In reply to:

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Just saw the movie Leap of Faith on TV a couple days ago ... Just wanted to point out that it has a pretty awesome soundtrack.

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Mschrag's post made me think about my top 20 soundtrack choices.... I think soundtracks are more personal to me than most other albums because they usually become symbolic of a time in my life, like tfabris mentions here. Soundtracks also have a way of introducing me to new artists that I wouldn't have bought the whole cd of without hearing first.
[runs of to configure list]
So how bout it? What are your favorite soundtracks?

Greetings!

Tough one for me. I am more audio than video based, so I am not a movie buff. (Last film I saw in theaters was Men In Black ... 1 ...). This will make my selections a touch, uh, unusual.

If I am allowed to expand this to any form of soundtrack (movie, television, video game, etc.), I would say, in no particular order:

Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer - Burl Ives (2 tracks in particular)
A Charlie Brown Christmas - Vince Guaraldi Trio
Osbscured By Clouds - Pink Floyd (never saw the movie, though...)
Harold And Maude - Cat Stevens (don't own the soundtrack, but all the songs on other CDs)
The Graduate - Simon & Garfunkel (don't own the soundtrack, but all the songs on other CDs)
Myst - Robyn Miller (the video game)

I only buy a soundtrack album when I see a movie and go, "Hey, there's a song in this soundtrack that I want to own a copy of."

For instance, I bought the soundtrack to "Never Been Kissed" because it had the original version of The Smith's "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" without having to sit through an entire Smiths album to get it. And in the bargain, I got a few other good tunes from artists I didn't know about.

After having been hit over the head enough times with my daughter's copy of the Shrek soundtrack, I started liking a couple of the tunes on it.

The Tomb Raider soundtrack is a good source of techno-industrial pop-crossover music. As is The Matrix soundtrack. Darn. Reminds me, I need to buy some Propellerheads albums...

One soundtrack album that surprised me when I heard it is the one for the movie Black Hawk Down. Amazing! One of the few soundtrack albums that stands well alone as an album.

I think soundtracks are more personal to me than most other albums because they usually become symbolic of a time in my life

Wow, I was just thinking about this very fact last night. I've only "discovered" a handful of artists via soundtracks, but when I have, it's been a nice little bonus. In college, I sold a lot of my soundtrack CD's back when I needed food/beer money, but the ones still remaining in my collection are:
Singles (probably the best true soundtrack ever)
The Crow (also good, nice mix of artists I previously liked and artists I got introduced to)
Higher Learning (bought it just for the two Tori Amos tunes)
Grease (my fraternity used Grease as a homecoming theme, so I had to buy it)

I hesitate to add Pink Floyd's "Obscured by Clouds" or "More" to the list because I don't think anyone on the planet has ever seen the movies they came from. "The Wall" isn't a conventional soundtrack either, but it did make quite an enjoyable movie.

The Grosse Pointe Blank soundtrack is about the only soundtrack I ever really listen to. My wife listens to Billy Elliot and O Brother Where Art Thou occasionally and I don't mind.

And, as a piece of total obscuriana, I occasionally listen to the Cadillacs and Dinosaurs soundtrack.

The Grosse Pointe Blank soundtrack is about the only soundtrack I ever really listen to.

Argh, I have to get that one. And the movie itself on DVD. I really love John Cusack films, I don't know why...

Got it (obviously) and got it. I need to grab the second soundtrack, too. It's a great survey of early 80s ska-influenced music, for those of you unfamiliar.

The reason we like John Cusack is that he's like us, only more interesting. I assume you saw High Fidelity. Too bad it had Lisa Bonet in it. But it did introduce me to the Beta Band, who I now love, and force me to get up off my ass and get some Stiff Little Fingers. Come to think of it, that soundtrack's probably pretty good, too.

I don't watch enough movies for soundtracks to become symbolic of portions of my life, but there are songs I associate with previous times, sometimes good things but most of them failed relationships

but there are songs I associate with previous times, sometimes good things but most of them failed relationships

Yup, back to Cusack in "High Fidelity"...

What are your favorite soundtracks?

Dave Haslam's Manchester, England is the only history book I've ever seen that comes with a suggested soundtrack listing for each chapter. The book is superb (the intertwined histories of Manchester and its music) and the soundtracks are just classic after classic after classic. That for Chapter 7 alone lists Strings Of Life, Voodoo Ray, Pacific State, Technique (the album), Good Life, Rhythm Is A Mystery, Hallelujah, I Am The Resurrection, The Only One I Know and Moby's Go. Although how you're meant to concentrate on the book with choons of that hyooge-ness going down on your stereo is anyone's guess.

Peter

On another note, I bought the soundtrack to Pump Up the Volume, looking for Everybody Knows, Only to find that it was completely the wrong version of it. Not at all what they played in the movie. Concrete Blonde instead of Leonard Cohen. Pissed me off royally.

Hmmm... Interesting. Look at the companion CD Amazon recommends.

Hmm, I'm not much of a soundtrack buff - too many of them are...crap.

That being said, there are a few that are great. I'm more likely to buy a soundtrack that comes from a film set in the past - they usually have contain some of the classics from that time, and stuff that I wouldn't be likely to buy on an album, eg Dirty Dancing, Platoon.

As to more modern soundtracks, The Committments (Vol 1) is good. As is Trainspotting.

Oh, and not really a soundtrack per se, but I received "The Best of Bond...James Bond" as a Christmas gift, and it is superb.

Admittedly I don't usualy pay attention to soundtracks, but I've got to chime in with my favorite, Pulp Fiction. You know what they call a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in Paris?

Matthew

A KrustyBurger with Cheese?

Oh, wait...

[Wigggum} Do they have Krusty partially gelatinated non-dairy gum-based beverages?

[Lou] Mm-hm. They call 'em, "shakes."

[Eddie] Huh, shakes. You don't know what you're gettin'.

Gone in 60 Seconds
Good Morning Vietnam
Grosse Point Blank
Jackie Brown
Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels
Mission Impossible 2
Pulp Fiction
Southpark - Bigger, Longer and Uncut
The Matrix

I bought the soundtrack to Pump Up the Volume, looking for Everybody Knows, Only to find that it was completely the wrong version of it. Not at all what they played in the movie. Concrete Blonde instead of Leonard Cohen.

ditto

Pissed me off royally

... and ditto

Argh, I have to get that one. And the movie itself on DVD. I really love John Cusack films, I don't know why...
Yeah, Better Off Dead is a classic!
"Gee, I'm really sorry your mom blew up, Ricky."

Regarding soundtracks:
Less Than Zero (You wouldn't think Danzig and Slayer would be on this)
The Crow
Escape From LA (Bad movie, Great soundtrack)
Last Action Hero (2 great Alice In Chains songs)
Army Of Darkness (Greatest.... movie.... ever!!)

I like the soundtrack to Repo Man. Lots of good punk bands on it.
Regarding Cusack movies, Tapeheads has a good soundtrack.

Singles (probably the best true soundtrack ever)

Absolutely. That is the only soundtrack I have. Not only does it have my favorite band on it (Screaming Trees), but it's all from my favorite genre ("grunge", or "Seattle Rock" as I like to call it).

Favorite soundtracks:

Amelie (by Yann Tiersen) is amazing. So was the movie. My all-time favorite.
Conan the Barbarian
You Can Count on Me (mostly for the Steve Earle "Pilgrim")
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Pulp Fiction (especially the Dusty Springfield "Son of a Preacher Man")
Songcatcher

Jim

The Crow! - best soundtrack for running to. I'm in training for the Edinburgh Marathon this summer, and most of these tracks are just the right pace for me - as are many NIN tracks.

am i the only one who remembers the forest gump soundtrack?

Forest Who?