1. Dead Presidents
2. Street Fighter 2
3. Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion
4. Boiler Room
5. Judgment Night
6. Above the Rim
7. Juice
8. Grosse Pointe Blank
9. Can’t Hardly Wait
10. William Shakespeare’s Rome + Juliet (1996)
11. Rhyme & Reason
These soundtracks are underrated because they’re not discussed enough when debating great soundtracks. But it has to be genuinely under the radar so movie classics like Pulp Fiction or Forrest Gump aren’t here nor will you see soundtracks from Singles, Reality Bites or The Bodyguard because they’re too well known. Please feel free to add more if the list forgot to include one of your faves.
11. Rhyme & Reason
RZA’s “Tragedy” alone is worth picking this soundtrack but there’s a lot of other good hip hop songs to get into. Great posse cut with Ras Kass, both Rock and Ruck from Heltah Skeltah and Cannabis with “Uni-4-orm” along with Busta Rhymes and Tribe Called Quest flipping it on “Wild Hot”. You also get some KRS-One, Mack 10, Tha Dogg Pound and the recently deceased Guru of Gangstarr. That makes me remember something. R.I.P. Guru. Hip Hop misses you.
10. William Shakespeare’s Rome + Juliet (1996)
Look, I’m a hip hop guy but good music is good music and in the world of soundtracks, here’s one that’s often overlooked. This was also during Leonardo DiCaprio’s rise as a leading man so a lot of the hype for this movie went to him and Moulin Rougue director Baz Luhrmann. While I wasn’t a fan of this movie whatsoever, the music from the film rocks. You just can’t leave out a soundtrack that throws in Radiohead’s “Exit Music”, Prince’s “When Doves Cry” and that lovely romantic tune by the Cardigans called “Lovefool” which still hasn’t gotten old.
9. Can’t Hardly Wait
Teen movie crap, I know. But the soundtrack rocks and doesn’t get enough love. At the time, Jennifer Love Hewitt was every teenage boy’s dream and that’s mostly what the movie got recognized for, further taking the spotlight off of the soundtrack. With songs like “It’s Tricky” by Run DMC, “6 Underground” by the Sneakerpimps and Paradise City by Guns N Roses, there’s really no reason to overlook the album. Also, when you’re treated to “Groove is in the Heart” or “Bust a Move”, the soundtrack really can’t be that shabby.
8. Grosse Pointe Blank
This movie was a fun little romp with John Cusack as a hit man but the soundtrack definitely can’t be overlooked. Not with a great mix of songs from Grandmaster Flash’s “White Lines” to David Bowie’s “Under Pressure”. It also throws a few great 80′s sounds at you with “Take on Me” and the German protest song “99 Luftballons“. I’m a sucker for soundtracks that utilize a few different decades of music well and Grosse Pointe Blank nails it.
7. Juice
A lot of people remember this movie as Tupac’s debut in film however, along with being a great piece of 90′s cinema it packs a very strong hip hop soundtrack with a few R&B tracks sprinkled in. Teddy Riley’s “Is It Good To You” still holds today and you can’t go wrong with Eric B & Rakim’s title track, “Juice (Know the Ledge)”. Other hip hop superstars of the time get down here as well like Too $hort with “So You Wanna be a Gangster” and the best song on the soundtrack comes from Naughty by Nature with their highly underrated “Uptown Anthem”. If you love hip hop, you should already own this. If you just love good music, take the time to get Juice.
6. Above the Rim
I went back and forth with this pick. Underrated or not underrated, that is the question. Being that people in general don’t discuss it often enough in relevance to great soundtracks, I thought Above the Rim earned a spot here although I understand if you think it’s an iffy pick. There are a good deal of folks who remember this album’s huge affect on the hip hop community but the problem here is that it’s only people who recognize hip hop that realize this. Otherwise, we’re talking a soundtrack featuring three tracks from Tupac along with songs from Snoop, Tha Dogg Pound, Beastie Boys, Naughty by Nature, and the Pharcyde. Plus, you can’t ever forget Warren G and Nate Dogg’s ever so smooth “Regulate” nor the Shaft theme which almost seems to be thrown in for good measure.
5. Judgment Night
Still the most innovative soundtrack of the last thirty years for the simple way it combined artists from two genres of music to perform each song. This is one of those albums you just have to hand out credit to whoever had the balls to sell the idea of infusing hip hop with metal and rock. What made it even better was the producers decided to use artists with substance, pairing Run DMC with Living Colour to make “Me Myself & My Microphone” or Del tha Funkee Homosapien ripping the mic with Dinosaur Jr. alongside him. And I can’t leave out the trio of Tom Petty, Teenage Fanclub and De La Soul to perform “Fallin’”. For sheer creativity, this soundtrack is above and beyond the norm.
4. Boiler Room
Good, solid hip hop soundtrack that many hip hop fans forget about. Filled with very respected artists such as Tribe Called Quest, Pharoahe Monch, Notorious B.I.G. and De La Soul, people forget how well the songs meshed together. Whether you like him or not, Boiler Room featured an early song by 50 Cent called “That Ain’t Gangsta” and any soundtrack willing to hire the talents of Slick Rick or Brand Nubian has to get its props. Best songs here would be Tribe’s “Award Tour” or “Ma Dukes” by the highly underrated O.C. but don’t sleep on DJ Premiere’s “Supa Star” with Group Home or Notorious’ “Things Done Changed”, an overlooked song from his first album.
3. Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion
A very good conglomeration of chart toppers make up this soundtrack, mostly with hits from the 80′s with a few mega hits from the Bee Gees here as well. It’s always good when a soundtrack gives you “Whip It” from Devo and “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”, the timeless Tears for Fears single. But the list isn’t even close to stopping there. There’s Wang Chung’s “Dancehall Days”, Bananarama’s two big hits, “Venus” and “Cruel Summer”, La Bouche’s “Be My Lover” and even No Doubt makes an appearance with “I’m Just A Girl”. I’m always shocked not to hear this soundtrack rarely mentioned as one of the best ever.
2. Street Fighter 2 (1994 Movie)
This movie was so bad, it was mind-blowing. That the soundtrack is so amazing makes it a hell of a coincidence since the film is easily forgotten. But this is hip hop at its finest, especially in that time, with a great mix of skilled emcees and groups like Ice Cube, Public Enemy, The Pharcyde, LL Cool J and Nas. However, it’s songs like “Come Widdit” with Ras Kass, Ahmad and Saafir, Pharcyde’s “Pandemonium” and “It’s a Street Fight” by The B.U.M.S., my personal favorite, that give you a great taste of well made hip hop.
1. Dead Presidents
Best soundtrack of all time in my opinion. Hard to find any album you can listen to all the way through, much less a movie soundtrack, but this one achieves that with one of the greatest mixes of soul music ever. Also, I forgot to mention that there are 34 songs on this soundtrack. Yep, that’s not a typo. 34 awesome songs. Serenaded with music legends like James Brown, Barry White, Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye, it seems like its one megastar after another when you’re also realize Aretha Franklin, Sly and the Family Stone, Al Green, Isaac Hayes and Stevie Wonder have music on Dead Presidents as well. And many of these songs still stand strong today like “If You Want Me To Stay”, “Walk on By”, “The Payback”, “Love Train” and “I’ll Be Around” make listening to this album more and more worth it. In fact, I can’t think of any reason you shouldn’t listen to one of the best soundtracks ever put together.
