31 August 2026, 18:55 | Updated: 1 September 2026, 13:59
Picture:
Alamy / Howard Shore
Howard Shore’s epic Middle-earth music is voted No.1 in the Classic FM Movie Music Hall of Fame 2026.
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Canadian composer Howard Shore’s score to The Lord of the Rings has been voted the nation’s favourite film score for the fourth year running!
On Monday 31 August, we revealed the Classic FM Movie Music Hall of Fame 2026 in partnership with Metro, a countdown of the nation’s 100 favourite film scores. Broadcast on Classic FM and Classic FM Movies, the countdown featured nine hours of epic music which captured the memories and emotions of cinema’s best loved movies, from silver screen nostalgia to this year’s box office hits.
Thousands of votes were cast in this year’s chart, and the No.1 spot was revealed by Classic FM at the Movies presenter Jonathan Ross just before 7pm. The countdown will be available
25 years since the first film in the trilogy was released, The Lord of the Rings continues to capture the minds, hearts, and imaginations of audiences around the world. Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth adventure has become one of the highest-grossing film series ever made, with Howard Shore’s epic score helping to bring J.R.R. Tolkien’s intricate high fantasy literary world to life.
2026 also marks Shore’s 80th birthday year, and is the fourth consecutive year his music for the trilogy has been voted No.1 in the Classic FM Movie Music Hall of Fame, and the fifth time in chart history.
Howard Shore told Classic FM: “I’m very honored to learn that The Lord of the Rings score has been voted favorite by the Classic FM Movie Music Hall of Fame audience for a fourth year. I’m grateful to the many musicians, soloists, and singers who performed this music, which has continued to resonate with listeners for all of this time. I remain very proud of the work and its success, and I’m so happy I was given the opportunity to express J.R.R. Tolkien’s world through music.“
Epic ‘Lord of the Rings’! Orchestra turns Royal Albert Hall into Middle Earth | Classic FM Live
The Classic FM Movie Music Hall of Fame 2026 was also a year of dramatic rises and falls, with 10 new entries to the chart.
Rachel Portman’s folk tune-filled score to Chocolat climbed 40 places to No.47, withPatrick Doyle’sSense and Sensibility right behind at No.48, with a rise of 34 places. It was a good year for Howard Shore’s score to The Hobbit, too, which was up 29 places to No.56.
John Williams’ two-note motif to Jaws proved a touch too ominous for 2026, falling 59 spots to No.72 after lurking just outside the Top 10 in 2025. James Horner’s Titanic and Craig Armstrong’s Love Actually both saw a significant drop, falling 40 places each to No.57 and No.83 respectively.
New entries to the chart spanned 85 years, from Ralph Vaughan Williams making his chart debut with 1941’s 49th Parallel at No.66 to Ludwig Göransson’s score to The Odyssey debuting at No.95 after its release just over a month ago.
The highest new entry of 2026 was Max Richter’s Hamnet, which reached the lofty heights of No.28. His score to the film, a fictionalised retelling of William Shakespeare’s marriage to Anne Hathaway and loss of their son, Hamnet, also included the enduringly popular On The Nature of Daylight.
Christopher Nolan on music, composers, and why there’s no orchestra in ‘The Odyssey’
John Williams’ Schindler’s Listtook second place in this year’s chart, but he was unable to hold onto his third place entry, as Star Warsfalls to sixth place just behind Jurassic Parkat No.5. He retains his title as the most popular composer, however, with 11 total entries in this year’s chart.
Hans Zimmer’sGladiator stands firm at No.4, his only entry in the Top 10. Zimmer also has 11 scores in the chart, including the Dark Knighttrilogy, co-composed with James Newton Howard.
Jonathan Ross, who revealed the final segment of the chart, said: “Howard Shore’s music for The Lord of the Rings has become the gold standard for film scores – it’s epic, emotional, and instantly transporting, placing you right inside the story of Middle-earth. It captures the scale, drama and heart of Tolkien’s world so completely that it’s no wonder Classic FM listeners have once again voted it their Number One movie score of all time. Fittingly, 25 years after the first film’s release, Howard Shore’s work still sounds as fresh and as captivating as ever as he approaches his 80th birthday!”
The Classic FM Movie Music Hall of Fame 2025 – Top 20:
- The Lord of the Rings– Howard Shore
- Schindler’s List– John Williams
- Out of Africa– John Barry
- Gladiator – Hans Zimmer
- Jurassic Park – John Williams
- Star Wars – John Williams
- Wilde – Debbie Wiseman
- Dances with Wolves – John Barry
- The Mission– Ennio Morricone
- How To Train Your Dragon – John Powell
- Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl – Klaus Badelt
- Apollo 13– James Horner
- Ladies in Lavender – Nigel Hess
- Interstellar – Hans Zimmer
- Harry Potter – John Williams
- The Magnificent Seven – Elmer Bernstein
- Doctor Zhivago – Maurice Jarre
- Saving Private Ryan– John Williams
- Dangerous Moonlight – Richard Addinsell
- The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – Ennio Morricone
