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.
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Lost Highway/Mercury (2000)
Selected by Mike Elliott
The best soundtracks not only transcend the films they score, but start musical revolutions on their own. There are only a handful that have done just that, and O Brother, Where Art Thou? Is definitely one that breathes that rarified air.
Taking America back to its own music of the early 20th century at the dawn of the 21st, the soundtrack shined a light on the timeless quality of the foundation of the pop music we cherish today, stripping away all pretense and exposing us to bluegrass, blues, folk, and gospel before they were separated into labels forced upon them by the music business. The artist roster spanned several generations: from the chilling gravitas of Ralph Stanley's "O Death" to Chris Thomas King (as Tommy Johnson)'s take on Skip James' "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues," to Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, and Gillian Welch guiding us through a beautiful, eerie a capella "Didn't Leave Nobody But The Baby."
It’s a soundtrack that made nearly as big an impact as Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music fifty years earlier.
LISTEN & WATCH: