Various Artists (Soundtrack): Lost Highway

Not to necessarily take away from his Nine Inch Nails work—for all the overexposure and self-importance, those records are pretty compelling—but Trent Reznor's great gift may be providing soundtracks for eclectic movies. Both Natural Born Killers and Lost Highway transcend the typical oldies-and-outtakes collections that mar soundtracks' name, and both seem ideal for the movies they're intended to complement: The Natural Born Killers soundtrack was a sliced-and-diced melange of Oliver Stone's styles and substances, while Lost Highway's music is decidedly David Lynch. It helps that for every new track by some hyped big-name act (Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, Smashing Pumpkins), there are a lot of mood-setting pieces by Angelo Badalamenti (of Twin Peaks fame) and Barry Adamson. The result is that rare soundtrack with both hits and depth; even One Fine Day didn't have that.