With all that mind, the short list still had 18 albums on it, which I've whittled down to this list of five-or-so awesome soundtracks (which for some unknown reason seem to mostly come from the '90s).

Judgment Night (1993)

A FEW soundtracks have helped popularise genres of music - what Buena Vista Social Club and Singles did for Cuban music and grunge respectively are notable examples - but even fewer have helped create a genre of music. Judgment Night, which was a so-so actioner starring Emilio Estevez and Cuba Gooding Jr, managed to build on the rap/rock crossover that had been happening since the mid-1980s and give it a harder edge by teaming hip-hop acts with metal and rock bands for its soundtrack. The end result was the forerunner to the nu-metal movement of the mid '90s that spawned the likes of Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park and 28 Days. The highlight pairings on this album include Faith No More and Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E (Another Body Murdered), Living Colour and Run DMC (Me, Myself & My Microphone), Slayer and Ice-T (Disorder), and Helmet and House Of Pain (Just Another Victim). The only thing missing was Rage Against The Machine/Tool team-up Can't Kill The Revolution, which was dropped at the last minute (although you can hear a rough demo on YouTube). Judgment Night's soundtrack also inspired the equally awesome Spawn (1997), which pulled a similar trick by blending electronic acts with metal and rock bands to help create electro-rock.

Reservoir Dogs (1992)/Pulp Fiction (1994)

QUENTIN Tarantino has to be the best soundtrack-picker around and Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction are his two best examples (although all his soundtracks are great). They shouldn't work but they do - the ``K-Billy's Super Sounds Of The Seventies'' score to the ultra-violence of Reservoir Dogs contrasts upbeat tunes with blood and bullets to new and exciting effect. Tarantino's musical choices add coolness, irony and lightness - often all at the same time - to some heavy action moments and the end results are wonderfully iconic. Because of Reservoir Dogs, Steeler's Wheel's (Stuck In) The Middle With You will forever be linked to ear-slicing, while the slo-mo strut of the opening credits is super-cool via Little Green Bag. And thanks to Pulp Fiction, Chuck Berry's You Never Can Tell has become a twistin' classic, while Urge Overkill's version of Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon takes on dark new connotations.

Forrest Gump (1994)

THE mega-selling soundtrack to this box office-smashing Robert Zemeckis film works wonderfully as it musically tracks lovable dolt Gump through American history. Filled with wall-to-wall classics, the album works as a great beginner's guide to US rock, pop and folk. Starting with Elvis, it rolls through The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Doors, Simon & Garfunkel, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Willie Nelson - iconic music that perfectly suits Gump's ability to bumble into landmark events. The double album also captures the zeitgeist of its era wonderfully, much like The Big Chill did for baby boomers and O Brother, Where Art Thou? did for the early days of blues and folk in America's Deep South.

Trainspot ting (1996)

THREE of the songs on this soundtrack album make it a classic on their own - the raucous freewheelin' rock of Iggy Pop's Lust For Life is ideal for not only the opening chase but setting the tone for much of the film, Lou Reed's gorgeous Perfect Day is a moment of deathly calm tangled with the movie's key overdose scene, while Underworld's Born Slippy is a pumping outro. Aside from the signature moments, there's also great tracks from Brit-pop stars of the time Pulp, Blur, Elastica and Primal Scream that manage to capture the ups and downs of this grimy Scottish saga.

Easy Rider (1969)

THIS Dennis Hopper-Peter Fonda road movie was an unlikely hit - a low-budget dip into counter-culture that worked at the box office and shook the outdated Hollywood system. The soundtrack was equally popular and influential, thanks to a mix of psychedelia, rock and folk that sounded exactly like two hippies on motorbikes. Covers of Dylan's It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) and The Band's The Weight add some roots to the soundtrack (the original recordings weren't available), which also has some scorching rockers, most notably the movie's signature tune, Steppenwolf' classics Born To Be Wild. Don't Bogart Me (aka Don't Bogart That Joint) is a brief moment of levity, but no psychedelic '60s journey is complete without Jimi Hendrix (If 6 Was 9).