After assembling lists of the best songs from movie soundtracks of the 1980s and 1990s, a compilation of the best movie music from the 2000s was only inevitable. In reviewing that decade's options, what quickly became apparent was that the popularity of soundtracks slowed significantly after the turn of the century, when digital platforms allowed collectors to buy just the one or two tracks they wanted from the movies they loved, leaving curated albums as a bit of a curio, appealing mainly to lingering physical media collectors and a handful of auteurs.
Nevertheless, there are still plenty of great soundtracks to choose from, even if narrowing down a list to the absolute best requires a judicious ear and a willingness to sacrifice personal favorites for some enduring crowd-pleasers.
