# 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?

*By YPB Team · Published June 4, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/what-is-the-best-howard-shore-film-score*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Chicago** — score 1000/1000
   The 2002 Academy Award-winning musical score energizing the Jazz Age with verve and style.
2. **Se7en** — score 1000/1000
   The 1995 neo-noir thriller score capturing industrial dread and urban decay.
3. **The Silence of the Lambs** — score 927/1000
   The 1991 psychological horror score of unsettling restraint built around Hannibal Lecter's menace.
4. **Naked Lunch** — score 840/1000
   The 1991 Cronenberg avant-garde score mixing jazz improvisation with destabilizing orchestral textures.
5. **The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey** — score 840/1000
   The 2012 score expanding the Middle-earth sound palette with lighter, more whimsical tones.
6. **The Departed** — score 733/1000
   The 2006 crime drama score by Shore, mixing Dropkick Murphys needle-drops with tense orchestral cues.
7. **A History of Violence** — score 600/1000
   The 2005 Cronenberg thriller score of sparse, haunting minimalism.
8. **The Fly** — score 467/1000
   The 1986 Cronenberg horror score deploying operatic grandeur for a grotesque transformation tale.
9. **The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring** — score 467/1000
   The 2001 score that established the sweeping, fully realized world of Middle-earth.
10. **The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King** — score 86/1000
   The 2003 Academy Award-winning score and triumphant conclusion to the Middle-earth trilogy.
11. **Gangs of New York** — score 86/1000
   The 2002 Scorsese historical epic score blending Irish folk and period chamber music.
12. **Eastern Promises** — score 1/1000
   The 2007 Cronenberg crime drama score blending Russian folk music with tense orchestration.
13. **The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers** — score 1/1000
   The 2002 score featuring Rohan's haunting theme and the thunderous Battle of Helm's Deep.

Tags: film score, movie music, soundtracks, howard shore