Top 10 Scores Turning 30 in 2022

Back to our musical score time machine! For this edition, we're looking back to 1992!  Here's a look back at the scores of the year with my list of the 10 Best Scores Turning 30!

Let's start the ranking!

10. A River Runs Through It (Mark Isham)

After a rejected score by Elmer Bernstein, Isham provided a lush orchestral score to Robert Redford's film.  The expressive score is full of touching Americana melodies and lovely instrumental solos.  

9. The Power of One (Hans Zimmer)

While Hans Zimmer is top billed as composer, the real star of the music is Lebo M's masterful choral arrangements.  The film is full of acoustic drumming, panpipes and South African singers.  Notably, it was this score that inspired the directors to hire Zimmer (and also Lebo M) to score The Lion King.  Many seeds of his Disney work are heard throughout this drama. 

8. Alien 3 (Elliot Goldenthal)

In a departure from the action mode in Aliens, Goldenthal's score is unnerving from the get-go.  The darkly dissonant score perfectly captures the mood of the film with well crafted advanced orchestral writing.  

7. Sneakers (James Horner)

Horner crams tons of themes and inventive moments into the fun caper.  There is plenty of light jazz moments with soloist Branford Marsalis, with suspense cues and thrilling moments.  

6. Last of the Mohicans (Trevor Jones, Randy Edelman)

The score shines with a fantastic main theme.  After the rush of orchestral reworking by Jones, Edelman came in to fill the gaps of the score.  The two composers' styles don't necessarily mesh, which is a shame.  The highlights of the best selling album are mainly from from Jones' work (and his arrangement of The Gael). 

5. Bram Stoker's Dracula (Wojciech Kilar)

Known for his classical work, Kilar made a splash with his large scale Gothic score to the Coppola retelling.  His main three themes are magnificent and are used nicely throughout the score.  Naturally the score has several passionate moments and also some terrifying vocals.  
   
4. Aladdin (Alan Menken)

Similar to his other scores of the time, the backbone is filled with versions of his fantastic song melodies and the usual amount of cartoonish writing.  The score works the best in the adventure-filled darker moments with bold brass and "Arabian" influences.

3. Batman Returns (Danny Elfman)

Elfman expanded his dark soundscape of Gotham with more mature writing style.  He notably spends much of the score focused on the villains.  Penguin and Catwoman themes are featured with sliding strings, lullaby-like melodies, and carnival material.  It's the Burton-iest film, and Elfman provided a strong score for that.

2. Basic Instinct (Jerry Goldsmith)

It would be hard to imagine the film's suspense, violence and sex without Goldsmith's score.  His alluring strings, synths and main melody add much to the erotic thriller.  The rumble of the piano and searing orchestral stabs add to the drama. 

1. Far and Away (John Williams)

There's something magical about this Williams score.  Perhaps it is the love theme, the rollicking Irish influences or the glorious set pieces like The Land Race where Williams gets to really shine.  It all perfectly comes together in the end credits, making it one of his most enjoyable.

Honorable Mentions:

1492: The Conquest of Paradise (Vangelis)

Chaplin (John Barry)

Death Becomes Her (Alan Silvestri)

Honey, I Blew Up the Kid (Bruce Broughton)

Medicine Man (Jerry Goldsmith)

Patriot Games (James Horner)

Scent of a Woman (Thomas Newman)

Any personal favorites of yours from 1992 that I didn't include?