Editor’s Note: The Albumism staff has selected what we believe to be the 100 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time, representing a varied cross-section of films and musical genres. Click “Next Soundtrack” below to explore each soundtrack in the list or for easier navigation, view the full introduction & soundtrack index here.

Mo’ Better Blues
Sony Music (1990)
Selected by Daryl McIntosh

In 1990, filmmaker Spike Lee did a beautiful job of scripting and directing an ode to America’s original artform, jazz. Equally as brilliant was enlisting his frequent collaborator and famed trumpeter Terence Blanchard with the Branford Marsalis quartet for the soundtrack. Actress and singer Cynda Williams, who also plays the leading lady in the film, sings the heartfelt “Harlem Blues” which captures the essence of the melancholy screenplay, while rap group Gang Starr’s “Jazz Thing” made the soundtrack relevant and even educational to the young hip-hop audience of the time.

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