Brokeback Mountain (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, Score & Songs)

Gustavo Santaolalla's music for Ang Lee's controversial, gay-themed western tragedy did considerably more than win the 2006 Academy Award for Best Original Score; "The Wings," the composer's spare, haunting guitar theme, quickly became part of the cultural zeitgeist. The balance of the score splits its time between Santaolalla's languorous Western pastoralism, old tunes sung by Steve Earle, Linda Ronstadt and Willie Nelson that capture the time and place even as they add emotional texture to the story (especially true of Nelson's tender cover of "He Was a Friend of MIne"), and a compelling slate of originals, highlighted by the composer's evocative collaborations with Emmylou Harris, Martina McBride and Teddy Thompson. It's a score that also stands as a landmark in the border-blurring diversity that has become a hallmark of film music in recent years (the composer also contributed compelling soundtracks for such Latin American film standouts as Amores Perros, 21 Grams and The Motorcycle Diaries).