Movies 20 of the greatest '90s movie soundtracks By Mary Sollosi Mary Sollosi Mary Sollosi is the former assistant features editor at Entertainment Weekly. She left EW in 2022. EW's editorial guidelines Updated on May 23, 2022 01:29PM EDT Close 01 of 21 Dust off your Discman Arista Records/Capitol Records/MCA Records It's time to throw it back to the golden age of movie soundtracks. Yes, we're talking Wild Wild West. We're talking Singles. We. Are. Talking. Titanic. Read on for 20 bangin' playlists from a truly dope decade. 02 of 21 Cruel Intentions (1999) Arista Records The producers almost couldn't afford to use the film's iconic closing track, they revealed in EW's oral history, but ultimately dropped a chunk of the budget to secure it. Shall we toast to their triumph? ESSENTIAL TRACK: "Bitter Sweet Symphony," the Verve 03 of 21 Can't Hardly Wait (1998) Elektra Records We're talking about the party of the century. That demands a legendary playlist. ESSENTIAL TRACK: "Can't Get Enough of You Baby," Smash Mouth 04 of 21 Romeo + Juliet (1996) Capitol Records But soft, what song through yonder speaker breaks? It is "Lovefool," and up next is "Kissing You." ESSENTIAL TRACK: "Lovefool," the Cardigans 05 of 21 Wild Wild West (1999) Interscope Records If we had to choose between Wild Wild West, the movie, and "Wild Wild West," its iconic theme song, well… ESSENTIAL TRACK: "Wild Wild West," Will Smith 06 of 21 Trainspotting (1996) Capitol Records Even decades later, we're struggling to think of anything cooler than the original Trainspotting album. ESSENTIAL TRACK: "Lust for Life," Iggy Pop (with David Bowie) 07 of 21 Empire Records (1995) A&M Records It's a movie set in a record store, okay? The Empire Records soundtrack isn't messing around! ESSENTIAL TRACK: "'Til I Hear It From You," the Gin Blossoms 08 of 21 Reality Bites (1994) RCA Records Play this album on repeat while reflecting upon the definition of the word "irony." ESSENTIAL TRACK: "Stay (I Missed You)," Lisa Loeb 09 of 21 The Bodyguard (1992) Arista Records And weeeeeee… will always love this soundtraaaaaaaaaack… ESSENTIAL TRACK: "I Will Always Love You," Whitney Houston 10 of 21 Pulp Fiction (1994) MCA Records If only Quentin Tarantino could curate the soundtrack for all our lives! Or at least all our dance-offs. ESSENTIAL TRACK: "You Never Can Tell," Chuck Berry 11 of 21 Singles (1992) Epic Soundtrax Cameron Crowe takes music seriously, so it should come as no surprise that his 1992 rom-com comes with an expertly curated Seattle grunge playlist. ESSENTIAL TRACK: "Breath," Pearl Jam (who cameoed in the film) 12 of 21 American Pie (1999) Universal Records Like the film itself, the American Pie soundtrack is a perfect glimpse into the souls of late '90s American teenage boys—for better or worse. ESSENTIAL TRACK: "New Girl," Third Eye Blind (whose "Semi-Charmed Life" also appears in the movie, but not on the soundtrack) 13 of 21 Spice World (1997) Virgin Records I wanna really really really wanna put this girl-powered Spice-fest on repeat! ESSENTIAL TRACK: "Wannabe," the Spice Girls (who else?) 14 of 21 That Thing You Do! (1996) Playtone One-hit wonders, sure. But what a hit it was! The title track, written for the movie, became a real-life hit to match its onscreen popularity. ESSENTIAL TRACK: "That Thing You Do!," the Wonders (a.k.a. the Oneders) 15 of 21 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) Hollywood Records We don't hate this, not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all. ESSENTIAL TRACK: "I Want You to Want Me," Letters to Cleo (who also covered "Cruel to Be Kind" and provided two original songs for the film) 16 of 21 Good Will Hunting (1997) Capitol Records How do you like them indie rock hits? ESSENTIAL TRACK: "Miss Misery," Elliott Smith (who provided several songs for the soundtrack) 17 of 21 Grosse Pointe Blank (1997) London Records Clearly John Cusack put years of prep work into his performance as an obsessive music snob in 2000's High Fidelity, considering the consistently on-point song selection for Grosse Pointe Blank. ESSENTIAL TRACK: "Blister in the Sun," Violent Femmes 18 of 21 Armageddon (1998) Sony Music Soundtrax If the world must come to an end, at least Aerosmith will be there to sing us off. ESSENTIAL TRACK: "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," Aerosmith (who provided several songs for the soundtrack) 19 of 21 Clueless (1995) Capitol Records You see how picky Cher is about her shoes, and they only go on her feet. Imagine how selective she must be for the tunes she lets in her ears! ESSENTIAL TRACK: "Supermodel," Jill Sobule 20 of 21 Batman Forever (1995) Atlantic Records It may not be the best Batman movie, but it's got Seal! ESSENTIAL TRACK: "Kiss From a Rose," Seal 21 of 21 Titanic (1997) Sony Music Soundtrax Our hearts—and this melody—will go on. ESSENTIAL TRACK: You're kidding, right?