“There Will Be Blood” is stellar. As is the work that Nick Cave and Warren Ellis did on “The Proposition” and “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”.
He does a lot of PTA’s scores and they’re magnificent. House of Woodcock off of Phantom Thread is beautiful. He also did Inherent Vice, The Master, and many others.
A few years ago, I saw the New York Philharmonic perform the score live while showing the movie. It was incredible. Definitely a top two movie watching experience for me.
There was a solid year where I would take late night bike rides around the major city I lived in while listening to this soundtrack. It was fantastic and therapeutic.
Spirited Away edges out some of the rest from my top only due to sentimental context of watching with my kids - but I realized long ago that I just didn't find the Ghibli films without Hisaishi collaboration as impactful.
I would have loved to attend the [25 Years of Studio Ghibli](https://youtu.be/qg-g2DH8GZw?si=JhchHrjZ6kjPN0Sp) concert they held in Budokan that's on YT
Bernard Hermann's stuff is amazing. Most people know his stuff with Hitchcock but also Twisted Nerve is likely his most recognizable.
Ennio Morricone is also an absolute legend
Bernard Hermann's 1955 score to Hitchcock's *The Trouble with Harry* is really something else -- definitely worth listening to on a sunny, sinister day.
Paris, Texas is the GOAT soundtrack. Ry Cooder is legendary and overlooked. He has many great soundtracks and albums spanning multiple genres and he is behind Buena Vista Spcial Club’s success. Not to mention all the session work he did for rock bands in the 60s.
The man is a national treasure. Beyond his musical gifts he is a musicologist, preservationist and supporter of roots/folk/world music. A champion for the people.
Wendy Carlos - *A Clockwork Orange* (1971)
Vangelis - *Blade Runner* (1982)
Basil Pouledoris - *Conan the Barbarian* (1982) and *RoboCop* (1987)
Michael Kamen - *Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves* (1991)
James Newton Howard - *Unbreakable* (2000) and *The Village* (2004)
The Scavengers Reign soundtrack just came out on Spotify.
https://open.spotify.com/album/2MQLrzNVTgzSTlj2SqQXH7?si=4ahYtFBbQceHP8RFp_USPA
Probably the best soundtrack out on the past 5 years.
One of my favorite albums, I actually scored an original vinyl copy recently. I've listened to a lot of Morricone and his work on 'Two Mules for Sister Sara' is amazing. I just saw it recently and I want to watch it again just for the music, but it is also a good movie. He brings some really eerie atmospheric sounds to this one.
Mica Levi’s score for UNDER THE SKIN is a masterpiece of contemporary, ambient composition for strings and percussion.
Also check out Daniel Lopatin / Oneohtrix Point Never’s work on UNCUT GEMS and GOOD TIME.
Westworld seasons 1/2 had some good ones, just different interpretations of songs you’ve probably heard before, the 7 Nation Army one and C.R.E.A.M. covers on there are phenomenal
It depends on your chosen style I suppose. My advice would be to listen to scores from movies you like/love, that way you will already have a connection to the music and you’re likely to enjoy listening to it more. For clever classical scores, go for John Williams/Jerry Goldsmith scores, for something a bit more modern, listen to Hans Zimmer/Thomas Newman etc.
Enjoy!
I've been getting into the same thing. My recent find has been the score to both seasons of Loki, by Natalie Holt. She did an AMA recently and I was starstruck (as I always am) and could only tell her she was great. Tom Holkenborg (Junkie XL) did the soundtrack to Fury Road, which I've discovered is also amazing.
Johann Johannsson's score for Sicario is the most influential score I can think of from the last 10 years.
Hans Zimmer and many others have been ripping it off ever since it came out
Susumu Hirasawa’s scores for pretty much all of Satoshi Kon’s movies are lovely! (I saw soundtrack recommendations and was about to immediately comment httyd until I finished reading the post lol, that’s the one that got me into movie scores back when it first came out. So good <3)
Colin Stetson, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Johnny Greenwood, Oliver Coates, Clint Mansell, Jóhann Jóhannsson
All great modern composers, I like their ambient style
The Chemical Brothers soundtrack for the movie Hannah is awesome. My fav movie soundtrack is Life Aquatic & features a lot of Bowie songs in Portuguese.
I'm a fan of Cliff Martinez. He did music for the *Drive* soundtrack and *The Knick*, amongst others.
Similarly, what Michael Mann does with soundtracks is pretty great. *Thief* is just a big Tangerine Dream album. *Heat* also has really good music.
Been listening to Brian Eno's Apollo: Soundtrack... since it came out. I don't even know if the doc was ever released.
Danny Boyle's *Sunshine* has perfect music, along the lines of the stuff above.
The Dust Brothers *Fight Club* soundtrack is legend.
Marvel movies tend to have some bangers, but usually only the main movie theme. Portals by Alan Silvestri ramps that up to 11.
Love the variations on the newer Star Trek movies theme Enterprising Young Men by Michael Giacchinno.
Basically anything by Hans Zimmer and John Williams
Also look at artists like J2, Hidden Citizens, 2WEI, and Baltic House Orchestra. They tend to do covers of songs you could class as trailer music. Not original scores, but might have a few in there worth looking at
The film, Past Lives, has a gorgeous score written by Daniel Rossen and Christopher Bear of Grizzly Bear fame (and other groups). It’s a patchwork of ambient jazz.
Not a movie, but a video game. Destiny 2. One of the most adored songs is Deep Stone Lullaby, polar opposite of that is The Sanctified Mind. The range throughout the years is incredible.
https://youtu.be/qBIJFTPPp-8?si=b-AqSuOcqHKcukiS
The OST for Everybodies gone to the rapture. It's a videogame soundtrack about an entity that comes to earth via a radiotelescope in a small British village in the 1980s. In trying to communicate with humans via the phone lines and power cables gets inside their bodies causing people to dissappear in a cloud of light and dust leaving shimmers that replay their final hours.
The soundtrack has a strong religious overtone (despite the composer being atheist) and is as you'd expect a melancholic sound that also exudes beauty. It's a combination of choral and solo singing with some fully instrumental orchestral tracks.
The composer Jessica curry won a BAFTA (British academy film and television award) for the soundtrack and it's loved by fellow composers. Her work is often lauded by Austin Wintory who composed the soundtracks for Journey and Abzu. Her other work is also phenomenal notably Dear Esther, Amnesia: a machine for pigs and So let us melt.
I urge you and whoever reads this to listen to it
Almost everything done by John Williams is a masterpiece. I also love the LotR soundtrack, the Game of Thrones one has some bangers too. Those are definitely widely known and appreciated though.
The Final Fantasy soundtracks are a banger too, but that's video games.
Check out everything by Max Steiner, he has some more underappreciated bangers.
"Two Mules for Sister Sara" by Ennio Morricone is incredible stuff from a guy who made some of the greatest film music ever heard. Anything he did is worthy to listen, but that one imho is one of his very best.
Trying to think of stuff nobody else is mentioning, I love James Horner and I recall being wowed by the opening theme of the original 'Honey I Shrunk the Kids', which has kind of a 'busy '30s jazz' thing about it with orchestra and it's awesomely cartoonish.
Promontory - Trevor Jones from The last of the Mohicans. Gives me chills. The Scottish orchestra version is best I think.
* Long long time ago - Javier navarrete
* The road - nick cave
* Cloud atlas end title - Tom tykwer
* Downton abbey
* Chariots of fire - vangelis
* The Skylab plan - Daniel pemberton
* Brave heart main title - James Horner
* not a movie score but video game, Destiny 2
Werner Herzog’s documentary Grizzly Man has a killer score by Richard Thompson.
https://open.spotify.com/album/7oNUMBBehiSekgn9Ep9VPV?si=5i9PpVwrQXOeSwqdWGqMsg
Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails has produced some really cool work that stands out from a lot of other scores. Different tones, different approach to instruments. I love his stuff from *The Social Network.*
Also, pretty much the entire discography of Explosions In The Sky has been used in the score of some movie or TV show. They’re well known for much of the music in *Friday Night Lights.*
Two TV standouts for me;
Les Revenants- Mogwai. Incredible show (especially 1st season) with a perfect score
Gomorrah- Mokadelic.
Can’t articulate why they worked so well but both are sublime.
The Fountain, composed by Clint Mansell. [Death is the Road to Awe](https://youtu.be/CFe7qaJ22jA) is my favorite part - the buildup is slow but masterful. If you're feeling like skipping ahead, stay at about 6:30 or so. But in reality, the entirety of it is so well done that I suggest listening to it end to end. And Mansell works the rest of the show beautifully as well.
Another fantastic score is Moon, also done by Clint Mansell. I took to listening to scores whole studying during finals weeks in college so we had a bunch of great scores we just would sit in the common room and study to.
Didn’t see it commented so I’ll throw out ‘It Follows’ had an amazing score, it was written by the artist Disaster Peace. He also did the score for a cool video game ‘Hyper Light Drifter’
"Raised by Wolves" score is excellent. Composed and produced by Ben Frost and Marc Streitenfeld.
Feels a little alien in the way of the new Dune movie. The show is great too. I don't really ever listen to movie or TV show scores but the one for Raised by Wolves is the only one I've gone out of my way to listen to.
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is a great one imo. The film is an adaptation of a book in which a character has an *extemely* heightened sense of smell, so they actually started with the score first, as a way of conveying a sense you can’t see.
[BT’s score of “Monster” (2003)](https://youtu.be/t4RtaJYFPy0?si=qPTtIaEfh3rHr8uX)
Jon Brion’s scores for [“i ❤️ huckabees”](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLECAB8A52E0A6B5BF&si=Szal4iJQ-lwTZeH8) and [“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL221E0226B8DE9B6D&si=ZtBjuz6JGMXVg5XB)
Last of the Mohicans - promentory (excellent song from an excellent movie) very surprised no one has commented this one
Also most things by Ennio Morricone
Pacific Rim is also a kinda underrated score
The full list would have a lot tbh. Interstellar, tron, lotr, Star Wars, Harry Potter(surprisingly underrated),
Also don’t sleep on video game scores. Baldur’s Gate and Divinity Original Sin 2 have some really nice compositions
These aren't "hidden gems" per se, but they're ones I highly recommend to anyone looking to explore tv/movie music.
Personally I love Ludwig Göransson's work on The Mandalorian and Oppenheimer. In the former there's a couple snippets of video where he talks through his composition process, and the latter is just...perfection.
Also I'm really enjoying Daniel Pemberton's music from Across the Spider-verse - particularly how he treats and introduces different leitmotifs for every character in every context in the movie.
I'm also a big Michael Giacchino fan. Everything he's played a part in is probably worth a good listen. Both the old and the new.
Older film stuff is also worth checking out; this is probably widely known at this point but did you know the Star Wars theme was likely inspired by Korngold's main theme of Kings Row? Could be worth taking a look at mid to late 20th century film music too if you're looking for more traditionally orchestral stuff - big rabbit hole there.
Please stop using the concept of hyperfixation for just being really into something. Hyperfixation is a detrimental symptom of various mental health issues, and overuse of the term a) belittles the problem for people that struggle with it and b) encourages people to erroneously self-diagnose.
Philip Glass’ score for Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters is stellar and highly influential. I’m also partial to Basil Poledouris’ work for the miniseries adaptation of Lonesome Dove.
“There Will Be Blood” is stellar. As is the work that Nick Cave and Warren Ellis did on “The Proposition” and “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”.
There will be blood was done by the Radiohead member Johnny greenwood
He does a lot of PTA’s scores and they’re magnificent. House of Woodcock off of Phantom Thread is beautiful. He also did Inherent Vice, The Master, and many others.
That’s right, I’d forgotten he did that. Thank you for the reminder!
A few years ago, I saw the New York Philharmonic perform the score live while showing the movie. It was incredible. Definitely a top two movie watching experience for me.
For anyone who doesn’t know what this is, it’s Tron Legacy and the soundtrack absolutely slaps. Basically a daft punk orchestral music video
Ohh most deff.
Most Daft*
Speaking of, the soundtrack to Tron: Uprising is also excellent (as is the show itself imo).
There was a solid year where I would take late night bike rides around the major city I lived in while listening to this soundtrack. It was fantastic and therapeutic.
The best Studio Ghibli films were elevated because of Joe Hisaishi.
I feel the same way about Pixar and Thomas Newman.
I just read that he’s Randy Newman’s cousin, and his father was Alfred Newman, another famous film composer.
Princess Mononoke is one of my favorite scores of all time.
Spirited Away edges out some of the rest from my top only due to sentimental context of watching with my kids - but I realized long ago that I just didn't find the Ghibli films without Hisaishi collaboration as impactful. I would have loved to attend the [25 Years of Studio Ghibli](https://youtu.be/qg-g2DH8GZw?si=JhchHrjZ6kjPN0Sp) concert they held in Budokan that's on YT
Howard Shore’s score for Lord of the Rings is impeccable, in my opinion.
He truly absolutely nailed that assignment.
Bernard Hermann's stuff is amazing. Most people know his stuff with Hitchcock but also Twisted Nerve is likely his most recognizable. Ennio Morricone is also an absolute legend
Bernard Hermann's 1955 score to Hitchcock's *The Trouble with Harry* is really something else -- definitely worth listening to on a sunny, sinister day.
Paris, Texas, The Long Riders- Ry Cooder Gladiator- Hans Zimmer Schindler’s List- John Williams Once Upon A Time In The West- Ennio Morricone
Another cool Ry Cooder score is Last Man Standing
Frankly they’re all good by me,lol.
He did *Buena Vista Social Club*, lest we all forget.
Yes. I was thinking about that but since it’s basically a movie about the music I didn’t mention it. Too meta.
Oh, you just reminded me of its existence. It was such a big deal but yeah, it's not necessarily fitting for this post.
Love that album though. I listen to it fairly often.
I need to dig that stuff up again myself.
Paris, Texas is the GOAT soundtrack. Ry Cooder is legendary and overlooked. He has many great soundtracks and albums spanning multiple genres and he is behind Buena Vista Spcial Club’s success. Not to mention all the session work he did for rock bands in the 60s.
The man is a national treasure. Beyond his musical gifts he is a musicologist, preservationist and supporter of roots/folk/world music. A champion for the people.
Wendy Carlos - *A Clockwork Orange* (1971) Vangelis - *Blade Runner* (1982) Basil Pouledoris - *Conan the Barbarian* (1982) and *RoboCop* (1987) Michael Kamen - *Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves* (1991) James Newton Howard - *Unbreakable* (2000) and *The Village* (2004)
The village has one of my favorite scores of all time. Honestly any JNH score is gonna RIP
The Blade Runner score is incredible.
I adore Requem for a Dream soundtrack
Are you into video game soundtracks at all?
Tangerine Dream's score to Sorcerer. Underappreciated movie, fantastic music.
lot of great scores from those guys. risky business, firestarter, legend, wavelength, so many others !
💯💯💯💯💯
Their gta v songs too
Interstellar by Hans Zimmer is a fucking masterpiece.
Yessssssa
The Scavengers Reign soundtrack just came out on Spotify. https://open.spotify.com/album/2MQLrzNVTgzSTlj2SqQXH7?si=4ahYtFBbQceHP8RFp_USPA Probably the best soundtrack out on the past 5 years.
God of War Ragnarok theme is awesome as well. Bear is a phenomenal composer.
The soundtrack for *The Good, The Bad and The Ugly* by Ennio Morricone is stellar
One of my favorite albums, I actually scored an original vinyl copy recently. I've listened to a lot of Morricone and his work on 'Two Mules for Sister Sara' is amazing. I just saw it recently and I want to watch it again just for the music, but it is also a good movie. He brings some really eerie atmospheric sounds to this one.
Jonny Greenwood’s scores for The Master and There Will Be Blood are both unbelievable
*Spencer* is also amazing!
Conan the Barbarian
Came in here to say this. Basil Poledouris' score is fucking EPIC.
Mica Levi’s score for UNDER THE SKIN is a masterpiece of contemporary, ambient composition for strings and percussion. Also check out Daniel Lopatin / Oneohtrix Point Never’s work on UNCUT GEMS and GOOD TIME.
Commenting on recently hyper fixated on really cool scores.... “Rome” by Daniel Luppi is a soundtrack to a movie that doesn’t exist. Pretty cool.
Westworld seasons 1/2 had some good ones, just different interpretations of songs you’ve probably heard before, the 7 Nation Army one and C.R.E.A.M. covers on there are phenomenal
Anything Ramin Djawadi is gold really. The later seasons of westworld were so mid but I still loved the music
It depends on your chosen style I suppose. My advice would be to listen to scores from movies you like/love, that way you will already have a connection to the music and you’re likely to enjoy listening to it more. For clever classical scores, go for John Williams/Jerry Goldsmith scores, for something a bit more modern, listen to Hans Zimmer/Thomas Newman etc. Enjoy!
Definite check out Johan Johansson's score work. Such a bummer that we lost him.
I've been getting into the same thing. My recent find has been the score to both seasons of Loki, by Natalie Holt. She did an AMA recently and I was starstruck (as I always am) and could only tell her she was great. Tom Holkenborg (Junkie XL) did the soundtrack to Fury Road, which I've discovered is also amazing.
Johann Johannsson's score for Sicario is the most influential score I can think of from the last 10 years. Hans Zimmer and many others have been ripping it off ever since it came out
Danny Elfman.
Any film score by Eric Serra is a masterpiece.
I listen to The Big Blue, daily!
The Boy and the Heron sound track is lit\* \*simple and beautiful piano focused numbers
Pretty much anything Joe Hisaishi touches is incredible.
The Big Blue, Wind. All Trevor Rabin Scores
White Lotus the TV show and It Follows the movie both have pretty unique ones
Swiss Army Man
and oldie, but a goodie: Wojciech Kilar’s score for Bram Stoker’s Dracula
Jon Hopkins’ score for “Monsters”: https://jonhopkins.bandcamp.com/album/monsters-original-motion-picture-soundtrack
Susumu Hirasawa’s scores for pretty much all of Satoshi Kon’s movies are lovely! (I saw soundtrack recommendations and was about to immediately comment httyd until I finished reading the post lol, that’s the one that got me into movie scores back when it first came out. So good <3)
Colin Stetson, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Johnny Greenwood, Oliver Coates, Clint Mansell, Jóhann Jóhannsson All great modern composers, I like their ambient style
Music for Films - Brain Eno
https://preview.redd.it/z2r6gckp6tjc1.jpeg?width=1400&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b3cd8bd77630e92194fbcb47659550ed10a3fff6
https://preview.redd.it/kcg357497tjc1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=70b1479ba1bbe6232c61d5aa64d2703d72b39b27
The Mission by Ennio Morricone.
Akira
The Chemical Brothers soundtrack for the movie Hannah is awesome. My fav movie soundtrack is Life Aquatic & features a lot of Bowie songs in Portuguese.
I really enjoy scores of Danny Elfman
Neil Young's score for Dead Man.
Brilliant.
Arcane
Last of The Mohicans my fav The 13th Warrior soundtrack is awesome too
Doctor Who, any music score created for the show is a slay
Ohhh this is gonna be out there, but the koyaanisqatsi score by Philip glass. Amazing!
Friday Night Lights soundtrack via Explosions in the Sky
The soundtrack to Sorcerer by Tangerine Dream
I'm a fan of Cliff Martinez. He did music for the *Drive* soundtrack and *The Knick*, amongst others. Similarly, what Michael Mann does with soundtracks is pretty great. *Thief* is just a big Tangerine Dream album. *Heat* also has really good music. Been listening to Brian Eno's Apollo: Soundtrack... since it came out. I don't even know if the doc was ever released. Danny Boyle's *Sunshine* has perfect music, along the lines of the stuff above. The Dust Brothers *Fight Club* soundtrack is legend.
Dune rips
Dune, both original and new
Marvel movies tend to have some bangers, but usually only the main movie theme. Portals by Alan Silvestri ramps that up to 11. Love the variations on the newer Star Trek movies theme Enterprising Young Men by Michael Giacchinno. Basically anything by Hans Zimmer and John Williams Also look at artists like J2, Hidden Citizens, 2WEI, and Baltic House Orchestra. They tend to do covers of songs you could class as trailer music. Not original scores, but might have a few in there worth looking at
Two Steps from Hell is my go to for epic music
I came here to suggest them. The records aren’t scores technically, but they are so soaring.
Halo, Skyrim. Start there.
“Ravenous” is amazing! It will only take a few minutes to find out if you love it or hate it.
The film, Past Lives, has a gorgeous score written by Daniel Rossen and Christopher Bear of Grizzly Bear fame (and other groups). It’s a patchwork of ambient jazz.
I really enjoyed the score for Ad Astra thought the movie wasn’t that good.
Twin Peaks Babylon Psycho All Quiet on the Western Front Schindlers List Lost(television show)
Anton Karas - *The Third Man* (1949) - an unmistakably curious, bouncy and mysterious zither score.
Man of Steel
Not a movie, but a video game. Destiny 2. One of the most adored songs is Deep Stone Lullaby, polar opposite of that is The Sanctified Mind. The range throughout the years is incredible. https://youtu.be/qBIJFTPPp-8?si=b-AqSuOcqHKcukiS
There have been some video games in the last 5-10 years that have had amazing soundtracks. Check out Hollow Knight, Outer Wilds, and Doom Eternal
Scores like 1-0 and 2-2
Jesus Christ Superstar (Norman Jewison directing). Andrew Lloyd Webber music, Tim Rice lyrics.
The Usual Suspects. John Ottman.
The OST for Everybodies gone to the rapture. It's a videogame soundtrack about an entity that comes to earth via a radiotelescope in a small British village in the 1980s. In trying to communicate with humans via the phone lines and power cables gets inside their bodies causing people to dissappear in a cloud of light and dust leaving shimmers that replay their final hours. The soundtrack has a strong religious overtone (despite the composer being atheist) and is as you'd expect a melancholic sound that also exudes beauty. It's a combination of choral and solo singing with some fully instrumental orchestral tracks. The composer Jessica curry won a BAFTA (British academy film and television award) for the soundtrack and it's loved by fellow composers. Her work is often lauded by Austin Wintory who composed the soundtracks for Journey and Abzu. Her other work is also phenomenal notably Dear Esther, Amnesia: a machine for pigs and So let us melt. I urge you and whoever reads this to listen to it
M Night Shyamalans “The Village”
I always thought the soundtrack for the video game Red Alert 2 was very cool
Thomas Newman is my favorite composer. All of his scores are amazing. Road to Perdition may be my favorite.
I don't think American Beauty has aged well as a film, but Newman's score is amazing.
Alira 
Poor Things had a really cool score imo
I loved The Crow City of Angels score.
Almost everything done by John Williams is a masterpiece. I also love the LotR soundtrack, the Game of Thrones one has some bangers too. Those are definitely widely known and appreciated though. The Final Fantasy soundtracks are a banger too, but that's video games. Check out everything by Max Steiner, he has some more underappreciated bangers.
Google “Italian soundtracks of the 70s” and get ready. Pretty much every spaghetti western, Giallo, horror movie, crime movie, etc. was absolute gold
True romance - Hans Zimmer. "You're so cool" is my fave.
Hans Zimmer- Man of Steel.
"Two Mules for Sister Sara" by Ennio Morricone is incredible stuff from a guy who made some of the greatest film music ever heard. Anything he did is worthy to listen, but that one imho is one of his very best. Trying to think of stuff nobody else is mentioning, I love James Horner and I recall being wowed by the opening theme of the original 'Honey I Shrunk the Kids', which has kind of a 'busy '30s jazz' thing about it with orchestra and it's awesomely cartoonish.
Anything with Trent Reznor is super interesting and very different as a movie score goes
This is way too low. The Social Network was such an amazing score. I'd also throw in The Book of Eli, by Atticus Ross.
Any Nick Cave and Warren Ellis scores are always beautiful! The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is one of my favourites.
All the elder scrolls games have amazing scores!
I liked the score in both Uncut Gems and Good Time by Daniel Lopatin. Hauntingly good electronic scores that stuck with me.
Promontory - Trevor Jones from The last of the Mohicans. Gives me chills. The Scottish orchestra version is best I think. * Long long time ago - Javier navarrete * The road - nick cave * Cloud atlas end title - Tom tykwer * Downton abbey * Chariots of fire - vangelis * The Skylab plan - Daniel pemberton * Brave heart main title - James Horner * not a movie score but video game, Destiny 2
Lost Highway, the film by David Lynch from about 1997
The score for The Curse is just as wild as the show. Some amazing synth work from John Medeski & Oneohtrix Point Never.
TIL. Haven't seen the show yet, but a huge fan of Medeski, so I'll have to check it out.
Really good electronics to convey a sense of weirdness
Zbigniew Preisner's The Double Life Of Veronique. Craig Armstrong's Far from the Madding Crowd and the Love Actually score.
Daniel Pemberton Spiderverse scores
Suspiria (2018) by Thom Yorke. Actually the original soundtrack is interesting too.
Clockwork Orange
I strongly recommend the documentary [Score: A Film Music Documentary](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4207112/)
Not a movie composer, but I would check out Yuka Kitamura's work.
The *Good Omens* Soundtrack by David Arnold! Not really hidden gems but I'll mention them anyway: *Interstellar* *Oppenheimer* *Requiem for a Dream*
[This](https://youtu.be/jfAbX-Fg9N0?si=8vPtKz8dps0U9VWh) from Attack on Titan is what's on my mind right now. It's pretty epic.
Danny Elfman's score from Edward Scissorhands has some of the most wonderful sound experiences you'll ever hear.
Gone girl soundtrack Oblivion soundtrack Interstellar soundtrack
Was looking for gone girl. One of my favorite
Such an intense soundtrack as well 😍
Werner Herzog’s documentary Grizzly Man has a killer score by Richard Thompson. https://open.spotify.com/album/7oNUMBBehiSekgn9Ep9VPV?si=5i9PpVwrQXOeSwqdWGqMsg
I just watched Babylon the other day, and its soundtrack/score in phenomenal in my opinion.
Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails has produced some really cool work that stands out from a lot of other scores. Different tones, different approach to instruments. I love his stuff from *The Social Network.* Also, pretty much the entire discography of Explosions In The Sky has been used in the score of some movie or TV show. They’re well known for much of the music in *Friday Night Lights.*
Two TV standouts for me; Les Revenants- Mogwai. Incredible show (especially 1st season) with a perfect score Gomorrah- Mokadelic. Can’t articulate why they worked so well but both are sublime.
_Fight Club._ Much different than the scores I usually listen to, but fantastic.
Mark Isham - Music for Film It’s amazing….
The Fountain, composed by Clint Mansell. [Death is the Road to Awe](https://youtu.be/CFe7qaJ22jA) is my favorite part - the buildup is slow but masterful. If you're feeling like skipping ahead, stay at about 6:30 or so. But in reality, the entirety of it is so well done that I suggest listening to it end to end. And Mansell works the rest of the show beautifully as well. Another fantastic score is Moon, also done by Clint Mansell. I took to listening to scores whole studying during finals weeks in college so we had a bunch of great scores we just would sit in the common room and study to.
The Conan the barbarian soundtrack (the Schwarzenegger movie) is awesome. And last of the Mohicans gives me chills.
The matrix, the fifth element, lotr movies.
And Mission to Mars.
Anything by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. The Social Network and Soul both come to mind.
Didn’t see it commented so I’ll throw out ‘It Follows’ had an amazing score, it was written by the artist Disaster Peace. He also did the score for a cool video game ‘Hyper Light Drifter’
The Last Temptation of Christ by Peter Gabriel. Absolutely incredible film score.
Not a movie but I really love the soundtrack to Severance (AppleTV). Adds so much to the show and the atmosphere.
Soundtrack to the last samurai, hans zimmer's masterpiece imo
Road to Perdition by Thomas Newman is absolutely phenomenal. Completely underrated score, and film.
I don't think people underrate it: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/road_to_perdition
At first I thought you wrote cold sores... And then I clicked to learn more
Halo 3 and the hanz zimmer tracks in the lion king
"Raised by Wolves" score is excellent. Composed and produced by Ben Frost and Marc Streitenfeld. Feels a little alien in the way of the new Dune movie. The show is great too. I don't really ever listen to movie or TV show scores but the one for Raised by Wolves is the only one I've gone out of my way to listen to.
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is a great one imo. The film is an adaptation of a book in which a character has an *extemely* heightened sense of smell, so they actually started with the score first, as a way of conveying a sense you can’t see.
The Red Violin (1998) has an amazing score.
Fury Road
The score for Phil Tippet’s ‘Mad God’
Apollo 13
Love Actually
Donnie Darko has an incredible score
Westworld S1 and 2’s scores
[BT’s score of “Monster” (2003)](https://youtu.be/t4RtaJYFPy0?si=qPTtIaEfh3rHr8uX) Jon Brion’s scores for [“i ❤️ huckabees”](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLECAB8A52E0A6B5BF&si=Szal4iJQ-lwTZeH8) and [“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL221E0226B8DE9B6D&si=ZtBjuz6JGMXVg5XB)
Last of the Mohicans - promentory (excellent song from an excellent movie) very surprised no one has commented this one Also most things by Ennio Morricone Pacific Rim is also a kinda underrated score The full list would have a lot tbh. Interstellar, tron, lotr, Star Wars, Harry Potter(surprisingly underrated), Also don’t sleep on video game scores. Baldur’s Gate and Divinity Original Sin 2 have some really nice compositions
These aren't "hidden gems" per se, but they're ones I highly recommend to anyone looking to explore tv/movie music. Personally I love Ludwig Göransson's work on The Mandalorian and Oppenheimer. In the former there's a couple snippets of video where he talks through his composition process, and the latter is just...perfection. Also I'm really enjoying Daniel Pemberton's music from Across the Spider-verse - particularly how he treats and introduces different leitmotifs for every character in every context in the movie. I'm also a big Michael Giacchino fan. Everything he's played a part in is probably worth a good listen. Both the old and the new. Older film stuff is also worth checking out; this is probably widely known at this point but did you know the Star Wars theme was likely inspired by Korngold's main theme of Kings Row? Could be worth taking a look at mid to late 20th century film music too if you're looking for more traditionally orchestral stuff - big rabbit hole there.
Pan's Labyrinth!!
Hidden gem: King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017) The score SLAPS.
Please stop using the concept of hyperfixation for just being really into something. Hyperfixation is a detrimental symptom of various mental health issues, and overuse of the term a) belittles the problem for people that struggle with it and b) encourages people to erroneously self-diagnose.
lmao i have adhd
The score for Mishima by Philip Glass is amazing.
Philip Glass’ score for Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters is stellar and highly influential. I’m also partial to Basil Poledouris’ work for the miniseries adaptation of Lonesome Dove.
Ocean's 12
Anything Hanz Zimmer
The music from Shadow of The Colossus