Lists, Rankings, Best Of...

3. THE SOCIAL NETWORK (David Fincher & Trent Reznor)   Now regarded as one of the greatest movies of the aughts, “The Social Network” was dismissed by many as simply “the Facebook Movie” before its release. And why not? The social-media site had only truly risen to prominence a few years earlier, and it was hard to imagine David Fincher’s follow-up to “Benjamin Button” receiving such overwhelming acclaim. But everything came together nearly perfectly on the film, including the Oscar-winning score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Transposing the abrasive industrial soundscapes that made Reznor famous in Nine Inch Nails, the duo crafted a score that’s as ominous as it is catchy — which is to say, the perfect accompaniment to a genius’ rise to power. Their compositions are quieter than you might think, thrumming along in the background during the rapid-fire dialogue and being just noticeable enough to grab your attention without distracting from what’s happening onscreen. Listen to it on its own, though, and you’ll be treated to the rare soundtrack that’s as worthy of your attention as the movie itself. — MN

5. CAROL (Carter Burwell)    Beginning with an anxious see-saw of strings before allowing itself to be carried away by the richest piano melody that Carter Burwell has ever written, the score for “Carol” grabs you by the chest from the opening notes, pulling your entire body into a love story that’s largely told through furtive looks and delicate gestures. The music rushes forward with such inexorable force that it feels like the sound of destiny itself — it’s the sound of your legs turning to jelly and walking towards the great unknown as if they no longer have a choice.

When Therese Belivet presses her face to the rain-streaked window of a taxi cab and thinks about the life she’s denying herself, every note aches with regret as Burwell allows them to echo from major to minor and back again. When Carol Aird picks drives her through the Holland Tunnel on their way towards New Jersey and whatever happens next, Helen Foster & The Rovers’ “You Belong to Me” melts into the score the way that everything is subsumed by our most treasured memories. And then there’s the final cue, which crescendoes with so much emotion that Todd Haynes’ film can’t hope to contain it — the story has to end when the music does, tattooing us with the knowledge that no future we might imagine for these characters could possibly be as beautiful as the present moment they’ve given to each other. — DE

22. A GHOST STORY (Daniel Hart)    There’s literally no such thing as a David Lowery movie without a Daniel Hart score — every one of the director’s features, stretching all the way back to 2009’s micro-budget “St. Nick,” has been made in collaboration with the Dark Rooms frontman. That collaboration has been instrumental to the rich mood and rustic energy of films like “Ain’t them Bodies Saints” and “Pete’s Dragon,” but Hart’s music is at the very soul of “A Ghost Story,” these creaking songs tasked with nothing less than conveying the sound of eternity.

So what does eternity sound like? For Hart, it’s beautiful but also a little stagnant, the music wheezing with awe like it’s always right on the edge of a great discovery. Each piece feels like a distant echo of the soaring Dark Rooms song that Casey Affleck’s character records before he dies; the ominous expanse of “Thesaurus Tuus” offers more queasy future shock than anything you’ll hear in “Blade Runner 2049,” while the poppy loops of “Safe Safe Safe” achieve a sense of cosmic acceptance that allows you to hum along in time. — DE