Movies are for entertainment. Music is for entertainment. Even with today’s portable technology, you will get the most out of a movie, by sitting down and watching it. By that same standard, today’s technology allows us to take our music with us everywhere we go. Movie soundtracks, allow us to listen to great playlists created by movie directors that we can take with us and listen to. They represent the original mixed tapes.
What follows are, in my opinion, the top ten must own soundtracks. The span musical eras from the 1950’s to today. Mainly based in rock, there is also, blues, jazz, funk, grunge, metal and more.
The list below is in no particular order.
Pulp Fiction
Quentin Tarantino has a talent for mixing his movies with tunes from another time. This mix makes for great films, but also amazing soundtracks. One thing that sets this soundtrack apart from others is the inclusion of some dialogue from the movie, but it really only adds and doesn’t subtract from the album. I will caution you that the dialogue included has a few expletives, it is afterall, a Tarantino movie. As such, the music may be for all ages, but the dialogue tracks are not.
Track List:
- Misirlou – Dick Dale & His Del-Tones
- Royale With Cheese – John Travolta
- Jungle Boogie – Kool & The Gang
- Let’s Stay Together – Al Green
- Bustin’ Surfboards – The Tornadoes
- Lonesome Town – Ricky Nelson
- Son Of A Preacher Man – Dusty Springfield
- Bullwinkle Part II – The Centurians
- You Never Can Tell – Chuck Berry
- Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon – Urge Overkill
- If Love Is A Red Dress (Hang Me In Rags) – Maria McKee
- Comanche – The Revels
- Flowers On The Wall – The Statler Brothers
- Personality Goes A Long Way – John Travolta
- Surf Rider – The Lively Ones
- Ezekiel 25:17 – Samuel L. Jackson
Elizabethtown
A two-volume soundtrack with some of the best road trip songs you could think of. The movie itself, is about a road trip so it makes sense, but not all road trip movie soundtracks are created equal and this one rises above the rest. There should be no surprise about this soundtrack being great, the film’s director is Cameron Crowe and I’ve seen one review that reads, “a potent blend of rock ‘n’ roll and classic romantic comedy.”
- 60B (Etown Theme) – Nancy Wilson
- It’ll All Work Out – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
- My Father’s Gun – Elton John
- io (This Time Around) – Helen Stellar
- Come Pick Me Up – Ryan Adams
- Where to Begin – My Morning Jacket
- Long Ride Home – Patty Griffin
- Sugar Blue – Jeff Finlin
- Don’t I Hold You – Wheat
- Shut Us Down – Lindsey Buckingham
- Let It Out (Let it All Hang Out) – The Hombres
- Hard Times – eastmountainsouth
- Jesus Was a Crossmaker – The Hollies
- Square One – Tom Petty
- Same in Any Language – I Nine
- Learning To Fly – Tom Petty
- English Girls Approximately – Ryan Adams
- Jesus Was A Crossmaker – Racheal Yamagata
- Funky Nassau Pt. 1 – The Beginning Of The End
- Loro – Pinback
- Moon River – Patty Griffin
- Summer Long – Kathleen Edwards
- …Passing By – Ulrich Schnauss
- You Can’t Hurry Love – The Concretes
- River Road – Nancy Wilson
- Same In Any Language – Ruckus
- What Are They Doing In Heaven Today – Washington Phillips
- Words – Ryan Adams
- Big Love – Lindsey Buckingham
- I Can’t Get Next To You – The Temptations
The Big Chill
The soundtrack to this movie is just classic. There isn’t much else to say about it. The Deluxe Edition of the soundtrack offers even more classics. The one song missing from both the regular and deluxe editions is “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” by the Rolling Stones, which plays a huge in the psyches of most who watch the film. So, once you own the album, add that song to the playlist you create on whatever device you have.
Track List:
- I Heard It Through the Grapevine – Marvin Gaye
- My Girl – The Temptations
- Good Lovin’ – The Rascals
- The Tracks of My Tears – Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
- Joy To the World – Three Dog Night
- Ain’t Too Proud To Beg – The Temptations
- (You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman – Aretha Franklin
- I Second That Emotion – Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
- A Whiter Shade of Pale – Procol Harum
- Tell Him – The Exciters
PCU
What a mix! I am not going to assume that everyone is familiar with this classic 1994 tale of college shenanigans. Let’s just say that almost ten years before Old School and 16 years after Animal House, PCU filled in the gap in between. Jermey Piven and Jon Favreau steal the show and we also learned the cardinal rule for concerts, “you’re going to wear the shirt of the band you’re going to see? Don’t be that guy.”
Track List:
- Pump It Up – Mudhoney
- Rilly Groovy – Beautiful People
- Stomp – George Clinton Parliament Funkadelic
- What’s Wrong With Me – Redd Cross
- Slackjawed – The Connells
- Erotic City – George Clinton Parliament Funkadelic
- Catherine – The Rosemarys
- Year Of The Girl – Swervedriver
- Wonderful Lie – Mexico 70
- Now We Run – Steve Vai
- Drinking And Driving – Stick
- Tribe – Gruntruck
American Graffiti
Four years before George Lucas released Star Wars to the world, he wrote and directed American Graffiti. The movie is simple, one night of cruising with your high school pals, before you go your separate ways. The soundtrack that was put together for this film is, arguably a collection of, the quintessential music from the late ’50s and early ’60s. There is no argument on the soundtracks success, it’s been certified triple platinum.
Track List Disc 1:
- (We’re Gonna) Rock Around The Clock – Bill Haley And The Comets
- Sixteen Candles – The Crests
- Runaway – Del Shannon
- Why Do Fools Fall In Love – Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers
- That’ll Be The Day – Buddy Holly
- Fanny Mae – Buster Brown
- At The Hop – Flash Cadillac & The Continental Kids
- She’s So Fine – Flash Cadillac & The Continental Kids
- The Stroll – The Diamonds
- See You In September – The Tempos
- Surfin’ Safari – The Beach Boys
- He’s The Great Imposter – The Fleetwoods
- Almost Grown – Chuck Berry
- Smoke Gets In Your Eyes – The Platters
- Little Darlin’ – The Diamonds
- Peperment Twist – Joey Dee & The Starlighters
- Barbara Anne – The Regents
- Book Of Love – The Monotones
- Maybe Baby – Buddy Holly
- Ya Ya – Lee Dorsey
- The Great Pretender – The Platters
Track List Disc 2:
- Ain’t That A Shame – Fats Domino
- Johnny B. Goode – Chuck Berry
- I Only Have Eyes For You – The Flamingos
- Get A Job – The Silhouettes
- To The Aisle – The Five Satins
- Do You Wanna Dance – Bobby Freeman
- Party Doll – Buddy Knox
- Come Go With Me – The Del-Vikings
- You’re Sixteen-You’re Beautiful (And You’re Mine) – Johnny Burnette
- Love Potion No. 9 – The Clovers
- Since I Don’t Have You – The Skyliners
- Chantilly Lace – The Big Bopper
- Teen Angel – Mark Dinning
- Crying In The Chapel – Sonny Till & The Orioles
- A Thousand Miles Away – The Heartbeats
- Heart And Soul – The Cleftones
- Green Onions – Booker T. & The M.G’s
- Only You (And You Alone) – The Platters
- Goodnight, Well It’s Time To Go – The Spaniels
- All Summer Long – The Beach Boys
Reservoir Dogs
The second Quentin Tarantino film soundtrack to make the list, Reservoir Dogs, sounds like a radio station, thanks to the dulcet tones of “K-Billy’s Super Sounds of the Seventies,” with a DJ voiced by Steven Wright. This soundtrack has the shortest total playtime of the others on this list, but don’t mistake that for lack of quality. Just like with The Big Chill, this soundtrack lacks a song, “Coconut” by Harry Nilsson, but it’s still a great mix, and that includes, Steven Wright’s dialogue as the DJ and the expletive fueled “Madanno Speech, by Tarantino himself.
Track List:
- And Now Little Green Bag… – Dialogue By Steven Wright
- Little Green Bag – George Baker
- Rock Flock Of Five – Dialogue By Steven Wright
- Hooked On A Feeling – Blue Suede
- Bohemiath – Dialogue By Steven Wright
- I Gotcha – Joe Tex
- Magic Carpet Ride – Bedlam
- Madonna Speech – Dialogue By Quentin Tarantino
- Fool For Love – Sandy Rogers
- Super Sounds – Dialogue By Steven Wright
- Stuck In The Middle With You – Stealers Wheel
Clerks
If Kevin Smith’s podcasting universe of SModCo had a radio station, I believe it would sound like this. Alternative music intertwined with quips and diatribes. If you’ve no idea of SModCo, I wrote a post about it but still, this is a great mix of alternative rock, with a sprinkle of metal and punk. Listening to it gives you two choices; one, this is good music and I’m glad I’m a grown up or two, I feel the teen angst growing inside me (but in a good way.)
Track List:
- Dante’s Lament
- Clerks – Love Among Freaks
- Kill The Sex Player – Girls Against Boys
- “No Time For Love, Dr. Jones”
- Got Me Wrong – Alice In Chains
- Randal & Dante On Sex
- Making Me Sick – Bash & Pop
- “A Bunch Of Muppets”
- Chewbacca – Supernova Chile
- Panic In Cicero – The Jesus Lizard
- Shooting Star – Golden Smog
- Leaders And Followers – Bad Religion
- “I Like To Expand My Horizons”
- Violent Mood Swings (Thread Mix) – Stabbing Westward
- Berserker – Love Among Freaks
- Big Problems – Corrosian Of Conformity
- Go Your Own Way – Seaweed
- “Social Event Of The Season”
- Can’t Even Tell – Soul Asylum
- Jay’s Chant
Real Genius
It’s unfortunate that no official soundtrack was released for Real Genius. That being said, the collection of songs that make it up is a great mix. If you like the track list you’ll have to put it together yourself from the internet, but I assure you, it’s worth it. I put it together, and although it wasn’t easy I’m happy I did, and if you take the time I’m sure you’ll be happy with it as well.
Track List:
- You Took Advantage of Me – Carmen McRae
- The Tuff Do What? – Tonio K
- Summertime Girls – Y&T
- The Pleasure Seekers – The System
- The Walls Came Down – The Call
- I’m Falling – The Comsat Angels
- One Night Love Affair – Bryan Adams
- All She Wants to Do Is Dance – Don Henley
- Number One – Chaz Jankel
- You’re the Only Love – Paul Hyde and the Payolas
- Standing in Line – The Textones
- Everybody Wants to Rule the World – Tears for Fears
Wonder Boys
A fairly melodramatic movie with a soundtrack to match. The mix of songs on this soundtrack takes mellow to another level. Grab a friend and a bottle of booze or some tea, sit in high backed chairs, put the album on, and talk about philosophy or history, in front of a roaring fireplace. That’s where this soundtrack takes you and it’s the best way I can describe it.
Track List:
- Things Have Changed – Bob Dylan
- A Child’s Claim to Fame – Buffalo Springfield
- No Regrets – Tom Rush
- Old Man – Neil Young
- Shooting Star – Bob Dylan
- Reason to Believe – Tim Hardin
- Need Your Love So Bad – Little Willie John
- Not Dark Yet – Bob Dylan
- Slip Away – Clarence Carter
- Waiting for the Miracle – Leonard Cohen
- Buckets of Rain – Bob Dylan
- Watching the Wheels – John Lennon
- Philosophers Stone – Van Morrison
Armageddon
The cream in Aerosmith’s comeback coffee, the Armageddon soundtrack featured 4 tracks from the band and one from front man Steven Tyler. But this album is more than an Aerosmith album, it has a sound that can only be described as the rock that wasn’t destroyed by grunge and alternative will live on. I know that as far as the movie is concerned, people either love it or hate it, but the soundtrack is much more well received. Take a listen and you’ll see why.
Track List:
- I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing – Aerosmith
- Remember Me – Journey Featuring Lead Vocals by Steve Augeri
- What Kind Of Love Are You On – Aerosmith
- La Grange – ZZ Top
- Roll Me Away – Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band
- When The Rainbow Comes – Shawn Colvin
- Sweet Emotion – Aerosmith
- Mister Big Time – Jon Bon Jovi
- Come Together – Aerosmith
- Wish I Were You – Patty Smyth
- Starseed – Our Lady Peace
- Leaving On A Jet Plane – Chantal Kreviazuk
- Theme From Armageddon – Trevor Rabin
- Animal Crackers – Steven Tyler
Bonus: Transformers The Movie (1986)
As a bonus I’ve included a personal favorite of mine, Transformers The Movie soundtrack from the original 1986 full length animated film. For children of the 80’s, this is pure cheese. Intermixed with Vince DiCola’s score for the film, are songs from Stan Bush, Spectre General and even “Weird Al” Yankovic. If you’re unfamiliar with the Transformers pre-Michael Bay, watch the movie. This is where it all started.
Track List:
- The Touch – Stan Bush
- Instruments Of Destruction – N.R.G.
- Death Of Optimus Prime – Vince DiCola
- Dare – Stan Bush
- Nothin’s Gonna Stand In Our Way – Spectre General
- The Transformers Theme – Lion
- Escape – Vince DiCola
- Hunger – Spectre General
- Autobot/Decepticon Battle – Vince DiCola
- Dare To Be Stupid – “Weird Al” Yankovic
- Unicron Medley – Vince DiCola
- Moon Base 2 – Shuttle Launch – Vince DiCola
- Megatron Must Be Stopped (Parts 1 & 2) – Vince DiCola
- The Transformers Theme (Alternate Version) – Vince DiCola
That’s it, that’s the list. These are all within my collection and if they weren’t I’d probably run out and get them. Do I listen to them all at once, on occasion I do, but they are so varied in music eras, genres and styles that I tend to listen to them one at a time, but again, I feel that they are all worth owning.