Now that 2009 is quickly becoming a fleeting memory, all the major media outlets are scrambling to remind the public of what it SHOULD be remembering as the best and worst of the year. Nine times out of ten, these lists are ham-fisted, shameless plugs for that which was the most popular, what is most likely to win awards, with smatterings of unknown indie releases simply to prove that the “experts” aren’t the nose-upturned snobs we know they are.

Whatever happened to culling lists because they were fun? Why not make a list of things that you genuinely like, without any kind of ulterior (or advertising-linked) motive? Ham-fisted concoctions like those you see in mainstream magazines only continue to act as ego-stroking that spoon-feeds us until we become so reliant on those “experts” to tell us what is “good” and what is not. And we ultimately forget that the “experts” are merely people with opinions…just like us.

This is why I agonize over making “best of” lists, because it only serves to express my own personal opinion. If you read any list you find online, you will undoubtedly see a string of comments of both praise and complaint – praising the writer for including some of the reader’s favorites (which was actually a coincidence), or chastising the writer for “forgetting” to include certain things or flat-out telling him/her that he/she is wrong in his/her choices and rankings.

Adding urgency to the mix, the 2009 Golden Globe (AKA Oscar, Jr.) nominees are already in circulation, so it would not be surprising to see those titles topping folks’ best-of-the-year list, because one not only wants to look hip, but also in the know, because 90% of the time, GG noms also end up becoming Academy Award noms. Those elite five for this year include: Up (by Michael Giacchino), The Informant! (by Marvin Hamlisch), Avatar (by James Horner), A Single Man (by Abel Korzeniowski), and Where the Wild Things Are (by Karen O and Carter Burwell).

So, with all of that weighty nonsense in mind, I have decided to offer up, to help close out the year properly, a list of 20 movie, television, and video game soundtracks that I felt were great – be they fun, elegant, sophisticated, or just straight-up earworm-y. If you don’t agree with the choices, I applaud you for not being a clone of me. Jolly day!

20. ASSASSIN’S CREED II (Jesper Kyd) – It gave me chills when I first listened to it, and it gave me chills again today when I compiled this list. It is a soundtrack that truly immerses you in the atmosphere of the game. Jesper Kyd accomplished with a minimal grouping of instruments what few Hollywood composers can do with a full orchestra.

19. TRICK ‘R TREAT (Douglas Pipes) – Emulating past masters while carving his own niche, Douglas Pipes managed to successfully blend mirth and macabre, resulting in one of the most frighteningly fun scores in decades. And you can’t help but sing along to his warped rendition of “Trick or treat! Smell my feet! Give me something good to eat!”

18. TORCHWOOD: CHILDREN OF EARTH (Ben Foster) – Chilling, tense, and with an ample dose of depression, Foster’s score to the BBC Television miniseries was as jaw-dropping as its visual counterpart. His harnessing of David Arnold-ish intensity amplified science fiction into high drama. Soundtracks like this give me hope for television. As the CD drew to a close, I was immediately pining for another season of the show. R.I.P. Ianto!

17. 9 (Deborah Lurie & Danny Elfman) – Danny Elfman always sounds more honest as a composer when he is being himself and not trying to be James Newton Howard (*cough* Milk *cough*). And Deborah Lurie’s input and collaboration tempered him from rehashing his own classics and elevated 9’s score into an emotional, adventurous thrill-ride. The nods to Basil Poledouris were also brilliant.

16. KNOWING (Marco Beltrami) – Beltrami is usually the brunt of dismissiveness regarding his scores, because he is typically tied to films that ride that razor-edged line that teeters toward B-movie status. But his score to Knowing is probably one of the best thriller scores this side of Bernard Herrmann. In fact, if you listened to the score without seeing the movie, you’d swear it was for a brand new Hitchcock flick.

15. WATCHMEN (Tyler Bates) – Probably the classiest piece of work in Bates’ canon, he turned a comic book epic into an emotive soundscape. And his incorporation of 1980s-styled compositional elements pulled the score out of today’s 2009 and into an alternate universe, which should have been the goal of the film itself. It was a great musical backdrop to a tolerable film.

14. STAR TREK (Michael Giacchino) – I must admit, I had low expectations going into this one. Although Giacchino is an accomplished composer (for film and video games), I still had doubt for Star Trek, because he was competing against giants – namely Jerry Goldsmith and James Horner. However, he threw himself into it with reckless abandon, which resulted in a score that made you not mind so much that the classic themes were held off until the closing credits. I’m starting to think that there might be nothing this guy can’t do.

13. CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 2 (Hans Zimmer)– Never underestimate the power of the Zimmer-man! The guy is an empire unto himself. When word got out that he was attached to what was arguably the most-anticipated video game of the year, rumors were immediately abound not only as to how it would sound, but what it meant for the world of video games to have such a highly sought-after celebrity diving into a world typically reserved for fledgling composers. And rather than phoning in a forgetful clunker (which he could have easily done without batting an eye), he submitted something that shocks your eardrums every time you listen to it. The score has so much depth and range that I am surprised that he didn’t save these nuggets of brilliance for Hollywood.

12. MOON (Clint Mansell) – Mansell is one of those composers who seems comfortable riding the fringes of the mainstream. Although he has a few bombs to his credit (not his fault), he always seems to have some tricks up his sleeve that elevate the music above the celluloid mediocrity. And his work on indie flicks like Moon allows him to be creative on his own terms, with respect to the director, of course. Moon reflects a liberated weightlessness, which counteracted by an increasing sense of paranoia. It’s definitely worthy of much more praise than, oh, Where the Wild Things Are.

11. TRUE BLOOD (Nathan Barr) – Minimalist soundtracks have never been more heartfelt and moving than when Nathan Barr took on the True Blood project. And the score itself (no offense, Lisbeth) is beautiful enough to be released as an independent folk music album. Barr never ceases to amaze his audience with forward-thinking, compositional dexterity and an unending supply of esoteric instruments. Fingers are firmly crossed that Varese Sarabande releases a score for Season Two!

10. A CHRISTMAS CAROL (Alan Silvestri) – After seriously disappointing bout with GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Silvestri gave us the much-hoped sigh of release with A Christmas Carol. Although his brass-heavy, face-fisted classics are a generation or two behind us, he still manages to offer up virile monstrosities given the freedom to do so. Such was the case with A Christmas Carol, through which Silvestri bled horror, suspense, mischievousness, and holiday atmosphere into a haunting listening experience. Brrrr!

9. THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON (Alexandre Desplat) – Go ahead, call me a sellout, but Desplat’s motifs on this score will not leave my head. I was actually agonizing over which Desplat release to include on this list (he did seven scores for 2009), and I had narrowed it down to this one and Coco Avant Chanel. And while Coco was ultra-elegant and sophisticated, it ultimately seemed formulaic for Desplat’s ability. New Moon, on the other hand, is what happens when a composer truly immerses himself in his music. Each chord progression is a different emotion, swelling and swooning as it reaches its impending detonation. Whether or not you’ve seen the movie, it is challenging not to be moved by Desplat’s work herein.

8. UP (Michael Giacchino) – Something magical just seems to emerge whenever Michael Giacchino teams up with Disney/Pixar. It happened with The Incredibles; it happened with Ratatouille; and it happened with Up. Much of the score really reminds of classic, old-Hollywood Disney or music you would expect to hear while traipsing down Main Street USA in one of the Disney parks. It’s charming, adventurous and very free-spirited, while rooted with a sense of purpose or responsibility. Although I found the movie very depressing (lonely guy single-mindedly carrying out a childhood dream of his dead wife), the score was, and still is a whimsical journey.

7. ANGELS & DEMONS (Hans Zimmer) – When composers are called upon to score a sequel to a film they’ve also scored, nearly every case sees an overlap in motifs, style, and a mild case of lackadaisicalness. Angels & Demons is among an elite few that not only improves upon its predecessor, but is so ambitious it almost causes the listener to forget that it is actually music to a sequel. Zimmer’s choir-heavy score is downright scary in its scope and heart-pounding viciousness.

6. AVATAR (James Horner) – Seemingly on autopilot or simply non-existent in the Hollywood mainstream since 2006’s jungle-romper Apocalypto, it took James “Moneybags” Cameron to pull him out of the woodwork. Say what you will about the movie’s message, but Horner’s score to Avatar fires on all cylinders. Its part Star Trek, part Aliens, part Willow, part Titanic, part Troy, and all epic. The Horn-ed One is definitely back on track!

5. THE PRISONER (Rupert Gregson-Williams) – While it would be impossible for anyone to continue the joyously manic and maddening work created by Ron Grainer, Albert Elms, et al. for the original 1967 series, Gregson-Williams opted not to tread down that well-worn and familiar path. Instead, he cut a fresh cloth of intrigue and suspense, all-the-while retaining a dreamlike sentiment that still leaves the listener unsure of which side is up. The only hitch in the wagon was that Gregson-Williams music was extraordinarily more inspired than the resulting television miniseries. Thankfully, we were granted an official soundtrack to reminisce on what could have been. “Be seeing you!”

4. PONYO (Joe Hisaishi) – Hisaishi is one of those few composers out there whom I feel can do no wrong. The guy could record himself sneezing for an hour, and I might actually buy into it. But fortunately, we don’t have to test that theory. His score to Ponyo continues his trend of multi-textured and culturally diverse, captivating whimsy. Each track is a self-contained adventure, which only works to expand the grandiosity of Hisaishi’s imagination as each is threaded together as an album. Perhaps Disney should employ the man to do some of its homegrown animated features.

3. DRAG ME TO HELL (Christopher Young) – Horror is second nature to Young, so it was no surprise that Drag Me To Hell would yield a great score. However, I was shocked by HOW great it actually was. Centered on traditional Hungarian shamanistic themology, Young took something with a built-in mystique, sharpened it to a razor edge, and rammed it right through the listeners’ skulls. It is not every day that a soundtrack can practically scare the life out of its audience, but Drag Me To Hell came damned close!

2. CRANK: HIGH VOLTAGE (Mike Patton) – Yes, I’m a sucker for the work of musical schizophrenic Mike Patton, and once the soundtrack for Crank 2 made its way into my hands, I had hoped for a musical adventure. And without fail, Patton exceeded my expectations. Probably one of the most creative musicians in modern era, he is as fearless as he is committed to his craft. Sure, a lot of his work is an acquired taste, but there is literally something for everyone on Crank: High Voltage. Patton really set a new standard for composing methodology and technique, while constantly keeping the listener on his/her toes as to what he might through at him/her next. At times, it almost sounds like the Mr. Bungle album that never was. Let’s hope he signs on for more soundtrack work in 2010!

1. UNCHARTED 2: AMONG THIEVES (Greg Edmonson) – You may be scratching your head as to why I made a video game soundtrack my top pick of 2009. Quite simply, as I was listening to it, I actually forgot that it was just a video game soundtrack. Edmonson’s attention to atmosphere and adventure transported the soundtrack to another plane of consciousness. And any soundtrack that has that ability deserves serious accolades in my book. And being brought to us from the guy who scored Firefly didn’t hurt, either.