Editor’s Note: The Albumism staff has selected what we believe to be the 100 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time, representing a varied cross-section of films and musical genres. Click “Next Soundtrack” below to explore each soundtrack in the list or for easier navigation, view the full introduction & soundtrack index here.
Empire Records
A&M (1995)
Selected by Justin Chadwick
An entertaining, if somewhat dated flick, Empire Records is one of the first films to examine the drama-filled coexistence of record shop coworkers, five years before the superior Nick Hornby adaptation High Fidelity hit theaters. The film has left an indelible impression on many wistful thirty- and forty-somethings who lived their formative years during the ‘90s, as most recently evidenced by the faux “Rex Manning Day” event that Rough Trade NYC staged with great success a few years ago.
The soundtrack is pretty much as ‘90s mainstream radio rock as it gets, bolstered by the Gin Blossoms’ album opener and smash single “Til I Hear It From You,” Edwyn Collins’ “A Girl Like You,” The Cranberries’ “Liar,” Toad the Wet Sprocket’s “Crazy Life,” and Evan Dando’s “The Ballad of El Goodo,” with additional fare from ephemeral ‘90s bands most notably including Better Than Ezra and Cracker. One of the more overlooked standouts is “Bright as Yellow” by The Innocence Mission, the Pennsylvania band that has cultivated a prolific recorded repertoire since.
Quite a nostalgic trip, this one, and a musical pleasure just this side of guilty.
LISTEN & WATCH: