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All the 'Twilight' soundtracks, ranked

Callie Ahlgrim   

All the 'Twilight' soundtracks, ranked
Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen and Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan in "Twilight."Summit Entertainment
  • It's been 15 years since the original "Twilight" movie premiered in theaters.
  • The saga is notable for its well-curated soundtracks, featuring artists like Paramore and Bon Iver.

"Twilight" hit theaters on November 21, 2008, kicking off a five-part saga that became a pop-culture sensation.

The movie franchise is partly notable for its well-curated soundtracks, which feature rock bands and indie artists like Paramore, Muse, Bon Iver, and Green Day. The music is moody, mysterious, and sometimes intense — setting the tone for Bella Swan's vampiric pursuits.

In honor of the first installment's 15th anniversary, we ranked all five soundtracks from worst to best.

5. "Breaking Dawn – Part 2"

5. "Breaking Dawn – Part 2"
Edward, Renesmee, and Bella in " Breaking Dawn – Part 2."      Summit Entertainment

In harsh contrast to its predecessors, the final installment of the "Twilight" franchise failed to produce any memorable needle drops.

The entire movie builds to a dramatic show-down with a violent coven of vampires — so you'd expect the music to reflect that tension. Instead, the "Breaking Dawn – Part 2" soundtrack is mostly populated by acoustics and relaxed, low-tempo songs.

The only true standout is "The Antidote" by St. Vincent, which plays during a silly arm-wrestling scene.

4. "Eclipse"

4. "Eclipse"
Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black in "Eclipse."      Summit Entertainment

Although "Eclipse" isn't particularly notable for its music, a few key needle drops help give it a higher ranking — namely Jacob's spicy arrival scene, set to "A Million Miles an Hour" by Eastern Conference Champions, and Jasper's training montage, set to "With You in My Head" by UNKLE.

The "Eclipse" soundtrack also boasts a single by Florence + The Machine ("Heavy in Your Arms"), which is always a plus.

3. "Breaking Dawn – Part 1"

3. "Breaking Dawn – Part 1"
Edward and Bella get married in "Breaking Dawn – Part 1."      Summit Entertainment

Everyone associates the "Breaking Dawn – Part 1" soundtrack with the diamond-certified love song, "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri.

But the soundtrack's true gem is "Flightless Bird, American Mouth" by Iron & Wine, which plays during Edward and Bella's first kiss as a married couple.

The indie gem was reworked for the wedding scene as a callback to the first "Twilight" movie, when it played during the couple's slow dance at prom — a special request by Kristen Stewart.

"I always thought of this movie as the bookend to the first movie, and that was such a great powerful, romantic song for those characters," "Breaking Dawn" director Bill Condon told MTV News. "It just felt right to kind of refer back to it at this important, important moment."

2. "Twilight"

2. "Twilight"
Ashley Greene as Alice Cullen in "Twilight."      Summit Entertainment

The original "Twilight" set everything in motion. Without director Catherine Hardwicke and music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas, the series would not be the phenomenon it is today.

Patsavas didn't simply compliment Hardwicke's gothic, cool-toned vision. By recruiting artists like Paramore, Linkin Park, and Perry Farrell of Jane's Addiction — filling the soundtrack with emo wails and crunchy guitars — she helped legitimize the movie's indie-sleaze sensibilities.

Although plenty of scenes in "Twilight" ended up feeling more like humor than drama, other moments are elevated by the thoughtful song selection.

If it hadn't been paired with Muse's "Supermassive Black Hole," who can say how the iconic baseball scene would've landed? Bella and Edward's debut as a couple, set to "Spotlight" by Mutemath, packs a similar punch. And of course, we can't forget to thank Carter Burwell for composing "Bella's Lullaby."

1. "New Moon"

1. "New Moon"
Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan in "New Moon."      Summit Entertainment

"New Moon" took everything the first movie did well and perfected it.

The lineup is stacked with iconic rockers and emo-era giants: Thom Yorke of Radiohead, The Killers, Bon Iver, St. Vincent, and Grizzly Bear, to name a few. The singles released to promote the soundtrack, "Meet Me on the Equinox" by Death Cab for Cutie and "Satellite Heart" by Anya Marina, are both unironically excellent.

But really, you only need to know one scene from "New Moon" to understand its place at No. 1 on this list: Bella's depression montage, triggered by Edward's departure, only works because of Lykke Li's Oscar-worthy original song "Possibility."

"Know that when you leave / By blood and by me, you walk like a thief," she hums over a haunting, chamber-pop arrangement. "So tell me when you hear my heart stop / You're the only one who knows."

In an interview with Vulture, Lykke Li compared her soundtrack contribution to eating a drug-laced pastry during a university lecture.

"It's like you sneak in something strange, and it's very rewarding," she said.

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