The 10 greatest movie soundtracks of the 1990s
A truly golden decade for film soundtracks
As part of our tenth birthday celebrations for Absolute 90s, we proudly present the 10 greatest movie soundtracks of the decade featuring Pulp Fiction, Trainspotting, Batman Forever, Good Will Hunting and more.
10) Velvet Goldmine (1998)
Although Velvet Goldmine took its name from a David Bowie song and one of the main characters, Brian Slade, is heavily based on the Thin White Duke, Bowie reportedly didn’t sanction his songs to be used in the movie – only his backing vocals on Lou Reed’s ‘Satellite of Love’ can be heard. Despite being Bowie-less, the Velvet Goldmine soundtrack is pure gold. Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood, Suede's Bernard Butler, and Roxy Music's Andy Mackay performed under the name of The Venus in Furs on the soundtrack covering tracks by Roxy Music, Brian Eno and Cockney Rebel. Elsewhere, Pulp contributed the original song ‘We Are the Boys’, Placebo, who appeared in the film, performed T. Rex’s ‘20th Century Boy’ and the Velvet Goldmine’s main star Ewan McGregor sang The Stooges’ ‘T.V. Eye.’
9) Spawn (1997)
While superhero movie Spawn was rightfully savaged by critics and was a dismal disappointment at the box office, the soundtrack can be highly commended for its originality. It saw a variety of big-name rock and metal acts join forces with electronic acts to create musical alchemy. Metallica’s ‘For Whom The Bell Tolls’ was given a makeover by DJ Spooky, while conversely Orbital’s ‘Satan’ was re-recorded with added guitars from Metallica’s Kirk Hammett. Elsewhere, Marilyn Manson united with Sneaker Pimps on ‘Long Hard Road Out of Hell’, The Prodigy collaborated with Tom Morello on ‘One Man Army’, Mansun’s ‘Skin Up Pin Up’ was remixed by 808 State, and Butthole Surfers and Moby contributed ‘Tiny Rubberband’. It’s fair to say the soundtrack was far better than the movie, then.
8) Good Will Hunting (1997)
The hit movie about self-taught and troubled maths genius Will Hunting (Matt Damon) and his therapist Dr. Sean Maguire (Robin Williams) came with a truly beautiful soundtrack. Esteemed composer Danny Elfman created the sublime score, including the ethereal main title theme, however it’s the late-great Elliott Smith who takes centre stage on the soundtrack with six songs. Best of the bunch is undoubtedly the beautiful and heart-rending ‘Miss Misery’, which was nominated for the Best Original Song Oscar in 1998 but tragically lost out to Celine Dion’s ‘My Heart Will Go On’. Where’s the justice?!
7) Batman Forever (1995)
Although Batman Forever was met with a somewhat mixed response from critics, the Joel Schumacher directed superhero movie came with a rip-roaring soundtrack. In our humble opinion, U2’s refreshingly heavy anthem ‘Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me’ is up there with their finest moments, while Seal’s ubiquitous ‘Kiss From A Rose’ scooped three Grammy Awards - Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Other highlights on the soundtrack include The Flaming Lips’ ‘Bad Days’, Method Man’s ‘The Riddler’, Massive Attack’s cover of The Marvelettes’ ‘The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game’ and Michael Hutchence’s version of Iggy Pop’s ‘The Passenger’. In fact, there’s not a dud song on the entire soundtrack.
6) Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Thanks to the infamous scene when Blonde (Michael Madsen) tortures police officer Marvin Nash (Kirk Baltz) while dancing to Stealers Wheel's ‘Stuck in the Middle with You’, once you’ve seen Reservoir Dogs, it’s impossible to listen to the song in the same way again. Director Quentin Tarantino selected songs from the 1960s to the 1980s for the soundtrack and they were ingeniously broadcast during the ill-fated heist that forms the crux of the movie via a fictional radio station called K-Billy. Other musical gems played include Bedlam’s cover of Steppenwolf’s ‘Magic Carpet Ride’ and Harry Nilsson’s ‘Coconut’, however ‘Stuck in the Middle with You’ is the most enduring for obvious reasons.
5) Singles (1992)
The brainchild of director Cameron Crowe, Singles is about the love lives of a fresh-faced group of Gen X'ers who dwell in single rooms in an apartment block in Seattle, Washington. Set against the backdrop of the early 1990s grunge movement in Seattle, although Singles wasn’t a major success, it has been credited with cementing the international popularity of the grunge scene thanks to its phenomenal soundtrack. Pearl Jam, who star as Cliff Poncier’s (Matt Dillon) fictional band Citizen Dick in the film, contributed two unreleased songs - ‘Breath’ and ‘State of Love and Trust’ – while the Soundgarden song ‘Birth Ritual’ and Chris Cornell's solo song ‘Seasons’ also feature. Other local grunge acts on the soundtrack include Alice In Chains (who also cameoed in the movie), Mudhoney and the highly influential Mother Love Bone, while ‘May This Be Love’ by Seattle rock legend Jimi Hendrix is also in the film.
4) Romeo + Juliet (1996)
Baz Luhrmann’s movie adaptation of William Shakespeare’s play starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Clare Danes as the eponymous ill-fated young lovers was a colossal success upon its release, and it had the blockbuster soundtrack to match – in fact, it sold more than 3 million copies in the US alone. The Wannadies’ ‘You and Me Song’ and The Cardigans’ ‘Lovefool’ both became huge hits on the back of the movie, while other musical gems included Garbage’s ‘#1 Crush’ and Radiohead’s ‘Talk Show Host’, which had only previously been available as a B-side to ‘Street Spirit (Fade Out)’. Incidentally, Quindon Tarver’s choir cover of Rozalla’s ‘Everybody's Free (To Feel Good)’ was later sampled on Baz Luhrmann’s late nineties one-hit wonder ‘Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen).’
3) The Crow (1994)
Based on James O'Barr's comic book of the same name, The Crow tells the story of Eric Draven (played by Brandon Lee, who tragically died during filming), a rock musician who is resurrected to avenge the rape and murder of his fiancée and his own death. In keeping with the dark tone and subject matter of the film, The Crow’s soundtrack has a brooding intensity and includes The Cure’s ‘Burn’, Nine Inch Nails’ cover of Joy Division’s ‘Dead Souls’, Rage Against The Machine’s re-recorded version of ‘Darkness’, Stone Temple Pilots’ anthem ‘Big Empty’ and Pantera’s fearsome cover of Poison Idea’s ‘The Badge’. Hugely popular, The Crow soundtrack has shifted more than 3.8 million copies in the US alone.
2) Pulp Fiction (1994)
From the opening credits when Dick Dale's surf rock gem ‘Misirlou’ kicks in, Pulp Fiction’s soundtrack never wavers in magnificence. Director Quentin Tarrantino and music supervisor Karyn Rachtman decided not to use a traditional score for Pulp Fiction and instead mined songs from yesteryear to startling effect, with each song becoming synonymous with iconic scenes in the movie. Other classic songs on the soundtrack include Urge Overkill’s version of Neil Diamond’s ‘Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon’, Dusty Springfield’s ‘Son of a Preacher Man’ and Chuck Berry’s ‘You Never Can Tell’ – the sound of the Twist contest Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) compete in. Pulp Fiction doesn’t just have one of the best soundtracks of the 1990s, it’s one of the best of all time.
1) Trainspotting (1996)
Just like Danny Boyle’s movie itself, the timeless Trainspotting soundtrack perfectly captured the zeitgeist of the late 1990s. Each song on the soundtrack was impeccably synchronised with iconic moments in the film – from Iggy Pop’s ‘Lust For Life’ soundtracking junkie thieves Renton, Sick Boy and Spud running through the streets of Edinburgh in the opening scene, through to Underworld’s towering techno anthem ‘Born Slippy .NUXX’ bringing the movie to a euphoric climax when Renton does a runner. Containing other classics from Blur (‘Sing’), Sleeper (covering Blondie’s ‘Atomic’), New Order (‘Temptation’) Lou Reed (‘Perfect Day’) and Pulp (‘Mile End’) to name but a few, the Trainspotting soundtrack was such a success upon its release they released a Vol.2 featuring songs that didn’t make the first album, and tracks that inspired the movie.
Check out photos of the Best Movie Soundtracks of the 1990s:
10) Velvet Goldmine (1998)
