BEST SOUNDTRACKS OF THE 90S

Welcome to our review of the best soundtracks of the 90s!

If the 1990s taught us anything – except that Will Smith is a streetwear icon and New York City is where it's at when you're a twenty-something singleton – it's that it's cool to support multiple music genres.

Here, we will be taking a moment to run through the best 90s soundtracks, an extensive list including those mentioned above. We will touch on the genre of each soundtrack, and the reason why it deserves a place on our list.

Along the way, we will also be highlighting relevant playlists within our catalogue, just in case you're in need of production music tracks to soundtrack your latest production – whether that be a 90s inspired film, TV show, podcast or advertisement.

Anyway, enough talk of our catalogue, let's get on with presenting you with our list of best 90s soundtracks.

Best Soundtracks of the 90s

• Pretty Woman (1990)
• Until The End of the Wolrd (1991)
• Wayne's World (1992)
• Singles (1992)
• Malcom X (1992)
• The Bodyguard (1992)
• The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
• The Lion King (1994)
• Pulp Fiction (1994)

Pretty Woman (1990)

The Pretty Woman album kickstarts our list of best 90s soundtracks, and for good reason – it encapsulates the musical identity of the year 1990.

The soundtrack explores the audience’s relationship with the familiar sounds of 80s pop/rock music and the new sounds of 90s music, all on one record.

Explore our selection of the 80s and 90s music right now.

Until The End of the World (1991)

Next on our list is the experimental soundtrack to 1991's Until The End of the World.

The director of the science fiction flick, Wim Wenders, had a lot of input when it came to the soundtrack as all but one of the songs was created especially for the film.

And, because the film was set a few years in the future, Wenders asked the artists involved to create the kind of music they imagined they’d be making a decade down the line.

Wayne's World (1992)

In 1992, Penelope Spheeris comedy Wayne's World was released, and with it came one of the best soundtracks of the pre-millennial decade.

The film – led by Mike Myers and Dana Carvey – follows two twenty-something guys who host a public-access television show.

Both of the main characters are avid rock fans which explains why the soundtrack consists of rock songs, such as Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody.

Are you a rock fan? Make sure you check out our selection of rock sub-genres.

Singles (1992)

Grunge was key to the 90s music scene, and the soundtrack to 1992s Singles is well known for popularising the genre.

In fact, it's viewed as so influential that Rolling Stone included the soundtrack in its list of 50 Greatest Grunge Albums.

Set in Seattle, Washington, the rom-com soundtrack gave the city a new sound, as shortly after the film was released, the North West city experienced a grunge phenomenon.

What artists are featured on the soundtrack? None other than Pearl Jam, Mudhoney and Alice in Chains.

Malcolm X (1992)

Directed by Spike Lee and starring Denzel Washington, every element of 1992s Malcolm X film was destined to be special – but no one quite expected the soundtrack to be as special as it is.

The Malcolm X album consists of songs by friends of the African-American activist – including Sam Cooke – and songs that capture the experience of being Black in America.

The Bodyguard (1992)

The soundtrack to 1992's The Bodyguard is the best-selling soundtrack album of all time, and it's all thanks to one woman – Whitney Houston.

Some of the R&B soul singer's greatest hits appear on the 13-track album, including I Will Always Love You, Run to You and I Have Nothing – songs which are still played all around the world.

Why did Houston's songs prove so popular? Well, because everyone's a fan of Whitney, no matter your age, gender or background.

Looking for some R&B production music? Check out our R&B playlist.

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

In 1993, cinema-goers took a trip inside of the minds of Tim Burton, Henry Selick and Danny Elfman with the release of The Nightmare Before Christmas.

In case you're not film nerds like us, Elfman is the man behind the film's spooky soundtrack, which features tracks such as This is Halloween, What's This? and Kidnap the Sandy Claws.

Like the film, The Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack combines the worlds of Halloween and Christmas to provide young 90s audiences with a palatable way to embrace the gothic genre.

For this reason, we feel as though it deserves a place on our list of the best 90s soundtracks.

The Lion King (1994)

The soundtrack to Disney's African-set animation The Lion King is one of the best of all time; unsurprisingly, some of the greatest talents in the music industry are behind it – viz. Elton John, Tim Rice and Hans Zimmer.

The cinematic, multi-award-winning soundtrack is jam-packed with memorable compositions and songs, some of which combine the winning Disney music formula with the unique sounds of Africa. Take Circle of Life, for example.

Explore our selection of songs dedicated to the continent over in our African playlist.

Pulp Fiction (1994)

As mentioned earlier, the 90s was a time in which it was acceptable to be a fan of multiple music genres, which may help explain why the soundtrack to Tarantino's mid-90s flick Pulp Fiction is so diverse.

The super-listenable soundtrack features an array of songs from different genres – from blue-eyed soul to pop to country – which works well with the film's winding story.

Music For Movies

Without music, the movie industry would struggle to retain the attention of its audience – hence, it’s paramount that a producer takes time to consider what type of music is appropriate for their project.

Here at Audio Network, we’ve got a whole host of playlists for you to explore to help you find the production music for your next project.

Additionally, we’ve got a slew of movie music articles (just like this one) to help you decipher what kind of soundtrack is most appropriate for you. From best hip hop soundtracks to best classical music in movies and best Disney songs, you can find all of these articles and more, over on our inspiration page.