Music List
Please, all writers and Dungeon Masters, make use of my not-exhaustive-but-pretty-good-list below!
I listen to music whilst I’m writing, I find it really helps me stay in the atmosphere of the genre or moment that I’m writing for, whether it’s for D&D or my novels.
Also note that just because I name a soundtrack that doesn’t mean I like all tracks on that soundtrack. If I have written mystery in a soundtrack that is full of noise, for example, The Dark Tower by Junkie XL, that is because I have selected the mystery tracks from this album and ignored the noise.
I also recommend doing extensive searches for different versions of the same track, City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra have a fine catalogue of film albums for example, Harry Potter, Conan etc which makes the same leitmotifs and themes sound a bit different.
I am always adding to this list, so it will have changed drastically in 6 months.
Genres of Fantasy
These are the intended genre of D&D or fantasy, not the genre of the music itself.
Arabian Nights - The desert adventures, Middle-Eastern and Mediterranean influenced games, usually Swords & Sorcery.
Epic Fantasy - generic fantasy in Fantasy Europe.
Sci-fi - generic sci-fi music.
Mystery - exploration of a tomb, intrigue in a city, artefact lore.
Fairytale, Jungle, Funeral, War, Lost World, Religious, Gothic, Chill D&D, Undead, Romance, are all self-explanatory.
Medieval - usually means tavern or feast music, sometimes the Hollywood sound of that era
Swords & Sorcery - usually Arabian Nights is Swords & Sorcery, but not always. It means a pulp fantasy such as Conan, not high fantasy like Lord of the Rings.
Music by Genre
Arabian Nights
Alan Silvestri The Mummy Returns
Alfred Newman David And Bathsheba, The Robe
Bernard Herrmann & Alfred Newman The Egyptian
Bernard Herrmann The 7th Voyage of Sinbad
David Arnold Stargate
Graeme Revell 13th Warrior rejected score
Harry Gregson Williams Prince of Persia, Kingdom of Heaven
Ingo Ludwig Frenzel The Physician
Jerry Goldsmith The Mummy, 13th Warrior
John Williams Indiana Jones Saga 4 films
Lawrence Rosenthal Clash of the Titans
Marco Beltrami Gods of Egypt
Maurice Jarre Lawrence of Arabia, The Message
Miklos Rózsa El Cid
Trevor Jones Cleopatra
Alan Menken Aladdin
Mystery
Alexandre Desplat Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows, Godzilla
Benjamin Walfisch IT
Bernard Herrmann Fahrenheit 451
Caroline Shaw Partita For 8 Voices
Ennio Morricone The Hateful Eight, Hamlet
Ernest Gold Exodus
Hans Zimmer Angels and Demons, The Da Vinci Code
Henryk Gorecki Copernican
Howard Shore Eastern Promises
James Horner The Name of the Rose
Jasper Kyd Assassins Creed Series
John Ekstrand Life
John Ottman X-Men: Apocalypse
John Williams Indiana Jones Saga 4 films
Junkie XL The Dark Tower
Justin Bell Pillars of Eternity
Kevin Macleod Various Open Licence Tracks
Lawrence Rosenthal Clash of the Titans
Mark Streitenfeld Prometheus
Miklos Rózsa Knights of the Round Table
Popul Vuh Nosferatu
Ramin Djawadi Game of Thrones Saga
Richard Wagner Forest Murmurs, Lohengrin Prelude
Tangerine Dream Legend
The Tolkien Ensemble Verse of the Rings
Thomas Newman 1917
Trevor Jones Cleopatra, Excalibur, Merlin
Medieval
Alex North Dragonslayer
Basil Poledouris Flesh and Blood
Corona Borealis Various
Ennio Morricone Hamlet
Jed Kurzel Macbeth
Jerry Goldsmith First Knight
John Barry The Lion In Winter
Justin Bell Pillars of Eternity
Patrick Doyle Henry V
Ramin Djawadi Game of Thrones Saga
Trevor Jones Excalibur, The Last of the Mohicans
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Requiem
Lost World
Bernard Herrmann Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Mysterious Island
Hans Zimmer Pirates of the Caribbean Saga
Henry Jackman Kong Skull Island
James Horner Avatar, Apocalypto
John Williams Jurassic Park: The Lost World, Indiana Jones Saga 4 films
Michael Giacchino Planet of the Apes Trilogy
Philip Glass Symphony No. 7
Sergei Rachmaninoff The Isle of the Dead
Jungle
Alan Silvestri Predator
Henry Jackman Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
James Horner Jumanji, Avatar
Jerry Goldsmith Congo
Religious
Carl Orff Carmina Burana
Ernest Gold Exodus
Gabriel Fauré Requiem, Op. 48
Hans Zimmer Angels and Demons, The Da Vinci Code
Howard Shore Searching For Richard
Midwinter The Waters of Sweet Sorrow
Miklos Rózsa Knights of the Round Table
Epic Fantasy
Alex North Dragonslayer
Andrew Powell & Alan Parsons Ladyhawke
Antonin Dvorak Requiem, Op 89
Brian Eno & Toto Dune
Claude Debussy La Mer, L109
Daniel Pemberton The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword
Edvard Grieg Funeral March For Rikard Nordraak
Eivor The Last Kingdom
Elmer Bernstein The Black Cauldron
Frederik Wiedmann The Dragon Prince
Gustav Holst The Planets
Harry Gregson Williams The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, Kingdom of Heaven
Henryk Gorecki Copernican
Howard Shore Searching For Richard, The Hobbit Trilogy, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
James Horner Krull, Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: Searching for Spock, Willow
James Newton Howard The Huntsman: Winters War
Jeremy Soule Elder Scrolls Saga, Guild Wars 1 & 2, Icewind Dale, Neverwinter Nights
Jerry Goldsmith 13th Warrior, First Knight
Joel Goldsmith Kull The Conqueror
John Barry Dances With Wolves
John Lunn The Last Kingdom
John Williams Indiana Jones Saga 4 films, Memoirs of a Geisha, Star Wars Saga 9 films
Justin Bell Pillars of Eternity
Led Zeppelin All
Lorne Balfe His Dark Materials
Marcin Przybyłowicz & Percival The Witcher 3
Maurice Ravel Daphnis et Chloe Michael Giacchino Rogue One
Miklos Rózsa Knights of the Round Table
Nobuo Uematsu & Various Artists Final Fantasy Series
Ramin Djawadi Warcraft, Game of Thrones Saga
Richard Wagner Parsifal
Rush The Necromancer, The Fountain of Lamneth
Sonja Belousova & Various Artists The Witcher TV Series
Trevor Jones Merlin
Vangelis Conquest of Paradise
Witchcraft The Alchemist Song not album
Wojciech Kilar Königin der Letzten Tage
War
Basil Poledouris Starship Troopers
Carl Orff Carmina Burana
Carmine Coppola Apocalypse Now
Ernest Gold Exodus
Hans Zimmer King Arthur, The Last Samurai, Gladiator
Harry Gregson Williams Kingdom of Heaven
Henryk Gorecki Beatus Vir
James Horner Braveheart, Troy
Jerry Goldsmith First Knight
Joel Goldsmith Kull The Conqueror
Junkie XL Mad Max: Fury Road
Kevin Macleod Various Open Licence Tracks
Ramin Djawadi Clash of the Titans, Dracula Untold, Game of Thrones Saga, The Great Wall, Warcraft
Richard Wagner Ride of the Valkyries
Sergei Prokofiev Alexander Nevksy
Thomas Newman 1917
Toru Takemitsu RAN
Trevor Jones The Last of the Mohicans, Merlin, Excalibur
Funeral
Antonin Dvorak Requiem, Op 89
Edvard Grieg Funeral March For Rikard Nordraak, Death of Ase
Gabriel Fauré Requiem, Op. 48
Henryk Gorecki Symphony of Sorrowful Songs (Tragedy, character death)
Richard Wagner Siegfried’s Funeral March
Horror
Benjamin Walfisch IT
Ennio Morricone The Thing
Jerry Goldsmith Alien, The Omen Trilogy, Poltergeist 1 & 2
Undead
Henryk Gorecki Beatus Vir
Romance
James Horner Braveheart
John Barry Dances With Wolves
Richard Wagner Parsifal
Sci-Fi
Brian Eno & Toto Dune
David Arnold Stargate
Hans Zimmer Interstellar
James Horner Aliens, Krull, Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: Searching for Spock
Jean-Michel Jarre Oxygéne Trilogy
Jerry Goldsmith Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Total Recall, Alien
John Barry The Black Hole, Starcrash
John Ekstrand Life
Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein Stranger Things
Mark Streitenfeld Prometheus
Philip Glass Akhnaten, Koyaanisqatsi
Rush 2112
Tangerine Dream Dream Sequence, Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Island of the Fay”, Rubycon, Sorcerer
Vangelis Blade Runner
Fairytale
Alexandre Desplat The Shape of Water, Tale of Tales, Valerian, Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows
Claude Debussy La Mer, L109, Nocturnes, Prelude To Afternoon Of A Faun
Daniel Pemberton The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance
Danny Elfman Alice In Wonderland, Edward Scissorhands
Depressive Silence Depressive Silence 2
Elmer Bernstein The Black Cauldron
Harry Gregson Williams The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
James Horner The Pagemaster, Spiderwick Chronicles, Willow
James Newton Howard The Lady in the Water, Maleficent, Snow White and the Huntsman, The Huntsman: Winters War
Javier Navarette Pan’s Labyrinth
Jerry Goldsmith Legend
John Williams BFG, Harry Potter Trilogy first 3 films
Maurice Ravel Ma Mere L’oye, Pavane For A Dead Princess, Daphnis et Chloe
Patrick Doyle Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire
Thomas Newman 1917
Trevor Jones The Dark Crystal
Swords & Sorcery
Basil Poledouris Conan The Destroyer, Conan The Barbarian
Ennio Morricone Red Sonja
Hans Zimmer Gladiator
James Horner Troy
Jasper Kyd Assassins Creed Series
John Barry The Lion In Winter, The Last Valley
Lawrence Rosenthal Clash of the Titans
Maurice Jarre The Message
Miklos Rózsa Quo Vadis, Ben-Hur, El Cid, King of Kings
Peter Gabriel The Last Temptation of Christ
Philip Glass Kepler, Akhnaten
Ramin Djawadi Clash of the Titans
Gothic
Danny Elfman The Wolfman, Sleepy Hollow
Daniel Pemberton The Awakening
Hans Zimmer Angels and Demons, The Da Vinci Code
James Horner Something Wicked This Way Comes
Jerry Goldsmith The Haunting, The Omen Trilogy, Poltergeist 1 & 2
John Williams Dracula
Marco Beltrami The Woman In Black
Mark Korven The Witch
Popul Vuh Nosferatu
Ramin Djawadi Dracula Untold
Wojciech Kilar Bram Stoker’s Dracula, The Ninth Gate
Chill D&D
Led Zeppelin All
Rush All
Witchcraft The Alchemist Song not album, Witchcraft
Miscellaneous
The Doors The End (Apocalypse)
Midwinter The Waters of Sweet Sorrow (Religion, Hippy Druids)
Howard Shore Searching For Richard (Religious, Epic Fantasy)
John Barry Dances With Wolves (Romance, Epic Fantasy)
Richard Wagner Parsifal (Romance, Epic Fantasy)
Depressive Silence Depressive Silence 2 (Synth, Fairytale)
Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein Stranger Things (Synth D&D, Spelljammer)
Tangerine Dream Sorcerer (Synth D&D, Spelljammer)
Andrew Powell & Alan Parsons Ladyhawke (Synth-Cheese, Epic Fantasy, Planar)
Maurice Ravel Bolero (Trippy)