The Top 3 Movie Soundtracks of the 1990s

By Sean Tuohy

There were a lot of movies with great music released during the 1990s…or at least I think there was. Out of all those film soundtracks that debuted during the post-heavy metal, pre-Justin Bieber days, three stand out for their use of original and compiled music.

Take a listen, remember the good ole days, and send us your 1990s favorites in the comments section or tweet us @WritersBone.

"That Thing You Do!" 

1996

Written and directed by America’s most beloved actor Tom Hanks, this little gem of a movie is charming, funny, and reminds us of a simpler time. “That Thing You Do” depicts the rise of a small town band from local talent shows to the big time after its catchy tune becomes a hit. The title song alone will get stuck in your head for days. You can't help but bob your head along with the upbeat tune. However, the soundtracks offers plenty of other songs from "The Wonders." all of which ooze 1960’s rock-pop.

"Little Wild One" and "Dance With Me Tonight" are two that will cause you to fall in love with this make-believe band. The album also mixes other songs classic to the time: jazz, Motown, and smooth club music.

"Reservoir Dogs"

1992

Movie nerd Quentin Tarantino is known for his blood-soaked, pop culture-laced films with great soundtracks. While it's true that "Jackie Brown" and "Pulp Fiction" have fantastic soundtracks, however, Reservoir Dogs

truly stands out. Maybe it’s the fact you have Steven Wright deadpanning as a K-Billy’s DJ in between each song, or that each song is so different from the last. No matter the reason, this album, quite simply is cool and awesome in its own way.

"Mallrats"

1995

This movie is soaked in 1990s, featuring bright colors, characters to smart for their own good, pop culture rants, and comic books aplenty. This movie is meant for teenage boys to watch and love. The soundtrack perfectly matches the playful, goofy, and overall honest moments of this flick.

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Once More With Feeling: The Best Soundtracks of All Time

Since so many of you enjoyed our recent discussion on our favorite musical moments in film, we decided to continue the series and focus on the best movie soundtracks of all time (Be sure to check out Lindsey Wojcik’s post “Soon Is Now: How ‘The Wedding Singer’ Soundtrack Made Me Fall in Love With the 1980s” before you dive into this one). Look for more music and movie magic in the near future. In the meantime, send us your own recommendations in the comments section, post them to our Facebook page, or tweet us @WritersBone.—Daniel Ford

The Big Chill

Daniel Ford: I wrote about “The Big Chill” soundtrack in our favorite musical moments in film post last week, but it is well worth writing more words about it. There’s not a bad song on this album and each tune is used expertly in the movie. From the gorgeously filmed opening sequence set to Marvin Gaye’s “Heard It Through the Grapevine” to the car ride scene featuring New York City’s own The Rascal’s “Good Lovin’,” the soundtrack anchors the hope found beneath the movie’s darker overtones. You also can’t go wrong with including Procol Harum’s “Whiter Shade of Pale” on any “best of “ list. I didn’t see this movie until recently, but I’ve been aware of the soundtrack for at least a decade. It’s one of the rare instances that the soundtrack may outshine the film.

Guardians of the Galaxy

Dave Pezza: If you haven’t seen "Guardians of the Guardians" yet, you should check it out. It's a pretty good for a Marvel movie. In the movie, Chris Pratt’s character is abducted from Earth with nothing but the clothes on his back and his backpack. Within that backpack is a mix tape his mother, who dies at the beginning of the movie, made for him, featuring some tasty soft rock hits from the 1970s. The studio released an official soundtrack and then an alternate soundtrack with all of the songs on mix tape. This mix tape is mind-numbingly good and full of classics and hits that you forgot all about. It features classics like “I Want you Back” by The Jackson Five, “Spirit in the Sky” by Norman Greenbaum, and “Hooked on a Feeling” by Blue Swede. Some surprising tracks, like “Come and Get You Love” by Redbone and “Fooled Around and Fell in love” by Elvin Bishop, are true old school soft jams, forgotten by all of us who grew up to oldies radio stations in the back seat of their grandfather’s car. This soundtrack is so good it reached the number one on Billboard 200, the first soundtrack entirely composed of previously released music to ever reach that peak. Pick this soundtrack up, you’ll be singing it for months…trust me.

Dirty Dancing

Stephanie Schaefer: Nobody puts baby in a corner. Period.

Apollo 13

Matt DiVenere: The thrilling drum beat. The familiar power of the brass. The crash of the cymbals. The smooth violin telling a story filled with fear, the unknown and, eventually, relief. The chorus adding an almost angel-like tone in times of desperation and near-tragedy. It’s a story unto itself without any need of words nor images. It speaks to a struggle, a near abandonment of hope and life itself. But just as you float into oblivion, hope returns with a faint trumpet and, ultimately, a crescendo that transcends all others. It is compelling, breathtaking, anxious, and beautiful all at once.

American Hustle

Sara Silvestri: Conversation I had with Daniel:

Daniel: What do you like about "American Hustle?"

Sara: The soundtrack. And everything else.

Daniel: Well okay then.

Purple Rain

Lisa Carroll: Despite the fact that the acting was crap (even to my high school freshman self), the music was dazzling and exciting, and Prince won the Academy Award for Best Original Song Score. Highlights are "Jungle Love" by Morris Day and the Time, and Prince and the Revolution's "Baby I'm a Star," "I Would Die For You," "When Doves Cry" (which also made it's way onto Baz Luhrmann's "Romeo and Juliet" soundtrack, which is also fantastic by the way and "I'm Kissing You" is just about the sexiest song ever), and of course "Purple Rain."

The Sandlot

Daniel: Men who say they aren't thinking about Wendy Peppercorn when they hear The Drifter's "This Magic Moment" are full of shit. While that tune is the real gem of this soundtrack, the album also includes three of the greatest dance/complete nonsense songs of all time: "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," "Tequila" (I mean seriously, why does this song exist other than to be in this movie and why did parents think it was okay for their kids to listen to it?), and "Wipe Out." On their own, these songs are awful. Paired together with a nostalgic movie, they're gold.

There also isn't a more beautiful version of "America the Beautiful" than the one Ray Charles croons in this flick. "The Sandlot" features the perfect fusion of America, baseball, tobacco, dumb kids, and music.

Never Back Down

Rachel Tyner: Every single time I watch this movie, I want to go to the gym immediately.

The Bodyguard

Stephanie: Magical.

Footloose

Lisa: The tracks on this album are so good they made a musical out of it. I actually won a copy of this LP in middle school in 1984 as a prize for a school "Dress Up Day." The album itself had an image of Kevin Bacon's butt on it so that made it worth it right there. My personal faves are "Holding Out for a Hero" by Bonnie Tyler. and of course. the title song by Kenny Loggins. The remake by Blake Shelton pales in comparison.

Saturday Night Fever

Lisa: The movie that defined the disco era. And made the three-piece white suit a Halloween staple.

Forrest Gump

Lisa: The two-album soundtrack to this epic story is brilliant. A musical journey from the 1950s ("Hound Dog") through the turbulent 1960s ("Fortunate Son," "Volunteers") and the peace movement ("Turn! Turn! Turn!" and "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine") with the added beauty of the "Forrest Gump Suite."

Dazed and Confused

Lindsey: Like "The Wedding Singer," this soundtrack is filled with tracks from an era I never experienced. My parents are classic rock fanatics, and this soundtrack reminds me of the heat waves I'd spend floating in my parents' pool, while my dad fixed cars in the garage with the classic rock radio station blaring. It screams summer. Alright, alright, alright. Take it easy.

Pitch Perfect

Lisa: The vocals and the songs they cover are acca-awesome. And Skylar Astin is my college-aged self's boyfriend.

Reservoir Dogs

Dave: Another amazing soundtrack! Quentin Tarantino, the master of cinematic cool, set the soundtrack bar horribly high for himself with his freshman film “Reservoir Dogs.” The soundtrack is modeled after a radio program heard various times throughout the movie, “K. Billy’s Super Sounds of the 70s.” Tarantino got comedian Steven Wright, known for his straight face and deadpan comedic styling, to provide the voice of DJ K. Billy. This killer group of songs provides some major hits in “Stuck in the Middle with You” by Stealers Wheel (which accompanies cinematic history in the film) and “Hooked on a Feeling.” Tarantino also dug up some gems like “Little Green Bag” by the George Baker Selection and, a personal favorite, “Coconut” by Harry Nilsson. Hilarious sound bits from the movie are stuck in there too for you extended enjoyment. All in all, you get a well-polished soundtrack.

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The Boneyard: Why Writing Beginnings Should Make You Feel Great

The Boneyard features the best of Daniel and Sean’s daily email chain twice a week. Yes, we broadened the definition of “best” to make this happen. 

Daniel: We talked about endings not too long ago. I just posted a blog about why I prefer writing beginnings to anything else. In your opinion, what makes a great beginning? Are you of the Elmore Leonard school that avoids talking about scenery or weather or do you prefer setting the scene to your world in a complete way? What devices do you use to suck the reader into your world?

Sean: I love a great opening. I love creating hooks that get the reader pulled into the world that I am creating. Now, there is a fine line you have to walk when creating a good opening. You want to give the reader a little taste of the world, but you don't want to overdo it and have them pull out too soon. You need to allow the reader to peer in to your world for a moment, soak it in, and then give them it full blast.

Hollywood screenwriter Kurt Whimmer is one of the best at writing an opening line. For one of his screenplays, “Exit Zero,” he starts by crashing a U.S. Space Shuttle and then cutting back. Great opening. It pulls the readers into the world and it makes them ask, “What is happening?” The second readers ask that, they are hooked and want to discover what else is going on.

The opening to “Reservoir Dogs” does a great job of that. You have a bunch of tough guys sitting around talking about music and tipping. You know that these men are up to something. You know something is going to happen because a group of guys like this just doesn't sit around and talk all the time. Something is going to happen.

I love writing an opening line that is short, sweet, and deadly. It has to be something that gets the reader's blood pumping and their minds interested.

"They came to kill Tommy after breakfast"

Boom! Why are they coming to kill Tommy? Why wait till after breakfast? Who's killing him? Now the reader has these questions going through their minds and they need to be answered.

What is your mindset on the opening?

Daniel: First of all, you now have to write the rest of that story. You can't just leave me with "They came to kill Tommy after breakfast." My mindset is a lot like yours. I want to draw people into the world I created immediately, but in a way that makes them want to stay and not be able to figure it out in 25 words.

My problem is that sometimes I get stuck on crafting a perfect opening line. In my blog post, I wrote you should take your time making your beginning great, but I think sometimes I spend waaaaaay too much time on it. I get paralyzed to the point where I can't remember how I wanted the rest of the story to turn out. I'll lose details in my mind that may have benefited the story overall.

That being said, nothing gets my creative juices flowing like writing an opening line. There's no amount of alcohol, drug, sex, or caffeine that can reproduce the high I get from really nailing a good opener. When it just flows out of you, there's no better feeling as a writer. Writing can be hard at times, so whenever you can get your creativity to a boil is a great thing. Beginnings do that for me.

Sean: I'll figure out what happens with Tommy but I will say this...you won't see it coming!

You're not alone on getting stuck on making a perfect opening line. It can really ruin the rest of the writing process. Most of the time the opening line comes when you are not even writing. It comes when your mind is busy with something else. How happy are you when you get the opening line? Do you keep writing or do you stop and high-five yourself.

You are right; there so few winning moments in writing but when you get one it's the most amazing feeling in the world.

Daniel: It's one of those moments when you sit back in your chair, sip on your coffee or scotch, and thank your personal invisible deity for making you a writer. And you know immediately when it's great. It's probably the only moment of clarity during my whole process.

There will be lines of dialogue that I think are cool later on, and moments where my plot and character development seamlessly come together. But nothing compares to truly nailing that opener. Every time I get a feeling like, okay, I can do this. This is what I was born to do.

And then of course, you write three more pages of crap and that feeling goes away and you have to make another 10 pots of coffee. But as long as you have a solid start, it makes all that work worth it.

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