What is a movie without a brilliantly composed score? In some cases, an undoubtedly lesser experience. Imagine Lord of the Rings without the score that amplifies the Fellowship's adventure. Imagine The Dark Knight without its thrilling, yet tense score. Both of these movies would not be as epic or as memorable as they are, without the iconic scores that accompany them.

Movie scores are a criminally underrated aspect of filmmaking, and are so integral to a film. The best scores will awaken many raw emotions with audiences. Whether it's making the movies feel grander, more exciting, or making audiences shed a tear or two. Movie composers never truly get the praise they deserve, and so many great composers have compiled iconic scores, yet many viewers don't even know their names. So giving the brilliant movie composers some love, here are the best of all time.

12 Alan Silvestri

Frequent collaborator of Robert Zemeckis, Alan Silvestri has provided his work to many iconic movies. Silvestri's work on both Forrest Gump and The Polar Express led to two Academy Award nominations, as well as two Golden Globe nominations. However, his most famous work comes from The Back to The Future trilogy and the phenomenal theme in 2012's Avengers.

11 Danny Elfman

Danny Elfman's mostly gothic style is often heard collaborating with beloved filmmakers Sam Raimi and Tim Burton. From conducting the awesome Batman theme in Burton's 1989 Batman, to Raimi's first two Spider-Man movies. His work can also be found in the award-winning movies Good Will Hunting and Milk. And did we mention, Elfman is responsible for The Simpsons theme? The renowned composer has been showered with honors, including four Oscar nominations, two Emmy Awards, a Grammy, and seven Saturn Awards. As a frequent composer of Disney flicks, in 2015, Elfman received a Disney Legend Award; an incredibly rare award to own.

10 John Barry

British composer John Barry was perhaps best known for creating the James Bond theme in 1962's Dr No, and 24 Bond films later, his iconic theme still lives on. Receiving an OBE in 1999, Barry has garnered quite a collection of awards, taking home Academy Awards for his work in Dances with Wolves, Out of Africa, Born Free, and The Lion in Winter. Likewise, Barry has also received a total of 10 Golden Globe nominations, among a few BAFTA nominations.

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9 Rachel Portman

As one of the few women composers to win an Academy Award, Rachel Portman was in fact the first female to ever take home the Academy Award for Best Musical or Comedy Score in 1996's Emma. This then led Portman to two more Oscar nominations for her work in Chocolat and The Cider House Rules. Eventually, Portman received an OBE for her outstanding contributions to film and TV.

8 Howard Share

With more than 80 film credits to his name, Canadian composer Howard Shore is one of the greats. His epic work on the Lord of the Rings trilogy led to the composer winning three Academy Awards. In addition to his Oscar wins, Shore also took home three Golden Globe Awards and four Grammy Awards. He is also quite prolific in the horror genre, scoring many of David Cronenberg's films, as well as The Silence of the Lambs.

7 James Horner

James Horner's seamless integration of choral and electronic elements into his sweeping scores, led Horner to his many Academy Award nominations, of which he managed to take home two. As a frequent collaborator with James Cameron, Horner helmed the scores for such movies as Aliens, Avatar, and Titanic, which is still one of the best-selling film soundtracks of all time. Horner had a brilliant career, which was represented in his many awards. Winning two Academy Awards for Titanic, two Golden Globe Awards, three Saturn Awards and three Emmys. In 2013, James Horner received the Max Steiner Award. An award given for extraordinary achievement in the field of film music.

6 Michael Giacchino

Talk about a composer who doesn't receive the credit he deserves. Michael Giacchino is one of the best composers working today. His heartbreaking work in Up, awarded him an Oscar, and his latest score in Matt Reeves' incredible movie The Batman nabbed the composer another Academy Award nomination. He may not have the most awards under his belt, but his work in Doctor Strange, Spider-Man: No Way Home, The Incredibles, Coco, and of course The Batman, are some of the most exceptional scores in recent memory.

Related: The Batman: Why The Movie Deserved More Oscar Nominations

5 Ennio Morricone

Italian composer Ennio Morricone has impressively conducted more than 400 movie scores, including more than 70 award-winning movies. His frequent collaboration with master Spaghetti Western filmmaker Sergio Leone, in A Fistfull of Dollars and The Good The Bad and The Ugly (easily one of the most recognizable scores of all time) was only the beginning of his vast career. Later, he would go on to win an Academy Award for Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight, at the time, making him the oldest person to ever win a competitive Oscar. Through his expansive career, Morricone managed to nab three Grammy Awards, three Golden Globes, and six BAFTAs.

4 Bernard Herrmann

The great Bernard Herrmann was a pioneer, who revolutionized movie scoring. Music critic Alex Ross states that "Over four decades, he [Herrmann] revolutionized movie scoring by abandoning the illustrative musical techniques that dominated Hollywood in the 1930s and imposed his own peculiar harmonic and rhythmic vocabulary." His legendary work in Psycho, Citizen Kane and Vertigo speak for themselves. But Herrmann most notably took home his first Academy Award for his score in 1941's The Devil and Daniel Webster, or, as it is now known, All That Money Can Buy. Before his death in 1975, Herrmann composed the score to his last film, Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver, which earned him an Oscar nod at the 1976 Academy Awards.

3 Max Steiner

Max Steiner is without a doubt one of the greatest composers of all time. Composing more than 300 film scores and being nominated for 24 Academy Awards; a feat not many composers can brag about. Of those 24 Academy Awards, Steiner took home three awards for his work in 1935's The Informer, 1942's Now, Voyager, and 1944's Since You Went Away. Steiner was also the first ever person to win a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score for Life with Father. Outside his impressive accolades, Max Steiner may be best known for composing the scores to such classics as 1933's King Kong, 1939's Gone With The Wind, and 1933's Little Women.

2 Hans Zimmer

Hans Zimmer's powerful and ear-shattering scores have helped earn his place as one of the best. Composing the exhilarating Pirates of the Caribbean score, the ground-shaking scores of Dune and The Dark Knight trilogy, as well as his Oscar-winning score in the Disney classic The Lion King. Mostly working alongside Christopher Nolan, Zimmer has received and been nominated for many accolades and honors, with two Oscars and four Grammys under his belt. Most impressively, he has a spot on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1 John Williams

Who else could top this list but the greatest composer of all time, John Williams. Delivering iconic scores to the likes of Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Jaws, Superman, E.T, Indiana Jones, and of course, the Harry Potter movies; many of the most recognizable and iconic movie scores of all time. Unsurprisingly, Williams has won 25 Grammy Awards, seven BAFTAs, five Academy Awards, and four Golden Globes. He has an incredible 53 Academy Award nominations; the second most nominated person in history, after Walt Disney.