Rank the James Bond film scores

Films
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This week’s category is rank the James Bond film scores–that is all the (original) music used in the films. Once again, Never Say Never Again is eligible to be included.

So how do you rank the James Bond film scores?

Mine is as follows:

First off, let me say that I really enjoy action cues and the James Bond Theme variations most particularly. So those tend to go a long way with me. Suspense cues are also good. The slower or more romantic cues are fine and have their place, but they usually don’t register as highly with me. So without further ado:

  1. David Arnold – TOMORROW NEVER DIES – Fantastic debut. Arnold hits it out of the park and after few bits of recognizable James Bond Theme in GoldenEye, he gives us plenty of variations here. Arnold said he didn’t know if he’d get a chance to do another one, so he threw everything into this one including the kitchen sink, and it shows. Standout cues are Backseat Driver, White Knight, Hamburg Break In, and Surrender (belted gloriously by k.d. lang), which is the best secondary Bond song of the series–although it had been written to be the main theme song. Had it been the main theme, I’d have a hard time choosing between it and You Know My Name from Casino Royale as the best of the bunch. Great job.
  2. David Arnold – THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH – Terrific follow up by Arnold, which shows that his first effort was not a fluke. Standout cues are Come In 007, Your Time Is Up; Welcome To Baku; The Bunker; and Pipeline. And Arnold again proves he can write a main theme tune with The World Is Not Enough, which is well performed by Garbage (sung by Shirley Manson).
  3. John Barry – ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE – Barry’s masterpiece. The king of Bond composers makes his crown jewel here. He not only perfectly sets the romantic mood of the film with his cues, he also is able to introduce a new James Bond 007 with a new sound. He was the first film composer to utilize the new Moog synthesizer and it suits the new Bond, George Lazenby, to a T. Standout cues are This Never Happened To The Other Fella, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service Theme, Try, Gumbold’s Safe, Count Balthazar de Bleauchamp, and the end credits James Bond Theme. And then we also have We Have All The Time In The World, an instant classic that is so well done by Louis Armstrong. With all that was involved and going on in this film, Barry had a lot of pressure on him to deliver and deliver he did. Chef’s kiss.
  4. Bill Conti – FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Arguably the most disco-like of all the Bond scores–and I love it! Conti does a great job here, particularly with the action cues. Standout cues are Melina’s Revenge, A Drive In The Country, Runaway, Take Me Home, and Submarine. Submarine is an awesome Bond theme variation and probably one of the two best slower versions of the theme, the second of which I’ll mention later.
  5. George Martin – LIVE AND LET DIE – Martin proved that while Barry was THE Bond composer, someone else could more than capably do it too (a la Roger Moore following Sean Connery). Martin brought out the funk for LALD and it is a joy to hear. He nails everything. This and FYEO could easily be switched for me, but I think I like the action cues just a smidge more in FYEO to put it over the top. Nevertheless, this is an excellent score. Standout cues are James Bond Theme (which I call Heading Into Harlem), Bond Meets Solitaire, Bond Drops In, New Orleans, Trespassers Will Be Eaten, Boat Chase, and Sacrifice.
  6. John Barry – THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS – Once again, Barry goes with a new sound for a new Bond (Timothy Dalton). He brings out the synth for his 11th score, and 12th and final Bond film. And once again, he nails it. (Was there ever a doubt?) Kudos to the producers for putting him on screen as the conductor at the end of the film. Simply brilliant. Standout cues are The Sniper Was A Woman, Where Has Everybody Gone? (by The Pretenders), Ice Chase, Hercules Takes Off, Inflight Fight, and the title track by a-ha.
  7. John Barry – DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER – Barry nails the sound of Las Vegas. This is a great score that is aided in no small part by the excellent theme song–the best of Shirley Bassey’s three efforts. There is much to like here. Standout cues are Peter Franks; Slumber, Inc.; Bond Meets Bambi And Thumper; the 007 theme variation (part of To Hell With Blofeld), the killing of Wint and Kidd (part of Diamonds Are Forever #2: Bond And Tiffany). And as with Submarine from FYEO, Bond Meets Bambi And Thumper is one of the top two slow versions of the James Bond Theme.
  8. John Barry – YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE – Barry totally captures the sound of the Orient with 007 in Japan. Standout cues are Capsule In Space, when Bond impersonates Henderson’s killer (part of James Bond In Japan), Little Nellie, when Bond is discovered (part of James Bond-Astronaut?), when Bond opens the crater (part of James Bond - Ninja), and Bond Averts World War Three.
  9. David Arnold – QUANTUM OF SOLACE – Arnold’s final (at least to this point) turn at the 007 composer’s chair. And once again, he does a terrific job. Arnold IS the heir to John Barry. Despite little use of the Bond theme, QOS is a treat to listen to. Standout cues are Time To Get Out, Pursuit At Port Au Prince, Night At The Opera, and Oil Fields.
  10. David Arnold – CASINO ROYALE – Arnold tries something a little different this time in that he only teases the James Bond Theme throughout the film until the ending credits song where he finally blasts it in full. Nevertheless, there is a lot to like here and he introduces Daniel Craig well highlighted by Chris Cornell’s testosterone-fueled You Know My Name–the best theme song of the series. Standout cues are African Rundown, Miami International, The End Of An Aston Martin, and The Name’s Bond…James Bond.
  11. John Barry – THUNDERBALL – Barry was given a bit of a late curve ball here in that having already written a main theme song (Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang), he was told that the producers wanted one with the film’s name in the title instead and that he would have to write another one. And so he did. An even better one in my opinion. Barry also does a good job capturing the underwater elements of the film. He is amazing. Standout cues are Chateau Flight, Bond Meets Domino, Cafe Martinique, Street Chase, and When Arrows Meet.
  12. Thomas Newman – SKYFALL – Newman has a very good score here with some very interesting action takes that have distinctive, elements. My only real gripe here is that he reuses Arnold’s James Bond Theme version over the end credits instead of coming up with something of his own. Despite that, there is a lot of really good stuff here. Standout cues are Grand Bazaar, Istanbul; The Bloody Shot; Jellyfish; Tennyson; Breadcrumbs; and The Moors.
  13. David Arnold – DIE ANOTHER DAY – My least favorite Arnold score is still a very good one. Arnold went very techno for this one and it works. Standout cues are Hovercraft Chase, Cuba, Whiteout, and Iced Inc.
  14. John Barry – A VIEW TO A KILL – What can’t Barry do? He teams with the hottest band around (Duran Duran) to produce–to that point–the best main theme of the series–and it doesn’t sound like anything before it or since. The rest of the score is pretty solid too. Standout cues are May Day Jumps, Tibbett Gets Washed Out, when Bond climbs down the fire truck ladder (Fanfare), and Golden Gate Fight.
  15. John Barry – GOLDFINGER – This is where Barry defined once and for all the “James Bond sound”. This, along with everything else about the film, is iconic. It’s not among my favorite scores, but there is a lot to like, and really, there are very, very few Bond scores that are lacking so some have to fall further than they deserve. Standout cues are Bond Back In Action Again, Into Miami, The Laser Beam, Oddjob’s Pressing Engagement, and Countdown.
  16. John Barry – OCTOPUSSY – In the Battle Of The Bonds, Octopussy beat out Never Say Never Again. And when it came to film scores, it was no contest. Barry’s effort puts Michel Legrand’s to shame. Octopussy has a number of cues that are either repeats or slight variations of other cues–more so than usual in Bond films–and yet it is still a good listening experience. Standout cues are Bond Look-Alike, 009 Gets The Knife, That’s My Little Octopussy, Yo-Yo Fight, The Chase Bomb Theme, Follow That Car, and The Palace Fight.
  17. Marvin Hamlisch – THE SPY WHO LOVED ME – Hamlisch does a great job here. His renditions of the James Bond theme are terrific. The rest of the score is solid as well particularly his main theme Nobody Does It Better by Carly Simon–one of the all time great Bond themes. Standout cues are when Bond skis off the mountain (part of Bond 77), when Anya and Bond get romantic on the train (Nobody Does It Better Instrumental), Ride To Atlantis, and when Bond plants a bomb in the Liparus.
  18. Michael Kamen – LICENCE TO KILL – Kamen has a little different sound than those composers that came before him, and yet his style does work for this film, and his version of the Bond theme is spectacular. Standout cues are Shark Fishing, Bond Hooks Sanchez, Sanchez Escapes, Ocean Exotica Break-In, Seaplane Escape, and Bond Sneaks Out.
  19. Thomas Newman – SPECTRE – The biggest problem I have with this score is that Newman recycles some things from Skyfall. What he does recycle is good stuff, but I would prefer more original material. As a result, the score falls more than it might otherwise would have. Standout cues are Los Muertos Vivos Estan, Backfire, Crows Klinik, and Snow Plane.
  20. Hans Zimmer – NO TIME TO DIE – Like SPECTRE, my biggest problem with this score is that it uses music from On Her Majesty’s Secret Service instead of offering up its own original cues. And so, it too, falls down the rankings as a result. Standout cues are Message From An Old Friend, Square Escape, Cuba Chase, and I’ll Be Right Back.
  21. John Barry – FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE – Barry gets his first crack at being Bond’s composer and he doesn’t miss. Despite not writing the main theme, he still skillfully incorporates it throughout and gives us a taste of what is to come. Standout cues are Opening Titles: From Russia With Love, Opening Titles: James Bond Theme, James Bond With Bongos, Girl Trouble, 007, Bond Meets Tania, the Orient Express theme, and Man Overboard.
  22. John Barry – MOONRAKER – Getting the expanded score has helped me appreciate the score more although its still not among my favorites. However, I now find Moonraker to be much closer to those above it than I did before. Barry notably does a good job of capturing the space elements of the film. Standout cues are Freefall Sequence, Corinne Put Down, Bond Arrives In Rio, Morning After, South American Boat Chase, and Globes Destroyed. I have to add that I also like the more upbeat, disco-sounding Moonraker version during the closing credits. And I have to give a tip of the cap to whoever thought of putting The Magnificent Seven to 007 on horseback. Genius! I don’t usually like reusing old cues or using cues from non-Bond films, but I absolutely love it here. It’s the exception that proves the rule. Magnificent indeed.
  23. John Barry – THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN – Like Moonraker above, I had and have the exact same feelings with TMWTGG. The expanded score really helps give this one a solid overview of the film. Standout cues are Getting The Bullet, Macau, Following Andrea, Moments, In Search Of Scaramanga’s Island, and Retrieving The Solex Agitator.
  24. Monty Norman – DR. NO – If we were talking soundtrack, then this might very well be the worst of the lot. However, we’re talking Bond scores, and almost all the good cues from DN is NOT on the soundtrack. As a result, I think the missing cues are enough to lift DN to 24th place. Standout cues are the James Bond Theme (of course), Death Of The Tarantula, Killing The Guard, and Death Of Dr. No.
  25. Eric Serra – GOLDENEYE – A new sound for a new Bond (Pierce Brosnan). But unlike the previous efforts from other composers, this one doesn’t hit the bullseye. Interestingly, I like the score/soundtrack of G/E better when I’m just listening to it than I do while hearing it in the film with all of the visuals. It’s not a bad score, it’s just not really a James Bond score. Standout cues are Half Of Everything Is Luck; For England, James; The Same Passions; and Run, Shoot, And Jump.
  26. Michel Legrand – NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN – Legrand misfires. Completely drained from doing Yentl, he had nothing left for NSNA and it shows. He tried to say no, but Sean Connery et al wouldn’t let him–and the film suffered for it. Already at a disadvantage by not being able to have the James Bond Theme, that was too just much for NSNA to overcome. Still, there some decent cues. The best are Bahama Island, Fight To The Death With The Tiger Sharks, Jealousy, and Une Chanson D’Amour by Sophie Della.

So how would you rank the James Bond scores?

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Ooh, yes - film scores, my personal obsession.

And since I got introduced to this world of beauty by John Williams and John Barry at the impressionable age of 8 the importance of melodic themes was imprinted on me forever.

So, there will never be any contest as to who wrote the best Bond scores. It is precisely the haunting romantic melodies Barry used to set Bond apart from the rest, and he proved that slowing down action music makes it all so much more impactful and special.

I do think George Martin wrote the best non-Barry Bond score, Marvin Hamlish wrote the best non-Barry Bond song, with Bill Conti coming in a close third (after LALD, of course).

David Arnold delivered very Barry-worthy Bond scores as well, but he also went into the direction most scores of the early 21st Century strove for, relying heavily on mickey mousing overbusy instrumentation and sound effects.

Thomas Newman managed to bring his own style to this, with very beautiful lyrical themes still carrying his brand of austere atmosphere.

Hans Zimmer - he can compose great melodies and interesting soundscapes, but it’s hit and miss with him for me. Thankfully, he constructed a good and effective score using the Barry template and filtering it through his own mechanics.

Michael Kamen - again, great composer, making Bond his own during the Die Hard and Lethal Weapon phase, the LLL release made me appreciate that so much more.

Eric Serra - different and very electronics-heavy, but still interestingly different.

Michel Legrand - a legendary writer of great melodies, coming up with a truly fun and beautiful Bond song, and his score is unjustly maligned, simply because it was different.

So much for my ramblings. Here‘s the ranking:

  1. MR
  2. DAF
  3. GF
  4. OHMSS
  5. YOLT
  6. LALD
  7. FYEO
  8. OP
  9. FRWL
  10. TLD
  11. TND
  12. TB
  13. AVTAK
  14. CR
  15. TMWTGG
  16. SF
  17. TWINE
  18. TSWLM
  19. QOS
  20. LTK
  21. SP
  22. NTTD
  23. DAD
  24. NSNA
  25. GE
  26. DR.NO
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As someone who is not in any way knowledgeable enough about these king of things to do a ranking of them, I will just go to bat for two of my favorite (and two of the most underrated) scores of the franchise.

  1. Licence to Kill: I love Kamen’s score in this one. From the opening bit of the gunbarrel, which grabs you and lets you know instantly that this is going to be a different kind of Bond film. Also, the final piano section of the “Pam” track is one of my favorite sequences of music in the entire franchise. Just a beautifully put together piece of music.
  2. GoldenEye: I like this one for how different it is. It gets old for me when a lot of the scores sound similar or overly rely on the Bond theme. I like how the more electronic and industrial sound of the score fits with the way the film kind of goes back in time (with the PTS) to the days of the Soviet Union and then reflects Bond’s trip through the graveyard (literally, in one scene) of what the Soviet Union used to be, what it is now, and how that shows where Bond has been, where he is now and all of that as Bond has to confront his professional past in order to move on to a new future. I think Serra’s score captures that very well and a more standard Bond score, complete with Bond theme blaring at every possible instance wouldn’t have done anything to enhance the film in the way that Serra’s complete departure from the norm does. And, much like Kamen, Serra’s gunbarrel music is fantastic.
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  1. O.H.M.S.S.
  2. Goldfinger
  3. FRWL
  4. Thunderball
  5. Moonraker
  6. LALD
  7. TSWLM
  8. FYEO
  9. DAF
  10. YOLT
  11. TMWTGG
  12. TND
  13. CR
  14. Octopussy
  15. LTK
  16. CR ‘67
  17. TWINE
  18. ATAK
  19. TLD
  20. QoS
  21. NTTD
  22. DAD
  23. GoldenEye
  24. SPECTRE
  25. Skyfall
  26. Dr. No (J.B Theme not counted, only the Norman score)
  27. NSNA
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  1. TLD - Introspective, romantic, thrilling…this is a perfect mix.
  2. OHMSS - Another work of art like TLD with great motifs.
  3. TB - The swaggering 60s. Hyper masculine and effortlessly cool.
  4. YOLT - A fantastic contrast of doomsday dread and tranquility.
  5. MR - Melancholy and lush.
  6. DAF - Strong themes throughout, particularly Wint and Kidd’s.
  7. GF - An iconic sound that is instantly recognisable.
  8. LALD - Funky and still the best non Barry score.
  9. TND - Very fun, great uses of the Bond Theme.
  10. SF - Sophisticated, exotic and the best of the Craig era.
  11. CR - Another strong Arnold score that merges past with present.
  12. QoS - A continuation of the CR quality with new elements.
  13. AVTAK - A strong action theme and a solid score.
  14. GE - The most experimental, interesting and atmospheric.
  15. NTTD - Very Zimmer, which I like. Ambient, epic and emotional.
  16. TMWTGG - Very underrated. The title song melody works well.
  17. FRWL - Raw, retro simplicity and really captures the film’s vibe.
  18. SPECTRE - Reused elements don’t detract from a good score.
  19. OP - Good but not great. Less interesting and repetitive.
  20. DAD - Enjoyable but leans more heavily into techno.
  21. TWINE - Not bad but a fair amount of generic action music.
  22. TSWLM - Disco elements. Has its moments. Needs an expansion.
  23. FYEO - Too dated disco to my ears.
  24. LTK - Great gunbarrel cue, but the rest is rather samey.
  25. DN - The Bond Theme is amazing, but the rest not so much.
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Just a couple of things secretagentfan:

  1. You mentioned all the Bond composers except for Monty Norman. What are your thoughts on him?

  2. And in your rankings, you omitted Octopussy. Where would you place that score?

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Damn, I did omit OP - what a shame since I love ALL TIME HIGH and the score. I edited my ranking and put numbers in, too.

Monty Norman - he did what was common practice in scoring back then, but Barry really structured and made the Bond theme. So I do understand why Barry was miffed about the crediting of Norman.

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It can be hard doing these. A ranking might suggest that whatever’s on top is so much better than whatever’s closer to the bottom. But in reality they’re all pretty good in their own way. Given the variety of work in the series, if your mood changes there’s a soundtrack to fit it.

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I agree so much with your thoughts!

John Barry is the guy who made me love the Bond movies. In every movie he scored, he perfectly captured the Bond mood, contributing to the symphony of talents that made the Bond films back then. He was a genius when it came to create new melodies that felt Bondian, without relying that much on the Bond theme, more on the Bond chord. And he was also incredibly good at creating source music too.

Then you have the great one shots, with George Martin, Bill Conti, Michael Kamen and Éric Serra delivering unique scores you wouldn’t associate to any other Bond movie.

Marvin Hamlish’s score for TSWLM has some good moments, but it lacks consistency to me. The title song is top notch though! We are missing a proper extended score for this one to be honest.

While I do like much of his work, I always felt like Arnold was regularly lacking inspiration, coming back again and again to the Bond theme. DAD is his worst for me, and I was hoping for a composer change at that time, but CR was finally a very good surprise (except for the action music which is Arnold generic stuff), and QOS is his absolute best from my point of view.

Thomas Newman delivered a solid, hollywoodian score for Skyfall. Spectre was a missed opportunity to propose something really different in the Craig era, but the score isn’t that bad at all. Listening to it separetaly, I think it is even better than Skyfall. It has also the best rejected song from the series.

Hans Zimmer’s score for NTTD was great, it was nice to finally hear some tribute to Barry. They should have remixed the 007 theme at some point as they made such a big deal of that number in the movie.

Monty Norman’s score is quite outdated, but he produced some great source music.

Here is for my ranking attempt (trying to choose 3 favorite tracks for each score):

  1. DAF: 007 and Counting, Mr Wint and Mr Kidd, Bond Smells a Rat
  2. MOONRAKER: Bond Smells a Rat, Venini Glass, Launch Program Commence
  3. TLD: Necros Attacks (another great henchman theme), The Sniper Was a Woman, Exercice at Gibraltar
  4. OHMSS: loving the extended main theme from the titles (thanks LLL!), Journey to Blofeld’s Hideaway, Bond Settles In.
  5. YOLT: the most beautiful song in the series, Capsule in Space, James Bond in Japan
  6. LALD: Main Titles, Trespassers Will Be Eaten, Boat Chase
  7. Goldfinger: Alpine Drive, Golden Girl, Dawn Raid at Fort Knox
  8. Thunderball: The Bomb, Chateau Flight, Underwater Mayhew
  9. TMWTGG: Scaramanga’s Fun House, Hip’s Trip, In Search for Scaramanga’s Island
  10. FRWL: Stalking, The Zagreb Express (Nic Raine), 007 Takes the Lektor
  11. AVTAK: Wine with Stacey, Fanfare, Golden Gate Fight
  12. Goldeneye: A Little Surprise For You, Whispering Statues, Run, Shoot and Jump
  13. QoS: Inside Man, Night A The Opera, Crawl End Crawl
  14. FYEO: A Drive In The Country, Runaway, Submarine
  15. NTTD: Poison Garden, A Message From An Old Friend, Shouldn’t We Get To Know Each Other First?
  16. Spectre: Los Muertos Vivos Estan, Crows Klinik, Backfire
  17. LTK: Licence Revoked (great suite), Tanker Downhill & Truck Chase, Ocean Exotica Break-In
  18. Casino Royale: Dinner Jackets, Vesper, The Bitch Is Dead
  19. Octopussy: Bond at the Monsoon Palace, The Chase Bomb Theme, 009 Gets the Knife
  20. TND: Hamburg Break In, Printing Press Fight, Bike Chase
  21. TSWLM: Main Title, The Pyramids, Ride to Atlantis
  22. Skyfall: Komodo Dragon, Modigliani, The Chimera
  23. TWINE: Bond Has Left the Building/Welcome to Baku/Submarine
  24. DAD: On the Beach, The Vanish/Bond Goed to Iceland, London Calling
  25. Dr No: Jump Up, Dr No’s Fantasy, The Island Speaks

I never cared about NSNA and actually never understood why people love so much Michel Legrand (plenty of lyric artists absolutely love his work in France).

Burt Bacharach’s score for CR’67 is fun but I prefer listening to some stuff from Henri Mancini or the Tijuana Brass. This doesn’t sound as Bond music anyway, it is more like pop music.

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Here are the results from the five people who fully ranked the James Bond film scores:

  1. ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE – John Barry – with a cumulative score of 14 for a 2.8 average.
  2. DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER – John Barry – with a 25 score for a 5.0 avg.
  3. LIVE AND LET DIE – George Martin – with a 31 score for a 6.2 avg.
  4. YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE – John Barry – with a 32 score for a 6.4 avg.
  5. GOLDFINGER – John Barry – with a 34 score for a 6.8 avg.
  6. MOONRAKER – John Barry – with a 35 score for 7.0 avg.
  7. THUNDERBALL – John Barry – with a 38 score for a 7.6 avg.
  8. THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS – John Barry – with a 38 score for a 7.6 avg. (Thunderball and The Living Daylights tied for 7th place, but I can’t fix the numbers to show that. The automatic listing won’t let me correct it. :angry: :roll_eyes: )
  9. TOMORROW NEVER DIES – David Arnold – with a 53 score for a 10.6 avg.
  10. FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Bill Conti – with a 56 score for an 11.2 avg.
  11. FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE – John Barry – with a 60 score for a 12.0 avg.
  12. CASINO ROYALE – David Arnold – with a 66 score for a 13.2 avg.
  13. A VIEW TO A KILL – John Barry – with a 68 score for a 13.6 avg.
  14. QUANTUM OF SOLACE – David Arnold – with a 72 score for a 14.4 avg.
  15. THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN – John Barry – with a 74 score for a 14.8 avg.
  16. OCTOPUSSY – John Barry – with a 76 score for a 15.2 avg.
  17. THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH – David Arnold – with a 79 score for a 15.8 avg.
  18. SKYFALL – Thomas Newman – with an 84 score for a 16.8 avg.
  19. THE SPY WHO LOVED ME – Marvin Hamlisch – with an 85 score for a 17.0 avg.
  20. NO TIME TO DIE – Hans Zimmer – with a 92 score for an 18.4 avg.
  21. LICENCE TO KILL – Michael Kamen – with a 94 score for an 18.8 avg.
  22. SPECTRE – Thomas Newman – with a 97 score for a 19.4 avg.
  23. GOLDENEYE – Eric Serra – with a 98 score for a 19.6 avg.
  24. DIE ANOTHER DAY – David Arnold – with a 101 score for a 20.2 avg.
  25. DR. NO – Monty Norman – with a 125 score for a 25.0 avg.
  26. NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN – Michel Legrand – (3 mentions) with a 76 score for a 25.3 avg.

No real surprise here–John Barry is THE MAN. With ALL 11 of his scores in the top 16 spots. My biggest surprise is that The Man With The Golden Gun is so high (#15) and not the lowest of Barry’s. Though I would image that the recently expanded soundtrack helped a bit there.

Not as much love for the rest of the composers although the five that made the top 16–George Martin (#3), David Arnold (#9, #12, #14), and Bill Conti (#10) aren’t that surprising. Although I would have thought that Arnold’s The World Is Not Enough would be higher than its #17 ranking and likewise Marvin Hamlisch’s The Spy Who Loved Me (#19).

Anyway, thanks to those that participated.

I’ve been a bit busy lately, so I haven’t had time to crank out the ranking threads as regularly as in the past, but a new one will be coming soon.

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Magnificent, thank you!

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I didn’t vote, but I can live with that final, cumulative ranking.

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Great list — love the detail you put into each ranking. For me, John Barry’s work still defines the Bond sound, and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is easily top-tier. But I’d also put Casino Royale and Skyfall higher because of how well their scores match the tone of the films. Arnold and Newman both brought something fresh while still respecting the classic Bond style.

Overall, Bond music is one of the things that makes the series timeless — fun to see how differently everyone ranks them.

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