Home Alone and 11 more holiday movies with the best soundtracks

It’s Christmas time, which means folks are getting ready for big parties, shopping trips, movie marathons, and more. The list of holiday classics, anything from TV specials to old-style favorites, can fill entire websites. It helps that there are so many movies boasting some wonderful soundtracks perfect for the holiday season.

It’s easy to look at ones showing some classic songs we know by heart. Yet some movies are better with some fantastic scores that capture the season perfectly and elevate the films more. For your holiday pleasure, here are 12 movies boasting the best Christmas season soundtracks and music worth listening to at any time of the year.

Holiday movies with the best soundtracks

Home Alone

Having the legendary John Williams compose your score is always a good sign your movie is going to work. So it’s no shock that the multiple Oscar winner turned in a fantastic soundtrack for this mega-smash hit movie. “Somewhere In My Memory” is a fun song, yet it’s the score that works, especially for the sequence of Kevin arming his house with traps.

Williams wonderfully lays down some Christmas themes (see how “Carol of the Bells” leads to “Setting the Traps”) and the main theme is probably his most underrated. It’s just natural that arguably the greatest movie composer delivered the ultimate Christmas movie soundtrack.

Die Hard

Yes, Die Hard is a Christmas movie as well as one of the greatest action pieces ever. And among the many reasons it still works is Michael Kamen’s score. It’s amazing how he builds up the thrills via violins and the sting of danger to mark the terrorists taking over Nakatomi Plaza and John McClane fighting back.

Kamen’s spin on “Ode to Joy” is magnificent in making it the unofficial theme for the series while the synth and trumpets pay off for the thrilling climax. All it takes is one listen to imagine every instant of the film and throwing in some Run-DMC is just the icing on the cake.

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Tim Burton and Danny Elfman always worked wonderfully together, and this is probably their best. Elfman is fantastic at mixing Christmas and Halloween themes together, from “What’s This” to “Jack’s Lament” to the earworm of “Oogie Boogie’s Song.” That’s not to mention the score itself, brilliantly shifting from bright and joyful to terrifying to match Jack’s misguided attempts to replace Santa Claus with horrible “gifts.” Thirty years after its premiere, the movie is an animated masterpiece, and Elfman’s music is a key reason why.

Muppet Christmas Carol

No matter what, the Muppets always have great songs in their movies. Paul Williams outdid himself with this take as he delivered some of his best work ever. “One More Sleep Till Christmas” is gorgeous, and “Scrooge” has Michael Caine’s wickedly fun vocals and more delightful tunes. The biggest is “When Love Was Gone,” famously cut from the theatrical release but restored to be the highlight of the film. The actual score by Miles Goodman fits the Muppets’ perfectly, whimsical, and a gorgeous Christmas setting, so no wonder many consider this the best Muppet movie ever.

White Christmas

The best Christmas musical ever? Quite probably, as Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye are terrific as song-and-dance men trying to save their former general’s inn from ruin. Of course, the title song is as classic as any Christmas tune and one Crosby used for the rest of his life. Yet the movie is packed with more Irving Berlin gems from “Snow” to the fun “Sisters” to the lavish “Mandy.” A fun bit is how it goes from the warmer Florida opening to the colder areas later with a big-band feel, but it’s that final song that is always remembered and why this ranks as a must-play for Christmas time.

Elf

John Denby has dabbled in a lot of genres, from horror (I Know What You Did Last Summer) to action (Cutthroat Island). So it says something that his score for the modern-day Will Ferrell classic is probably his best work. Denby smartly makes the music match Buddy’s journey from wide-eyed innocence to navigating New York City, a lovely festive mood that hits every beat (bells, choir, violin melodies) but with just the right edge to it. Zooey Deschanel has a lovely take on “Baby It’s Cold Outside” and a few holiday classics to make this as great as when it premiered in 2003.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

The 2000 live-action take on the Dr. Seuss classic may be wild, but it also boasts fine music. Of course, there had to be the famous “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” which Jim Carrey delivers with gusto. There’s also “Where Are You Christmas,” which has become a must-listen for holiday radio stations. The late, great James Horner provides some fun tunes, mixing the original TV special’s music with fresh bombast, capturing the flavor of the story well. The movie has its detractors, but the music makes it shine quite well.

Meet Me In St. Louis

Okay, the Christmas portion of this movie is small, as it’s only one of several holidays covered in the 1944 classic. Yet it has some terrific songs like “The Trolley Song,” “The Boy Next Door,” and the title track, all of which are handled by Judy Garland at her most charming. But what makes this a must is the debut of the Christmas standard “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” and no one sang it better than Garland. That alone merits inclusion on this list, even as the movie itself is delightful.

The Polar Express

Debate the visuals if you want, but this computer-animated saga also has a great soundtrack. Alan Silvestri smartly plays it like a train chugging along with unique beats from the Hot Chocolate number to the thrills of the train sliding across ice. There’s also the Oscar-nominated “Believe” and “Seeing is Believing,” which brings all the themes (musical and storywise) of the film together. It’s one of Silvestri’s best scores and aids this film in being so beloved by so many youngsters. After all, where else can you hear Tom Hanks and Stephen Tyler belting out some fun Christmas lyrics?

Love Actually

20 years after its premiere, this movie can be divisive. For every person who loves it, there’s another who doesn’t, and it’s been mocked and copied endlessly. But one thing most can agree on is the movie does boast a great soundtrack. Not every song has to do with the holidays, but there are great ones like Kelly Clarkson’s “The Trouble With Love Is” and artists on the soundtrack range from Norah Jones to the Beach Boys. Yet there are great Christmas songs, too, from Otis Redding’s “White Christmas” to Bill Nighy’s fun take on “Christmas is All Around,” with Craig Armstrong providing a festive score. So put aside the debate on the quality and just enjoy the film’s great music for some holiday romance.

Scrooged

Richard Donnor’s wild take on A Christmas Carol has Bill Murray in one of his best performances in the Scrooge role. So, the soundtrack is fittingly a slightly sardonic take on a holiday music playlist. You’ve got “A Christmas Song” by Natalie Cole, U2’s rare Christmas tune “Sweetest Thing,” and Annie Lennox and Al Green come together for the wonderful “Put a Little Love in Your Heart.” Danny Elfman’s fun score is almost a dry run for A Nightmare Before Christmas, but like the movie itself, it overcomes cynicism and is a great soundtrack to play at a party.

A Christmas Story

40 years after being ignored in theaters, this 1983 comedy is a staple to the point of having 24-hour marathons. Jeff Morrow’s soundtrack perfectly captures the 1940s Midwest setting with clever beats (such as using “Peter and the Wolf” for the theme of bully Scut Farkus). The whimsy is amazing, from the leg lamp to the roving dogs to the “tongue frozen to the pole” sequence. There’s some old-timey Christmas tunes mixed in, but Morrow’s score stands on its own for a charming piece that helped transform the movie into a cult classic.