The Real Star of the Show: 6 of the Best and Most Unique Film and TV Soundtracks Ever

February 23, 2025 4:13 pm

A good film or TV soundtrack is crucial for the success of a story, but sometimes the soundtrack stands out above all else. Here are just a handful of soundtracks that didn’t have to go so hard but definitely did anyway, from the third Pirates of the Caribbean to a lot of media about robots to Daft Punk is playing at my Grid.

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Instrumental Movie and TV Soundtracks that Didn’t Have to Go So Hard

Pacific Rim

Guillermo del Toro’s 2013 film Pacific Rim is a love story about global unity, but it’s also about giant robots kicking major monster ass, and its soundtrack is hardcore. Composed by Ramin Djawadi—also known for Game of Thrones—and supplemented periodically by Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, the Pacific Rim soundtrack is wholly unique. It’s the type of background music you put on while walking the treadmill to pretend you’re strolling through the Shatterdome in slow motion as your main character introduction.

Blue Eye Samurai

The Emmy-winning Netflix series Blue Eye Samurai was perhaps the best show I watched in 2023, and the soundtrack is notably stellar as well. Composed by Amie Doherty, it pulls elements from traditional Japanese instrumentation to craft a unique atmosphere while also rooting the story firmly in the Edo Period. Each track clearly illustrates a character—such as “Mizu Suite” or “Akemi’s Theme”—or a particular moment, but also creates an overall sense of the series when approached as a whole. This is the mark of a great soundtrack—each piece stands on its own, but together creates the entire picture.

Inception

There was once a moment in time where Inception was my favorite film. I thought it was the height of cinema, and sometimes I still do. Every once in a while a movie comes along where I think to myself, “why couldn’t I think of that?” and Inception was definitely one of those. The soundtrack to this 2010 masterpiece, composed by Hans Zimmer, goes particularly hard. It’s a short one, only 12 tracks, but the conclusion is a particularly incredible piece of music. “Time” starts out slow and quiet, but steadily builds to a massive crescendo to mark the poignant and confounding end of the film.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End

This movie gets a lot of hate, and so does it’s soundtrack, but hear me out—this is one of the best uses of electric guitar in a period film. Possibly one of the only uses of electric guitar in a period film that I’ve come across. Another Hans Zimmer composition, the track “Parlay” goes totally hard for no reason. Maybe it’s because Keith Richards made a cameo as Jack Sparrow’s dad, maybe it was just an interesting creative choice. Whichever way you slice it, this is the rock and roll of Pirates of the Caribbean soundtracks. It ends, of course, with the classic “Drink Up Me Hearties Yo Ho,” calling back to the film that started it all: Curse of the Black Pearl.

TRON: Legacy

Getting Daft Punk to play at your house is one thing. Getting Daft Punk to compose the soundtrack to TRON: Legacy in 2010 is something completely different. This one is interesting, because it both does and doesn’t sound like Daft Punk. There are moments, like the “Overture” or “Adagio for TRON,” where you think “this can’t possibly be Daft Punk.” Then, there are tracks like “Solar Sailer” or “TRON Legacy (End Titles)” where you think “okay yeah this sounds like Daft Punk.” The TRON soundtrack is unique in that way, blending traditional composition and orchestration with Daft Punk’s signature electronic style.

Westworld

Another Ramin Djawadi composition, the Westworld soundtrack pulled heavily from the show’s atmosphere and settings. The world was the entire concept, so the music had to match its intensity and immersion. What’s interesting about this soundtrack is that Djawadi took modern songs and transcribed them into old timey Western saloon tunes. Songs like “Black Hole Sun” and “Paint It Black” would come from a player piano within Westworld, digging the Uncanny Valley ever deeper. The blend of modern music and stylized environments is absolutely genius, and creates a sense of something being not quite right before the big reveal is even unveiled.