The film music of 2017.

The importance of Spotify to the crusade of whittling down 160+ scores to 25(ish) cannot, in any way, be overstated. Now...

My favorite scores of 2017:

(Nicholas Britell - Sony Classical)
Favorite tracks: "Manhattan Sunset", "Bobby vs. Margaret", "Prelude to the Battle of the Sexes"

(Theodore Shapiro - Back Lot)
Favorite tracks: "Comic Book Opening", "Saving the Day", "The Prank for Good"

(Benjamin Wallfisch - Milan)
Favorite tracks: "Hannah and Volmer", "Magnificent, Isn't It?", "Volmer's Lab"

(Rolfe Kent - WaterTower)
Favorite tracks: "The World is Amazed - Main Title Theme", "Inching Toward the Downsizing Procedure", "Exodus, Farewells, Lost Luggage and Reunions"

(Michael Abels - Back Lot)
Favorite tracks: "Sikiliza Kwa Wahenga (Main Title)", "Rod's Bing Search", "Situation Handled"

(Philip Glass - Sony Classical)
Favorite tracks: "Time of Discovery", "Hugo Arrives", "Parent and Child"

(Danny Elfman - WaterTower)
Favorite tracks: "Wonder Woman Rescue", "Spark of the Flash", "The Final Battle"

(Mandy Hoffman - Milan)
Favorite tracks: "Intro and Title", "I'm Sorry", "Something Weird Happened/Mary Cries"

(Brian Tyler - Back Lot)
Favorite tracks: "The Mummy", "Concourse of the Undead", "Sanction of the Gods"

(Patrick Doyle - Sony Classical)
Favorite tracks: "The Orient Express", "Twelve Stab Wounds", "Justice"

(John Williams - Sony Classical)
Favorite tracks: "The Presses Roll", "Setting the Type", "The Court's Decision and End Credits"

(Alexandre Desplat - Decca)
Favorite tracks: "The Shape of Water", "Five Stars General", "The Escape"

(Alexandre Desplat - ABKCO)
Favorite tracks: "Welcome to Suburbicon", "A Sweet Aroma", "Basement Games"

(Thomas Newman - Back Lot)
Favorite tracks: "Civilization!", "Certified Insane", "The Empress of India"

(Michael Giacchino - Sony Classical)
Favorite tracks: "Exodus Wounds", "The Ecstasy of the Bold", "Paradise Found"

[Mental note, in two parts: a) When creating this list in the future, think of a summary for the scores ahead of time and b) Make sure that you're not working on two Letterboxd Scavenger Hunts at the same time as tallying the favorite scores of the year.]

Some other really good scores:

All I See is You (Marc Streitenfeld), All the Money in the World (Daniel Pemberton), Bitter Harvest (Benjamin Wallfisch), Born in China (Barnaby Taylor), Coco (Michael Giacchino), Colossal (Bear McCreary), The Exception (Ilan Eshkeri), The Man Who Invented Christmas (Mychael Danna), Phantom Thread (Jonny Greenwood), que baje dios y lo vea (Fernando Velazquez), The Snowman (Marco Beltrami), Star Wars: the Last Jedi (John Williams), Thor: Ragnarok (Mark Mothersbaugh), Tulip Fever (Danny Elfman) and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (Alexandre Desplat)

No listing of unreleased scores, either. Again, Spotify.

My favorite releases of 2017:

Almost an Angel (Maurice Jarre - Varese Club) - The spiritual comedy may have faded from memory, but Jarre's score is an utter delight; uplifting, multifaceted and joyous.

Baby's Day Out (Bruce Broughton - Intrada) - Broughton's score for the underrated comedy is entertaining and rich with thematic wonder.

Damnation Alley (Jerry Goldsmith - Intrada) - Goldsmith's driving, exciting score for this question mark of a post-apocalyptic thriller is further proof of his talents.

DuckTales: the Movie - Treasure of the Lost Lamp (David Newman - Intrada) - Newman provided an appropriately bouncy effort for the feature spin-off.

From Beyond (Richard Band - Intrada) - The immediate reunion of the Re-Animator team encouraged a beautifully eerie score from Band.

The Haunting (Jerry Goldsmith - Varese Club) - The penultimate horror movie of the composer's career wasn't exactly Poltergeist - hell, it wasn't even The Final Conflict - but Goldsmith's music was as elegantly spooky as ever.

Robot Jox (Frederic Talgorn - Intrada) - Talgorn wrote his first score (and one of his finest) for this odd, Empire-produced giant robot slapfight.

Thriller (Jerry Goldsmith - Tadlow) - A strong re-recording of Goldsmith's engagingly eclectic music for the nearly forgotten anthology series.

Thunder Road (Jack Marshall - La La Land) - A fascinating collection of scores that show off impressive range for the "Munsters" composer.

Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (Basil Poledouris - Varese Club) - The world may not have wanted the further adventures of Casey Ryback, but Poledouris's score was a fitfully exciting accompaniment.

The White Buffalo (John Barry/David Shire - Quartet) - Two very different approaches to the atypical Charles Bronson vehicle: Barry's moody replacement and Shire's more traditional (and unused) Western score.

Wonder Woman (various - La La Land) - Several terrific composers provided lively music (and a memorable theme song) for the Amazon's escapades.

And maybe I'll be seeing these sometime...

Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey - Vols. 1, 2 & 3 (Alan Silvestri - Intrada)
Die Another Day (David Arnold - La La Land)
Final Judgment/The Terror Within II (Terry Plumeri - Howlin' Wolf)
A Fish Called Wanda (John DuPrez - Music Box)
Good Morning, Vietnam/Operation Dumbo Drop (Alex North/David Newman - Intrada)
Hyperspace (Don Davis - Dragon's Domain)
The Italian Key (Tuomas Kantelinen - Caldera)
Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon (John Scott - Kritzerland)
Nikola Tesla (Alfi Kabiljo - Kronos)
Sharkansas Women's Prison Massacre (Chuck Cirino - Kritzerland)
Shogun (Maurice Jarre - Intrada)
Stargate: SG-1 (Richard Band - Intrada)
State of Grace (Ennio Morricone - Quartet)
Time Walker (Richard Band - Dragon's Domain)
Wonders of Aladdin (Angelo Francesco Lavagnino - Alhambra)

Here's where I'd post random thoughts about the year in film music, if I had any. Still, the specialty release business is as strong as ever. (A 3-CD Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Game on.)