For instrumentals (and sticking with movie soundtracks, not classic scores), I adore Jerry Goldsmith (R.I.P.
), though sometimes he repeats himself a bit. There are parts of
The Mummy that sound very much like
First Knight. As a movie,
First Knight sucked, but I was too busy sitting there with my eyes closed soaking in the music to notice the cheesy story and horrid acting.
Michael Kamen (again, R.I.P) also did some good stuff. In the "horrible movie, great soundtrack" category, nothing tops
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.
James Horner is great, but he loves his bagpipes a little too well. It was appropriate in
Braveheart but there were parts of
Titanic that echoed that style a bit too closely--wouldn't hurt him to branch out a bit more.
Howard Shore's
Lord of the Rings soundtracks are, of course, brilliant.
I despise John Williams. Music is too bloated, pompous and and
shturm und drang.
On the vocal front, completely regardless of the QUALITY of the music, I just have to say there is NO better CD for a long, boring road trip than the
Top Gun soundtrack.