Some films have soundtracks so powerful and affecting that we can recognize what movie it's from within just a few bars. Some soundtracks have worked their way into our cultural consciousness in the same way as stars that are household names. A film score works together with visuals and acting performance to raise a reaction out of the viewer. Music profoundly impacts our emotions, so it's no surprise that they're one of the most vital tools a film can use to guide us through a story.

In many films, the music goes beyond a piece of scenery and set that sets the tone and takes on a life of its own, becoming a character in its own right. The characters in the story usually drive the plot of a film, but that's not always the case. Sometimes a soundtrack is so powerful or so integral to the tone and story of the movie it helps drive the plot as much as the characters. When that happens, it's easy for the audience to think of the soundtrack as a character.

There are two types of soundtracks in films: diegetic and non-diegetic. It's easy to tell which kind of soundtrack you're listening to. Just watch the characters. The soundtrack is diegetic if they can hear the music, affect it, or interact with it. Non-diegetic soundtracks are the most common. They're a motif that might match how the character feels, but the character isn't aware that the music is playing.

Related: 11 Soundtracks That Are Way Better Than the Movie They Are In

12 Fantasia

Fantasia 1940
RKO Radio Pictures

Disney's award-winning animated film is a literal example of the soundtrack becoming a character. The film is a celebration of music that takes on an energetic life of its own. This is a diegetic soundtrack that sees characters dance, play with, and even run in terror from personifications of the soundtrack. Fantasia has some of the most recognizable songs among soundtracks, like the suspenseful "Night on Bald Mountain." The image of Mickey Mouse in red robes and a spangled wizard hat are only iconic because of the segment where he danced with mops and buckets in time to the song "The Sorcerer's Apprentice."

Related:Fantasia: Night on Bald Mountain Live-Action Movie Planned

11 Psycho

Janet Leigh in Psycho
Paramount Pictures

Alfred Hitchcock's motel thriller is a horror classic for many reasons, but one of the most prominent is the spine-tingling soundtrack. The shrieking sound of the strings is so infamous to us that just hearing them makes us picture Norman Bates slashing with a knife. The music is so eerie and so different from the type of soundtrack that audiences had heard before that it made the movie all the more terrifying, with the violins mimicking screams of fear. Thanks to Psycho's score, many of us have to look twice at a shower curtain, just in case it's hiding Norman.

10 Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Scott Pilgrim
Universal Pictures

A perfect example of a diegetic soundtrack is the music of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. This quirky film is based on a comic book and leans into that fact instead of shying away from it. Canadian slacker Scott is in a band and has to battle against his love interest's exes. Scott often wields the power of his guitar to get an edge on them, and we watch music notes come to life to strike the characters. Sometimes the blast of a bass rift slams them into walls. Because the characters use the soundtrack and seem aware of its presence, we can call this soundtrack diegetic.

9 Inception

best-movies-that-turned-out-to-be-a-dream
Warner Bros.

The score of Inception is a perfect example of a non-diegetic soundtrack that took on a life of its own. The film follows dream architects on a heist quest through a sleeping mind. They have to anchor themselves in the waking world and move through sleep and consciousness quickly, so they must have cues to wake themselves up. The Inception score signals the clash between the waking world and the dream, and audiences quickly learn to recognize the deep, blaring horns as a signal that a dream is about to end.

The sound became iconic, referred to as "the Inception sound," and even mocked a little. The klaxon-like noise was the butt of many memes when the film premiered. There's no doubt that the musical themes of Inception made an impact, from the wailing "Inception sound" to the nostalgic and melancholy music that brings to mind dreams we only half remember.

8 The Shawshank Redemption

The Shawshank Redemption
Columbia Pictures 

Ask many people what their favorite movie of all time is, and you're likely to hear The Shawshank Redemption from quite a few people. The film is nothing short of powerful, capturing the full scope of human emotion. While the film has many great things going for it, the soundtrack is a major part of what makes the film work and helps push it into the status of a classic.

The score was written by Thomas Newman and featured mainly piano and tremolo strings. The score masterfully helps control the plot's pacing and evoke emotion at moments of hope, pain, and humor. The soundtrack becomes diegetic during one of the film's most memorable scenes when Ed locks himself in the warden's office and plays opera over the sound system. The sound stops the entire prison population in their tracks, and it's clear the music deeply moves everyone who hears it.

7 Guardians of the Galaxy

GuardiansoftheGalaxyChrisPratt
Chris Pratt

Marvel's hilarious sci-fi adventure, Guardians of the Galaxy, used music in exciting ways. The soundtrack is a mixed tape of '70s rock classics from artists like David Bowie, Joan Jett, and Jackson 5. They help define the character Peter Quill as he swaggers on screen, grooving to his own personal soundtrack while completing missions. Music is the movie's beating heart and a recurring theme to introduce the Guardians when they make appearances in other franchise movies. The dance-off climax in Volume 1 of Guardians of the Galaxy proves that these movies wouldn't be the same without their soundtrack.

6 Marie Antoinette

Kirsten Dunst in Marie Antoinette.
Columbia Pictures

Sofia Coppola's period piece stands out from the staid and courtly drama for a few reasons, including its exciting blend of classical music and modern alt-rock. The director's choice to include anachronisms in the quirky movie drew a likeness between the spoiled royals and upper-crust of pre-Revolutionary France and today's wealthy American society. The soundtrack helps make the past feel more like the present and helps to portray Marie Antoinette as the teen queen she was.

The dreamy indie-pop film makes the palace of Versailles seem like a daydream in some scenes, a stuffy and overly formal pageant in others, and a frenetic dance party by night, depending on the choice of song from the film's totally unique array.

5 Sing

Sing 2 cast on Netflix
Universal Pictures

The animated movie Sing is not quite a musical, but it's no doubt a movie about music. We watch the main characters compete in a competition similar to American Idol or American's Got Talent. As we get to know the lovable cast auditioning to become stars, we laugh, cry, and cheer for their choice of songs. The movie opts for modern hits and uses them to illustrate the characters through their song choices. The result is a funny, heartwarming celebration of music. In a film where music is the dream, it's no surprise the soundtrack is a character in its own right.

Related: How Popular Movie Soundtracks Influence Pop Culture

4 The Social Network

The Social Network- Jesse Eisenberg
Sony Pictures Releasing

It might be a surprise that the soundtrack is a prominent feature in a film about the origins of Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook, but The Social Network is a high-tension drama that uses the power of music with full force. It absolutely adds to the tension and pacing of the story, growing steadily more intense as the characters get in deeper over their heads. There's a reason the Winklevoss twins' rowing competition is a film classic, and part of that reason is the perfect use of the slightly distorted version of the classical masterpiece, "In the Hall of the Mountain King."

3 Moulin Rouge

Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge!
Bazmark Films

The soundtrack is undoubtedly a character in a musical since it delivers essential dialogue and plot progression. But Baz Luhrman's classic, Moulin Rouge, isn't quite a musical, at least not in the traditional sense. Sometimes stars Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor sing the pieces to one another, and sometimes the unique blend of pop and opera is used as non-diegetic motifs. Either way, Moulin Rouge is all about music, telling the tragic love story between a courtesan of the world-famous club and a struggling writer.

2 Rocketman

Rocketman
Paramount Pictures

Elton John's biopic would naturally feature a soundtrack packed with the artist's greatest hits. Still, the use of music in Rocketman makes it shine among the growing roster of musician biopics. The film could have used Elton John's songs as markers along the path of his career, but instead, the movie digs deeper into the lyrics and finds ways to use them to boost the narrative. Some interpretations are even a little surprising. The song that lends the film its title unfolds in a beautiful underwater fantasy of color and light. The music in Rocketman is lively in a way that's totally unique to this film.

1 Jaws

Jaws
Universal Pictures

A particular riff in Jaws made a generation of movie lovers afraid of the water. You know the one. The beat sounds like the movement of a shark swimming slowly closer until finally, in a crescendo, he strikes! The Jaws theme song became so iconic that the moment we hear the first notes, we can picture a shark and know that danger is swimming closer. The Great White Shark wouldn't be the same character without his signature theme song.