40 Best Movie Soundtracks - Movies with the Best Music

In the Heights

If sunshine had a sound, it would be Lin-Manuel Miranda’s joyous 17-track song book. Crafted with some of the original Broadway show’s favorites and one newbie written just for the film (“Home All Summer”), the soundtrack is as vibrant as the film’s sun-washed visuals and infectious dance numbers. Pivoting around main character Usnavi, a Dominican bodega owner who dreams of a better life, the story is propelled by the soundtrack’s electric beats, inspired lyrics, and blend of genres from hip-hop and rap to Latino and Broadway ballad. Just try not to sing along.

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Inside Llewyn Davis

Oscar Isaac is having a monster year. Not only is he the first Latino to shoulder a central role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (see: Moon Knight), but he also secured his very first Emmy nomination (re: Scenes from a Marriage). Of course, expertly straddling the line of mega franchise and emotional drama only scratches the threshold of what the actor can do. Have you heard him sing? A collaboration backed by T Bone Burnett and Marcus Mumford, the soundtrack is actually performed by the film’s cast, with Isaac singing more than half of the track list. The result is a brooding and melancholic listening session that will get you all in your feelings, in a good way.

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Lady Bird

Lady Bird

Situated at the elusive intersection of painful, hilarious, and heartwarming, the story of Greta Gerwig’s Sacramento high schooler with East Coast college dreams is peak relatable cinema. Adding to its texture, her soundtrack full of angsty rock and pop wonders is written right into the narrative. Which is why Gerwig wrote personal letters to the artists featured in her film, fangirling over them while also asking for their permission to use their songs. Lucky for us, Alanis Morissette, Dave Matthews, and Justin Timberlake all said yes.

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Licorice Pizza

Paul Thomas Anderson’s ’70s-era film about a 20-something woman who may or may not fall for a kid in high school, became quite the controversial dish after it released on Christmas Day of 2021. But there’s no debating the quality of the highly resonant soundtrack, curated by the film’s helmer. Dipping into iconic tracks by Nina Simone, David Bowie, Paul McCartney, The Doors, and many others, Anderson serves up a rich slice of nostalgia, the tracks as eclectic as the film’s title yet aligned in a singular purpose: to make you feel something. Goal accomplished.

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Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

A stellar achievement for cinema, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom was boosted even higher by its two dynamic leads: Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman. Not only did Davis completely transform into the Mother of Blues for the role, but Boseman actually learned to play the trumpet for an authentic performance that will go down in the books (this film would also make for the actor’s swan song, as he sadly passed away shortly after filming). Branford Marsalis’s soundtrack—soulful, bluesy, and jazzy—is a tribute to the “transgressive nature of the blues” and a portal that leads straight back to 1920s Chicago. In other words, it’s a mood.

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Promising Young Woman

Oscillating between empowering pop bangers and fiery rage anthems, the female-dominated soundtrack for Emerald Fennell's neon-drenched directorial debut is composed of 16 tracks (Charlie XCX, Maya B, Paris Hilton, to name a few) that should really be the catalyst for a brand new subgenre: Power pop, perhaps? Music supervisor Susan Jacobs's lineup goes way deeper than just playlist inspo, though; it serves as clever subtext while sonically illustrating the inner dialogue of the film’s protag, Cassie, a cynical barista by day, a relentless MeToo vigilante by moonlight.

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Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Marvel’s first Asian superhero movie, a triumph of martial arts and MCU diversity, gets high marks for its performances, special effects, and Kung Fu mastery, but mind if we just draw your attention to the film’s soundtrack for a hot sec? Featuring instant hits by DJ Snake, Rick Ross, Swae Lee, and Saweetie, the track list also celebrates the sounds of several award-winning and emerging Asian and Asian-American artists the globe over. NIKI, Rich Brian, JJ Lin, Warren Hue, and Audrey Nuna are just a few you’ll soon have on repeat.

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Summer of Soul

In 1969, musical legends like Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Mahalia Jackson, and B.B. King took the stage for the Harlem Cultural Festival, celebrating Black history, pride, culture, and fashion. It wouldn’t be until the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, however, that the rest of the world would finally get a front-row seat to the action. Revived and restored by debut director Questlove and his team, Summer of Soul

is a superb concert film rooted in cultural significance–and ripe with some of the best music in the history of music.

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The Harder They Fall

Music in film usually goes one of two ways: It can either pull from existing catalogs, or it can emerge fresh from the studio. With the musical heavyweights backing this Netflix Original, no doubt The Harder They Fall took the latter route. Directed by British singer-songwriter Jeymes Samuel (also the brother of Seal) and executive produced by Jay-Z, the film has soul, hip-hop, and R&B in its DNA. Plus, the whole saga plays out like a visual album, with each track from Lauryn Hill, Koffee, Seal, and others perfectly timed to the action.

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The Worst Person in the World

Full disclosure: We do not speak Norwegian. But talk to us through Billie Holiday, Art Garfunkel, and Cobra Moon, and a conversation we can have. Joachim Trier does just that with his Oscar-nominated film, a deep-dive into rudderless relationships starring a stellar Renate Reinsve. A genius amalgamation of contemporary and classic genres, pop ballads and disco tunes, moody sounds and joyful choruses, Trier’s soundtrack is more than just music: It’s one woman’s story of self-discovery.

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Dirty Dancing

The musical team behind the naughty little romance drama that rocked the Bible Belt back in the ’80s had a good understanding that the only way to truly get your freak on is to do so as a silky soundtrack sets the mood. Featuring a discography ranging from soulful hits (Otis Redding’s “These Arms of Mine”) to a Patrick Swayze original (“She’s Like the Wind”), the album set up shop at the number one spot on Billboard’s chart for months—and remains a heap topper for anyone who can’t get enough of Johnny and Baby having the time of their lives.

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The Bodyguard

Yes, the on-screen romance between Bodyguard

leads Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner is palpable. And, sure, the film, though choking on melodramatic goo at times, is a nostalgic and fun re-watch. But the soundtrack is pure honey. Heavily featuring the vocal gymnastics of one of the greatest singers of all time, Miss Houston (“I Will Always Love You,” “I Have Nothing,” “Run to You”), and a few others (Joe Cocker’s “Trust in Me,” Lisa Stanfield’s “Someday (I’m Coming Back)”), The Bodyguard soundtrack is the biggest reason to hit play on this 1992 romantic thriller.

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A Star Is Born

Director and star of the contemporary remake of the enduring musical, A Star Is Born, Bradley Cooper had never sung before he took the stage as heartland singer Jackson Maine. Luckily, he recruited some very talented musicians to curate the film’s soundtrack, a mash of blues, country, folk rock, pop, and now an Oscar hit (“Shallow”). Not only did Cooper share the mic with mega pop star Lady Gaga, who wrote and performed much of the soundtrack, but also Americana artist Jason Isbell supplied lyrics for one of Jackson’s greatest hits, “Maybe It’s Time.”

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Waiting to Exhale

Babyface (real name: Kenneth Edmonds) took the lead on the soundtrack for the 1995 film starring a foursome who will forever define the era: Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine, and Lela Rochon. A songwriter whose lyrics have been sung by industry greats including Beyoncé and Luther Vandross, Babyface used this opportunity to merge decades of legendary tonsils into one standout listening experience: Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle, Toni Braxton, Brandy, and, of course, Whitney herself all share the mic for this “shooping” 16-track album.

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Selena

The soundtrack for 1997’s Selena only flirts with the true essence of Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, the Queen of Tejano Music and the beloved 23-year-old singer who was tragically ripped from this earth beyond way too soon. Played by Jennifer Lopez on the big screen, Selena crossed over into pop with mega hits including “Dreaming of You” and “I Could Fall in Love.” Those nostalgic gems are here, and more, but the only way to truly appreciate the superstar is to follow this English language-heavy soundtrack with hits from Selena’s solid-gold Latin discography.

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Purple Rain

Dearly beloved, give us Prince and make it rain. The artist’s Purple Rain album, the first compilation to feature his band, The Revolution, was also the soundtrack to the same-name 1984 film and solidified the late Prince as the musical genius we continue to celebrate today. Hits here include “Let’s Go Crazy,” “I Would Die 4 U,” “When Doves Cry,” and, of course, the Princè de résistance, “Purple Rain.” An eight-minute opus, “Purple Rain” is one of the “most affecting blues soul laments ever recorded.”

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The Graduate

Mike Nichols enlisted Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft to tell his story about a recent grad falling in lust with his girlfriend’s mom. But also on the roll call were New York folk-pop duo Simon & Garfunkel, whose well-known interludes worked in perfect symbiosis with Nichols’s affecting narrative. From “Mrs. Robinson” to “The Sound of Silence,” it’s simply impossible to think of The Graduate without at least getting wistful over the film’s melancholic sound that defined ’60s youth.

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Black Panther

Ryan Coogler’s record-breaking Marvel feat, Black Panther, was just as stacked behind the scenes as it was on the screen. Blasting star power through the speakers, its soundtrack was coproduced by multi-Grammy winner Kendrick Lamar, who curated a list of tracks that blends comic book politics with those of the real world to seamless effect. Featuring socially motivated hip-hop from Lamar himself, as well as rap heavyweights SZA, 2 Chainz, Future, and others, the album is balanced out by pop’s Khalid and R&B’s Jorja Smith, giving Wakanda the epic soundscape it deserves.

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Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Ethereal, brilliant, even cryptic, the original soundtrack for the reimagined Spider-Man installment is the perfect complement to the film’s multidimensional narrative. Compiled with hip-hop, reggaeton, and low-key rap from well-established artists including Post Malone and Swae Lee (“Sunflower”), Nicki Minaj (“Familia”), DJ Khalil (“Elevate”), and Blackway & Black Caviar (“What’s Up Danger”), the hits—like the film’s jolts of white-knuckle action—just keep comin’.

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Marie Antoinette

If a film’s essence could be summed up in a playlist, Sofia Coppola’s historically reimagined Marie Antoinette, which juxtaposes a punk attitude with a palette of millennial pinks and pretty pastels, would be a new-wave rock-and-roll punk dream. By infusing her period-piece narrative with tracks like Bow Wow Wow’s “Aphrodisiac,” The Strokes’ “What Ever Happened?” and Siouxsie and The Banshees’ “Hong Kong Garden,” there’s a rebellious streak running through this 2006 gem that teens from any time period can relate to. History be damned when the music is this good.

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DeAnna Janes is a freelance writer and editor for a number of sites, including Harper’s BAZAAR, Tasting Table, Fast Company and Brit + Co, and is a passionate supporter of animal causes, copy savant, movie dork and reckless connoisseur of all holidays. A native Texan living in NYC since 2005, Janes has a degree in journalism from Texas A&M and  got her start in media at US Weekly before moving on to O Magazine, and eventually becoming the entertainment editor of the once-loved, now-shuttered DailyCandy. She’s based on the Upper West Side.

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