Colloquially, it used to be called the "needle drop"—when a Martin Scorsese or Quentin Tarantino picked a piece of preexisting music and laid it down under a dramatic scene, with seismic results. We've thumbed through our stacks of wax (i.e., Blu-ray collections) to collect cinema's most potent examples, allowing for iconic uses of classical music and jazz along with the expected pop hits. One parameter, though: no songs composed for the movie itself. (Sorry, Simple Minds.) The result is our most toe-tapping list to date. But do let us know if we've left out your favorite jam.
