RedEye staffers have their own ideas for what makes a good movie soundtrack. Do you agree? E-mail us at ritaredeye@tribune.com with your choices for these categories.
Coolest soundtrack to have on iPod
“Juno”: It’s No. 1 on iTunes for a reason.
“Garden State”: It’s the only soundtrack I can listen to entirely and not be forced to skip a song.
“The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”: Moving, emotional, mostly instrumental music for one of the best Westerns ever made.
Best soundtrack song
“Gonna Fly Now” from “Rocky”: How could this not get your blood flowing?
“Thunderdome” from “Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome”: Two words — Tina Turner.
“Somebody’s Baby” from “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”: Captured this classic teen flick perfectly.
“You’re the Best Around” from “The Karate Kid”: Makes you believe a skinny white boy from New Jersey can kick the crap out of a California karate champ.
Best ’80s soundtrack
“Purple Rain”: The appeal is summed up by the cover, in which Prince is riding a purple crotch rocket.
“Valley Girl”: “Million Miles Away,” “Johnny Are You Queer” and other great tunes.
“Vision Quest”: Journey, Madonna, Dio and John Waite in one period-defining package.
“Pretty In Pink”: It introduced the cool kids’ music — Smiths, New Order, etc. — to the mainstream.
Most embarrassing soundtrack to have on iPod
“The Bodyguard”: “I Will Always Love You” still tortures the ears.
“Footloose”: If you gotta cut footloose, there’s something wrong with you.
“Moulin Rouge”: I mean, c’mon.
“Grease”: You’re the one that I want … you, you, you are the one that I want!
“Grease 2”: It’s even more embarrassing than having seen “Grease 2.”
Worst soundtrack song
“Wind Beneath My Wings” from “Beaches”: Wind, please stop blowing and end the pain.
“My Heart Will Go On” from “Titanic”: How this song ever became popular is beyond me.
“St. Elmo’s Fire”: Awful lyrics, and it takes you back to the days when Judd Nelson actually was a heartthrob.
“Danger Zone” from “Top Gun”: Kenny Loggins is not cool!
Best ’90s soundtrack
“Singles”: Introduced the world to grunge and the Seattle scene.
“Pulp Fiction”
* It’s as if Quentin Tarantino made you your very own mix-tape.
* Like some ’80s soundtracks, it just takes you back to that time in pop culture, smiling all the way.
* Oddly enough, I don’t think it used a single song from the ’90s.
