10 Best Hans Zimmer Movie Songs, Ranked
He kicked off his career with the 1982 British drama Moonlighting but didn’t become a household name until he received his first Oscar nomination for his breakout film, 1988’s Rain Man. From there, Hans Zimmer has only gotten better and better. The two-time Oscar winner scores multiple movies every year, staying consistently exceptional each time and delivering some of the best and most iconic movie scores in history.
Being the case that Zimmer is many people’s favorite composer of all time, the conversation about what his best score is always brings up an interesting discussion where dozens upon dozens of great movies come up. A competition that’s even more strongly contended, though, is that of which are the best tracks that Zimmer has composed throughout his career. From the poignant to the exciting and poetic, Hans Zimmer’s best songs are some of the best that have ever been created for a film. For variety’s sake, this list will be limited to only one track per film.
10
“Davy Jones”
‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest’ (2006)
The Pirates of the Caribbean movies, the first three in particular, are full of hauntingly beautiful and irresistibly thrilling songs. The best of the three scores is perhaps the second one, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. The film is far bigger, more epic, and more emotional than its predecessor, which naturally demanded an equally grand score. Zimmer was up to the challenge.
The album has multiple of Zimmer’s best songs, from “Jack Sparrow” to “The Kraken,” but one stands clearly above the rest: “Davy Jones.” The villain’s theme, like him, is deeply complex and layered. Opening and closing with a music box solo that highlights his tragic past, with strings, organ, and bass then quickly joining in, it’s a song as menacing as it is strangely sad. The instrumentation is refreshingly creative (a common strength of Zimmer’s), and the double key change adds an awful lot of excitement to the theme.
9
“The Burning Bush”
‘The Prince of Egypt’ (1998)
Having worked on as many movies as he has, Zimmer has composed many criminally underrated scores, but one that is in most desperate need of more love is easily his score for the DreamWorks Animation musical The Prince of Egypt, an adaptation of the Book of Exodus. Zimmer was no stranger to composing musicals by 1998, having already won an Oscar for The Lion King, but even then, his work here exceeded all expectations.
The songs with lyrics were primarily composed by Stephen Schwartz, but the rest of the score was made by Zimmer, and it’s some of the best work of his career. “The Burning Bush,” in particular, perfectly captures the film’s tone of wonder, mysticism, and spiritual grandeur. It’s a delightfully long song with a beautiful sense of rising action, which makes it as emotionally stirring as the film it’s from.
8
“Flight”
‘Man of Steel’ (2013)
It has pretty much become Zack Snyder‘s Man of Steel‘s defining feature that it’s pretty divisive. Some love it for its grander, darker approach to the Superman mythos, while others dislike it precisely because of how hopeless and self-serious it feels. If there’s one part of the movie whose high level of quality has never been up for debate, though, that’s Hans Zimmer’s score.
Man of Steel is one of the composer’s best works, so choosing a single song as the best of the bunch is a daunting task. Thankfully, the fact that “Flight” is nothing short of one of the best superhero movie songs of all time makes it easy to choose it. It’s a rousing melody with a flawless progression, capturing both the grounded epicness of Man of Steel and the sense of hope and heroism that defines Superman as a character. “Flight” serves as Henry Cavill‘s Superman’s main theme, and it’s almost as good as John Williams‘ 1978 version.
7
“Thunderbird”
‘Thelma & Louise’ (1991)
Thelma & Louise is not only one of the most perfect road trip movies ever made but also perhaps Hans Zimmer’s most tragically underappreciated score. The composer’s ’80s and early ’90s work, still unencumbered by the tropes that make some of his 21st-century work feel a little samey and repetitive, was constantly gleefully experimental. This is exemplified in the charming Western tone of Thelma & Louise, full of adventurous harmonicas and endlessly creative guitar riffs.
All of the grand nostalgia, originality, and sense of openness of the movie’s score is encapsulated in its single best track: “Thunderbird,” one of Zimmer’s most unique songs and even one of the best movie songs of the entirety of the ’90s. Perfectly mixing the composer’s synth proclivities with a stunning electric guitar, the song creates a soundscape that flawlessly conveys the feeling of the endless deserts that the two main characters are driving through.
6
“He’s a Pirate”
‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl’ (2003)
Contrary to popular belief, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl wasn’t scored by Zimmer but by his friend and apprentice, Klaus Badelt. When he was offered the movie, Zimmer was busy scoring The Last Samurai, but he managed to squeeze in some time to write some music for Pirates with Badelt—including the iconic main theme, “He’s a Pirate.”
All in all, Badelt did a phenomenal job with Curse of the Black Pearl, creating some of the iconic melodies that Zimmer would pick up for the film’s many sequels, but there’s no pirate movie song quite like “He’s a Pirate,” the genre’s quintessential tune. Bombastic, exciting, and a great representation of Captain Jack Sparrow’s personality, the song may be a bit short, but that minute and a half of duration is all it needs to put anyone in the mood for a solid sea-faring swashbuckler.
5
“No Time for Caution”
‘Interstellar’ (2014)
Whenever he’s working with Christopher Nolan, Hans Zimmer tends to be at his best. Indeed, the best score of his prolific career is arguably Nolan’s Interstellar. Everything, from the creative instrumentations to the rousing chorus to the enthralling atmosphere built by Zimmer’s maximalist compositions, gives Interstellar much of its personality.
Interstellar is one of the most rewatchable sci-fi movies of recent times, and that’s largely thanks to what Zimmer’s score is able to achieve. Unsurprisingly, there are several standout tracks, but one that stands above the rest as the most creative, urgent, and thrilling composition is “No Time for Caution.” Playing during one of the film’s most pivotal moments, it’s a song that, even when listening to it independently, demands that the listener drop whatever they’re doing at that moment and pay full attention.
4
“Time”
‘Inception’ (2010)
Yet another Nolan-Zimmer collaboration, the epic action heist film Inception is many people’s favorite outing from both Nolan’s filmography and Zimmer’s discography. The album’s booming sounds and powerful bass defined the sound that has characterized Zimmer’s latest work since 2010 and influenced a lot of other composers of the action and sci-fi genres.
With its engrossing action, emotionally compelling story, and game-changing final scene, Inception is a phenomenal movie, but it wouldn’t be even half as good as it is without its score. The soundscape created by Zimmer is masterfully convincing, and the way he takes the film’s main concept of time slowing down and dreams-within-dreams and gives it a distinct sound is more than proof enough that Zimmer is one of the most brilliant movie composers working today.
3
“A Time of Quiet Between the Storms”
‘Dune: Part Two’ (2024)
Zimmer wasn’t able to continue his streak of working with Christopher Nolan in 2020 when he had to pass on Tenet to instead fulfill his lifelong dream of composing a Dune score. His music for Denis Villeneuve‘s first part of his adaptation of Frank Herbert‘s seminal sci-fi novel earned him his second Academy Award, and though his score for Dune: Part Two isn’t eligible for a third Oscar, it’s arguably the composer’s best work since Interstellar.
The score of the first Dune, while incredible, had a tendency to be a bit too loud for its own sake. The score of Dune: Part Two strikes an utterly perfect balance between quiet subtlety and loud epicness, particularly in the masterful opening track, “A Time of Quiet Between the Storms.” It’s a love theme through and through, elevated by a melody that’s filled with equal parts of grandeur, longing, and romance. The instrumentations and the structure of the track are flawless, making for a magnificent main theme for an equally magnificent movie.
2
“Now We Are Free”
‘Gladiator’ (2000)
Ridley Scott is another director who Zimmer has collaborated with on several occasions, the most noteworthy perhaps being the Oscar-winning Gladiator, one of Zimmer’s best scores. As the composer’s turn-of-the-century masterpiece, the album functions as a fascinating transition between his playful ’90s style and his more mature 2000s creative voice.
With its clear Roman influences, haunting tone for the film’s many action scenes, and priceless presence of Lisa Gerrard‘s gorgeous voice on many of its songs, Gladiator‘s score has stood the test of time and is still one of its composer’s most acclaimed works. The closing track, in particular, “Now We Are Free,” is one of the artist’s most transcendental compositions. With Gerrard’s heavenly intonations and the way Zimmer complements her every line with beautiful sounds, the song has a stunning buildup from poignant to triumphant to larger-than-life.
1
“Circle of Life”
‘The Lion King’ (1994)
It should come as no surprise that Hans Zimmer won his first-ever Academy Award for what’s probably the best score for a Disney movie ever: The Lion King, the House of Mouse’s unique adaptation of Shakespeare‘s Hamlet. It’s nothing short of one of the best movie scores ever composed, giving the movie an air of magnificence and spiritual transcendence that it might not have had otherwise.
While tracks like “This Land” and “King of Pride Rock,” just to name a few, are by far some of the most iconic and emotionally stirring of Zimmer’s discography, it’s the legendary “Circle of Life”—which he composed alongside Elton John with lyrics by Tim Rice—that stands out as the best song from not just the film but Zimmer’s career. With stunning lyrics by Carmen Twillie and Lebo M, and the perfect blend of John and Zimmer’s creative spirits, it’s a jaw-dropping opening song that perfectly sets the scene for The Lion King‘s tone and atmosphere. This is the kind of music that makes Zimmer one of the most acclaimed musicians working in cinema today.
