in the movie that you appreciate those unexpected swells all the more. They’re as fleeting, harsh, ephemeral and beautiful as impossible love.
21. “Me And You And Everyone We Know” (2005) – Michael Andrews
Sleepy-eyed and sun-kissed, Michael Andrews’ dreamy synth score to Miranda July‘s debut feature—all old-school atmospheric analog keyboards, plus the aerial voice of Inara George— is like watching slo-motion bubbles drift up to the sky. A movie about sad misfits, rather than going sad sack, Andrews dials up a minor key effervescence that’s woozy and wistful. ‘MAYAEWK’ get knocked for being too twee, but it has a soft heart and emotional genuineness that is coaxed out beautifully by these warm ambrosial sounds.
I was going to gripe about a few things, but after seeing Trouble Every Day on the list… I’m not going to do so.
I quit reading after reading #50. Missing The Lord of the Rings, The Matrix Trilogy, A.I., How To Train Your Dragon and Signs is unforgivable. If you are interested, here’s a different point of view. http://www.cinematicsound.net/best-scores-of-the-new-millennium/
Then you missed a good list.
No, not really. I did manage to get through it all – it’s well written – but ultimately unremarkable. I know the list is subjective but it’s missing so many great scores that are considered to be modern day classics. Ignoring Michael Giacchino, for instance, is unforgivable. But his exclusion seems to excites Jessica. And her last sentence tells me that all she was after was a fight rather than writing a balanced article. I see a clear bias against a certain brand of score, which makes this list a bit unfair. Anything that sounds old fashioned or anywhere near adventurous or fun is completely tossed aside and not given any consideration. The simpler, less intrusive the better, right? That sort of thing is become a sad trend in modern cinema and it’s reflected in this list.
Wow man. It’s a list. You read it and move on to the next one.
“Ignoring Michael Giacchino, for instance, is unforgivable”
Is it? I would say the lack of Lord of the Rings or any John Williams score is a worse offense, as is the inclusion of Gustavo Santaolalla and Trent Reznor scores.
i picked Michael because he is of that new crop of composers who are carrying the torch from such greats as Williams, Goldsmith and Horner. Yes, excluding Williams and Shore is just mind-boggling but I thought that Giacchino would have been more of a favourite amongst the younger generation of film music fans. I guess not.
Hi there, CSR, I couldn’t agree more on the ones you mentioned. I would have included Braveheart’s OST too, a soundtrack which to this day moves me. What are your thoughts on James Horner’s work?
Braveheart is a brilliant score, one of my ten favs of all time BUT that came out in 1995.
Yeah, but no one cares about you so no thanks!
You clearly do because you replied. Thanks. But you aren’t alone. A lot of people care about me but not EVERYONE cares. Wait… maybe they do.
Me replying doesn’t mean I care about you…just letting you know a fact. I like to help people out!
Oh boy. You’re an entertaining little fella, aren’t you? Admit it, you care about me or else you wouldn’t keep replying. My heart is fluttering!
Wow, too bad some internet commenter gets you so excited. You must really be a loser.
Tee hee hee! Keep it coming! You’re making my day… and my point!
Tee hee hee? So what are you now, a little girl?
You know I can totally not care about you, and yet take a few seconds to make fun of your loser life. But hey, for once someone’s paying attention to you, right?
Last Samurai, A Single Man…
Fright Night Lights is that horror/drama mashup or something? lol I will say, this list really doesn’t say a whole lot about today’s composers.
I would argue that Michael Giacchino’s best scores are still his work for LOST. Has any other tv show ever had such an expansive and cinematic score?
Yes! Batman The Animated Series and Battlestar Galactica (both versions)
Oh, BATMAN!!! <3
Oh guys. I do love your site but a little more thought and time was needed here. It’s not my favourite score of the 21st century by any means, but to omit Yann Tiersen’s now iconic score for ‘Amelie’ is just sloppy. Others are right here that omitting Michael Giacchino on a number of fronts is also surreal, but especially for the pitch perfect ‘The Incredibles’ and ‘Up’. It’s also pretty stunning to forego Ludovic Bourne’s score for the Oscar-winning ‘The Artist’ given it’s not just the score but the script, and speaks so much more than words.
That is exactly the right #1. I’ve been saying that is one of the greatest scores ever written for years.
But come on, how can you omit Howard Shore’s work on The Lord of the Rings?? That is pretty much the last great classic blockbuster score out there, the only one that can really compete with John Williams scores for Star Wars and Superman. I like Danny Elfmann’s score for Spider-Man, and of course Hans Zimmer has done plenty of impressive stuff for Nolan, but Shore’s work is just universally recognizable and is packed with so many different memorable themes that it’s a crime not to include it if you’re open to traditional movie scores at all.
Plus I like the score to The Village. I like violins.
I completely agree with everything you just said. The score for Jesse James (and the film itself) are nothing short of brilliant. For me it is a toss up for #1 between this and the score for “Under the Skin.” Both are so integrally tied to the lifeblood of the films themselves that one cannot truly exist without the other.
Uncharacteristically understated music from Elfman? What about his amazing work with Gus Van Sant and David O. Russell? What about the incredible score for Raimi’s A Simple Plan? Or his Oscar-nominated score for Big Fish? Say what you want about the movie, but the score is fantastic. Same for Burton’s dismal Planet of the Apes movie. That theme has been used over and over for years in trailers. Same for his great Wolfman score (see the amazing teaser trailer for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy).
Mostly agree, but I’d have found room for “Amelie”
A good list, but missing some of the best scores ever – LOTR, Amelie, Goodbye Lenin, Memoirs of a Geisha, Harry Potter etc.
Your list made me listen to scores all day long and I remembered what I forgot – one of the most exquisite scores of the last 20 years, the one of The Hours by Philip Glass
No idea how in the world you missed “Lord of the Rings”.
And Scott Walker’s “Childhood of a Leader” may be new, but it definitely deserves inclusion.
I might forgive these omissions, though, since you included Shane Carruth’s “Upstream Color”. What a score.
Omitting Michel Giacchino’s work, especially for UP, is rightfully being called out. There were a dozen inclusions where I’d forgotten entirely about the scores, such as LIKE CRAZY. Abel Korzeniowski is another composer who should have been mentioned, especially for his lush compositions on the forgotten W.E.
A lot of good scores mentioned on that list. However, not a single score by Michael Giacchino? You even mention that as causing fervor in your notes.
I also find the list disappointing for not including even one of John Williams scores. He still creates fantastic material. War Horse or Lincoln should be on the list.
I liked Beasts of the Southern Wild better when it was called “Doug’s First Movie”.
I know you guys like to think of yourself as the Alternative Rock of internet film criticism, just THAT off to the side of accepted mainstream opinion. And the list is real cute with all your indie picks and such…
But not having anything from John Williams, Howard Shore, or Michael Gianchhino just seems contrarian for contrarian sake.
Not even listing Lord of the Rings in the long long long honorable mentions section seems a pretty deliberate slight against arguably the most ambitious and significant 21st century scoring achievement….the fact that they only mention it once in context with Requiem for a Dream being used in the trailer feels like a transparent snub.
Overall the list seems filtered through a pretty specific taste and preference for the alt rock, folk, and electronica sound in American independent films, with a lot of the Hollywood or foreign concessions leaning toward those soundscapes (Zimmer, Reznor/Ross, Arcade Fire, Daft Punk, Tindersticks). Which I love and it’s nice to see champions for this stuff but the issue with me is that it actually makes the list feel weirdly limited in scope for how apparently eclectic it is on the surface. Fine for a personal whimsical list, but it doesn’t seem like there’s been much of an attempt to be that representative and therefore the article doesn’t say much to me except what the authors probably have on their iTunes. There’s a lot of cold shouldering to some terrific Hollywood and non-US scores, especially in more traditional idioms.
Actually in general, a lot of the most popular consensus favorites that come to mind are weirdly absent from the article….Amelie gets thrown in the middle of the HMs, and not even a token mention to Pan’s Labyrinth, Road to Perdition, The Hours, James Newton Howard’s Shyamalan scores (particularly The Village), Pride and Prejudice, Atonement, Far From Heaven, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. John Williams’ impeccably crafted, varied, hugely entertaining output from 2001-5 is also entirely absent from the article, including AI, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Catch Me If You Can, Memoirs of a Geisha.
And not a single animated score? How to Train Your Dragon merits the only HM when there are dozens upon dozens of fabulous choices from Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks, Studio Ghibli, and others like The Illusionist and Waltz With Bashir. I get there’s only so much room that you can’t cover it all, but these are pretty major omissions at the expense of certain choices, which may be more idiosyncratic but IMO are less impressive achievements on levels of dramatic and musical craftsmanship….sometimes consensus is consensus for a reason, and again, some of the scores I mentioned are pretty noticeable oversights when the HMs are so extensive.
What does knowledge of musical and dramatic craftsmanship matter when you can disguise your lack thereof with flowery descriptions?
“…at times roaring the woozy, pulsating music into a sonic tidal wave of endlessly approaching, inescapable doom.”
Oh lord…
> it feels weirdly limited in scope for how apparently eclectic it is on the surface.
My thoughts exactly. Seems an oddly one-sided culling from a diverse medium. I’d rather they call it the “Top 50 Most Unappreciated…” or something.
Thanks for this comment, you just saved me reading a worthless article. No John Williams on a top 25 scores list! Ridiculous!
I’d add my voice to the chorus of disapproval for the weird omissions from this list. You guys manage to include a few genuinely great scores in there (Tron: Legacy, Life of Pi, Ghost Dog, 25th Hour, There Will Be Blood), and I’ll even defend the inclusion of a handful of musically underwhelming but cinematically effective soundtracks (Requiem for a Dream, Social Network, Dark Knight, etc.). But overall it does read like a catalogue of vaguely hip contrarian picks, at the almost intentional exclusion of all mainstream, international, or genre scoring. No Thomas Newman? Really?! Giacchino? James Newton Howard? Powell? Horner? Marianelli? Rahman? Shore? And seriously, no John Williams? The man may be old-fashioned, but in terms of craftsmanship and dramatic instincts, any one random score he has written since 2000 blows the majority of those listed here out of the water. It’s okay if that sort of stuff isn’t to your taste, but it’s hard to take the list seriously when it leaves out so much of most influential and admired film composition of the past decade and a half.
Solid list, but where the heck is the Gladiator score?
Garbage list, filled with boring drones and hums. Millennials have the worst taste in music.
A lot of discontent over your list (as usual around here) which is tremendous nevertheless. I’m sure you know you missed some. I would add to your honorable mentions;
– Yann Thiersen’s Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain (2001)
– Angelo Badalamenti’s Mulholland Drive (2001)
– Thomas Newman’s Road to Perdition (2002)
– Cliff Martinez’s Drive (2012)
– Craig Armstrong’s The Great Gatsby (2013)
OMG…how could you leave out some of the best scores ever? No “Perks of Being A Wallflower” from Michael Brook, no “Mud” from David Wingo, no LOTR trilogy from Howard Shore, no “Speed Racer” or “Up” from Michael Giacchino, no “Wall-E” from Thomas Newman, no “Wreck It Ralph”, “Big Hero 6” or “X-Men First Class” from Henry Jackman..the list goes on and on…thank you at least for including “All Is Lost”…there is SOME hope for you…heh heh…
I think no mention of iconic scores like Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Carribbean and Harry Potter is kind of a miss.
I would also add the score for Atonement. It’s really beautiful and the use of the typewriter is ingenious.
No Rolfe Kent, Sideways?!
Be honest Jessica & Rodrigo – you guys were just trying to start a fight and be ironic or satirical, right? This article is akin to Donald Trump thinking he can become President by insulting pretty much every type of human that exists, while looking like a yellow-haired tangerine with the world’s biggest ego. It’s a joke that went a little too far, but now you can admit to us that you were pranking us the whole time and reveal your REAL list…
This list is mind-bogglingly deranged. No Howard Shore, John Williams, James Horner, Jerry Goldsmith, James Newton Howard, Michael Giacchino, Marco Beltrami, Thomas Newman, Danny Elfman, Javier Navarrete, Brian Tyler, et al. or the actual best scores of Hans Zimmer or Alexandre Desplat since the year 2000.
Good lord. There’s no proper place to begin deconstructing this mess of a “list.”
So, no. Absolutely not.
No Mark Isham? You obviously didn’t see this list…
http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/2000s-movie-scores/39195/the-25-most-underrated-film-scores-of-the-2000s
As ever, a pretty spot on list. Greenwood’s “Norweigan Wood,” Cliff Martinez’s “Contagion,” and Ryuichi Sakamoto’s “The Revenant” are some of my favorites too. You can read more here: https://melkshakes.wordpress.com/2016/08/23/best-film-scores-century-to-date/
I hate this list but at least you tried. No Yann Thiersen?? At least Jon Brion is on the list!
Here’s an alternate view. http://blog.tracksounds.com/2016/08/soundcast-stereo-episode-10-21st.html
How did Ryan Johnson’s “Brick” not make the list? Shame.
Basil Pouledoris’ soundtrack to the original Conan the Barbarian movie not appearing on this list is beyond ridiculous.
Conan was written in the 20th century!
Ah. I did miss that clear distinction in the headline. Thank you.
Amelie should be up on that list! In top 10, not listed as an Honorable Mention 😉
I don’t really get why this list, which is heavy on alternative sounds, paradoxically ignores the best alternative ones like Mad Max Fury Road and The Man from UNCLE. “The Social Network” was extremely weak. This doesn’t even mention the fact that you completely ignored (and you had 50 choices, so this is unexcusable) the Lord of the Rings movies which were monumental achievements. And if you knew anything about film music you would know that movies like The Force Awakens and Jupiter Ascending were amazing achievements. To not include in the top 50 at the expense of throwing in more stuff is pretty bad. And you throw in mentions of “Babel” as though Babel was a great film score. It won an Oscar but most of the music was derivative and not part of the actually original score. This list would be better entitled as, “The 50 favorite scores of someone who watches mostly indy films, loves alternative music and overrates it, and watches an occasional blockbuster”
The Last Samurai score is the most moving music arrangement I have ever heard.
I really love David Wingo’s score for ‘Take Shelter’. Yeah, Cliff Martinez could be included in the list several times… I woud add his ‘First Snow’ (2006) score too as a serious contender. Other options that I miss when we talk about ‘alternative’ (?) soundtracks:
Michael Andrews – ‘Donnie Darko’ (2001)
Antonio Pinto – ‘Lord Of War’ (2005; and his themes for ‘Collateral’)
Nathan Johnson & The Cinematic Underground – ‘Brick’ (2005)
David Holmes & The Free Asociation – ‘Code 46’ (2003)
Johan Soderqvist – ‘Let The Right One In’ (2008)
Nothing from Joe Hisaishi in the list? Bit West-centered, no? Also no Yann Tiersen or Ludovico Einaudi. For me personally, the worst thing the Academy ever did was giving the Oscar to Trent Reznor for his uninspired noise on Social Network instead of the chef-d’œuvre that was John Powell’s HTTYD and continues to be…
The fact that Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are on this list at all tells me we’re dealing with a very specific taste. No John Williams, No Danny Elfman, No Alan Silvestri … the authors are clearly into the new wave of electronic noise that grates on me like fingernails on a chalkboard. I found Reznor and Ross to be the WORST aspect of “The Social Network”.
I loved the list and more than that your loving poetic writing. It shows so clearly your love for music and movies. I never ever post anything anywhere but your piece was particularly moving and inspired. I’m going to follow everything you write from here on. Well done and keep up the good work.