10 Movies from the Early 2010s with Great Soundtracks

Summary

• Soundtracks inform emotions and complement on-screen content, creating a unique viewing experience.
• The 2010s saw a shift from tie-in songs to original music and needle drops in film soundtracks.
• Films like The Great Gatsby and Guardians of the Galaxy had iconic soundtracks that became integral to their success.

Soundtracks become tightly linked in our minds to the images and stories they accompany. They can inform the emotions present in a scene. They can even sometimes work against the scene’s content in strange ways, creating a contrast between what you’re watching and listening to, but they always complement what’s on-screen and add to it. The 2010s were an interesting decade for musical soundtracks. While the 1990s featured many high-profile films with major soundtrack pushes as a mix of synergy between the film studios and record labels, the digital age of music in the 2000s shifted how people listened to music drastically.

The day of the tie-in song sort of died out, as one looks at something like the early 2000′ superhero movies having “Hero” by Chad Kroger for Spider-Man or “Set Me Free” by Velvet Revolver for Hulk fell out of fashion. The early 2000s soundtracks were either big orchestral scores or indie movies with electric soundtracks that played like a personal mixtape from the director to the audience. This transitioned into the 2010s, which featured films that tried to find the middle ground between original music (many times in an attempt to score a Best Original Song Oscar nomination) and needle drops. The 2010s had so many great soundtracks that we’ve split it up into two sections. This first half will detail movies from 2010 to 2014, with the second list of movies highlighting the best soundtracks from 2015 to 2019.

Here are the best soundtracks of the early 2010s.

Update February 20, 2024: This article has been updated with more memorable soundtracks from the early 2010s that will make you get up from your seat and start moving your body.

10 The Great Gatsby (2013)

The Great Gatsby is the latest adaptation of the classic book by F. Scott Fitzgerald about an eccentric millionaire always having parties at his Long Island home. This time, Leonardo DiCaprio plays Gatsby, while his real-life best friend Tobey Maguire plays Nick Carraway, and Carey Mulligan plays Daisy, the woman Gatsby is in love with.

Baz Luhrmann’s Soundtracks Have Always Been One of a Kind

Baz Luhrmann’s soundtracks have always been one of a kind. From Romeo + Juliet to Moulin Rouge, it’s no surprise his Gatsby adaptation also has incredible music, creating a parallel between the lavish party life of the roaring 1920s story and the modern music that shows the common link between the previous era and modern-day hip-hop artist. This was a story that, due to being a literary classic, felt old and stiff, but Luhrman’s soundtrack recognizes this is a youthful story about passion, partying, and love lost. The list of artists is impressive: from Jay-Z and Beyoncé to Jack White and Andre 3000. Special mention to Lana Del Rey and her original track “Young and Beautiful” one of the many songs she’s done for movies and TV shows and one that also ties into the tragic theme of the film. Stream on Netflix

9 Frances Ha (2013)

Frances Ha is one of the films that best explores the quarter-life crisis, as the protagonist, Frances Ha (Greta Gerwig), is a bit lost after college and does not get all her dreams right away. When her best friend goes to live with her boyfriend, Frances must find a new apartment, and her whole life starts crumbling.

David Bowie’s song Encapsulates the Film’s Spirit

Director Noah Baumbach always has good soundtracks in his films, but this might be the best. T-Rex, Hot Chocolate, Harry Nilsson, and Paul McCartney’s songs appear in the movie. Even then, the most important one is David Bowie’s “Modern Love”, encapsulating perfectly the film, the character and Gerwig’s performance in one wistful, happy, fun scene. Stream on Netflix

Related: The 20 Best Movie Soundtracks and Musical Scores of 2023

8 Begin Again (2013)

As he did before with Once in 2007, director John Carney finds in Begin Again two souls who meet at a crossroads in their lives and are united by music. The movie stars Keira Knightley, Mark Ruffalo, and Adam Levine. Knightley plays a young down-on-luck musician who is about to leave the United States after her rock star boyfriend (Levine) breaks up with her after having an affair. Yet one night, her song is heard by a record producer (Ruffalo) who is also at a low point in his life and hears untapped potential in her.

Knightley Learned to Sing for the Role

Carney created the songs specifically for the movie, changing them along when the script was evolving so that they still make sense with Gretta’s (Knightley) story. The actress learned to sing for the role, and ended up being great, as you can hear her in the soundtrack with Levine in songs such as “Coming Up Roses”, “Lost Stars” and “Like a Fool”. Being Again is a movie all about music, so it stands to reason the soundtrack would be one of the best as it captures the spirit of the indie-new wave that was becoming popular in the mid-2010s and is a movie that truly captures a moment in time. Stream on Prime Video

7 Get on Up (2014)

Biopics about musicians with access to the artist’s music always have great soundtracks, and Get on Up is no different. This film is one of the best biopics about black music icons as it tells the story of James Brown (Chadwick Boseman), and as such, has every one of the genius singers at its disposal.

All of Brown’s Greatest Hits Are on this Soundtrack

This soundtrack is a list of James Brown’s greatest hits, making every song a banger. The director even had access to some life recordings that had never been released, like “I Got You (I Feel Good) (Live at Latin Casino)”, but it’s the singer’s biggest hits that will make you want to get up and start dancing, songs like “Please, Please, Please”, “Get Up (I Feel Like Being a Sex Machine)” or “I Got the Feelin (Live in Dallas)”. Stream on Netflix

6 Pitch Perfect (2012)

Pitch Perfect started as the tale of Beca (Anna Kendrick) and how she found her peers and family at college through a cappella singing. This is one of the best films about college, and it was such a success that it started a surprising franchise that continued with Pitch Perfect 2 in 2015 and Pitch Perfect 3 in 2017. The first film set the template for the franchise, featuring a cappella covers of classic music and an iconic riff-off, which would get better with each new entry.

A cappella Cover for the Win.

As the film’s centered on an a cappella group, it makes perfect sense that its soundtrack would be amazing, and the movie doesn’t disappoint. Although the breakout song was “Cups”, the film has a cappella covers of many popular songs like Bruno Mars’ “Just the Way You Are”, Simple Minds’ “Don’t You”, and Pitbull’s “Give Me Everything” to name a few. “Cups,” though, is the film’s signature song, one that transcended the movie and became a radio hit. Stream on Prime Video

5 Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a mix of comics, video games, action films, and musicals all rolled into one weird film where Scott (Michael Cera) must fight Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) evil seven exes to win her heart. Directed by Edgar Wright and adapted from the comic book series of the same name, the movie was a box office disappointment but has endured as a cult classic, partially thanks to the soundtrack.

Scott Plays in a Band, so the Soundtrack Had to Be Amazing

Scott plays base, and he’s in a band, so of course, the soundtrack had to be amazing. The film has songs written by Beck like “We’re Sex Bob-Omb”, while also using hits by many Canadian bands like Metric and Brocken Social Scene. Special mention for Brie Larson as Envy Adams and her singing of Metric’s “Black Sheep”, as she hits it out of the park. Stream on Amazon Prime Video

Related: Best Movie Soundtacks Composed By Famous Musical Artists

4 Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)

“Well the success movies have been done, haven’t they?” co-director Joel Coen told RottenTomatoes when asked if failure makes for a more interesting subject. Failure is indeed what defines the folk singer of Inside Llewyn Davis, played by Oscar Issac. He has such a purist attachment to his music’s authenticity that he’s almost disdainful of success itself, though he also knows all too well how much he needs it.

Great 50s Songs

As the film is about a musician, even if he’s a purist, the songs had to be good, and the Coen Brothers knew It. That’s why this film is full of great 50s songs that encapsulate the character’s journey and pays homage to many folk acts of the decae. The soundtrack, which includes songs like “Fare Thee Well”, is a great fit for the movie’s lyrical quality. It also has a catchy song named “Please Mr. Kennedy” that hilariously illustrates what selling out looks like to a horrified Llewyn. Plus it has the benefit of pairing the vocals of Justin Timberlake and Adam Driver, a pairing we didn’t know we wanted until we got it. Stream on Criterion Channel

3 Drive (2011)

In Drive, Ryan Gosling’s character is living as the hero of his own story, driving through the nights of L.A. listening to pop songs and rescuing damsels in distress. That’s when he’s not driving out from crime heists. The character is almost silent for most of the movie, so the soundtrack becomes pretty much a character as it creates the film’s unique tone.

The Songs Add Commentary to the Tale of Coolness and Ultra-Violence

“There’s something about you… It’s hard to explain,” goes the song “Nightcall” he listens to while on one of his drives. The songs add a great layer of commentary to this meta-tale of coolness laced with ultra-violence. The lyrics of “A Real Hero” speak to the wishful thinking of Gosling’s character to be “a real human being and a real hero,” despite the movie brilliantly showing the incompatibility of the two. That song explains the film brilliantly, but it’s not the only hit in the soundtrack. There’s also “Night Call”, “Oh My Love” and “Under My Spell”. Rent on Prime Video, Apple TV, and Google Play

2 Frozen (2013)

Frozen is an animated film by Disney that tells the story of Anna (Kristen Bell) as she must reverse the winter caused by her sister’s, Queen Elsa (Idina Menzel), powers. To do so, she’ll band with ice harvester Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), his reindeer Sven, and a snowman named Olaf (Josh Gad). Frozen featured original songs by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, who previously did the music for 2011’s Winnie the Pooh and also for hit Broadway shows Avenue Q and The Book of Mormon. Frozen was a movie that nobody saw coming. While Tangled and Wreck-it-Ralph were hits, Frozen was a box office juggernaut that took the world by storm, and a good part of that is due to the film’s soundtrack.

It Brought Back the Disney Animated Great Soundtracks

The film features plenty of great songs that became Disney classics from “First Time in Forever” to “Do You Want to Build a Snowman”, yet nobody can talk about Frozen without mentioning “Let It Go”. “Let It Go” was the key to the movie’s success, as it shifted from a villain song to an empowerment anthem, thanks to Menzel’s incredible vocals. The song became the first song from a Disney animated musical to reach the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 since 1995 when Vanessa L. Williams’s “Colors of the Wind” from Pocahontas peaked at number four on the chart. “Let It Go” won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and has become one of the most famous Disney songs of all time. In 2013 to even today, it’s hard to think of one kid who hasn’t belt out “Let It Go”. Stream on Disney+

1 Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

Guardians of the Galaxy follows Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Rocket (Bradley Cooper), and Groot (Vin Diesel) as this band of criminals bands together to stop an intergalactic villain from destroying countless worlds. This film was a big risk for Marvel, one that looked to take D-list heroes and turn them into household names. It became one of the biggest hits of 2014 and launched a fan-favorite franchise that continues to this day, and a good deal of the movie’s successes can be attributed to the soundtrack. In many ways, it is the reverse of Frozen. While Frozen featured all original songs, Guardians of the Galaxy became a soundtrack known for no original songs.

The Soundtrack Was Number One in the Billboard’s Top Soundtracks

Guardians of the Galaxy was an odd pitch for audiences, so one way to ground the intergalactic adventure was to tie the movie in with classic tracks from the 1970s. This becomes a major plot point as the songs from from a mix tape that Peter Quill’s mother created for him and act as an extension of her. The use of “Hooked on a Feeling” by Blue Swede in the trailer got the song trending on the charts, and by the time the movie hit in August 2014, songs like “Come and Get Your Love” by Redbone and “Cherry Bomb” by Joan Jett became linked to the Guardians of the Galaxy. At one point, Marvel’s creative committee wanted to drop The Walkman from the movie, but they allowed Kevin Feige and James Gunn to keep it in as they thought it was going to flop and could assert creative power over future Marvel movies. The opposite happened as it reached the top of the Billboard 200 chart, becoming the first soundtrack album consisting entirely of previously released songs to top the chart. Without a doubt, Guardians of the Galaxy is one of, if not the most defining soundtracks of the 2010s. Stream on Disney+