Best 90s Soundtrack Tournament

The 1990s were the greatest decade for movie soundtracks. The films didn’t have the best scores or most iconic musical moments captured on celluloid, but the best songs on albums tangentially related to the film. The height of CD sales happened to be the height of movie music tie-ins and this tournament will decide the best 90s soundtrack. 

We polled our writers on their favorite 90s soundtracks. What follows are our top 64 picks. 

We did not include The Bodyguard, Dead Man, Night on Earth or Spiceworld since those are albums by one artist and could be considered typical, non-film albums. We did not include The Nightmare Before Christmas because it’s an original score. We did not include Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me because it’s an original score with one song from the TV series.

Our four conferences are separated by release date. We decided to include Josie and the Pussycats as a 90s film since it’s as 90s a film as you can get without being released in the 90s. 

Our films are ranked by their AllMusic rating. Since the rating is a culmination of reviews, it seems to be the fairest representation of critical acclaim.  

This week we’ll vote, next week a winner will be crowned. Vote early and vote often via Twitter and Instagram. You don’t want to miss a thing (Armageddon did not make the cut).

90-94

94-96

96-97

98-99*

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