DMs! Who are YOUR composers?

[Ruin Explorer]

Poledouris is overrated compared to these greats and doesn't even show on the radar...

This is silly music-snob nonsense. His music is so different from those that comparing them is more than faintly ludicrous, it's fundamentally ludicrous. Poledouris wrote excellent film scores, which have applicability that pieces by other composers may well not.

 

[Michael Morris]

I'm weird - I play stuff I wrote myself. And other stuff - a lot of stuff from a lot of eras. But the tunes the players notice the most are the ones I play myself.

 

[LeaderDesslok]

Howard Shore and John Williams, with honorable mentions to Hans Zimmer and Basil Poleduris

 

[megamania]

Alan Silverstri and Danny Elfman

 

[Jack the Red]

Bach, Bach and Bach.

Did I say Bach?

 

[blargney the second]

John Williams and the guy who did the music for Pirates of the Caribbean. They make great music to match what's going on each scene, and the Pirates composer made particularly apt music for fight scenes.

 

[Napftor]

Despite the Conan love (from me and others here), Poledouris is not one of the first people I'd go to. James Horner (at least pre-90s Horner), John Williams, and Hans Zimmer are good for themes, battles, etc. Zimmer gets a bit repetetive in his "instrumentation" but then Horner is repetetive in his melodies but, I think, the better listening composer.

And how has no one mentioned Jerry "Rambo-Star Trek-King Solomon's Mines-Air Force One-First Knight-Lionheart-Masada-13th Warrior" Goldsmith?!

For the purposes of this thread, I'd have to throw in David Arnold, John Debney, and perhaps Alan Silvestri.

 

[Ahnehnois]

Bear McCreary

 

[Ebon Shar]

Basil Poledouris.

The rest is silence.

This. Absolutely this.

 

[The_Warlock]

...and the guy who did the music for Pirates of the Caribbean.

The first Pirates was done by Klaus Badelt (who also did the score for Equilibrium), and is a protege of Hans Zimmer. Hans Zimmer then came in and did the scores for the two following Pirates movies.