What is the best Howard Shore film score?

Howard Shore's majestic Lord of the Rings scores are among the most beloved in film history, but his catalog spans thrillers, dramas, and horrors. Which score defines his legacy?

1

Chicago

The 2002 Academy Award-winning musical score energizing the Jazz Age with verve and style.

1000pts

2

Se7en

The 1995 neo-noir thriller score capturing industrial dread and urban decay.

999pts

3

The Silence of the Lambs

The 1991 psychological horror score of unsettling restraint built around Hannibal Lecter's menace.

954pts

4

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

The 2012 score expanding the Middle-earth sound palette with lighter, more whimsical tones.

899pts

5

Naked Lunch

The 1991 Cronenberg avant-garde score mixing jazz improvisation with destabilizing orchestral textures.

899pts

6

The Departed

The 2006 crime drama score by Shore, mixing Dropkick Murphys needle-drops with tense orchestral cues.

833pts

7

A History of Violence

The 2005 Cronenberg thriller score of sparse, haunting minimalism.

749pts

8

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

The 2001 score that established the sweeping, fully realized world of Middle-earth.

666pts

9

The Fly

The 1986 Cronenberg horror score deploying operatic grandeur for a grotesque transformation tale.

666pts

10

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

The 2003 Academy Award-winning score and triumphant conclusion to the Middle-earth trilogy.

428pts

11

Gangs of New York

The 2002 Scorsese historical epic score blending Irish folk and period chamber music.

428pts

12

Eastern Promises

The 2007 Cronenberg crime drama score blending Russian folk music with tense orchestration.

249pts

13

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

The 2002 score featuring Rohan's haunting theme and the thunderous Battle of Helm's Deep.

0pts