James Horner tragically passed away in a single-person plane crash in 2015 at the age of 61, but his work has had an incredible impact on Hollywood and will likely retain a reputation of greatness for quite some time. For instance, Avatar: The Way of Water, a film released in 2022, was dedicated to Horner — and Bill Paxton — because he was supposed to score it.

Getting his start with Roger Corman, as many great auteurs have, Horner quickly moved onto bigger and better productions, like 1982's Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and 48 Hrs. He even scored his first Oscar nomination in 1986 with Aliens. And that's not all, as Horner accrued a whopping 10 Academy Award nominations throughout his career, winning two for one film.

And that one film is on this list, along with Horner's other great works. What's telling is that even listing 20 of his best works, there are still several choices that could very easily fit alongside the entries you're about to read.

20 The Pelican Brief (1993)

Alan J. Pakula's The Pelican Brief, an adaptation of John Grisham's popular 1992 novel, follows Julia Roberts as law student Darby Shaw teaming up with Denzel Washington as a Washington Herald reporter, to uncover the motive behind the assassination of two Supreme Court justices. She already did some digging, which has put her in the bad guys' crosshairs, making reporter Gray Grantham an ally who could very well save her life.

What Makes It Great?

Horner's score does a great job of building the film's tension. In fact, considering it's a rather bloodless (but still creepy when it wants to be) thriller, the technical elements have to do some heavy lifting to convey the film's massive stakes. And Horner was a big part of pulling that off. Stream The Pelican Brief on Pluto TV.

19 The Mask of Zorro (1998)

Martin Campbell's The Mask of Zorro isn't just one of the more enjoyable films to come from the late '90s, it also possesses one of the best soundtracks of its respective decade. The narrative follows Anthony Hopkins' Zorro (AKA Don Diego de la Vega) as he trains a down-on-his-luck drunk to pick up the sword and take on a ruthless murderer who's reared his ugly head.

What Makes It Great?

Not long after Titanic, Horner delivered an entirely different, swashbuckling score in his work for The Mask of Zorro. While not as pumping as Hans Zimmer's work for the later Pirates of the Caribbean films, it's suitably energetic and gives the necessary combined vibes of classic adventure and modern. Stream The Mask of Zorro on Paramount+.

18 House of Sand and Fog (2003)

A thematically and visually gorgeous, but ultimately difficult to watch film, House of Sand and Fog features standout leading work from Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley, both at the top of their game. Connelly portrays Kathy Nicolo, a recovering addict whose inherited home is taken from her due to a government goof-up regarding back taxes.

That home is then purchased by Kingsley's Iranian immigrant Massoud Amir Behrani. Both feel they have a right to the property, and technically both do, but one of two things are going to happen: either their conflict will expand until it cruelly incorporates cultural differences, or the two can come to an understanding.

What Makes It Great?

The score for House of Sand and Fog is, naturally, one of Horner's less bombastic works. But, the Oscar-nominated soundtrack is crucial in selling the film's quiet tension, and anything more than Horner's restrained contributions wouldn't have gelled. Stream House of Sand and Fog on Max.

17 The Perfect Storm (2000)

Wolfgang Petersen's star-studded The Perfect Storm tells the traumatic true story of the Andrea Gail, a commercial fishing vessel that fell victim to the titular storm of 1991. It is a tragic and incredible tale, and unfortunately, there were no survivors.

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What Makes It Great?

Horner's score is a big part of what makes The Perfect Storm such an effectively harrowing experience. The acoustic guitar lulls the viewer into an elongated false sense of security before both the wave and the music's increasing ambiance shake it all away. The Perfect Storm is available to stream on AMC.

16 How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

While reception was mixed at the time, there's a solid argument for Ron Howard's version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas as the best of the Grinch adaptations. The narrative follows the titular green curmudgeon as he plots to destroy Christmas for the residents of Whoville once and for all.

What Makes It Great?

While artists such as Faith Hill, Smash Mouth, NSYNC, and Busta Rhymes contributed to the soundtrack of Howard's film, the vast majority came from Horner. It's one of his most diverse scores, and he does a marvelous job of incorporating sound in a way that seems as if it genuinely could have come from some wacky Whoville musical instrument. Stream How the Grinch Stole Christmas on DIRECTV.

15 Field of Dreams (1989)

Starring Kevin Costner and the late Ray Liotta, Field of Dreams is one of the great all-American films. The narrative follows a farmer who builds a baseball field in his backyard and soon finds he has brought back deceased players at the top of their game. But they don't go back out to pro games, they just play in the farmer's yard, enjoying America's favorite pastime.

What Makes It Great?

Horner's Field of Dreams score sells the concept of hope just as well as the film's script and performances. For the most part, the soundtrack is grounded in all-American vibes, with even Horner's trusty strings and horns present and accounted for. But it also does what it can to sell the film's otherworldly aspects. Stream Field of Dreams on Netflix.

14 Balto (1995)

Set in the tiny town of Nome, Alaska, Balto follows the titular character (a half-wolf dog) as he deals with ostracization from his pure blood dog peers. But, when those peers get trapped in a storm, it's up to Balto to save the day, and help them transfer medicine to a town in need.

What Makes It Great?

Horner didn't score many animated films, but when he did (e.g. with An American Tail: Fievel Goes West) it was perfectly on-brand. And, when the film hits its most intense sequences, that's when the score hits its pulse-pounding peak, allowing viewers to feel a little more tension than usual with an animated movie. Stream Balto on Peacock Premium.

13 Casper (1995)

In the case of the Casper film franchise, the first is still the best. And it did well at the box office, making it more than a little surprising it's never received a theatrical sequel. The narrative of Brad Silberling's lovable film follows the widowed Dr. James Harvey (Bill Pullman), a ghost therapist who helps the deceased get to the other side, and his daughter, Kat (Christina Ricci). The former is enlisted to help a cruel, money-hungry woman and her companion clear some specters from her newly-inherited property. But, not all the ghosts are the haunting type.

What Makes It Great?

By the time Casper hit theaters, Horner was already well-versed in working with Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment. And, like his score for An American Tail, his work on Casper both evokes a sense of mystery, as well as the requisite spooky vibes (though not too spooky). The most lovely song to come out of the movie was the achingly beautiful "Casper's Lullaby." Stream Casper on Netflix.

12 Jumanji (1995)

Led by the late, great Robin Williams, Jumanji tells the tale of a man who becomes lost in a deadly game. 26 years ago, Alan Parrish became trapped in a "game" called Jumanji, and now that two kids have found it and begun playing, Parrish is brought back into the world. But, he's not all that came out of Jumanji.

What Makes It Great?

Stephen Spielberg protégé Joe Johnston has directed quite a few widely-appealing and successful blockbusters throughout his career, and Jumanji is absolutely one of them. He understood the assignment of crafting a mile-a-minute adventure that never loses sight of pacing, and it's one of his scores where it's pretty obvious he was having fun making it. Stream Jumanji on Max.

11 Southpaw (2015)

Southpaw, from The Equalizer director Antoine Fuqua, features one of 2015's most shocking movie scenes, but that's not all that makes it such a gut-punch of a film. The narrative follows professional boxer Billy "The Great" Hope as he loses his title to an ambitious and cruel new young fighter. And, worse yet, the new fighter's brother has just murdered Hope's wife in cold blood.

What Makes It Great?

Southpaw was the first of three films Horner worked on that were released after his death, with the other two being The 33 and The Magnificent Seven, which was also directed by Fuqua. And, while his work on Magnificent Seven is arguably more memorable, and certainly more energetic, it's his understated work on Southpaw that ekes out the win.

Even in the quieter scenes, one has to focus to pick up on each musical cue, but that quiet nature has a way of selling the unsettled nature of the grieving Billy Hope's mind. Stream Southpaw on Paramount+.

10 Aliens (1986)

Aliens picks up 57 years where Alien left off. Ellen Ripley has survived the Xenomorph aboard the Nostromo, but now she's being roped into guiding a platoon through the very planet she once visited. She's told it's a terraforming colony but, upon arrival, she and the troops are going to learn that the colonist population has been substantially diminished. The Xenomorph population, however....