Top Ten Star Wars Tracks

I didn't think it would be as hard as it was to narrow down just my top ten favorite tracks from the six films cd releases. So many to choose from.

188 tracks total from ANH SE, TESB SE, ROTJ SE, TPM OST, TPM UE, AOTC OST, and ROTS OST. It would have been more if all the ROTJ music (like the Sail Barge music, the original Sy Snootles song, or the original Ewok ending music), AOTC music (like Dex's Diner Music), and ROTS music (like Anakin and Padme's Reunion) had been released. Actually I guess some of that ROTJ music was released long ago. I also guess I shouldn't count Alfred Newmans fox fanfare though which actually brings it down to 184.

First I had to break down each cd from best to worst track which was a rough job in itself. What I had to keep in mind was the overall enjoyment of the entire track. Meaning if the track only had one great moment while others had multiple, the latter would win. Which made for some sad cuts.

The TPM OST and Ultimate Edition gave me a rough time since I was used to the Ultimate Edition by now and so the combination of tracks on the OST made me cringe sometimes. But in the end, not much from TPM made it anyways.


Well here's my list including the 10 that nearly made it to the top ten... And the ones that almost made the almost list... okay I'll stop there...but there's just too much...


30. Victory Celebration / End Title
29. Imperial Attack
28. Yoda's Theme
27. Ben Kenobi's Death / Tie Fighter Attack
26. Princess Leia's Theme
25. The Droid Invasion and the Appearance of Darth Maul
24. The Immolation Scene
23. Luke and Leia
22. Leia's News / Light of the Force
21. Padme's Ruminations

20. The Battle of Yavin
19. The Battle of Hoth
18. The Battle of Endor II
17. Anakin's Betrayel
16. Love Theme From Attack of the Clones
15. Battle of the Heroes
14. The Asteroid Field
13. Rescue From Cloud City / Hyperspace
12. The Hologram / Binary Sunset
11. Love Pledge and the Arena

10. Confrontation With Count Dooku and the Finale
09. Cantina Band #1
08. Anakin's Dark Deeds
07. The Forest Battle Concert Suite
06. Duel of the Fates
05. A New Hope and End Credits
04. Carbon Freeze / Darth Vader's Trap / Departure of Boba Fett
03. The Imperial March
02. The Rebel Fleet / End Title
01. The Clash of Lightsabers

I can't do a top ten so I'm doing a top twenty.

1.Battle of the Heros
2.Duel of the Fates
3.Across the Star
4.The Throne Room and the End Title
5.Victory Celebration
6.Anakin's Betrayal
7.Augies Great Municipal Band and End Credits
8.The Force Theme
9.Princess Leia's Theme
10.Luke and Leia
11.Star Wars Main Theme
12.Yoda's Theme
13.Yoda and the Younglings
14.On the Conveyor Belt
15.Chase Through Coruscant
16.Love Pledge and the Arena
17.The Meadow Picnic
18.The Imperial March
19.The Hologram-Binary Sunset
20.Everything eles I didn't list

HookLineAndSinker: Clash of Lightsabers is a great #1. It's such a fantastic track. Great choice.

You "top 20" people are such cheaters. Make the painful decisions, yo. You can change your mind later.

I cut out any End Title tracks 'cause it felt a little cheap to just include multi-theme concert tracks as opposed to ones scored to actual film.

10. Imperial Starfleet Deployed/City in the Clouds: The sweet, sweeping love theme is gorgeous. The morose tone as Yoda advises his student about recklessly acting on the future is hauntingly beautiful, but not as much as the choir that accompanies the first view of the greatest locale in the whole SW saga, Cloud City.

9. Carbon Freeze/Darth Vader's Trap/Departure of Boba Fett: Nothing really noteworthy here. Just my favorite set of cues in the saga.

8. The Battle Of Hoth: As good as Battle of Yavin was as a set of action cues, Williams actually topped himself. "Imperial Walkers" is one AWESOME piece of work, and even though it's the highlight of the track, Williams keeps us completely engaged through the rest of the running time.

7. The Battle of Yavin: So why is this higher on the list than the technically superior "Hoth?" reasons. A) it was so good JW had to reuse it for ROTJ. B) two words: Force theme. "Use the Force, Luke" would be nothing without that scoring behind it. C) Listen to the sequence leading up to Biggs' demise. I mean, good grief. That's a story's rising action done in music. Brilliance.

6. Clash of the Lightsabers: This wasn't on the list at first, but really, this deserved the spot even over the oh-so-fun concert version of "Imperial March."

5. Anakin's Dark Deeds: Here's where Williams shows other composers how choral motifs are done.

4. Across the Stars: Romantic yet terribly melancholy, this is the perfect love theme for this ill-fated couple. Too bad the onscreen version didn't live up to Williams' audio billing.

3. Duel of the Fates: Best choral piece ever composed for film.

2. Rescue from Cloud City/Hyperspace: From Vader's revelation to Luke's rescue, this cue is just operatic in its storytelling ability. Then, in the midst of that exciting chase rhythm, we get the most triumphantly sinister version of the Vader Theme in the whole saga.

1. The Asteroid Field: Note for note, there's no better composed piece in the whole saga. It works equally well as on-screen scoring and as a standalone concert piece. It's also the most FUN piece of all six films.

It's probably no secret which film's score I like best.

Wow, I can't believe Light of the Force was so low on the first list.

GAME MUSIC
1. Bastila Shan
2. Taris Upper City
3. Sith Lords Main Title
4. Sith Guard Encounter
5. The Old Republic
6. M4-78, The Droid Planet
7. Sith Assassins Encounter
8. KotOR March (End Credits)
9. Dark Kreia
10.Jungles of Dxun

MOVIE MUSIC
1. Return to Tatooine
2. The Tusken Camp and The Homestead
3. Anakin's Betrayal
4. Emperor Theme
5. Battle of the Heroes
6. Qui-Gon's Mission
7. Palpatine's Teachings
8. Shuttle Tydirium Approaches Endor
9. The Forest Battle
10.Clash of the Lightsabers

In no particular order:

1. The battle of Yavin
2. The Battle of Endor II (the Dark Side Beckons/The Emperor's Death)
3. Shuttle Tyderium Approaches Endor
4. Anakin's Dark Deeds
5. The Tide Turns (from TPM)
6. The Asteroid Field
7. The Clash of Lightsabers
8. The Magic Tree
9. Duel of the Fates
10. Confrontation with Count Dooku and Finale (from AOTC)

Took a lot of thought and listening, as well as some tough cuts. Finally I emerged with this, my current favorites in no particular order.

Battle of the Heroes
Duel of the Fates
Confrontation with Count Dooku/Finale
Hologram/Binary Sunset
Anakin?s Betrayal
The Clash of Lightsabers
The Rebel Fleet/End Title
Battle of Endor II
The Immolation Scene
Leia?s News/Light of the Force

hmmmm.... lets see
these aren't in order sparing the first one, but these r my top ten

Anakin's Betrayal (the most moving and most powerful)
Ben Kenobi's Death/Tie Fighter Attack
The Hologram/Binary Sunset
Imperial March
Anakin Vs. Obi-wan
Anakin's Dark Deeds
Duel of the Fates
The Tide Turns/The Death of Darth Maul
The Battle of Yavin
The Clash of Lightsabers

sadly i only have a new hope of the original trilogy so this list is largely the prequels

and u will notice the complete lack of music from AOTC. only track on there that i like was across the stars, and it wasn't that good

1.Anakin's Dream (III)
2.The Battle of Endor II (VI)
3.Anakin's Betrayel (III)
4.The Tusken Camp and the Homestead (II)
5.Duel of the Fates (I)
6.The Burning Homestead (IV)
7.The Asteroid Feld (V)
8.Jango's Escape (II)
9.Victory Celebration (VI)
10.Anakin's Dark Deeds (III)

It's sooooooooo difficult!

My top favorites by movie. I have more than ten

Star Wars Main title
Duel of the fates
Across the Stars
Battle of the Heroes
Anakin vs. Obi-Wan
Anakin's Dark Deeds
The Birth of the Twins and Padme's Destiny
A New Hope and End Credits
The Homestead
Cantina Band 1
The Battle of Yavin
Throne Room and End Credits
The Asteroid Field
Yoda's Theme
Yoda and the Force
The Clash of Lightsabers
Luke Confronts Jabba/Den of the Rancor/Sarlacc Sentence
The Pit of Carkoon/Sail Barge Assault
Luke and Leia
The Battle of Endor 2
The Battle of Endor 3
Victory Celebration/End Credits

Ugh....too difficult to really name just a 'top 10'. All though if I had to choose...

1: The Battle Over Coruscant (ROTS)
What can I say? I am a sucker for action packed cues and this is my most favorite cue of the entire Star Wars saga. It helps having the expanded version, thanks to the unreleased material from some of the recent games.

2: The Battle Of Hoth (ESB)
Again sucker for action cues and this one I get goosbumps each time I listen to it. The practically non-stop action just takes me in and I can listen to the whole cue all the way through with out any problems. This cue almost ties first place with "The Battle Over Coruscant" from ROTS in my books.

3: Anakin's Betrayal (ROTS)
All though mis-labeled big time on the OST. This is a fantastic piece especially in the movie that scores the whole Order 66 sequence. I virtually cried a bit when I first saw the film and watching the Order 66 sequence while listening to the music. Very powerful stuff.

4: Duel Of The Fates (TPM)
Very well done theme here between good and evil. Williams did a nice job at combining both orchestra and choir simulatniously with out having to over-dub the choir. Too bad it was grosly chopped up in the "Battle Of Naboo" in the film.

5: Light Of The Force (ROTJ)
A very awesome piece from ROTJ, probably one of my favorites from this score. A nice piece to play when Luke burns the suit of Darth Vader on Endor.

6: Across The Stars (AOTC)
Not too bad of a piece here. A nice theme for Anakin and Padmé in this film.

7: The Tide Turns - Death Of Maul (TPM)
This is cue is pretty good to enjoy, all though the tracked music on the Ultimate Edition score kind of ruins the cue a bit.

8: The Battle Of Yavin (ANH)
I know many here like this higher on their list...but for me this is just not as exciting as "The Battle Over Coruscant" or "The Battle Of Hoth". Yes it is a nice long piece but still most of ANH's score bores me...

9: Battle Of The Heroes (ROTS)
One theme I still haven't fully gotten used to. It's going to take quite a few more listenings for me to fully enjoy it. Others may enjoy it more than DOTF but I like DOTF a lot more than this one.

10: Star Wars Main Title (ALL!)
The reason why it's my least favorite...well because it's used in all the films (of course, duh lol)...and most of the time I end up skipping the Main Title and proceed right into the rest of the music. Sorry couldn't think of anything else lol.

1. Confrontation with Count Dooku and End Title (AOTC)
2. Victory Celebration/End Title (ROTJ)
3. Anakin's Betrayal (ROTS)
4. Yoda's Theme (ESB)
5. Star Wars and Revenge Of The Sith (ROTS)
6. Duel of the Fates (TPM)
7. Return to Tatooine (AOTC)
8. Padme's Ruminations (ROTS)
9. The Battle of Yavin (ANH)
10. Battle of Endor II (ROTJ)

Here is my order:

1) Battle of the Heroes (III)
2) The Emperor Arrives, The Death of Yoda, Obi-Wan's Revelation (VI)
3) The Asteroid Field (V)
4) The Clash of Lightsabers (V)
5) Imperial Starfleet Deployed City in the Clouds (V)
6) Across the Stars (II)
7) The Binary Sunset (IV)
8) The Rebel Fleet, End Title (V)
9) Duel of the Fates (I)
10) The Throne Room And End Title (IV)

Small Parts (maby 5-30 sec)

The Battle of Endor II (when Luke Figh back against Vader, middle of the track)
Enter Lord Vader (The first 10 seconds)
Star Wars and the Revenge of the Sith (4:45, when the drums begin)
Grevious Speaks to Sidious (1-50 sec of the music)

Current order, because it changes frequently

1)The Rebel Fleet/ESB end credits
2)Clah of Lightsabers
3)The Droid Invasion
4)Victory Celebration (special edition)
5)Across the Stars
6)Duel of the Fates
7)The Imperial March
8)Anakin's Dark Deeds
9)Anakin's Betrayal
10)Star Wars and the Revenge of the Sith

11 (Rather sneeky) Final Duel/The Dark Side Bekons

1-Battle of the Heroes
2-Duel of the Fates
3-Anakin vs Obi-Wan
4-The Imperial March
5-Across the Stars
6-Anakins Betrayal
7-The Birth of the twins and Padmes Destiny
8-The Battle of Endor III
9-Victory Celebration/End Title
10-The Droid Invasion and the Appearance of Darth Maul
I love the ROTS soundtrack, best Star Wars CD ever

i gotta add immolation scene to my earlier list actually.....so i hv a top 11 ....just fell in love with the track recently

This is off the top of my head, may change my mind later though:

1. The Imperial March
2. Duel of the Fates
3. Anakin's Betrayal
4. Padme's Ruminations
5. Anakin vs. Obi Wan
6. The Asteroid Field
7. Star Wars Main Title/Ambush on Coruscant
8. Anakin's Dark Deeds
9. Enter Lord Vater
10.Anakin's Dream

My son and I love Duel of the Fates, it is very powerful and well-balanced. I am going to burn a CD with Augie's Municipal Band(TPM), Victory Celebration(ANH) & Victory Celebration(ROTJ) because they are all celebration songs and lately, when I feel like celebrating, I listen to all 3 in that order and I feel all pumped up!!!

Top 10?! I think I will just rate everything in order. Rating the songs against each other (between episodes) is much too mean so I will do them by soundtrack.

Episode I

Considering I have the ultimate edition of this soundtrack, rating all 68 tracks in favoured order could be somewhat of a mission. So for this soundtrack I will just do a measly top 10.

10) The Death of Qui-Gon and the Surrender of the Gungans
9) Underwater Adventure: Swimming to Otoh Gunga
8) End Credits
7) Anakin Defeats Sebulba
6) The Republic Pilots Take Off into Space
5) The Funeral of Qui-Gon
4) The Parade (Augie's Muncipal Band from the OST)
3) The Flag Parade
2) Duel of the Fates (dialouge version)
1) Activate the Droids

For me "Activate the Droids" was a natural choice for the number one spot, purely because of its fun, "Bad" connotations. I really enjoyed the Episode I soundtrack because it is the most varied and fun of the whole saga. Sadly it is also one of the few whose Finale track ("The Parade") did not manage to get a number 1 spot.

Episode II

13) The Tusken Camp and the Homestead
12) Departing Coruscant
11) The Meadow Picnic
10) Anakin and Padme
9) Yoda and the Younglings
8) Jango's escape
7) Zam the Assassin and the Chase through Coruscant
6) Love Pledge and the Arena
5) Bounty Hunter's Pursuit
4) Across the Stars
3) Star Wars Main Title and Ambush on Coruscant
2) Return to Tatooine
1) Confrentation with Count Dooku and Finale

Although many people dismiss Episode II as being the worst of the lot, cues like "Ambush on Coruscant" and "Finale" are truly right up there with the classics from the OT. Also, major Brownie points to "Finale" for the best-played Imperial March ever. Period. Note that I do not possess track 14: "On the Conveyor Belt"

Episode III

15) Palpatine's Teachings
14) Padme's Ruminations
13) Anakin's Dream
12) Grievous and the Droids
11) General Grievous
10) The Immolation Scene
9) Enter Lord Vader
8) Anakin's Betrayal
7) Star Wars and Revenge of the Sith
6) The Birth of the Twins and Padme's Destiny
5) Grievous Speaks to Lord Sidious
4) Battle of the Heroes
3) Anakin vs. Obi Wan
2) Anakin's Dark Deeds
1) A New Hope and End Credits

After over a year, the greatness of the Episode III soundtrack is finally starting to sink in. "Anakin's Dark Deeds" is a masterpiece in truly dark music. As for "A New Hope and End Credits", listening to it reduced me to a blubbering, whimpering wreck. That makes it an instant number 1. If you're wondering why I rated "Anakin vs. Obi-Wan" above the brilliant "Battle of the Heroes" it is because of its striking parallels to "The Clash of Lightsabers" (Which will make a prominent appearance later ) from Episode V.

Episode IV

24) The Moisture Farm
23) Wookie Prisoner/Detention Block Ambush
22) Landspeeder search/Attack of the Sand People
21) Mos Eisley Spaceport
20) Burning Homestead
19) 20th Century Fox Fanfare
18) The Millenium Falcon/Imperial Cruiser Pursuit
17) Binary Sunset (alternate)
16) Tales of a Jedi Knight/Learn about the Force
15) The Trash compactor
14) The Tractor Beam/Chasm Crossfire
13) Shootout in the Cell Bay/Dianoga
12) The Death Star/The Stormtroopers
11) Cantina Band #2
10) Princess Leia's Theme
9) Destruction of Alderaan
8) The Dune Sea of Tatooine
7) Cantina Band
6) The Battle of Yavin
5) Main Title/Rebel Blockade Runner
4) Imperial Attack
3) Ben Kenobi's Death/Tie Fighter Attack
2) The Hologram/Binary Sunset
1) The Throne Room/End Credits

Ah, the classics. I will stress, making these selections was not nice and I had to make a few very painful descisions. ("Main Title" or "Battle of Yavin"???) Overall, "Throne Room" was an obvious choice for number 1, (and a common choice for number 1 of all time) but many of the rest were difficult indeed.

Episode V

Oh man, God help me on this one...

23) Arrival on Dagobah
22) Luke's Nocturnal Visitor
21) The Imperial Probe/Aboard the Executor
20) Main Title/Ice Planet Hoth
19)

1. Across the Stars - Such a beautiful song with such a great story
2. Duel of the Fates - Oh gosh, such a fast paced exciting song!
3. Ewok Celebration (end of ROTJ) - That song is so, well, happy! I love when Luke looks into the distance and sees his father and Obi-Wan.
4. May the Force Be With You - Another just wonderful song!
5. Battle of the Heroes - Odd name, but great song (I mean, Anakin wasn't a hero!)
Tied for 6 - Meadow Picnic and The Arena

And the rest of the songs are all liked equally as much. Those are just my most favorites.[/color]

Off the top of my head, in no particular order...

Duel of the Fates
The Droid Invasion and The Appearance of Darth Maul
Qui-Gon's Noble End
Across the Stars
Battle of the Heroes
Cantina Band
Light of the Force
Throne Room and Finale
Imperial March
Ewok Celebration

I also enjoy the random other stuff like Rage Against the Machine's version of the Imperial March in Force Commander, Lapti Nek, etc.

Whew! It was hard enough narrowing it down to 10, but then to rank those 10...

10. The Battle of Endor III
9. The Asteroid Field
8. Princess Leia's Theme
7. Carbon Freeze/Darth Vader's Trap/Departure of Boba Fett
6. The Battle of Endor II
5. Anakin is Free
4. The Battle of Yavin
3. Love Theme from Attack of the Clones
2. The Emperor Arrives/The Death of Yoda/Obi-Wan's Revelation
1. Rescue from Cloud City/Hyperspace

I stayed away from the end credits and tried to stay away from concert arrangements, but I just had to include Princess Leia's theme and the Love Theme from Attack of the Clones. There were a few tracks from Revenge that just about made it, but...

You chose the right number one my friend...

Should I... say something?