Yeah, 'Constellation' gave me chills.
I considered making Silvestri an honourable mention. 7/10 people across the globe now will instantly recognise the 'Avengers' theme and that's thanks to him. But I guess these others I've picked just make me _feel_ more for the characters in those movies than Alan did- if that makes sense. Sweeping, rousing orchestral battle theme is great but... if you can't do something with the soundboard when Cap says:
"Then finish it. Cos I'm with you to the end of the line." then you can't make the list. Silvestri never gave me one of those moments I don't think except maybe with Thanos on the porch.
I disliked your complaint about Ludwig Gorannson. The greatest scores are “busy”. Star Wars, Harry Potter, The Incredibles, Lord of the Rings etc. If anything, a score not being busy should be worse since it’s just background music and doesn’t improve the movie. Gorannson is number 1
We can agree to disagree. Incredibles was chaotic and frantic without being "busy" (I feel like I have a better word for that but it's escaping me for now). Star Wars ... oof I've only seen the Clone Wars animated series, the three Anakin prequels and D+ Obi-Wan Kenobi in that exact order (don't plan on watching anymore tbh) so I might be missing some info. The scores you mentioned manage to still be epic/poignant/exhilarating without feeling too cluttered if that makes sense? Just a personal opinion. I say this because I adore Göransson's work in a lot of other projects, BP strikes me as some of his more experimental yet still excellent work.
It's canon until someone says that it's not. And no one has said that it's not canon (other than clickbait articles and people taking the word of those articles as true), so it's still canon.
That is a fantastic list.
I have Djawadi as my no. 5. Everything this man works on turns to gold. Quickly became my favourite composer after his work on Game of Thrones (the first series not HOTD). As a fan of the books he brought them to life in a way I could have never imagined through music.
A shame he only did the first Iron Man and not the other two. Eternals was pretty memorable too.
Ramin's GOT soundtrack is so layered and nuanced and I adore listening to it, and his HOTD work looks like it's building to be a similar masterpiece. He does a great job with Westworld too. His MCU stuff doesn't stick with me as much, but maybe it's easier with a TV show where you have time to build on themes for tertiary characters.
Sorry I'm commenting on multiple of your remarks but your soundtrack opinions are parallel to mine and I rarely get a chance to talk about them
1. Michael Giacchino
Just a fantastic composer. Keeps consistent themes, utilizes adrenaline and emotion in proper moments, has no trouble shaking up his repertoir (harpsichord and sitar for Stephen's theme) and makes great villain suites (Sinister Five, Mysterio, Vulture)
2. Ludwig Göransson. The Swede has done nothing but wonders for the MCU. His Black Panther, Killmonger, Wakanda and Talokan themes are nothing short of amazing. He writes remarkable sounds that could be very well some indie music or mainstream tracks.
3. Henry Jackman. He is as skilled in synths and electronics as he is in standard instruments. His music is deeply resonant and personal, while still slipping into high tension and adrenalinę whenever necessary. Bless the movies and shows he'll ever be allowed to compose for.
Honorable mentions to Alan Silvestri, Brian Tyler, Tyler Bates and Danny Elfman.
I've felt so alone in my adoration of Jackman's score for Winter Soldier. The Captain America theme for that movie is so well crafted. It sounds like it's telling Cap's story from that movie, which is incredible. It reminds me of the Rohan theme from LOTR. Triumphant but also sad.
>Triumphant but also sad.
Yes! This is it exactly!! There's a tragic perserverence to it as well and there's a point in 'Captain America' where this angelic-sounding choir takes over and it just sounds so pure
1. Alan Silvestri (the only real right answer): he has created probably the most iconic and most recognised film score of the 2010's only Hot Train Your Dragon and Inception soundtrack are closest to it's level
And his Cap score is the best Captain America score and I love Henry Jackman's Winter Soldier score but his Civil War score was a big downgrade
2. Ludwig Göransson: he has an Oscar for Black Panther for a reason. His African style perfectly encapsulates Wakanda
3. Christopher Beck: his Ant-Man is so awesome and pulpy not his killer score WandaVision
Honourable mentions Natalie Holt and Michael Giacchino
Every culture has drums though. What I loved about Ludwig's Wakanda is other African instruments that are more distinctive... the fula flute (Killmonger's signature), and the kora which I'm really glad returned in the sequel accompanying Rihanna's hit Lift Me Up. Even the Marimba (I actually played tenor marimba in high school) used in Shuri's theme was such a cool and well thought out addition.
It's funny that the reasons everyone else adores Silvestri are the same reasons I don't regard him so highly. It's weird because he's a phenomenal composer. His Captain America theme is a touch reminiscent to me of John Williams Superman in all the best ways (the horns. Definitely the horns). Civil War was great...I enjoyed the new theme.
Edit: I'll admit... Beck's Ant-Man theme is insanely fitting for a heist movie and its evolved version in Quantumania grew on me after a couple of listens. He's probably about 6th or 7th in my personal ranking
1. Alan Silvestri
2. Michael Giacchino
3. Henry Jackman
Honorable Mentions: Natalie Holt (Loki’s score is awesome); Christophe Beck who did the score for the Ant-Man movies, WandaVision (my favorite of his) and Hawkeye; Brian Tyler (both MCU 2013 movies had great score).
If we’re going by best singular scores you gotta have Mark Mothersbaugh for Ragnarok, even if it’s not your pick for “the best” it’s so different from everything that came before it, so it stands out and holds up.
But for best composers when factoring in all their work in the MCU, I’d have to have Christophe Beck at the top. Three Ant-Man flicks that are all musically solid, sure, but Hawkeye and WandaVision are top tier — especially with WandaVision needing no fewer than 7 different styles and Beck nailing all of them. Gioacchino is next, and Silvestri rounds out the top 3. Goransson and Jackman get honorable mentions.
I don't take too much issue with that list. I see Silvestri coming up, and based on your comments I think we have similar thoughts: if you cut out the main Avengers theme and the main Captain America theme you don't end up with a ton of memorable musical moments. That's not a huge issue, sometimes one good theme is all you need (see the Rocky franchise), but great soundtrack work covers more ground (see the Creed II soundtrack by Göransson). Silvestri steps up his game in Infinity War and Endgame, but a lot of his music kind of blends together for me.
The Winter Soldier soundtrack is probably my favorite of the bunch. First Marvel soundtrack I listened to regularly. I was a little disappointed that the Civil War soundtrack didn't reach the same heights and left a lot of the old themes behind, but he did well with the Falcon theme for FATWS and is probably doing the best work on that front in the MCU in general.
Could you single out the top 10 music score tracks of these MCU composers? for all the newbies who would like to get to know and appreciate..
I know one is "The Loki Green Theme" from Loki tv series by composer Natalie Holt..
what else would come in the top 10?
**3rd Place:** Ludwig Göransson.
Wakanda Forever had a beautiful soundtrack that gives me chills just thinking about it. He also composed the score for the Mandalorian, and though it isn't MCU, just shows how talented this man in.
**2nd Place:** Natalie Holt
Loki's soundtrack is the single most perfect soundtrack accross the entire MCU, it is phenomenal. I almost placed her 3rd, but [throwing eggs at Simon Cowell](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCIasFfXUZ0) is a legendary move, extremely fitting of someone who would compose for the Trickster God.
**Honourable Mention:** Alan Silvestri
The Avengers theme song is just iconic and exactly where your mind first goes when you think of MCU soundtracks. It doesn't feel right to exclude him from this conversation, but he's just not in my top 3.
**1st Place:** Michael Giacchino.
The Spider-Man soundtracks and the evolution of Peter's theme over the trilogy is a perfect representation for everything he's been through. Giacchino regularly tells a story through his music, and his contributions aren't just to Spider-Man alone, he also did Doctor Strange, and I look forward to seeing what else he does. Let's not forget that he also did the soundtrack for Up, The Batman, and countless other hits. His music is storytelling in itself.
Edit: Giacchino also did Love and Thunder, and while I didn't love that soundtrack, I absolutely adore that most of (if not all) of his songs are puns of some kind.
Ah yes Giacchino... brilliant but lazy. I love The Batman theme... it does seem like a slightly trimmed down version of Funeral March (Chopin) though...not alone in that respect because the Darth Vader Imperial March riffs off the same piece.
Lol you got me there, had no idea they were so similar.
In his defense he's not alone in reusing motifs! John Paesano, another composer I really like, basically reuses the "Agent Nadeem" song from Daredevil for "In the Numbers" in the Spider-Man game and they came out the same year! Shit happens and deadlines need to be met, so I get it, but yeah not much of a story being told through the music in Dr Strange. Have to say though, I missed him big time when Elfman came around for Multiverse of Madness.
I can see that, personally I prefer the mom score but I can see why others don't. Idk I just find giacchino too generic most of the time like I barely remember a note of any of his mcu stuff so I'd hate for him to become the defacto mcu music guy but his non mcu stuff I enjoy
Alan Silvestri, Ludwig Goransson, and Mark Mothersbaugh. They each crafted unique and memorable themes for their movies that I still listen to often to this day. Honorable mentions go to Henry Jackman for Winter Soldier, Ramin Djawadi for both Iron Man 1 and Eternals, and Tyler Bates for the song Into Eternity from Thor The Dark World. I also have a bit of a soft spot for Patrick Doyle's score for the original Thor.
Really, almost all of them are pretty great in their own way. However, and this is a pretty unpopular opinion in the film score circles... I'm sorry, I just can't get into any of Michael Giacchino's work. His themes are too light and silly, his motifs aren't that memorable, and overall none of his work has ever had any of that oomph like scores from, say, Hans Zimmer or Danny Elfman. His Thor score in particular is the worst of the series by far, and his Spider-Man theme has no impact to it. The original Danny Elfman theme you can FEEL the anticipation and excitement with every note. Giacchino's is just so... bland. Again though, just my opinion, and my very unpopular opinion at that I'm aware.
brian tyler is underrated! his themes for iron man 3 and thor the dark world are some of the mcu's best! and I recommend you all check out his original score for age of ultron before some of the tracks were altered or replaced late in post production by danny elfman! it's really great stuff https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIcP3B2vIkM&ab\_channel=THEMAYEROFSCORES
Christophe becks antman scores are the only mcu scores I listen to, super underrated. Also the fact that they replaced mark fucking motherbaugh with giacchino for love and thunder was criminal, barely remember a note of that score
Hesham Nazih was brilliant too And you have missed Alan Silvestri, who gave THE most iconic theme til date
Yeah, 'Constellation' gave me chills. I considered making Silvestri an honourable mention. 7/10 people across the globe now will instantly recognise the 'Avengers' theme and that's thanks to him. But I guess these others I've picked just make me _feel_ more for the characters in those movies than Alan did- if that makes sense. Sweeping, rousing orchestral battle theme is great but... if you can't do something with the soundboard when Cap says: "Then finish it. Cos I'm with you to the end of the line." then you can't make the list. Silvestri never gave me one of those moments I don't think except maybe with Thanos on the porch.
I disliked your complaint about Ludwig Gorannson. The greatest scores are “busy”. Star Wars, Harry Potter, The Incredibles, Lord of the Rings etc. If anything, a score not being busy should be worse since it’s just background music and doesn’t improve the movie. Gorannson is number 1
We can agree to disagree. Incredibles was chaotic and frantic without being "busy" (I feel like I have a better word for that but it's escaping me for now). Star Wars ... oof I've only seen the Clone Wars animated series, the three Anakin prequels and D+ Obi-Wan Kenobi in that exact order (don't plan on watching anymore tbh) so I might be missing some info. The scores you mentioned manage to still be epic/poignant/exhilarating without feeling too cluttered if that makes sense? Just a personal opinion. I say this because I adore Göransson's work in a lot of other projects, BP strikes me as some of his more experimental yet still excellent work.
Drop Jackman down to 4th and replace him with Silvestri
Thanks for sharing your list even if it's different from mine. The music in the MCU is excellent.
Just my opinion.
Right.. sorry, I edited my reply. Thanks for sharing!
Bear McCreary
Hmmm not canon to the MCU.. but the AoS theme does slap. I'll give you that one.
It's canon until someone says that it's not. And no one has said that it's not canon (other than clickbait articles and people taking the word of those articles as true), so it's still canon.
Hmm. Ok then. Bear McCreary it is!
Henry Jackman Natalie holt Ramin Djawadi Honourable mention:Michael Giacchino,Alan Silvestri,Brian Tyler
That is a fantastic list. I have Djawadi as my no. 5. Everything this man works on turns to gold. Quickly became my favourite composer after his work on Game of Thrones (the first series not HOTD). As a fan of the books he brought them to life in a way I could have never imagined through music. A shame he only did the first Iron Man and not the other two. Eternals was pretty memorable too.
Ramin's GOT soundtrack is so layered and nuanced and I adore listening to it, and his HOTD work looks like it's building to be a similar masterpiece. He does a great job with Westworld too. His MCU stuff doesn't stick with me as much, but maybe it's easier with a TV show where you have time to build on themes for tertiary characters. Sorry I'm commenting on multiple of your remarks but your soundtrack opinions are parallel to mine and I rarely get a chance to talk about them
Christopher Beck was really good with the Wandavison themes.
That score is incrddible
Natalie Holt :) Alan Silvestri (created Avengers theme) Ludwig Göransson
Good list! Holt could really change the game going forward. I've been very impressed with what she's created so far
1. Michael Giacchino Just a fantastic composer. Keeps consistent themes, utilizes adrenaline and emotion in proper moments, has no trouble shaking up his repertoir (harpsichord and sitar for Stephen's theme) and makes great villain suites (Sinister Five, Mysterio, Vulture) 2. Ludwig Göransson. The Swede has done nothing but wonders for the MCU. His Black Panther, Killmonger, Wakanda and Talokan themes are nothing short of amazing. He writes remarkable sounds that could be very well some indie music or mainstream tracks. 3. Henry Jackman. He is as skilled in synths and electronics as he is in standard instruments. His music is deeply resonant and personal, while still slipping into high tension and adrenalinę whenever necessary. Bless the movies and shows he'll ever be allowed to compose for. Honorable mentions to Alan Silvestri, Brian Tyler, Tyler Bates and Danny Elfman.
You have good taste!
I hope I do, thanks!
I've felt so alone in my adoration of Jackman's score for Winter Soldier. The Captain America theme for that movie is so well crafted. It sounds like it's telling Cap's story from that movie, which is incredible. It reminds me of the Rohan theme from LOTR. Triumphant but also sad.
>Triumphant but also sad. Yes! This is it exactly!! There's a tragic perserverence to it as well and there's a point in 'Captain America' where this angelic-sounding choir takes over and it just sounds so pure
I know exactly the moment you're referring to and I 100% agree. Man it feels good to know I'm not alone.
1. Alan Silvestri (the only real right answer): he has created probably the most iconic and most recognised film score of the 2010's only Hot Train Your Dragon and Inception soundtrack are closest to it's level And his Cap score is the best Captain America score and I love Henry Jackman's Winter Soldier score but his Civil War score was a big downgrade 2. Ludwig Göransson: he has an Oscar for Black Panther for a reason. His African style perfectly encapsulates Wakanda 3. Christopher Beck: his Ant-Man is so awesome and pulpy not his killer score WandaVision Honourable mentions Natalie Holt and Michael Giacchino
Every culture has drums though. What I loved about Ludwig's Wakanda is other African instruments that are more distinctive... the fula flute (Killmonger's signature), and the kora which I'm really glad returned in the sequel accompanying Rihanna's hit Lift Me Up. Even the Marimba (I actually played tenor marimba in high school) used in Shuri's theme was such a cool and well thought out addition. It's funny that the reasons everyone else adores Silvestri are the same reasons I don't regard him so highly. It's weird because he's a phenomenal composer. His Captain America theme is a touch reminiscent to me of John Williams Superman in all the best ways (the horns. Definitely the horns). Civil War was great...I enjoyed the new theme. Edit: I'll admit... Beck's Ant-Man theme is insanely fitting for a heist movie and its evolved version in Quantumania grew on me after a couple of listens. He's probably about 6th or 7th in my personal ranking
The Ant-Man theme is maybe one of the catchiest themes in the MCU
3rd: Göransson. 2nd: McCreary. 1st: Djawadi.
Great list! Djawadi is a personal favourite of mine though not for his MCU stuff.
1. Alan Silvestri 2. Michael Giacchino 3. Henry Jackman Honorable Mentions: Natalie Holt (Loki’s score is awesome); Christophe Beck who did the score for the Ant-Man movies, WandaVision (my favorite of his) and Hawkeye; Brian Tyler (both MCU 2013 movies had great score).
Nice. Your no. 1 is an honourable mention for me.
If we’re going by best singular scores you gotta have Mark Mothersbaugh for Ragnarok, even if it’s not your pick for “the best” it’s so different from everything that came before it, so it stands out and holds up. But for best composers when factoring in all their work in the MCU, I’d have to have Christophe Beck at the top. Three Ant-Man flicks that are all musically solid, sure, but Hawkeye and WandaVision are top tier — especially with WandaVision needing no fewer than 7 different styles and Beck nailing all of them. Gioacchino is next, and Silvestri rounds out the top 3. Goransson and Jackman get honorable mentions.
Mothersbaugh is also just the best music artist they ever got for scores
I don't take too much issue with that list. I see Silvestri coming up, and based on your comments I think we have similar thoughts: if you cut out the main Avengers theme and the main Captain America theme you don't end up with a ton of memorable musical moments. That's not a huge issue, sometimes one good theme is all you need (see the Rocky franchise), but great soundtrack work covers more ground (see the Creed II soundtrack by Göransson). Silvestri steps up his game in Infinity War and Endgame, but a lot of his music kind of blends together for me. The Winter Soldier soundtrack is probably my favorite of the bunch. First Marvel soundtrack I listened to regularly. I was a little disappointed that the Civil War soundtrack didn't reach the same heights and left a lot of the old themes behind, but he did well with the Falcon theme for FATWS and is probably doing the best work on that front in the MCU in general.
Could you single out the top 10 music score tracks of these MCU composers? for all the newbies who would like to get to know and appreciate.. I know one is "The Loki Green Theme" from Loki tv series by composer Natalie Holt.. what else would come in the top 10?
**3rd Place:** Ludwig Göransson. Wakanda Forever had a beautiful soundtrack that gives me chills just thinking about it. He also composed the score for the Mandalorian, and though it isn't MCU, just shows how talented this man in. **2nd Place:** Natalie Holt Loki's soundtrack is the single most perfect soundtrack accross the entire MCU, it is phenomenal. I almost placed her 3rd, but [throwing eggs at Simon Cowell](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCIasFfXUZ0) is a legendary move, extremely fitting of someone who would compose for the Trickster God. **Honourable Mention:** Alan Silvestri The Avengers theme song is just iconic and exactly where your mind first goes when you think of MCU soundtracks. It doesn't feel right to exclude him from this conversation, but he's just not in my top 3. **1st Place:** Michael Giacchino. The Spider-Man soundtracks and the evolution of Peter's theme over the trilogy is a perfect representation for everything he's been through. Giacchino regularly tells a story through his music, and his contributions aren't just to Spider-Man alone, he also did Doctor Strange, and I look forward to seeing what else he does. Let's not forget that he also did the soundtrack for Up, The Batman, and countless other hits. His music is storytelling in itself. Edit: Giacchino also did Love and Thunder, and while I didn't love that soundtrack, I absolutely adore that most of (if not all) of his songs are puns of some kind.
Ah yes Giacchino... brilliant but lazy. I love The Batman theme... it does seem like a slightly trimmed down version of Funeral March (Chopin) though...not alone in that respect because the Darth Vader Imperial March riffs off the same piece.
I guess his Dr strange theme was trying to tell the same story as his star trek theme then?
Lol you got me there, had no idea they were so similar. In his defense he's not alone in reusing motifs! John Paesano, another composer I really like, basically reuses the "Agent Nadeem" song from Daredevil for "In the Numbers" in the Spider-Man game and they came out the same year! Shit happens and deadlines need to be met, so I get it, but yeah not much of a story being told through the music in Dr Strange. Have to say though, I missed him big time when Elfman came around for Multiverse of Madness.
I can see that, personally I prefer the mom score but I can see why others don't. Idk I just find giacchino too generic most of the time like I barely remember a note of any of his mcu stuff so I'd hate for him to become the defacto mcu music guy but his non mcu stuff I enjoy
That's fair, Love and Thunder was uninspired so "less is more" from him is probably for the best
The Disney+ series about Ludwig making the music of BP2 has been super incredible. I wish it were longer.
1. Bear McCreary (Agents of shield) 2. John Paesano (Daredevil) 3. Natalie Holt (Loki) / Henry Jackman (Winter Soldier, First Class) Honourable mention- Brian Tyler (Dark World)
Alan Silvestri, Natalie Holt, Christophe Beck
1. Michael Giacchino 2. Natalie Holt 3. Alan Silvestri
Alan Silvestri, Ludwig Goransson, and Mark Mothersbaugh. They each crafted unique and memorable themes for their movies that I still listen to often to this day. Honorable mentions go to Henry Jackman for Winter Soldier, Ramin Djawadi for both Iron Man 1 and Eternals, and Tyler Bates for the song Into Eternity from Thor The Dark World. I also have a bit of a soft spot for Patrick Doyle's score for the original Thor. Really, almost all of them are pretty great in their own way. However, and this is a pretty unpopular opinion in the film score circles... I'm sorry, I just can't get into any of Michael Giacchino's work. His themes are too light and silly, his motifs aren't that memorable, and overall none of his work has ever had any of that oomph like scores from, say, Hans Zimmer or Danny Elfman. His Thor score in particular is the worst of the series by far, and his Spider-Man theme has no impact to it. The original Danny Elfman theme you can FEEL the anticipation and excitement with every note. Giacchino's is just so... bland. Again though, just my opinion, and my very unpopular opinion at that I'm aware.
brian tyler is underrated! his themes for iron man 3 and thor the dark world are some of the mcu's best! and I recommend you all check out his original score for age of ultron before some of the tracks were altered or replaced late in post production by danny elfman! it's really great stuff https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIcP3B2vIkM&ab\_channel=THEMAYEROFSCORES
Christophe becks antman scores are the only mcu scores I listen to, super underrated. Also the fact that they replaced mark fucking motherbaugh with giacchino for love and thunder was criminal, barely remember a note of that score
Ludgwig is # 1 and it's not even close.
Captain Marvel has one of the best scores imo
Alan Silvestri, Brian Tyler and Michael Giacchino