If you’re a fan of 4K Blu-ray, then there’s an underappreciated sector of vinyl that you should explore

It’s Vinyl Week here at What Hi-Fi?, and while we’ve covered records from a wide range of artists and genres, there’s one special subset that I think deserves a bit more credit.

As someone who spends much more time in our dedicated home cinema testing room than our hi-fi stereo listening space, I find myself listening to a lot of film soundtracks.

I often use soundtracks from the likes of Dune, Interstellar and Blade Runner: 2049 to test the best soundbars, smartphones and home cinema amplifiers, and this has begun influencing my day-to-day listening habits, too.

The likes of Hans Zimmer, Ludwig Göransson, Jóhann Jóhannsson, and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are amongst my most frequently played artists on Apple Music, but a few recent trips to record stores prove that their influence extends way beyond streaming.

Now, I’m a huge proponent of physical media, as I’ve often rambled about here. 4K Blu-rays, especially special edition box sets and steel books, are my weakness, so the idea of adding a physical soundtrack to supplement my physical movie library is as incredibly tempting as it is financially concerning.

I think that there’s also something to be said for the preservation of movie soundtracks that vinyl is supporting in the same way that Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray are doing for movies and TV.

Rifling through the options at shops – including HMV, Rough Trade, and even Tower Records in Tokyo – unearthed everything from home cinema test room favourites. Yes, I’m talking about Blade Runner 2049, alongside likes of Barbie, Inception and Top Gun Maverick, and recent releases including Stranger Things, F1: The Movie, and Wicked.

However, there are also scores from cult classics and indie movies that are nestled in between them. I spotted the soundtracks for The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Taxi Driver, Lost in Translation, Blade II and, perhaps unsurprisingly, every Quentin Tarantino and Wes Anderson movie imaginable.

As is the case with 4K Blu-ray preserving titles that can often be swallowed up and spat out into obscurity thanks to the streaming algorithms, it looks like vinyl records are ensuring that film soundtracks are given an equal opportunity to stand the test of time.

If you’re a cinephile looking to scratch the physical media itch, and 4K Blu-ray isn’t cutting it, then I’d recommend heading to your nearest record store to see what gems they have in stock.

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