For many, the music in a movie is just as important as the narrative and the way it looks, and that's no different when it comes to Redditors. Not to be mistaken for a musical score, which is instrumental or orchestral music composed specifically for a film, a movie soundtrack is made up of (often already existing) songs that play over specific scenes.
Sometimes the songs are used to trigger some kind of emotion from the audience and sometimes it's because the lyrics relate to a character. Either way, it doesn't matter whether the movie is good or bad, it can still have an incredible soundtrack.
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind without it being so distracting, as not only is there the incredible musical score composed by Jon Brion, but it has a stacked soundtrack too.
CyberJitt444 notes that "it plays through the film perfectly and hits all the right notes for me." Between the gown-wearing, cult-like indie band The Polyphonic Spree playing on the radio to an exclusive cover of The Korgis' "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" by Beck, it doubles as a perfect break-up album too.
Garden State (2004)
Hannibalsleftovers refers to how Garden State hasn't aged so well, but that doesn't take away from the perfectly selected indie rock songs on its soundtrack. They argue that "it might not be a perfect movie, but it definitely has a near-perfect soundtrack."
Garden State is perhaps better known for its soundtrack more than anything else at this point, as it championed indie bands like The Shins and helped them reach the success that they currently have. The Shins, specifically, is even written into the movie, as Sam literally explains that "they will change your life."
High Fidelity (2000)
Just like with Garden State, a lot of bands that soundtrack High Fidelity and the songs that a played both diegetically and non-diegetically, are overtly mentioned by the characters. Given that the movie is about three men who work in a record store and do nothing but consume and talk about music, it makes sense.
PM_me_ur_cat_pics_pls reckons that "High Fidelity has the best soundtrack, at least for my taste in music." The film is full of classic songs from the likes of The Velvet Underground and modern hits from bands like The Beta Band. And even outside of the soundtrack, there are posters of beloved indie bands all over the walls of the record store and the characters' apartments.
Baby Driver (2017)
the best movie car chases, but what makes these car chases so great is the way they're soundtracked and the role the song plays in the scene. Director Edgar Wright expertly synchronized the rhythms and instruments of songs to match with the car's movements and the set pieces.
NinjasDontGetWenches puts it best, explaining that "everything was timed down to the second. To have the action sequences and their backing tracks so perfectly put together is something I've never seen before or since." And the songs that are used to soundtrack the scenes are perfect choices too, such as "Bellbottoms" by Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and "Harlem Shuffle" by Bob & Earl.
Watchmen (2009)
Director Zack Snyder came from a music video background when he first got into directing movies. Some of the filmmaker's most notable music video work includes Dionne Farris's "I Know" and Morrissey's "Tomorrow." And that explains why there's so much contemporary music that soundtracks slow-motion sequences in his films.
While that has been criticized by some, it's a style that's distinct to Snyder, and when it comes to the 2009 movie, one of the longest superhero movies, and that's partially due to all of the arguably unnecessary musical sequences, but between Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan, it's one of the greatest soundtracks ever. And it's scary to imagine how much of the budget was spent on the music.
Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (2018)
Spontymarvelo points to this animated movie as having one of the best soundtracks ever. Some would argue that it's easy to put together a great collection of songs to soundtrack scenes in order to get an emotional reaction out of the audience.
However, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse uses its soundtrack better than almost any other movie in recent memory that captures the tone of the film. That's clear from Spider-Verse's very first scene, as Miles Morales is singing along to the upbeat and very positive-sounding "Sunflower" by Post Malone and Swae Lee.
Boogie Nights (1997)
Being set in the '70s, Boogie Nights is obviously full of catchy pop-rock songs. But almost any '70s-based movie could take Boogie Nights' place, as movies like Almost Famous, American Hustle, and so many others that embrace the decade of disco all have phenomenal soundtracks.
However, as WhatAWasterZ expertly points out, the difference between those movies and Boogie Nights is that "the songs in this movie are such a crucial element in so many scenes." One of the best examples of that is when the song "Spill the Wine" is played, almost poetically, during the scene in which Bill kills himself at the pool party.
Trainspotting (1996)
Trainspotting's soundtrack, not only because of how well the songs fit with the scenes but for other reasons too. As the movie is all about heroin addiction, some of the artists who have a song in the movie also have a known history with drugs.
Music played a bigger part in the production of Trainspotting than it does with most movies too, as there are actually two soundtrack albums for the movie. The first is made up of the songs that are in the movie, and the second pulls together tracks that inspired the filmmakers and the production of the 1996 film.
School Of Rock (2003)
The Richard Linklater-directed School of Rock, arguably a kids movie that is made by a somewhat unlikely director, is so unique in the world of movies. It isn't exactly a musical, as there are no characters miraculously bursting into song, but it's instead a comedy that follows a high-school teacher who forms a band with his pupils.
Because of that, the songs that the band creates are some of the catchiest Led Zeppelin-influenced, family-friendly songs. On top of that, it also sports a roster of incredible rock bands on its soundtrack. And interestingly, Redditor Cowpool20 points out that "School of Rock was the first movie that Led Zeppelin allowed their music to be used [in]."
Highlander (1986)
The epic, cult classic, fantasy movie has just as much of an over-the-top soundtrack as its plot. Nothing soundtracks a movie about a fantastical Scottish swordsman better than '80s power pop.
TheCoppyCat thinks the 1986 movie has the best soundtrack thanks to the help from Queen. They remind Redditors that "Queen made an entire album for that movie. I can't see it getting much better than that." While that's a little bit of an exaggeration, six of the nine songs on the album A Kind of Magic were recorded for and first heard in Highlander.
