Collider: A Century of Music — The 10 Greatest Movie Scores of the Last 100 Years, Ranked
#1 ‘The Lord of the Rings’ Trilogy (2001-2003) – Composed by Howard Shore
Excerpt from the Collider article: A Century of Music — The 10 Greatest Movie Scores of the Last 100 Years, Ranked
By Ryan Heffernan, January 2, 2026
See the full list at: https://collider.com/best-movie-scores-last-100-years-ranked
It seems counterintuitive that a film trilogy could feature such a variety of different tracks and leitmotifs and yet still produce so many iconic and unforgettable compositions. Logically, the vastness should ensure some—if not all—melodies are muddled or only a select few tunes rise above the rest. What Howard Shore achieved with The Lord of the Rings is simply astounding, developing over 80 distinct themes that flaunt every emotion imaginable, from comfort and joy to imposing dread, rousing adventure, and even devastating heartbreak. The Shire, Rohan, Mordor, Gondor, the Fellowship, and the Elves all have unforgettable leitmotifs, and that doesn’t even include tracks like “The Bridge of Khazad-dûm” or “The Lighting of the Beacons,” nor songs like “Into the West” and “The Edge of Night.”
Shore’s construction of the score is just as impressive and awe-inspiring as its impact. Not only did he immerse himself in J. R. R. Tolkien’s fantasy world—even incorporating the languages of Middle Earth into the music—he also layered different and unique instruments together, subverting traditional notions of harmonious film scoring to create powerful, blended tracks that embedded themselves in the mind of viewers for their significance in the identity of the story, its characters, and settings as much as for their melodic beauty. The Lord of the Rings is the ultimate fantasy spectacle, a mesmerizing epic that utilizes every discipline of filmmaking to conjure an absorbing journey of enormous scope and profound humanity. Shore’s compositions embody this scale and impact magnificently, making it the greatest score in cinematic history as well as one of the most audacious and monumental.
