For whatever reason, film scores just don't do it for me. I like plenty of video game and anime soundtracks for listening on their own, but feature film soundtracks rarely interest me outside of the films.
My favorite film scores are ones that, in addition to serving the film, also kick ass on their own. Stuff like Vince DiCola's synthesized score for
The Transformers: The Movie (and the cheesy butt rock songs that accompany it—SO unbelievably fantastic), or Chu Ishikawa's stompin' industrial soundtrack to
Tetsuo: The Iron Man. Actually, I think why I don't like listening to film scores is they're mostly quite trite; the whole orchestral thing has been done time and time again, and I feel that most composers don't really stick out—and even when they do (the scores for
Legend and
Aliens come to mind), I generally don't care to listen to the music on its own. I guess I'm just not really a fan of classic orchestras?
The 1989
Batman score by Danny Elfman is rad, though—one of my favorites. La-La Land Records actually released a full,
complete version of it, of the actual in-film music without all the post-production done for the original soundtrack album (though a remastered form of that is included as well). Elfman's
Batman theme has never sounded more rich than on this CD (well, besides hearing it while watching the movie, lol); I never knew they took away so much of the bass for the original album. Anyhoo, the expanded album is a treat, and is a very nice companion to La-La Land's expanded
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm score and their two-disc album for
Batman: The Animated Series.
Oh, I know one I really love on its own:
Dune, with music by Toto. THAT is a phenomenal soundtrack—just the kind of atypical, non-recycled stuff I like.
Blade Runner, too; Vangelis is a master craftsman when it comes to music. Goblin's
Suspiria score is great, and really fun and spooky to hear by itself—I mean, just listen to
this and
this. Oooooh. Can't forget Ennio Morricone's
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and
Duck, You Sucker scores either, or just about any of Morricone's stuff from any period. I'm sure there are others that aren't coming to mind.
thernz mentioned
Big Trouble in Little China. Were you aware that whole soundtrack was released on a two-disc set by La-La Land as well? Ha! I love those guys.