I’ll be the first to admit many aspects of the Twilight Saga haven’t exactly aged well (see: the representation of Native Americans and Jacob literally falling in love with a baby). But one element has aged like a fine wine and continues to hold important cultural relevance today. I’m talking, of course, about the iconic music in the movies. But which of these bizarrely beautiful films has the best set of songs? Let’s rank the Twilight saga movie soundtracks to find out.
These movies revitalized the paranormal romance genre back in the aughts, turning a strange love triangle between unbelievably awkward teenage girl Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), sparkly vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), and brooding werewolf Jacob (Taylor Lautner) into a global phenomenon. Some casual moviegoers may have been surprised by the franchise’s overwhelming success, but you’d better believe the music supervisors were ready for it. From Muse’s punk rock song “Supermassive Black Hole” accompanying the cinematic masterpiece that is the Cullen family baseball scene to the legendary Paramore song “Decode” (which is finally on Spotify), it’s the soundtracks that have helped these movies remain as iconic as they are.
So, in honor of the ongoing Twilight Renaissance, let’s look at where each movie ranks in terms of its music.
5. Breaking Dawn: Part 1
Apart from introducing the Christina Perri ballad “A Thousand Years” (which has been used in roughly a million weddings since this movie came out), the Breaking Dawn: Part 1 soundtrack is pretty damn forgettable.
The wild shifts this movie takes from wedding to honeymoon to horrifying vampire pregnancy certainly don’t help its soundtrack, which careens from the sappy Sleeping At Last song “Turning Page” to the uncharacteristically upbeat The Features single “From Now On” with no warning. Also, who approved Bruno Mars’ “It Will Rain” for this movie? It sticks out like a sore thumb.
4. Breaking Dawn: Part 2
Creepy CGI baby aside, Breaking Dawn: Part 2 improves upon its bizarre predecessor in pretty much every way — including its soundtrack. While it’s not the strongest musical outing in the Twilight franchise, it does a better job of incorporating pop with the more out-there indie tunes that made these soundtracks so beloved.
No one needed an “A Thousand Years” remix, but standout singles like Feist’s “Fire In the Water” and St. Vincent’s “The Antidote” are great additions.
3. Eclipse
While the Eclipse soundtrack isn’t full of the same instantly recognizable, iconic Twilight saga songs that populate New Moon and Twilight, it does a much better job of blending more mainstream pop with the original movies’ beloved indie music than either Breaking Dawn soundtrack does.
It’s a delight to get yet another big Muse song (an exclusive “I Belong To You” remix), but the real MVP in this movie is Florence and the Machine’s “Heavy In Your Arms.” It’s a darkly catchy tune about the burdens love can place on people that gives a little more weight to the ridiculous love triangle antics of Eclipse.
2. New Moon
Twilight saga author Stephenie Meyer isn’t afraid to drop on-the-nose references to classic love stories like Romeo and Juliet and Wuthering Heights, but Twilight honestly works best when it leans into the old-fashioned gothic romance it’s riffing on. Since New Moon is a broody breakup movie, its soundtrack captures this essence perfectly. I guarantee these songs will make you want to traipse through the autumn woods (and hopefully not fall over like Bella).
It also incorporates even more big artists like Death Cab For Cutie (who contributed “Meet Me On the Equinox'') and Bon Iver (who contributed “Roslyn”), proving just how big Twilight had become at the time. I’d also like to give a shout out to that depressing montage of Bella mooning over Edward that’s set to Lykke Li’s “Possibility,” because, wow.
1. Twilight
I may be biased, but this soundtrack was the blueprint for iconic teen romance soundtracks and is chock-full of songs that automatically make you think about the franchise all these years later. Muse may have been a hit band long before the first Twilight movie, but listen to “Supermassive Hole” and try to tell me you don’t think of the baseball scene. You can’t! Similarly, “Decode” by Paramore is one of the band’s best, and it wouldn’t exist without the Twilight saga.
There are plenty more indie gems like Blue Foundation’s “Eyes On Fire” and Iron & Wine’s “Flightless Bird,” which give the movie an atmospheric moodiness that instantly draws you in. Robert Pattinson even lends his voice to this soundtrack with the song “Let Me Sign.” And placing “Bella’s Lullaby” alongside the classical Claude Debussy piece “Claire De Lune” only reinforces the centuries-old romantic drama at the heart of Twilight. That’s cinema, babes!
The Twilight saga movies are streaming on Netflix now.
