The great movie soundtrack can make or break a film.

When you think of classic songs such as Singing in the Rain, you can’t but help be immediately drawn into images from the film.

Gene Kelly’s now-classic dance through the rain as he celebrates has become an icon of cinema.

Likewise, the Bee Gees song Staying Alive immediately conjures up images of John Travolta in his white suit disco dancing his way around the dance floor.

Some movies are even remembered from the soundtrack rather than the movie itself.  Movies like I Am Sam and The Great Gatsby have amazing soundtracks that the movies failed to live up to.

To honor the best soundtracks that accompany great movies, Sofy.tv has put together a list of the 10 best movie soundtracks of all time.

Enjoy!

1. Easy Rider

Not only is Easy Rider soundtrack one of the best of all time but it also represented a dramatic shift from the conventional approach to music in movies.

Featuring the likes of Bob Dylan, The Band, and many of the best artists from the 1960s, Easy Rider soundtrack what’s a collection of popular hit songs from the day.

Before the movie, studios had composed original scores to accompany films. Easy Rider broke with this convention and started a soundtrack revolution where popular hit songs became the most desired scores.

2. The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

This instantaneously recognizable soundtrack became as famous as the movie itself. Images of gunfighters and shootouts immediately sprang to mind when any of the songs are heard.

Arguably Ennio Morricone’s bravest and most memorable work, The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly defined the Spaghetti Western soundtrack had made a true legend of its composer.

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3. Pulp Fiction

Director Quentin Tarantino is now famous for his sleek, funky, and cool movie soundtracks. It is not unusual to find 2 to 3 of his movie songs on a new best movie soundtrack compilation.

The film that would mark his step up to international fame and also cement his reputation as one of the most innovative and exciting moviemakers of his generation was Pulp Fiction.

Not only was it a great movie but it also featured a soundtrack that was from start to finish one of the best of all time.

4. This Is Spinal Tap

Rob Reiner’s spoof rockumentary was so successful that it spawned an actual music album by the made-up band.

Though featuring heavily misogynistic and often idiotic lyrics, the Spinal Tap soundtrack is an old-time classic.

After all, who is strong enough not to raise a smile at lyrics like “the bigger the cushion the sweeter the pushing” and “big bottom, you drive me out of my mind, how can I leave this behind?”

5. Superfly

Curtis Mayfield specially composed a soundtrack for Superfly. His cool funk score made this movie. The soundtrack was released independently as an album and did very well commercially as well as critically.

Each song seems to effortlessly slide through the movie as the film’s blaxploitation protagonist battles evil forces to save the day.

6. Goodfellas

Martin Scorsese is another director who is famed for his powerful and original musical scores.

His 1990 movie Goodfellas featured a range of songs that have become as much associated with the movie ask the characters.

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7. Trainspotting

Trainspotting was to reignite the British film industry.

Featuring Ewan McGregor and Robert Carlyle as the psychotic Begbie, the movie version of Irvine Welsh’s dark dystopic novel about drug addiction featured songs by artists such as Lou Reed, Primal Scream, and Iggy Pop.

The soundtrack became a best seller in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. Many of the songs are now impossible to listen to without thinking of men climbing out of disgusting toilets or being chased by security guards.

8. American Graffiti

The film that seemed to feature just about every great music artist from the 1950s was also by far the best made by George Lucas.

In the last few hours together, a group of high school students heads out into their small town to cruise the strip, eat fast food, and drag race each other.

This classic and often sad tale of the end of an era not only defined 50s Americana but also touches us all who remember the day we left our school life and friends behind forever.

9. Dazed And Confused

Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused was undoubtedly inspired by American Graffiti.

Following a similar plot, the movie takes place over the course of one evening and follows a group of high school students.

The movie’s soundtrack is littered with 80s classics from Aerosmith, Deep Purple, and Alice Cooper.

What American Graffiti was to the 1950s, Dazed and Confused is to the 1980s.

10. Saturday Night Fever

John Travolta’s most iconic cinematic performance aside from his role in Pulp Fiction was unquestionably as the disco dancing Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever.

Clad in his white disco suit, he tears up the dance floor with moves that drunk people have been trying to repeat all over the world ever since.