Top 10 Film Scores of the Decade

“Black Panther” wasn’t just a superhero movie, but a modern fairytale drawing on African culture and history, with echoes of Shakespearean drama. All of this is encompassed by Ludwig Göransson’s triumphant score, which won him a Grammy and an Academy Award. With guidance from Senegalese musician Baaba Maal, Göransson visited Africa in search of the right theme for Wakanda. Through his travels, he was inspired to utilize traditional West African instruments like the talking drum and Fula flute. While the score still captures the fun and whimsy associated with the MCU, it’s also radically different from what we’ve come to expect. Göransson composed a score fit for a king, and whenever we hear his music, it feels as if the sun is rising on a bright new day.

Instead of relying on exposition-heavy dialogue, “Fury Road” gets its story across through mind-blowing visuals, emotive performances, and – of course – a heart-pounding musical score. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the composer, Junkie XL, is a protégé of Hans Zimmer. Like Zimmer’s most iconic scores, the music of “Fury Road” is epic in every sense of the word. At the same time, Junkie XL revs up the soundtrack with many of his own signatures, such as an electric guitar sound. Considering that this post-apocalyptic world looks like something out of a heavy metal album cover, it’s only fitting that the music would have the thrills of a Metallica concert. Keeping in tune with the film, this score hits the gas and never slows down.

Although “Arrival” is set on Earth, it’s about journeying into the unknown. Jóhann Jóhannsson’s Golden Globe-nominated score is as mystifying as it is alluring, plunging the audience into a perpetual state of uncertainty. The film revolves around a linguist trying to decipher an alien language. The “Heptapod B” track sounds like Morse code set to music, encapsulating the story’s overarching theme of communication. Actually, Jóhannsson’s score is very reminiscent of a sequence from “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” where the humans use a synthesizer to make contact with a UFO. “Arrival” demonstrates why music is the one universal language, whether you’re from another planet or even another time. You don’t have to be human to feel the awesome weight of this score.

Frequently collaborating with director Damien Chazelle, Justin Hurwitz has established himself as one of the decade’s defining musical talents. Through his majestic score for “First Man,” Hurwitz sent audiences to the Moon. With his jazz-infused score for “La La Land,” Hurwitz took audiences to the City of Stars. His compositions make you feel like you’re floating through the sky. The soothing music sends you into a daydream-like state that you never want to wake from. When the final track wraps up, it’s feels like stepping down from the clouds. This gives the soundtrack significant replay value, transporting us to a fantastically realm where fools can live out their dreams.

Although he’s been working in film since the mid-80s, this was the decade that French composer Alexandre Desplat solidified himself as one of the all-time greats. His Oscar-winning score for “The Shape of Water” just might be his magnum opus. From the opening note, Desplat’s score submerges us into a mystical world that’s haunting yet inviting. As a whistle chimes in, it’s like the viewer is being guided down a secret hallway where something extraordinary is waiting. The music has a clear Parisian influence, but also possesses a certain je ne sais quoi that’s otherworldly. The moral of Guillermo del Toro’s film is that beauty can be found even under scaly surfaces. Likewise, Desplat’s score is simultaneously beautiful and bewildering.

Music has always been an integral part of Quentin Tarantino’s movies, but “The Hateful Eight” was his first to feature an original score. To compose this nearly three-hour western, Tarantino turned to the great Ennio Morricone. Although Morricone’s music is synonymous with spaghetti westerns, this marked his return to the genre for the first time in 34 years. While the soundtrack is primarily comprised of new material, Morricone also included unused tracks from “The Thing” and “Regan’s Theme” from “The Exorcist II.” Even if it’s not a horror movie, a menacing presence definitely lingers over the stagecoach lodge, and Morricone’s music leaves us constantly on edge. For his chilling score, Morricone received his first Academy Award win, making him the oldest Oscar-winner at the time.

We considered including Hans Zimmer’s “Inception” score on this list, if only for the pioneering “DWWWWAAAAMMMMNNNNN” sound effect that keeps popping up in movie trailers. However, Zimmer’s poignant score for “Interstellar” may be his greatest collaboration with director Christopher Nolan. Rather than telling him the story upfront, Nolan sent Zimmer a brief message saying that the film was about a father who must leave his child for work. Drawing on his own experiences as a father, Zimmer composed a piece of music in a day. This piece stuck with Nolan as he wrote and directed “Interstellar,” giving his story a heartbeat. Zimmer’s pipe organ score supplies the film with an unyielding gravitas, conveying that nothing is more powerful in this universe than the bonds of family.

This romantic drama from director Barry Jenkins follows two lovers who are torn apart by racially motivated criminal charges in 1970s Harlem. Upon meeting with composer Nicholas Britell, Jenkins said that he had a brass sound in mind for the film. Although brass instruments would indeed play a fundamental role in Britell’s finished score, it was the string instruments that really got to the center of this bittersweet love story. Where most romantic ballads are grand and extravagant, the “Beale Street” score is much more intimate and personal. While it can be melancholy at times, it’s also a surprisingly hopeful score that keeps the flames of romance roaring - reminding us that love is stronger than bigotry.

This long-awaited sequel brought “Tron” into the 21st century, providing the Grid with the look and feel of a futuristic nightclub. The film’s visual design is perfectly complemented by the electric sound of the French musical duo Daft Punk. The movie’s soundtrack would blend in well at a rave that doesn’t end until the sun comes up. It also has a retro vibe reminiscent of classic arcade games, which ties in with both this film and its 1982 predecessor. In addition to their signature synthesizers, Daft Punk stepped out of their comfort zone with orchestral music. The result is a score that strikes just the right balance of artificial and human, showing that users and computer programs are more similar than we might assume.

Before we get to our topic pick, here are a few honorable mentions:

“Drive” (2011)

“Gravity” (2013)

“Good Time” (2017)

“Under the Skin” (2013)

“Carol” (2015)

“The Avengers” (2012)

Even a decade after its release, the ambient opening theme to “The Social Network” has stuck with us. With an inspirational piano melody playing over a forbidding humming sound, this theme sets the tone for the film. It embodies the unlimited potential of Facebook, as well as the controversial places it stemmed from. Simply by listening to the music, we can visualize the gears turning around inside Mark Zuckerberg’s head. The composing duo of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross accomplished something similar in “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” delving deep into Lisbeth Salander’s tormented mind. The world was never the same after Facebook launched, and that change is felt in every note of this groundbreaking score.