Top Ten Best Single-Artist Movie Soundtracks [List]

 There are few things better than a movie with a great soundtrack.  In a lot of cases, the soundtrack actually improves the quality of the movie itself.  There are a whole mess of movies with simply brilliant soundtracks: The Royal Tenenbaums, Pulp Fiction, Do The Right Thing immediately come to mind.  I thought it'd be interesting to look at movies with soundtracks done entirely by one artist, band, or collaboration.  I considered the impact of the movie with every selection, but mostly let the music speak for itself.  Below are the Top Ten Best Single Artist Movie Soundtracks:

(10) The Legend Of 1900 by Ennio Morricone - If you don't know about this man, now is the time to get familiar.  His music has been used across television sets and movie screens for many years.  The standout song "The Crisis" is a hauntingly beautiful piece that was also used for the movie Seven Pounds, which was one of the more under-rated stories in a movie ever.

(9) There Will Be Blood by Jonny Greenwood - Another score that does well in capturing the grim mood of a film.  I thought it was a good choice for it to not be as "old timey" as it could have been.  Definitely makes me want to affix a bunch of straws together and drink someone's milkshake.

(8) Labyrinth by Trevor Jones & Davie Bowie - I dig the mix of scored tracks, and traditional songs with Bowie's vocals.  This is kind of how I believe most soundtracks should be.  This soundtrack is like a treasure chest of samples for 80's synth pop lovers.  Probably the best soundtrack featuring an actor from the movie who also did the music, but that's only because LL Cool J has yet to do In Too Deep 2.  Fingers crossed.

 (7) The Virgin Suicides by Air - Great band whose trademark sounds of light yet complex strings and piano melodies create the perfect soundtrack for a lazy Sunday as well as for a movie.

(6) Where The Wild Things Are by Karen O & The Kids - This is where it starts to get tough for me to rank.  The songstress from Yeah Yeah Yeahs does a great job of  bringing the wild side of a youth's imagination into a set of songs.  I loved this book when I was younger and really enjoyed the movie.  Ahhh, to be innocent and confused...the kid in me really wanted to rank this higher.

(5) Superfly by Curtis Mayfield - Curtis Mayfield has to be on the short-list for best musicians across any genre.  I mean, top five style.  Not only does Superfly make a funky soundtrack, but it extracts the pressing issues for Black people in America so poignantly.  Of course Superfly is on here.

(4) The Social Network by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross - This is the soundtrack that could've easily been number 1.  I liked the movie, but it lacked color and sentiment.  The musical compositions, however, do not.  Trent and Atticus form one powerful force in scoring this tale of betrayal and widespread social accessibility.  The soundtrack emotes the grinding nature of technology, the anxiety of awaiting a future and the burgeoning leadership of today's youth all at once.  Fantastic standing alone and as a movie accompaniment.

(3) Magnolia by Aimee Mann - Every song somehow captures the joy and anguish of the movie so incredibly.  It's so good that she receives credit for other peoples songs!  4 of the 13 tracks are from other artists and that's the only drawback here...why couldn't she just do the entire soundtrack?  The other songs fit the movie, as well, so I was willing to overlook the other contributions.  Listening to "Nothing Is Good Enough", "Wise Up" and "Save Me" in a row would bring even the hardest thug to tears.  Oh yes...a thug can cry.

(2) Purple Rain by Prince and the Revolution - I noticed many journalists regard this as THE best movie soundtrack ever, and with good reason.  This is not only a great soundtrack, but one of the better albums of our time.  Here, Prince's penchant for rebelling against conventional societal rules and labels comes across so so well.  The album cover seals the deal for me...I love that font and looking at that photo of Prince makes me want pancakes for some reason.

(1) Tron Legacy by Daft Punk - This received the top spot because of the vividness of the music matching the movie perfectly.  This is the definition of an epic sound-scape done by one of my favorites bands, Daft Punk.  At first I was disappointed that there weren't more stand alone electronic bangers, but I had to take some time to understand what needed to be accomplished here.  This is a score, and a masterful one at that.  Though the stand alone value is not as high as The Social Network, nothing accompanies a film better than Tron Legacy.  With this, I think Daft Punk just became the Danny Elfman or Phillip Glass of the new generation.


Also worth mentioning:

American Gangster by Jay-Z - Who else but Jay-Z could have an official, unofficial soundtrack?  I mean, he even got lines from the movie on the album.  Many confuse this as the soundtrack to the movie, but the only Hip Hop on the actual soundtrack is from Public Enemy.  Great album, though and love that cover.


I got a lot of great suggestions on Facebook about the best single artist soundtracks.  Think I missed something?  Post your favs here and tell me why.  Thanks for reading!