Before we conclude, a reminder of the criteria and guidelines for the list:

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1. Some themes will be on the list. However, this is about music that amplifies more than reminding us we’re watching a particular movie. As such...
2. Iconic doesn’t mean best. Doctor Zhivago's “Lara’s Theme” is not on this list. It's iconic, but Jarre has done better.
3. The list is about individual pieces of music, not the entire score.
4. The piece must be entirely compelling. While The Silence of the Lambs' opening five notes are an incredible mood-setter and the gold standard for kicking off a psychological thriller, the rest of the main title (while not bad) doesn’t measure up.
5. If the music doesn’t fit, it doesn’t count. “Chevaliers de Sangreal” would crack most people’s list, and it’s good, but it sounds more like Hans Zimmer came up with something cool and stuffed it into whatever his next movie was, which happened to be the freakin’ Da Vinci Code.
6. We all hear things we like and slide them into a Spotify playlist, but that’s not what this list is about. Thus, I must have seen the movie recently enough for the other criteria to apply. Seeing Laura at 11 doesn’t count

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15. “Honor Him” - Gladiator, Hans Zimmer

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“Honor Him's" overuse dilutes its impact as it plays over Maximus' death and the tentative restoration of the Republic. Still, it remains an iconic musical send-off to one of film’s all-time great protagonists and beautifully honors the principles and virtues he embodied.

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14. “Evenstar” - The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Howard Shore

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The Fellowship of the Ring is the most fantastical of the trilogy. It visits the most locations, has the lightest touch, and is more a prelude of what’s to come than an exploration of more intensive themes. The Two Towers needed to settle in, expand, and offer a darker tone and more sobering overarching approach. The ethereality of operatic soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian serenely explores Aragorn’s character and motivations as he traverses Middle Earth to fulfill his destiny.

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13. “Hedwig’s Theme” - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, John Williams

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Well, here it is, the theme song of an entire generation of moviegoers, but this is more than nostalgia. The Harry Potternovels were an unprecedented global phenomenon; capturing J.K. Rowling’s magical world was no easy task. Yet, the millisecond those opening chimes play, we feel fully transported into the most beloved literary vision ever conceived. It becomes a pervasive leitmotif, but we never forget its first and most important goal: introduce us to the wondrous world of Harry Potter.

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12. “Intriguing Possibilities” - The Social Network, Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross

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In 2010, two scores revolutionized the art form, one for better, one for worse: the worse will come later, but for now, the better. The Social Network defied its genre’s trappings in the same vein as its director, David Fincher, injecting its fast-paced narrative zig-zagging and conversational hopscotching with a seamlessly intense stream of techno urgency and ambient energy. It makes Facebook’s, and Zuckerberg’s, development feel ominously commendable and is the type of score we hadn’t heard before that didn’t rest on those laurels and instead used its originality as a springboard to genuine, art-altering greatness.

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11. “The Test Worked” - Ex Machina, Ben Salisbury & Geoff Barrow

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Ex Machina is a slow burn or a dull roar, depending on who you ask. What remains undeniable, however, is the paralyzing effect of that knife sliding into Oscar Isaac’s back like butter. It’s a moment equally jaw-dropping and telegraphed; that tricky balance is struck by Salisbury and Barrow’s score, building that explosive climax through six-and-a-half minutes of subtle repetition. By the time it fully unleashes, we’re spellbound.

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10. “Time” - Inception, Hans Zimmer

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Zimmer’s Inception score, while not his best, is certainly his most influential. But what gets lost in the shuffle of its movie trailer ubiquity is that infamous "BWAAAAA" aside, it’s a collection of genius music that’s significantly more nuanced than what we ordinarily hear in action movies. Yes, Nolan’s intellectual ambition transcends typicality, but he owes much of our collective fascination with Inception, one of the ‘10s true bonafide cinematic phenomena, to Zimmer. No piece reflects this better than “Time,” which, while perhaps a tad too big for its film’s ending, is an emotionally gripping conclusion to a titanic undertaking.

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9. “The Little Clownfish from the Reef” - Finding Nemo, Thomas Newman

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Pixar movies are generational bridge gappers genuinely for the whole family. As its initial target demographic ages and begins families of their own, they learn just how complicated parenthood is and how inescapable mistakes are as we raise children. It also faultlessly demonstrates not only the power of a parent’s love but watching a father and son resolve their disputes despite being separated by an entire ocean. Finding Nemo imparts this in a beautiful scene where Nigel the pelican tells Nemo that his father could never abandon him and has gone further than Nemo ever dreamed possible to save his only child.

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8. “Remains” - All Quiet on the Western Front, Volker Bertelmann

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The first time those three blaring notes emanate from the old-school harmonium as a group of joyful soldiers march off to war, there’s something unintentionally humorous about it. It’s histrionic, far more than the film initially seems able to justify.

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But eventually, many of its visual tricks create a sense of forlorn and dread, and those three notes (and the atmospheric noise surrounding them) feel like a faultless thematic pairing to the story of young men whose grand romantic visions of combat get wholly upended by the reality of war.

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7. “Love of Aviation (Talk to Me Goose)” - Top Gun: Maverick, Hans Zimmer, Harold Falterymeyer & Lady Gaga

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Occasionally, a movie reminds us what films are capable of: a deviation from the norm that reinvigorates our collective imagination. After an endless parade of increasingly uniform Marvel movies polluted our perception of what cinematic action can do, Tom Cruise followed up 1986’s Top Gun with a sequel no one wanted. Sometimes, we need to be told what we need, and while Cruise is not the man we want lecturing us about most things, when it comes to movies, we shut up and listen. The Mach 10 flight is arguably the most spellbinding film sequence of its generation, and Zimmer’s gorgeous interpretation of Lady Gaga’s “Hold My Hand” is the perfect musical accompaniment.

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6. “Married Life” - Up, Michael Giacchino

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Hot take: "Married Life" does a ton of heavy lifting. Up’s iconic opening sequence continues to receive raves from critics and audiences alike, but this writer has never found it that moving. “Married Life” injects what true feeling the film’s opening delivers, taking us on a journey from young love to the ups and downs of marriage to the woes of old age. Giacchino finds an abundance of versatility in his signature piece, covering a vast array of emotions with very little melodic differentiation. It’s a masterclass in scoring and more than deserves its continued acclaim.

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5. “The Night Window” - 1917, Thomas Newman

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Lance Corporal Schofield’s mad dash through the French town of Écoust-Saint-Mein is a seamless display of how high film can soar when all the ingredients blend perfectly. Sam Mendes’ direction is impeccable, and Roger Deakins’ cinematography is unimpeachable. Still, without Thomas Newman’s music, lending an auditory essence to Deakins’ expert lighting and a sense of urgency to the mission that’s both pulse-pounding and oddly serene, it wouldn't be half as incredible.

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4. “It’s Been Educational/Clock Tower” - Back to the Future, Alan Silvestri

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Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale’s screenplay is masterful. It establishes early the 88 mph threshold for time travel and builds deliberately to the lightning storm, layering the difficulty of Marty and Doc’s gambit with each chapter. When we reach those penultimate ten minutes when Marty leaves the dance after uniting his parents in true love and ultimately returns to 1985, we expect a big payoff.

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The music does more to set the stage and see everything through than anything else. Make no mistake: Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd are firing on all cylinders, and Zemeckis’ direction is air-tight, but Silvestri delivers a pulse-pounding yet breezy emotional ride as Marty goes home.

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3. “Sky Symphony” - Around the World in 80 Days, Victor Young

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Around the World in 80 Days is terrible. The one moment that slightly deceives you into believing otherwise is when Phileas Fogg and Passapartout take to the skies to begin their international adventure. Young’s whimsical, ever-swelling music feels like a breathtaking ride over mountaintops and canyons, vast plains and shining seas. It’s incredible as you watch the scene, considering Michael Anderson’s direction is so unimaginative and stagnant that it fails the music entirely. Somehow, against all odds, “Sky Symphony” overcomes the seemingly insurmountable to be both a wondrous piece of music and the saving grace of an otherwise inexcusably mediocre scene.

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2. “The Breaking of the Fellowship” - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Howard Shore

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The true genius of Howard Shore’s score is in how much of an emotional journey he can take us on in such a short period. From the moment Aragorn rises from seeing Boromir into the next life, there’s a feeling of thematic resolution and emotional triumph the film needed to prepare us for the next installment. “The Breaking of the Fellowship” covers a lot of ground: Frodo recalling Gandalf’s wisdom as he willfully decides to embark for Mordor alone; Sam’s determination to stand by his friend and honor his word to Gandalf; Aragorn’s choice to let Frodo go before he, Legolas, and Gimli resolve to see the fellowship through and rescue Merry and Pippin; Frodo and Sam’s moment eyeing Mordor far in the distance, mutually acknowledging their bond before walking towards dangers both known and unknown. It’s a task as tall as the Tower of Orthanc, and it succeeds admirably.

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1. “Leaving Hogwarts” - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, John Williams

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Okay, this is cheating. However, dismissing this choice as the nostalgic meandering of a late-stage millennial clinging to childhood while staring down the big 3-0 is doing Williams a disservice. We have many candidates for the crown, but nothing has ever been cooler for kids than Harry Potter.

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It’s not Star Wars, Rubik’s cubes, or the invention of penicillin. It’s Potter. No generation has ever had something as wondrous, whimsical, and widespread to unite them in the magical wonderment of youth.

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It’s almost as if Williams foresaw how formative the movies would be for its younger viewers. Forget all the nonsense of Gen-Z, poaching better generations’ most treasured possessions and churning them instead of finding something of their own; it’s oversaturated popular culture with Potter rabidness that dilutes just how enmeshed we were with Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

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“Leaving Hogwarts” is nostalgic, but not in a cheap way. It feels like the conclusion to something beautiful, the soothing embrace of a time long gone but far from forgotten. It feels like our next step is taken alongside Harry’s, departing something joyously all-consuming and returning to something unnerving or uncertain, but with the warm hug and fond farewell that gives us hope and strength.

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In that way, it’s a theme for moments we spend relieved of our troubles, caught in the warm embrace of moving forward each day knowing that no matter what lies ahead, we have countless memories to keep our faith alive. After all, that’s what Harry is doing as he leaves Hogwarts, destined to return to the dreaded Dursleys while knowing Hogwarts is just a few summer months away.

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