Hey kids, it’s time for another of our patented film score rankings! If you missed them, please check out our previous rankings of the films of 1984, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, DreamWorks Animation, and Star Trek feature films.

This time, we’re celebrating the 35th anniversary of 1985 and ranking the scores from films released that year.

1985 was a phenomenal year at the movies. Looking back, it was a treasure trove of geek-friendly and 80s classics. It was the year of The Goonies and Explorers, of Fright Night and Follow That Bird. It was the year that gave us He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword and The Care Bears Movie. And it was the year that gave us the cinematic masterpiece Ewoks: The Battle for Endor.

And lest you think sequels are a recent Hollywood trend, 1985 had more than its fair share. We got Rambo: First Blood Part II, Rocky IV, A Nightmare on Elm St 2, Friday the 13th Part V, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Jewel of the Nile, Day of the Dead, Police Academy 2, Missing in Action 2, Death Wish 3, Godzilla 1985, Porky’s Revenge, Red Sonja, and National Lampoon’s European Vacation. Oh, and a Bond movie for good measure (A View to a Kill).

1985 also saw the film debuts of, among others, Joan Allen, Fairuza Balk, Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Helena Bonham Carter, Don Cheadle, Whoopi Goldberg, Ethan Hawke, LL Cool J, Hugh Laurie, Dolph Lundgren, Madonna, Alyssa Milano, River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, Christian Slater, Danny Trejo, Stanley Tucci, Blair Underwood, Oprah Winfrey, and Billy Zane.

So how did we compile this list? Easy. We listened to as many of the scores and soundtracks from 1985 as we could. Some of them aren’t exactly easy to track down, but between Amazon Music, Spotify, YouTube, and our own collection, we listened to 68 scores and soundtracks.

From there, we whittled it down to the 20 best for you to seek out and pour into your own ear holes. (I’ll tell you that it was surprisingly difficult to narrow down a final list for 11-20).

What’s NOT included here? This is a ranking of the best original film scores. Soundtracks with pop songs were not considered. 1985 had a lot of those, and many – including The Breakfast Club, St. Elmo’s Fire, and Weird Science – are classics and include some great songs. This list is orchestral scores only.

And remember, this is a ranking of the music – NOT the films themselves. Try to ignore your feelings about the film as a whole package and just focus on the score.

So without further ado, here we go…

Honorable Mentions

Ewoks: The Battle for Endor* (composed by Peter Bernstein)

Legend (composed by Jerry Goldsmith)

The Man with One Red Shoe (composed by Thomas Newman)

A View to a Kill (composed by John Barry)

Young Sherlock Holmes (composed by Bruce Broughton)

*We’re just as surprised as you are.

20. Enemy Mine

composed by Maurice Jarre

currently out of print; on YouTube here

listen to “The Relationship,” “Davidge’s Lineage”

The first of two scores by Maurice Jarre on the list, Enemy Mine is an oft-forgotten and -neglected film that really deserves more recognition. Jarre’s score fits the film perfectly and is very much in the “mid 80s science fiction” wheelhouse.

19. Red Sonja

composed by Ennio Morricone

available on Amazon Music

listen to “Main Title,” “Varna’s Death”

Basil Poledouris’s score for Conan the Destroyer didn’t even make our 1984 list, so this was a definite surprise. But it really shouldn’t have been, with the legendary Morricone at the helm. The film may be… problematic, but the music is suitably epic high fantasy. Morricone may be most well known for his Westerns, but let’s give credit to his valiant effort given this sword and sorcery cheesefest.

18. The Black Cauldron

composed by Elmer Bernstein

available from Amazon here and a (bootleg?) “complete recordings” is on YouTube here

listen to “Forbidden Forest/Gurgi,” “Escape from the Castle”

As an unabashed Lloyd Alexander fan, I have a definite soft spot for this film, even though it doesn’t come near the top of anyone’s list of Disney favorites. I was 7 in 1985, which is pretty much the sweet spot for this kind of movie. It was a curveball for Disney, for sure, since it doesn’t feature any songs and it was SO DARK. But Bernstein churned out an epic score worthy of a MUCH better film (and “spooky” cues and sounds that recall his Ghostbusters score).

17. The Purple Rose of Cairo

composed by Dick Hyman

AFAIK, this only ever had a vinyl release back in the day and hasn’t ever been reissued, so here it is on YouTube

listen to “Penny Pitching,” “Medley for Trombone Soloist”

Listen, I hear you. I hate that I’m including a Woody Allen film on this list, but remember – we’re ranking the music, NOT the films… or the filmmakers. And Hyman’s jazzy score for The Purple Rose of Cairo is just a joy to listen to.

16. Witness

composed by Maurice Jarre

available on Amazon Music

listen to “Main Title/Journey to Baltimore,” “Building the Barn”

Jarre’s score for Witness was nominated for both the Academy Award and Golden Globe. Jarre eschewed an orchestral sound here and used synthesizers and computerized sounds extensively, which makes this score sound like another – but incredibly different – Harrison Ford film: Blade Runner.

15. The Trip to Bountiful

composed by J.A.C. Redford

available on Amazon Music

listen to “Mother Watts’ Escape,” “Bus Ride”

So, J.A.C. Redford has had quite an… eclectic career. For decades, he’s composed “serious” classical, choral, and chamber music. Concurrent with that, though, he’s composed tons of music for film and TV, much of which is far from “serious”: Oliver & Company, the second and third Mighty Ducks films, and the TV show Coach. The Trip to Bountiful, though, was one of his first feature film scores, and it’s a gorgeous, poetic, emotional journey.

14. Return to Oz

composed by David Shire

available from Intrada here

listen to “The Headquarters Flight in the Storm,” “The Ruined House,” “Tik Tok Revised”

David Shire came from a long and storied career composing music for the stage and more “serious” films like All the President’s Men and 2010 (even a rejected score for Apocalypse Now). Then he did Return to Oz and the rest is history; two years later, he’d score everyone’s favorite goofy robot movie, Short Circuit. Return to Oz might have developed a cult following and be one of the Creepiest Movies Ever Made™, but Shire’s music is dark, moody, and compelling.

13. Ran

composed by Toru Takemitsu

available on Amazon Music

listen to “Suite Part 1,” “Hell’s Picture Scroll”

Takemitsu was a preeminent Japanese composer who scored more than 100 films in about 40 years. But his music for Kurosawa’s Ran is extraordinary. At the risk of cliche, it bridges East and West with a classical orchestral score accented by Japanese drums and flute. And for a film that sets King Lear in feudal Japan, it’s pretty much perfect. Ran has since become regarded as one of Kurosawa’s finest achievements – and one of the best films ever made – and thankfully, Takemitsu delivered a musical soundscape worthy of the film.

12. The Journey of Natty Gann

composed by James Horner

currently out of print (but I hear there’s a place for these sorts of things)

listen to “Freight Train,” “Rustling,” “Getting There”

This one’s got an interesting history. Film vet Elmer Bernstein actually composed an entire score for The Journey of Natty Gann, which was ultimately rejected. (That score was released by Varèse Sarabande Records in 2008, but it’s long out of print and impossible to find now.) Then James Horner was brought in to give it a go, delivered a western-flavor score that recalls Aaron Copland, and we’ve got our #12. As has been said elsewhere, “If summarized in short, it could be said that Bernstein scored the land and Horner scored the people.” One of two Horner scores to make our Top 20, this was also one of FIVE scores he had in 1985.

11. Clue

composed by John Morris

currently out of print (but it might be found on the ol’ YooToobs)

listen to “Main Title,” “Step by Step,” “End Title”

You know how much fun the movie is? Morris’s score is just as much fun. You might not know John Morris by name, but he collaborated with and scored nearly ALL of Mel Brooks’s films. (He did the original arrangement of “Springtime for Hitler” from The Producers.) Two years after this would be a big year for him with both Spaceballs and Dirty Dancing hitting theaters. But his score for Clue is certainly nothing to sneeze at. It’ll make you want to watch the movie again… as if you needed a reason.

10. Cocoon

composed by James Horner

available on Amazon Music

listen to “Sad Goodbyes,” “The Ascension,” “Theme from Cocoon”

Does anything scream 1980s more than a film starring Steve Guttenberg and Wilford Brimley? I doubt it. The music here – lots of soft horns and brass amid a sea of strings – well, there’s no mistaking this score as anyone but James Horner. There are definite hints of 1982’s The Wrath of Khan in here, but that’s hardly a bad thing. The score to Cocoon is the perfect accompaniment to a rainy day; it’s the musical equivalent of a freshly laundered warm blanket.

9. Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure

composed by Danny Elfman

available on Amazon Music

listen to “Overture (The Big Race),” “The Drive-In,” “Finale”

Behold: Danny Elfman’s first score for a major studio film (and only his second ever). Elfman caught director Tim Burton’s ear, and he used this film as his launchpad to move away from pop songs with Oingo Boingo to composing music for films. Elfman would eventually go on to score more than 100 films, get four Academy Award nominations, and be named a Disney Legend. But it all started here… with Pee-Wee. And even if you hate Pee-Wee Herman, you can’t deny how whimsical and flat-out fun Elfman’s music is here.

8. Explorers

composed by Jerry Goldsmith

out of print and available for the price of a spare kidney (but it’s on YouTube… shh)

listen to “The Construction,” “First Flight”

1985 was a golden year for what became the 80s kids-on-an-adventure cliche (that would eventually inspire Stranger Things). One of the classics of that genre is Joe Dante’s Explorers, in which a young Ethan Hawke and River Phoenix travel through space in a Tilt-a-Whirl. To this day, I can’t see a Tilt-a-Whirl without thinking of this movie. Goldsmith’s score is suitably epic, adventurous, and… galactic. There are parts that are remarkably similar to “Shuffle or Boogie” – the music from the card game side quest in Final Fantasy VIII. How’s THAT for a deep cut?

7. Brazil

composed by Michael Kamen

available on Amazon here

listen to “Sam Lowry’s 1st Dream/Brazil,” “The Restaurant”

This was a tough one to rank so high since so much of the soundtrack relies on Ary Barroso’s “Aquarela do Brazil,” which just happens to be one of the most famous Brazilian songs ever. Still, Kamen weaves that tune (and variations on it, including an English version sung by Kate Bush) throughout his score – and every bit of it is magical. This is one of those cases of “I can’t imagine this film without this music.”

6. King Solomon’s Mines

composed by Jerry Goldsmith

available on Amazon Music

listen to “Good Morning,” “Pain,” “No Diamonds/End Title”

I’ll be honest. I’d never even heard of this film before working on this ranking. And from what I’ve read, it’s really not a very good film. (It’s a comedic, tongue-in-cheek adaptation of the story that intentionally lampoons Indiana Jones. And it’s an impressively low 8% on Rotten Tomatoes.) But Goldsmith didn’t let that hold him back from creating an epic score worthy of the best adventure films.

5. Agnes of God

composed by Georges Delerue

available on Amazon Music

listen to “Part I (Version Two),” “Part II (Version Seven)”

This is another film I’d never heard of, even though the score was nominated for an Academy Award. And it was very much deserved. French composer Delerue isn’t exactly a household name (though he composed some 350 scores for film and TV, including the divine Joe vs the Volcano in 1990), but his choir-heavy score here is ethereal and transportive.

4. The Goonies

composed by Dave Grusin

available on Amazon Music or from Varèse Sarabande here

listen to “Fratelli Chase,” “The Goondocks,” “No Firme and Pirate Ship”

For 25 years, we were denied access to Grusin’s unbelievable score to The Goonies. The original soundtrack was heavy with the Cyndi Lauper and other 80s pop giants, but it wasn’t until 2010 that a full score release hit the market (thanks to Varèse Sarabande) and we were reminded of just how great the music in this movie really is. If this music doesn’t make you want to be 11 years old, hop on your bike, and take off with your friends in search of adventure… well, you might just be dead.

3. The Color Purple

composed and produced by Quincy Jones

available on Amazon Music

listen to “Overture,” “Miss Celie’s Blues,” “The First Letter”

Listen, when you take a Pulitzer Prize (and National Book Award) winning novel and attach Steven Spielberg to direct the film adaptation, you sort of expect some phenomenal music. Lo and behold, Quincy Jones’s score delivers and was nominated for both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe. The music is a delicious mixture of sweeping orchestral cues, highly personal jazz-infused orchestrations, gospel and blues songs, and Southern folk music. And even though a Broadway musical based on the source material debuted in 2005, its music wasn’t from the film. Still, that’s not stopping Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, and Quincy Jones from coming together again to film an adaptation of the musical. That has to be a first.

2. Back to the Future

composed by Alan Silvestri

available from Amazon here

listen to “The Libyans,” “The Skateboard Chase,” “The Clock Tower,” “End Titles”

I don’t use the term perfect movie lightly. Nevertheless, here we are. Back to the Future was the highest-grossing film of 1985, launched a trilogy, and become a cultural phenomenon that’s still going strong. It’s actually kind of amazing that a year before, director Robert Zemeckis and composer Alan Silvestri teamed up on Romancing the Stone… which my notes from the 1984 ranking tell me was heavy on the saxophone and sounded a lot like Skinemax. Thankfully, they took this one in a different direction. Silvestri’s wonderfully fun score can be identified with just a few notes (six, actually). It’s so good that the scores to the two sequels are remarkably similar and still perfect.

Drumroll please! The best film score from 1985 is…

1. Out Of Africa

composed by John Barry

available on Amazon Music

listen to the entire thing, but especially “Main Title,” “Flying Over Africa,” “If I Know a Song of Africa”

Come on. Barry’s score for Out Of Africa won both the Academy Award and Golden Globe for a reason. Listening to this score feels like falling in love. It’s signature John Barry that’s probably the best score of his legendary career. The American Film Institute (AFI) ranked it at #15 on their list of greatest film scores OF ALL TIME. It’s melodic, sweeping, emotional, gorgeous, and it will stay with you for days.