Most people remember their favorite movies through unforgettable scenes or great quotes. There are many, though, that you remember from a few notes of music or humming a tune. Add to that, there are so many memorable songs and music from movies, you don’t know where to start.

There’s a great scene in the movie The Holiday where Jack Black’s film composer character runs through a litany of movies and music and how they changed cinema. It’s what made me want to look at some of my favorite movie soundtracks, composers and songs. I hope they’re some of your favorite too.

First and foremost, I’ll start right off with John Williams who is, without a doubt, the greatest composer that movies have ever scene. From Star Wars and Indiana Jones to E.T. and Harry Potter, he has written some of the greatest movie soundtracks EVER. His music has been heard by generations who will always know the movie by the chord struck by the orchestra. He is the Gandalf of movie soundtracks.

Next thing I’ll throw out there is any Disney animated movies. Disney has a history of making the best animated films and, with it, unforgettable songs and music. From Snow White singing “I’m wishing” in that high-pitched voice of Adriana Casrlotti to Indina Menzel “Let it Go” from Frozen,  Disney has brought the best singers and songwriters together for great movie soundtracks. The best part is that these are songs you sang as a kid and with your kids too.

Next is great movie musicals. I’m partial to West Side Story and The Sound of Music because I grew up on these movies. However, my all-time favorite has to be The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I was a teenager going out every Friday and Saturday night to dance the Time Warp, ask “Whatever Happened to Saturday Night” and wonder if we’re having Meatloaf fir dinner. The music is intoxicating and holds your heart and soul captive like a trans-sexual transvestite from Transylvania.

Lastly, I want to give a shout out to one of the greatest rock-n-roll bands of all time and the music that holds a place near-and-dear to us geeks. Queen has written songs for two classic sci-fi/fantasy movies … Highlander and Flash Gordon. If you hear the opening chorus of either one of these movies opening songs, you know exactly what it is. They are that recognizable, especially with Freddie Mercury’s incredible vocals. At the same time, I have to give a shout-out to the greatest movie singer of 80’s movies, Kenny Loggins. “Danger Zone” from Top Gun, “I’m Alright” from Caddyshack, “Footloose” from Footloose and so many more. Kenny Loggins was THE soundtrack of a generation of great movies.

No matter what your favorite movie or music, I know I only touched on a few favorites here. There are so many more to add and not enough space to write about them. All I can hope is that by reading my blog here today, you now have a song stuck in your head. Gotcha!

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Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The Dark Tides is available for purchase at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse. The Outlander War can be previewed at Inkitt.