The Best Scores and Soundtracks of 2023

As I said last year, the year before, and the year prior to that, music is essential to our lives. It’s a core part of the human experience, helping us through it all (especially in sad or trying times). Whether it’s your favorite band or what you hear while watching a great movie, music makes life better, plain and simple. When it comes to the world of cinema, film scores and soundtracks serve that same purpose. So, today I’m once again bringing an annual list of the year’s best cinematic music. As you might imagine, this is a pretty eclectic list overall. Enjoy!

Below, you’ll see what I think the musical highlights of 2023 were. I’m once again foregoing a full write-up on each, in part because I’m a bit burnt out from the end of the year/beginning of the year malaise (c’mon, the Golden Globes were literally last night), but in part because music is just something you feel. So, with each selection, give a song or track a listen to see if you feel/hear what struck me so much about it…

Here now are my picks for the best scores and soundtracks of the year:

The Best Scores and Soundtracks of 2023

15. Wish (soundtrack)

14. Society of the Snow (score)

13. Maestro (soundtrack)

12. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (score and soundtrack)

11. The Iron Claw (score and soundtrack)

10. Killers of the Flower Moon (score)

9. The Zone of Interest (score)

8. Poor Things (score)

7. Air (soundtrack)

6. The Killer (score)

5. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (soundtrack)

4. Flora and Son (soundtrack)

3. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (soundtrack)

2. Oppenheimer (score)

1. Barbie (score and *especially* soundtrack)

As you can see above, my picks are once again fairly eclectic. The scores are led by Ludwig Göransson‘s best work yet in Oppenheimer, with other highlights including Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for The Killer, Jerskin Fendrix for Poor Things, and Mica Levi for The Zone of Interest. When it comes to the soundtracks, well, that’s where my personal favorites often reside. This year, the Barbie soundtrack easily takes the cake, in part due to how many types of music are at play. In fact, it’s the best cinematic music of the year, since the score from Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt is great too, tying into the songs. Other soundtracks here that really won me over in 2023 include Air, Flora and Son, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour. There’s something for everyone here, if I do say so myself.

Of course, these are just my picks, and my picks only. Feel free to seek out the music and see what you think, as well as letting us know your own choices. 2023 had plenty of high quality cinematic music, so there’s no shortage of options…

What were your favorite scores and soundtracks of 2023? Let us know!