Top 10 Scores Turning 20 in 2024

Back to our musical score time machine! For this edition, we're looking way back to 2004! Here's a look back at the scores of the year with my list of the 10 Best Scores Turning 20!

Let's start the ranking!

10. Troy (James Horner)

Written after the great Gabriel Yared score was dropped, Horner wrote Troy in a pinch. Utilizing some well-worn tropes, Horner was still able to build on emotional and action beats with a strong Trojan theme, love theme and female vocals.

9. The Aviator (Howard Shore)

Martin Scorsese doesn't always have a full original score, and here Shore's work really shines. It showcases the dark moments in between the plentiful songs, using some repeated ostinatos. The flying sequences give the main theme that is showcased with big brass and percussion. The repetition also helps underscore Hughes' downfall in the finale.

8. Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (Thomas Newman)

Truly a great combo of composer and darker children's story. Newman's oddly placed themes, rhythms and orchestration work for the quirky film. He's able to be more eclectic in his styles, while still maintaining the signature Thomas Newman soundscape.

7. Spider-Man 2 (Danny Elfman)

Elfman built on the original score with even more action and orchestral chaos. We hear several past themes (some tracked directly from the first), a strong theme for Doc Ock and some behind the scenes drama leading to varied composers adding their work in.

6. Van Helsing (Alan Silvestri)

Silvestri understood the larger than life needs for this assignment. Silvestri's bombastic score has the elements of gothic choir, huge amounts of percussion, homages to classic monsters. It has all the trappings of Silvestri action and drama that make it a delight to listen to.

5. The Passion of the Christ (John Debney)

Debney's score is a moving addition to Mel Gibson's popular and controversial film. The score utilizes a mix of classical and ancient sounds - full of wailing vocals and middle eastern instrumentation. There's also some strong dissonance in the more upsetting scenes but some gorgeous string writing later in the film.

4. The Village (James Newton Howard)

Another great score for the JNH/Shyamalan collaboration. We get an overall more restrained, moody score. It's the Hilary Hahn violin solos that carry the score to the next level, and its tone is stronger than the film itself.

3. The Polar Express (Alan Silvestri)

Silvestri jumped into the Christmas spirit with this animated tale with director Robert Zemeckis. Strong themes, thrilling adventure and childlike wonder surround every cue. We get lots of large choir and typical Silvestri bombast with several themes put to lyrics.

2. The Incredibles (Michael Giacchino)

Giacchino burst onto the Pixar scene with his jazzy score. Full of adventure music, and spy moments with some strong homages to Lalo Schifrin and John Barry. Its brass and percussion work made it stand out from previous (and gentler) Pixar entries.

1. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (John Williams)

Even after composing music for the first two films, Williams' score took a different direction that ended up being one of his best modern scores. Instead of focusing on his past themes, the score matured to include several iconic musical set pieces and new themes.

Honorable Mentions:
Finding Neverland (Jan A. P. Kaczmarek), Hidalgo (James Newton Howard), Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (Edward Shearmur), The Terminal (John Williams)

Any personal favorites of yours from 2004 that I didn't include?