Dario Marianelli, Pride & Prejudice - Some of the most beautiful “new” classical music I’ve ever heard.
John Williams, Amistad - Memorably uplifting and noble.
Howard Shore, The Lord of the Rings - Sheer genius. Each of the three movies has some simply awesome music.
Alan Silvestri, Cast Away - A short, lovely, haunting, achingly yearning main theme. I’ve listened to it over and over.
James Horner, Glory - One wonderful, evocative tune after another.
If you like TV scores, I reccomend LOST and Battlestar Galactica
I love the score to Signs, and Vertigo
I’m surprised nobody has mentioned this album yet:
A must have in a Movie Score/Soundtrack collection.
This is really great stuff, you guys are awesome.
I am still waiting on many things to download, but what I have gotten so far I love.
Lack of good music fought!
For something different, try Philip Glass’ score to Mishima. I think it’s the most accessible (yet ambitious, and really well accomplished) piece he’s ever written. I’d rent the movie first, though, and not just to screen the music. If you’re unfamiliar with the story, you’ve a one-of-a-kind film experience to look forward to.
And if you’ve never seen the original **The Wicker Man **[U.K., '73], you should, for the folk music (about half of which is instrumental) as much as for the rest of it. The soundtrack boasts some very old folk songs (some written by Scottish poet Robert Burns, and one dating back to the 13th century, and believed to be the oldest song in the English language) and various instrumental pieces – in tones variously lighthearted and bawdy, lilting and erotic, and eerie and ominous. The soundtrack has been reissued on CD, twice, on different labels (the Silva one is the one to get, though).
If you want Thomas Newman’s music for American Beauty it’s this one. Not this one.
One of my all-time favorite soundtracks is The Man In The Moon. It’s very sparse but I just love it. Simple and beautiful.