Ten Great Score Composers

I started to think recently about how much a good score affects the movie. (You can see on the right side of of this page a list of some of my personal favorite scores and the composers that made them.) Too often people, including even the best directors, forget how much a great score can impact their film. When establishing a scene, a score sets the mood. For example, slow strings bring emotion (like Zimmer's Last Samurai score), heavy drum beats bring war (like Silvestri's Beowulf score), and a chorus adds intensity (like James Dooley's Trinity or Prophecy). A movie truly loses a lot of depth without the right music. So with this said, here is the list of my favorite composers.

1. Hans Zimmer (Gladiator, King Arthur, Pirates of the Caribbean, Batman Begins, Pearl Harbor...) Zimmer is a truly gifted composer. He is extremely diverse in what movies he scores. He has done everything from Pirates of the Carribean to The Simpson's Movie. Each score includes something fresh and innovative. He is especially not afraid to try new approaches to score production. Zimmer often works with Jerry Bruckheimer
2. Danny Elfman (Batman, Spider-Man, Sleepy Hollow, Good Will Hunting, Men in Black...)
Danny Elfman is a classic composer, and much like Zimmer he is very diverse in the films that he scores for. Also like Zimmer he comes from a rock and roll background ans had little prior knowledge before scoring films. His music is very original and often uses grand themes. Sometimes these themes can push the limits of overuse however they always seem to still work well. Elfman often works with Tim Burton
3. Harry-Gregson-Williams (Narnia, Kingdom of Heaven, Team America...)
Harry Gregson-Williams has seemed to grow in popularity the last few years. He is an excellent composer that gets some of his music experience from working with Remote Control Productions alongside Hans Zimmer. His style is very epic and often reflects the cultures present in the film. He creates some excellent scores
4. Klaus Badelt (K-19 Widow Maker, Pirates of the Caribbean 1 (COTBP), Equilibrium...)
Few composers are diverse as Klaus Badelt. Like Gregson-Williams, he also worked with Remote Control Productions. His first really recognized film was Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl in which he worked with Hans Zimmer and team of other composers to create a score in little time. His music always seems to fit the scene, no matter how simple the piece or scene may be.
5. John Williams (Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Minority Report, Home Alone, Empire of the Sun...) Perhaps, one of the most recognized composers among the general public, John Williams is very gifted. As a modern traditional composer there are few who compare. However sometimes Williams music is very traditional and doesn't quite have the necessary feel to it. It often needs to be darker for example. But this is his style and traditional orchestra fans love Williams like no other.
6. John Barry (James Bond, Dances with Wolves...)
John Barry is an innovator. He has been doing scores for generations. His work is present in many films from the 60's on and he has won several academy awards.
7. James Dooley (When a Stranger Calls, Spider-Man 3 trailer, Golden Compass trailer)
My personal favorite composer, Dooley is still up and coming in the movie score industry. The reason I rank him at 7 is that very reason. However, at the rate he is going it is only a matter of time before he is well renowned. Especially after his work with Hans Zimmer on several big budget films.
8. Alan Silvestri (Forrest Gump, Beowulf, Back to the Future, Polar Express)
Alan Silvestri is a very popular composer. He has delivered several big movie scores. He often works with Robert Zemeckis on his films.
9. Steve Jablonsky (Transformers, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Island)
Jablonsky is relatively unknown, but Transformers really helped to put him into the spotlight some more. His score for the film was really well done and helped to truly capture the feel of the movie. It made a film of a questionably serious nature much more serious.
10. John Powell (X-Men 3 (TLS), The Bourne Trilogy, The Italian Job ,United 93...)
John Powell has really come to the spotlight in the last decade. His scoring is often subtle like in (The Bourne Identity) or can be over the top (like in X-Men 3). One of the most fascinating things about Powell is a lack of consistent style from film to film. This is perhaps what makes him effective. He can really give a new approach to a new film.