20 soundtrack songs as iconic as the movie they’re from

According to the tales told on Netflix’s The Movies That Made Us , “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” almost didn’t make the cut. It was the last cassette in a pile for soundtrack hopefuls, but thankfully, it was listened to and appreciated. While audiences will always associate it with Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, it’s become a favorite at weddings for almost four decades and counting.

The entirety of the Grease soundtrack is solid, but something is endearing about “Beauty School Dropout.” Perhaps it’s because whenever one struggles in life, they think of Frenchy taking a chance, messing up, and moving on with her life. It’s quite inspirational when it’s put that way.

Mom’s spaghetti was never the same after Eminem dropped this from the 2002 hit, 8 Mile.

Brandy couldn’t even drive herself to the studio to record “Sittin' Up in My Room” for the Waiting to Exhale soundtrack back in the early ‘90s, but her young age didn’t deter listeners because the second single from the hit movie landed at No. 2 on the charts and scored her a Grammy nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.

A movie about the little treasure troll dolls from the ‘80s sounded questionable, but DreamWorks made it work, so much so that Trolls has had multiple sequels and a Netflix series that ran several seasons. So the franchise proved to be a success, but many would argue that “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” by Justin Timberlake is still the most recognizable thing about it.

Black Panther was more than a movie, it was a cultural moment, so it’s not shocking that “All the Stars” by Kendrick Lamar and SZA went on to be as big as the movie. It was nominated for almost two dozen awards, including five Grammys, and garnered a win at the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Duo, Group, or Collaboration.

Every generation has its song, and for many who fall under the Gen X umbrella, it is “Stay (I Missed You)” by Lisa Loeb. That is mostly due to it being on the most Gen X movie of the ‘90s, Reality Bites.

Is there a Prince song that isn’t iconic? That’s the exact reason “Purple Rain” is as notable as the movie it shares a name with. It was created by the one and only, the man who had the gall to just go by a symbol.

The original soundtrack for Twilight had a dozen songs featuring the likes of rock staples like Perry Farrell and Linkin Park, but it was “Decode” by Paramore that went on to be the movie’s signature. Over a decade later, the song is still revered by fans of both the movie and the band, so much so that it remains on Paramore’s setlist and never fails to win over the crowd.

“We Don’t Talk About Bruno” was the earworm of the Encanto soundtrack, but it’s “Surface Pressure” that stuck in fans’ hearts as Luisa Madrigal highlighted the impact a demanding life can have on a person.

There is so much about Seal’s “Kiss From a Rose” off the Batman Forever soundtrack that makes zero sense. First of all, no one can really explain what the song is about. Secondly, what does this random (yet amazing) song have to do with Batman, Two-Face, or The Riddler? Perhaps it’s a mystery the Dark Knight will solve one day.

It’s common knowledge that Dolly Parton may have written and initially performed “I Will Always Love You,” but the second Whitney Houston got her hands on it, it was hers.

There wasn’t a millennial alive when Garden State dropped that didn’t go off to college with this song on their iPod shuffle because it made them feel deep and introspective.

Vanessa Carlton wrote “A Thousand Miles” for her 2002 debut, Be Not Nobody. It was a hit all on its own, but a couple of years later, the song went from a hit to a cultural mainstay when it landed on the soundtrack to White Chicks. Today, the song is synonymous with Marlon and Shawn Wayans, and for good reason. It’s one of the most comical scenes set to music in the 21st century.

The Disney Renaissance that kicked off in 1989 with The Little Mermaid was all about Broadway-like musical numbers. Come the post-Renaissance, the music started to take a backseat, but then Tangled opened those floodgates back open. However, none of those movies featured Lin-Manuel Miranda’s amazing and inspired work on “How Far I’ll Go” from Moana.

Because of the success of American Pie the previous year, Loser managed to score with teens at the turn of the millennium, and while “Teenage Dirtbag” was an instant favorite then, it had a reemergence thanks to an internet trend that found people using it as the backdrop to showcase pictures of themselves in their teenage dirtbag eras.

It’s hard to hear “My Heart Will Go On” and not think of one of the greatest on-screen love stories of all time while simultaneously thinking of one of the worst disasters in history. That’s the power of Celine Dion.

There is no doubt Top Gun would’ve been a hit without it, but Kenny Loggins took the Tom Cruise classic to new heights with “Danger Zone.”

It’s hard to say whether or not Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves would’ve been the second at the box office in 1991 if it hadn't been for the banger that is “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” by Bryan Adams. The song did spend over a dozen weeks at the top of the Billboard charts…

If there is one thing the world is not short on, it’s superhero movies. So much so that sometimes it can feel like overkill. However, when Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse came out in 2018, there was a freshness to it. Perhaps the unique animation style set it apart from every animated film, or the fact that it was finally a new take on the character. Whatever it was, audiences and critics alike adored it, and “Sunflower” was just the cherry on top of this Oscar-winning movie.