Counting Down the Top 10 in … SOUNDTRACKS!

1. The Barden Bellas ft. The Treblemakers, “Riff Off: Mickey/Like A Virgin/Hit Me With Your Best Shot/S&M/Let’s Talk About Sex/I’ll Make Love To You/Feels Like The First Time/No Diggity” (Pitch Perfect)


Pitch Perfect, Kay Cannon’s comedy about college a cappella groups, has quickly established itself as a cult hit worthy of sitting alongside slumber party classics like Bring It On, Empire Records, and Grease. Personally, even the best a capella rendition of a song just makes me want to listen to the actual song. Of the various medleys and covers in Pitch Perfect, the sex song medley from the “Riff Off” sequence is the clear standout. And let’s all just agree to put Rebel Wilson in everything from now on, OK?

Grade: B

Best YouTube Comment: “idk about anyone, but I got really excited when Ester Dean (Cynthia Rose) sang S&M…considering it’s her song that she wrote for Rihanna” — Kaylaa1DAllstar

2. Anne Hathaway, “I Dreamed A Dream” (Les Miserables)


OH JUST CAN IT ABOUT THE FANTINE DIET ALREADY ANNE.

Grade: B

Best YouTube Comment: “Sung with such emotion, it just breaks your heart :’-(” — trinisun

3. Juliette Barnes (Hayden Panettiere) ft. Rayna Jaymes (Connie Britton), “Wrong Song” (Nashville)


If you’re not watching Nashville it’s your own loss, y’all. This duet between the show’s two awesome leads could easily be a country radio smash, and it really oughta be.

Grade: A

Best YouTube Comment: “How can this still not be on radio? Is everyone in both businesses crazy?!” — tejaswoman

4. Sixto Rodriguez, “Sugar Man” (Searching for Sugar Man)


Searching for Sugar Man is an acclaimed 2012 documentary about Detroit singer-songwriter Sixto Rodriguez, who was nearly unknown here but became incredibly popular in South Africa. Filmmakers tracked down Rodriguez to disprove false rumors of his death. “Sugar Man” is a psychedelic folk song about drugs from Rodriguez’s 1970 debut Cold Fact that sounds like the love child of Nick Drake and Os Mutantes.

Grade: A

Best YouTube Comment: “It’s pro drug use but come on its a great song your ten year old will love this song” — 123aveman

5. Rocky Roberts and Luis Bacalov, “Django” (Django Unchained)


Argentine-Italian composer Luis Bacalov is not as widely well-known as Ennio Morricone, but he is just as integral to the sound of Spaghetti Westerns. “Django” was originally the theme song for Sergio Corbucci’s 1966 revenge Western Django, but it will now be best known as the theme song to Quentin Tarantino’s Django-inspired movie. Mad Decent artist DJ Sega did a Baltimore Club remix of “Django” that I guarantee is worth your listening time.

Grade: A

Best YouTube Comment: “Man, I can’t stop listening to all songs from Django Unchained’s OST, they’re all amazing. Simply a wonderful OST for a wonderful movie.” — Tehfuckinmaster

6. The Dwarf Cast and Richard Armitage, “Misty Mountains” (The Hobbit)


I haven’t seen The Hobbit yet and wasn’t really planning to, but listening to this really made me want to. It’s all just dwarves singing songs that sound like Led Zeppelin, yeah? Is it weird that I listened to this like 800 times today? Makes me wanna VOYAGE.

Grade: A

Best YouTube Comment: “I be bumping this when I’m smoking weed chilling in my car” — Jeffrey Miller

7. Ellie Goulding and Skrillex, “Bittersweet” (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2)


Skrillex is more than just dubstep. I’m being serious! His favorite musician is Aphex Twin. Don’t be surprised someday when you wait for the drop and it never comes. Or when he makes a twinkly forest jam like this one with ex-girlfriend Ellie Goulding for The Twilight Saga.

Grade: A-

Best YouTube Comment: “Okay this came on my ipod when I was in the car and it was raining and I acted all dramtic [sic] and looked out the window like in the movies. Lol.” — Mekayla jenkins

8. Santigold, “Girls” (Girls Soundtrack Vol. 1)


This is what Hannah Horvath listens to when she’s doing an end zone dance all day the next day after sleeping with a doctor who looks like Patrick Wilson.

Grade: A

Best YouTube Comment: “Dope track. Santi repped hard on this one. Thumbs up!” — suneeboy1

9. Prince and The Revolution, “Purple Rain” (Purple Rain)


Who knows how long this YouTube of “Purple Rain” will last before Prince gets his sharp team of black female lawyers to pull it and sue the poster? Let’s enjoy the fact that the Ravens’ victory got “Purple Rain” on the chart, and it’s perfect. Prince also has a brand new single out called “Breakfast Can Wait” and guess what? It’s also perfect.

Grade: A+++++

Best YouTube Comment: “Mang!! Let it rain PURPLE..Super Bowl Champ!!” — funki monki

10. Far East Movement and Pitbull, “Candy” (Project X)

The way you feel the morning after a Project X party.

Grade: F

Best YouTube Comment: “FEM !!!” — Tonie Kurniawan

Filed Under: Anne Hathaway, Billboard, Django Unchained, Girls, Grading the Charts, Les Miserables, Nashville, Pitch Perfect, Prince, Project X, Singles, Skrillex, The Hobbit, Top Ten, Twilight

Molly Lambert is a staff writer for Grantland.

Archive @ mollylambert

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