My Favorite John Williams Scores

Like a lot of 80's kids, John Williams pretty much scored my childhood. A lot of my memories include snippets of his work. Whether they're obvious moments like watching the movies in the theater or at home - on cutting edge VHS technology! - or loudly singing the "The Raiders March" while playing Indiana Jones with friends in the park or humming the appropriate Star Wars music while playing with my action figures, his music has been with me forever.

Williams's work has stretched more than 60 years and he's created a huge amount of classic pieces of music that have been used in hundreds of movies, TV episodes, stage shows, and in live performances in orchestras across the globe. I truly believe that he will be remembered alongside composers like Beethoven, Mozart, and Bach as one of the greatest artists in his field. Just like with those giants of the genre, I'm sure most people alive today take Williams and his art for granted, but when historians look back at the second half of the 20th century and the first quarter of the 21st century, they'll marvel at his absolute monstrous output of engaging and memorable pieces of music. 

This was a difficult Top 10 to put together. Right off the bat, the top five were sure things. From that point, I had to whittle about 15 potential picks to fit in the remaining slots. 

1. The Indiana Jones series

I'm going to cheat a little bit with my picks for #1 and #2, just to include as much great music as I can. If I had to pick just one Indy film to highlight, it would obviously be Raiders of the Lost Ark since it features the debut of (quite possibly) my favorite piece of movie music - "The Raiders March" aka "Indy's Theme". Whenever this piece kicks in, you know you're going to be experiencing something fun or exciting - usually involving Indy kicking ass in some fashion. Other notable selections in the score for Raiders include the themes for Marion and the ark (played subtly when the subjects are mentioned and prominently when the subjects are actually on screen), plus specific pieces for different scenes like "In the Idol's Temple", "The Well of the Souls", and "Desert Chase". Each piece is its own perfect composition and the collected total of everything is nothing short of astounding. With his work on Raiders, Williams produced one of the greatest film scores of all-time. 

As far as the rest of the series goes, each installment features "The Raiders March" at crucial moments, but each also has their own unique and memorable pieces such as "The Old Priest's Tale" and "The Rope Bridge" (from The Temple of Doom), "Indy's Very First Adventure" and "The Penitent Man Will Pass" (from The Last Crusade), and "Grave Robbers" and "Ants!" (from The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull). The fourth installment also features the return of "Marion's Theme", which was a nice touch. While some of the movies are certainly better than others, Williams's work for the four features is all remarkably consistent.

2. The Star Wars series

Starting in 1977 with the release of the original Star Wars - no episode number or subtitle needed! - Williams composed some of the most famous and beloved works of his entire career. Stuff like "Star Wars Theme", "Rebel Fanfare", "The Imperial March", and "The Force Theme" are instantly recognizable and immediately transport the listener to that galaxy a long time ago and far, far away. Each of these pieces have been used in each of the nine installments in the Skywalker Saga and I can't imagine a Star Wars movie without some or all of them. They are all iconic works that generally (depending on the quality of the movie sometimes) always give me goosebumps. 

Besides the different main themes, there are a lot of great pieces of music sprinkled throughout the series. The best of the best, though, is surprisingly from the worst of the movies - "The Duel of the Fates" from the God awful The Phantom Menace. "Duel" is a complex composition that builds and builds until a wonderful crescendo featuring a chorus of beautiful voices in addition to Williams's trademark strings and horns. Some other fantastic pieces include themes for "Princess Leia", "Yoda", and "The Emperor" which are sprinkled throughout many of the installments. Of the newest trilogy, I think The Force Awakens had some of the best music, including great themes for Rey and Finn. Williams has a fantastic skill for incorporating his existing musical cues with new pieces to keep the movies feeling fresh. Considering there have been so many movies spread out for 40+ years, you'd think your average Star Wars fan would get tired of the music, but I've never met anyone who even remotely disparages the score. My wife, who absolutely hates all things Star Wars, even likes the music!

3. Jaws

It's really telling how strong Williams's career has been when Jaws comes in at #3. The iconic main theme - the signature "da-dum" repeated at different intensities - would be enough on its own to rank among the best cinema has to offer. Williams described the theme as "grinding away at you, just as a shark would do - instinctual, relentless, unstoppable." and I think he perfectly captures the spirit of the piece. It's amazing that he could compose something so simple, yet with the ability to absolutely terrify generations of movie goers. Even people who haven't seen Jaws know the theme and could probably sing it fairly well. It's been used in countless other projects, sometimes as an homage to the original and sometimes as a parody, but it's always distinctive and conveys menace and impending dread like few other pieces of music could.  

Thankfully, the main theme isn't the only quality composition in Jaws, though. "Chrissie's Death", "Out to Sea", "The Indianapolis Story", "One Barrel Chase", and "The Underwater Siege" are all either good or great pieces. I haven't seen any of the Jaws sequels - and have no plans to - but I know Williams worked on the second installment. I imagine it's a solid score, but his involvement isn't enough to entice me to watch it.

4. Jurassic Park

Since I only really like the original Jurassic Park, that's the only installment that I'm going to talk about here. Williams scored the first sequel and all the other movies in the series use parts of his original score, but the first movie is something special and a lot of that is due to Williams's stellar work. Three different pieces make up the bulk of the score: "Theme from Jurassic Park", "Journey to the Island", and "The Raptor Attack". The "Theme" - first played when the main characters see the Brachiosaurus for the first time - is by far the most famous and memorable of the three, but all are fantastic. "Journey" is notably played while the helicopter approaches the island and also mixed with "Theme" during some lighter moments throughout the rest of the movie. And "Raptor", which has a menacing tone, is used during any of the encounters with the hostile dinosaurs, like the T-Rex or Raptors.

I know a lot of people - my wife included! - think "Theme from Jurassic Park" is Williams's best piece of music. While I don't share that belief, I do think it's a spectacular work and deserving of any and all praise it receives.

5. Catch Me If You Can

Another collaboration with Steven Spielberg, another masterful score from Williams. Spielberg films represent 60% of this list, but the score for Catch is so much more different from any of the other entries. Primarily made up of jazzy numbers, the score here is light and fun with some dark undercurrents, just like the movie itself. "Catch Me If You Can" plays over the opening credits and is one of the reasons why I love the sequence so much that it ranked among my Favorite Opening Credit Sequences list. The music helps set the tone right away and is remarkably catchy.

"The Airport Scene", "Learning the Ropes", and "Doctor, Lawyer, Lutheran" are all very good pieces, as well, but the standout in the film proper is "Recollections (The Father's Theme)". It's a sweet, touching, and sincere piece of music that generally accompanies scenes with Frank, Jr. (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) and his father (Christopher Walken). Their relationship is an important part of the story and the musical cues in "Recollections" strike the perfect chord.

6. Home Alone

By the time the 90's rolled around, Williams had already cemented his reputation as one of the greatest film composers of all-time, so it's not like he had anything to prove. Instead of resting on his laurels (or retiring!), he helped create a new Christmas classic in Home Alone. I was 8 when it was first released and loved it immediately. All these years later, I still love it and a big part of its charm is Williams's wonderful score. "Somewhere in My Memory" aka "Theme from Home Alone" sounds like it would fit in any of the classic holiday films from the 40's or 50's - it just has a timeless feel and instantly evokes winter/Christmas.

"The House" and "Setting the Trap" are other standouts among the soundtrack. Both offer up a sense of merriment and joy as they accompany Kevin McCallister as he discovers his titular predicament and as he prepares for the Wet Bandits. "Mom Returns and Finale" is an emotional and tender piece and helps drive the positive feelings home without being overly manipulative or treacly. 

7. JFK

JFK isn't a movie for everybody and I totally understand why a lot of people don't like it or even actively hate it. But if those same people just listened to the score, I think almost all of them would agree that it's full of terrific music. Some of the tracks - "Prologue", "The Motorcade", "Theme From JFK" - are full of militaristic drums and horns, energetic and fast paced. Other tracks - notably "Garrison's Obsession" and "The Conspirators" - are dark and brooding, almost to the point of sounding like selections from a horror movie. Adding to the mix of different styles, "The Death of David Ferrie" and "Arlington" are somber and slower paced.

I think the JFK soundtrack might be Williams's most eclectic and stylistically interesting collection. Even though they're wildly different from one another, all the songs are well done and insanely listenable. If you haven't ever seen JFK - or haven't seen it in a long time - I highly recommend giving it a chance for, if for nothing else, one of Williams's best scores.

8. Schindler's List

How good was 1993 for John Williams? Both Jurassic Park and Schindler's List were released. That's quite the achievement! He won the Oscar for Schindler's List and, even though I think it's not quite as good as his other offering, I certainly can't disparage the win. "Theme from Schindler's List" is a mix of sobering, somber strings and winds with slightly upbeat chimes and horns. It's a wonderful piece of music and - like almost everything Williams composes - fits the tone and theme of the film perfectly. In other selections like "Jewish Town" and "I Could Have Done More", Williams gets to play things a little lighter, but there's always an undercurrent of despair or sadness, which makes sense for a film with such heavy subject matter. "Remembrances" and "Making the List" are two more standouts among the soundtrack.

Schindler's List isn't a film that I revisit very often - I think I've only seen it twice - but while listening to all the music lately, it's inspired me to check it out again. I've never really considered it a masterpiece like a lot of people do, but the score is definitely worthy of heaps of praise. 

9. Saving Private Ryan

Saving Private Ryan is one of my Top 10 favorite films of all-time and I've written about it several times on this site over the years. I've praised just about everything about the film - the direction, the acting, the writing, the editing, the cinematography - but oddly enough the music had never really stood out to me. In my research for this post, I've listened to most of the soundtrack and also watched some scenes, making sure to pay attention to the score. What I realized is how subtle, yet impactful, the score is. It doesn't draw a lot of attention, but that shouldn't be a criticism.

"Hymn to the Fallen" is the closest thing to a theme for the film, it's used at least partially in several scenes, and it's an interesting, engaging work. "Omaha Beach" and "The Last Battle" are much more forward, but still not overpowering when used to close out battle scenes. "Revisiting Normandy" might be my favorite piece from the film. It's a cross between somber and light, reverent and almost playful.

One of the best things about Williams's work is how varied his different projects are. His score for Saving Private Ryan is really nothing like Schindler's List even though they're both WWII films, by the same director, and only separated by five years. It would have been easy for him to plagiarize his own work and no one would have complained. Instead, he crafted something unique and beautiful. 

10. Superman 

The "Theme from Superman" is one of those things from my childhood that I'll love for the rest of my life. While I can't say that I really enjoy any of the movies anymore, the theme hasn't lost its ability to transfix me. I don't have the desire to search for any of the other pieces of music from the score, so that's why Superman ranks so low on the list. I'm just judging it based on the theme and nothing more.


I vividly remember watching Superman Returns when it was released in 2006. I was sitting near the front of the theater, with the big screen taking up the entirety of my field of vision. When the credits started and Williams's iconic theme blared, I got goosebumps. The movie itself wasn't very good, but I'll always remember that moment thanks to the fantastic music.

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The different pieces here are all thrilling, exciting, soothing, contemplative, and intriguing in their own ways. It's hard to conceive that one person is responsible for all them. 

Without Williams's work over all these decades, the art form of cinema would certainly be affected for the worse. While there are several contemporaries of his - none of whom have the breadth or depth of his resume, though - I can't imagine any of these projects without John Williams's golden touch.

The Academy Awards have nominated Williams nearly 40 times and he's won five competitive Oscars - for Fiddler on the Roof, Jaws, Star Wars, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Schindler's List. Even though he has the second most wins and the most nominations of any composer, I still think Williams has been underrated by the Academy. I hope they present him with an honorary Oscar for his contributions to the art form at some point soon, before he's not around to accept it in person.

Did I miss any of your favorite John Williams scores?

Thanks for reading!