As 2012 recedes into history, Ivan counts down his pick of the year’s finest movie soundtracks… Its been one heck of a year.

Its only fitting that a film about sound recording is responsible for 2012s most mind-boggling score.

British band Broadcast composes the music for the unseen film within the film.

Clicks, whirrs, cabbages and screams?

The result is a sonic eargasm the like of which has never really been heard before.

And thats before you get to the track devoted entirely to the dangerously aroused goblin.

Few composers would have the balls to do that, but Williams octogenarian balls are apparently bigger than ever.

All that from two unknown 29-year-olds?

In an industry dominated by Hans Zimmer, this is a staggering rush of fresh musical blood.

Have you ever hit your head on a car door?

Record that sound and times it by 1000.

Youre 0.001% of the way to understanding how Nathan Johnsons mind works.

Anyone who sawBrickcouldnt fail to notice Nathans unusual bottle-based soundtrack.

This man is surely one of the most original composers out there today.

Howard Shores return to Middle-earth balances the old and the new with incredibly dexterity.

Whatever you think of Disneys sci-fi flop, one thing is clear: Michael Giacchinos soundtrack is great.

Then he introduces waltzing romance and eastern-tinged exotic action, building up a truly colossal score.

It may not be Star Wars, but this is a delightful sci-fi score that feels truly epic.

Plus Giacchino does his usual trick of naming the pieces using dreadful puns.

Who doesnt love a soundtrack with track names like A Thern For The Worse?

Interesting is perhaps the best word to describe Ridley ScottsAlien-prequel-that-isnt-an-Alien-prequel and Marc Streitenfelds score more than fits that bill.

Mechanical thrums accompany Davids robotic theme, while the brass growls over the more sinister, percussion-powered set pieces.

It does so by looking backwards.

Streitenfeld effectively takes the franchise DNA Ridley Scott shied away from and gives it a spine-crawling new spin.

The result is impressive and interesting.

Perhaps even more so than the film.

Is there a more prolific composer than Alexandre Desplat?

Hes scored nine movies that came out in the UK last year (includingArgoandRust & Bone).

The cyclical crescendo captures the naivety and urgency of Sam and Suzys young romance with a wry voice.

He confirms it with this wonderful soundtrack forAnna Karenina.

From now on, Wright and Marianelli should do everything together.

That, of course, is precisely what makes The Muppets work.

Well, that and Chris Cooper rapping.

Its the third time theyve worked with director John Hillcoat and it shows.

The fact that he and Ellis didnt know a thing about bluegrass didnt stop them.

The two work surprisingly well thanks to Shlomos artful composition.

The soundtrack was performed live theatrically twice as part of the BFIs Genius of Hitchcock retrospective.

Hopefully Shlomo will get the same treatment.

Give Desplat an Oscar.

And then the next James Bond film.

Horner joins John Williams and Michael Giacchinos old-school orchestral scores with this solid reboot.

In the cinema, it sounded like Titanic 2.

On its own, a rousing character theme slowly moves from piano to soaring brass.

The Canadian composer nails Pis innocence with this lyrical, atmospheric score, heavily laced with vocals and woodwind.

Banes monumental crowd-sourced chant (Deshi Basara) plugs some of the gap.

The Scottish composer can be proud of this Celtic soundtrack.

Still, its noHow to Train your Dragon.

At times lacking a consistent through-theme, NewmansSkyfallis an adequate, but disappointing effort from such an agile composer.

Its balanced use of electronic instruments ranks it above Eric SerrasGoldenEye but below all of David Arnolds creations.

What were your favourite movie soundtracks this year?