For pretty much as long as there have been movies, there has been music in movies. The relationship between film and music go back well over a century, and with that rich history comes scores and scores (pun intended) of amazing soundtracks. Somewhere along the way, consumers wanted to own the music they were using in films, and the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack became a viable source of income for film studios and record labels alike.
By the time the '90s came along, soundtracks were big business. How big? Consider that the top five selling soundtracks pre-1990 (Saturday Night Fever, Grease, Purple Rain, Top Gun, Dirty Dancing) have combined to sell an estimated 125 million copies worldwide. You know, over twice the amount of Michael Jackson's Thriller, the highest selling album ever of all time always and forever. So yeah, soundtracks were becoming money grabs, and would soon become even grabbier thanks to two massive soundtracks released in the '90s. Whitney Houston would ride a Dolly Parton cover to the fourth biggest selling album of all time, while Céline Dion's syrupy My Heart Will Go On would go on to move about 30 million units of the Titanic soundtrack worldwide.
The thing is, as successful as soundtracks have been, they're usually not very good from an artistic standpoint. Whether they're just glorified hits compilations or full-length albums coasting off the strength of that one big song, the majority of soundtracks don't offer much hope for people looking for a good album-length listening experience. Eventually, people caught on and, as the CD market crumbled through the '00s, soundtracks became an afterthought. Nobody was buying the things anymore because the songs were mostly terrible and/or already out there on other albums.
Then, a funny thing happened; soundtracks started to come back. A pair of big movies in 2014 (Guardians of the Galaxy and Frozen) spawned hugely successful soundtracks, ringing the dinner bell for studios and labels once again. Just days ago, the release of the highly anticipated Suicide Squad movie was complimented by a thriving, thumping soundtrack that features original contributions by a host of commercially and/or artistically relevant artists (many overly critical film buffs have already claimed it to be better than the movie itself).
As those two multi-platinum smashes above prove, though, the '90s were prime time for soundtracks. Every movie had one, and the trend was expanding to TV shows and video games. They were also expanding from an artistic standpoint, as a handful of visionaries sought to change the way we perceived the soundtrack itself.
Here are my choices for Ten Best Rock Soundtracks of the '90s:
10 JUDGMENT NIGHT
Released: September 14, 1993
Most definitely a case of the soundtrack being more interesting than the movie, Judgment Night took a novel idea (rock bands with rappers) and ran with it, preceding the nu-metal movement by a handful of years and making for some weird and fascinating team-ups.
9 TRAINSPOTTING
Released: September 9, 1996
While it's remembered (rightfully so) for its inclusion of Iggy Pop's Lust for Life, the Trainspotting soundtrack also made use of many of the rising stars in Britpop; Blur, Pulp, Primal Scream and Elastica (remember them?) were among the artists contributing songs to the soundtrack, making it a neat time capsule of mid-'90s Britain.
8 LAST ACTION HERO
Released: June 8, 1993
The movie went down in history as one of the biggest flops of the decade, but the soundtrack for Last Action Hero was much more enduring; offering a microcosm of the early '90s musical landscape, the album highlighted the outgoing glam rock era (Tesla, Queensryche, Def Leppard) and the emerging alternative era (Alice in Chains, Fishbone), while making time for a little metal and hip-hop for good measure.
7 SPAWN
Released: July 29, 1997
Like the Judgment Night soundtrack, Spawn: The Album Frankensteins together two styles in an attempt to create original, forward thinking music. Released in the midst of a fledgling electronica movement, this soundtrack sees the marriage of hard rockers and DJs; and, while the balance isn't always struck, there are a handful of high energy bangers that make the album a mostly successful experiment.
6 HARD CORE LOGO
Released: October 23, 1996
As maddening as it may be to fans of the film (widely regarded as one of the finest fictional rockumentaries ever made), there technically isn't a soundtrack for Hard Core Logo. Instead, a host of Canadian alternative bands were commissioned to record their takes of songs from the film. Still, it's a fine companion piece to the movie, even though the songs are better experienced by watching it.
5 THE BEAVIS AND BUTT-HEAD EXPERIENCE
Released: November 3, 1993
I'm not sure if there's anything more '90s than a batch of grunge and hard rock bands appearing on the soundtrack to the Beavis and Butt-Head TV show (complete with audio of the two animated buffoons in between songs). This album doesn't just skate by on name recognition, either; most of the appearances here are solid. The Beavis and Butt-Head Experience features one of Nirvana's best non-album tracks (I Hate Myself and Want to Die), a solid Anthrax reading of Beastie Boys' Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun, and one of Megadeth's straight-up best songs in 99 Ways to Die.
4 PULP FICTION
Released: September 27, 1994
Pulp Fiction is my favourite movie of all time and, as much as Quentin Tarantino's early films changed the cinema game, his soundtracks set the bar high as well. Using dialogue from the film alongside carefully chosen music, the Pulp Fiction soundtrack is almost as fulfilling an experience as watching the movie.
3 NATURAL BORN KILLERS
Released: August 23, 1994
When he was chosen to curate the soundtrack for Oliver Stone's deeply disturbed classic Natural Born Killers, Trent Reznor went above and beyond. Rather than slap together a bunch of songs, Reznor opened up ProTools and created a collage of sound, taking the same kind of care in the soundtrack as he did in his albums. The results speak for themselves; it's an album that immerses you in the chaos of the film while playing you some kick ass tunes. Win win.
2 SINGLES
Released: June 30, 1992
As a Pearl Jam superfan, I may be somewhat biased, but their contributions to this soundtrack are reason enough to rank it this high. Breath and State of Love and Trust were no mere throwaways from the Ten sessions; both rank high among fan favourites. Also featuring perhaps Alice in Chains' biggest hit (Would?, which would be tacked onto the end of Dirt months later), as well as solid tunes from Soundgarden, Mudhoney and Screaming Trees, Singles was the first soundtrack to go all in on the "grunge" movement that was blowing up the world over, and no other soundtrack did it justice the way this one did.
1 THE CROW
Released: March 29, 1994
As beloved as The Crow is in certain circles, for me its soundtrack has made just as lasting an impression. If you haven't listened to it in a while (or ever), you may not remember just how many rock solid tunes this album has. Stellar contributions abound from The Cure, Nine Inch Nails, Rage Against the Machine, Pantera, and many others. It also features hits by Stone Temple Pilots and Helmet that would feature on upcoming albums, but made their debuts on this soundtrack. It doesn't just coast by on star power, either; The Crow soundtrack was my introduction to a handful of artists, and some of its highlights have nothing to do with the famous artists on the roster. My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult, anyone?
There are my picks. Did I miss something? I feel like I did; if so, let me know, and tell me what you want me to opine on next!
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