However, simply ranking soundtracks is an exercise in futility, because we would either alienate the readers with esoteric selections, or just laud a bunch of mainstream crap that’s so bland it’s offensive. Huh. I have a little more respect for the Grammy voters now.

Anyway, there are some truly horrible films out there that were a part of our lives only because they were fortunate enough to have inspired killer soundtracks that managed to outlive the legacy of their films. Seriously. When was the last time you thought of the movie Judgment Night?

Judgment Night

In the birth of his career, Denis Leary was a horrible actor. Just terrible. But because of his appeal to the MTV crowd, films managed to shoehorn him in to do his little rants and leave. No harm, no foul. He was the star heavy of Judgment Night acting opposite Jeremy Piven, Emilio Estevez, and Cuba Gooding Jr. Not good.

If only the film was as inspired as the soundtrack which exclusively featured collaborations between rock and rap acts doing original songs. While it’s a decidedly 90’s snapshot at both, where the hell else would you hear Del Tha Funkee Homosapian perform with Dinosaur Jr or Helmet mix it up with House of Pain? The results aren’t always successful, but it’s nice to hear so many angsty bands get out of their element with rappers.

Tron: Legacy

It’s all Daft Punk, all the time on this soundtrack, which serves as the one memorable aspect of the this sequel no one really asked for. Daft Punk forgoes their normal brand of electronic pop to create a much more symphonic vibe. The end result provides a gravity and intensity that the film can’t match, but if you’re working out or perhaps going to ride lit motorcycles against your nemesis in some sort of high-stakes drag race, perhaps you can do a better job than Joseph Kasinski did.