This has probably been done, but here it goes.
I know in CS before, I have made mention of how great the Scrubs soundtrack is. I always thought they did a good job choosing music to go with the right part of the show, and I think they picked a wonderful range of artists.
What other shows or movies have really good soundtracks? Which do you love? Why?
Brendon Small
American Grafitti, which pretty much created the “jukebox soundtrack” concept.
Until the End of the World, directed by Wim Wenders.
Garden State.
Married to the Mob.
The title made me think of Henry Mancini who produced excellent soundtracks for movies and TV shows in the 50’s and 60’s (and later). If you want variety in a soundtrack, check out:
Peter Gunn (TV)
Mr. Lucky (TV)
Charade
The Pink Panther
The Thorn Birds (TV)
Hatari
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Days of Wine and Roses
As for the soundtrack I would want to keep, of all the ones I have bought over the years, it would have to be Peter Gunn.
Another composer whose soundtracks are noteworthy is John Barry.
I nominate Mr. Holland’s Opus.
I think it effectively covers the progression of music from early 1960’s to the 1970’s (even if Richard Dreyfus sang a John Lennon tune in the movie).
**Ghost World **had music from all over the map. It remains a personal favorite.
Repo Man totally captured the zeitgeist of the age (in addition to having a great soundtrack).
Do Musicals count? Or is that cheating?
If so, then Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas. The most interesting part is Danny Elfman, the composer of this, the Men In Black score, as well as Spider-Man and Batman series’ scores (not to mention the theme to the Simpsons), does the singing for the main character Jack Skellington! :eek:
Who knew he had such a fantastic singing voice!
Also, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; any show/movie/anime scored by Yoko Kanno. She not only writes the scores but all the music in the shows she writes for. See Cowboy Bebop, Vision of Escaflowne, and/or Ghost in the Shell (the two tv series (Stand Alone Complex, 2nd Gig) and the tie-in movie Solid State Society) in particular. She can do operatic scores, jazz, R&B, rock, folk, latin, you name it, and make it sound gooood.
Twin Peaks, bar none, best TV Soundtrack ever!
Law & Order comes a close second, and not just for the “doink doink”!
labyrinth
Lawrence of Arabia (yes, I know, I’m dating myself).
Several that I’ve mentioned in previous, similar threads:
The Mission
The Piano
Brideshead Revisited
The Commitments
Apocalypse Now
American Graffiti
The Commitments 
Donnie Darko, Master and Commander…but they’re not as good as some of the others listed earlier.
Also, whoever chooses the songs usually played towards the end of each episode of House does a pretty good job.
I can’t believe that nobody has yet nominated the soundtrack to Pulp Fiction, so I guess I will.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
I liked how, in Casino Royal,
They don’t use the James Bond theme in the whole movie, although some of the music riffs on it. I thought they must have lost the rights or something. Then at the very end, as Bond looks the villain in the eye and the villain goes “who are you?” Bond says “Bond, James Bond,” and the familar theme blasts out just in time for the closing credits. That kicked ass.
Crossing Jordan has some awfully good music in it.
Empire Records was a great soundtrack.
Apparently most of those are picked by Hugh Laurie.