Join Us For Vinyl Day on August 13

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (B&N exclusive), by Alexandre Desplat
When John Williams couldn’t return to the Harry Potter franchise, French composer Alexandre Desplat was chosen to score this film. Some fans were skeptical, but Desplat’s enthusiasm for Williams’ previous soundtracks and for Harry Potter as a whole is reflected in his wonderful work. Desplat’s emotional intelligence and strong sense of melody guide a lot of his compositional choices here, and the tracks capture the Potter stories’ tense action, heroic sweeps, tenderness, and even dissonant grief with admirable consistency. This one’s a must for Harry Potter fans, who will love this unique musical insight into the franchise’s last film.

Parachutes, by Coldplay
Coldplay’s first album, released in 2000, was a quiet, introspective antidote to the huge, empty spectacles that dominated pop music that year, yet still made a big enough splash to enter the UK pop charts at #1. It has since gone platinum eight times over, and won the band a lot of fans who have stuck around in the years since. Fans of Jeff Buckley and Travis should definitely seek this record out—and if you’re one of those Radiohead fans who jumped off the bus when they went electronic, Parachutes is reminiscent of Radiohead’s earlier, alternative rock period, with lots of moody, atmospheric songs, shimmering guitars, and serene vocals.

Star Wars–Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, by John Williams
John Williams is the king of film soundtracks, full stop. More than any other composer, his is the name that comes to mind whenever movie scores are mentioned, and his work on the original Star Wars trilogy is a major contributor to that reputation. Recorded in eighteen sessions with the London Symphony Orchestra, the soundtrack for The Empire Strikes Back is full of grand, operatic bombast, and just happens to contain one of the most iconic themes in film history; yes, “The Imperial March” was first heard during this movie, and it’s a powerful piece of music that, along with the rest of this soundtrack, creates a space opera in the mind of the listener.

Crazy Love, by Michael Bublé
Contemporary crooner Michael Bublé finally shook off the Sinatra comparisons with this album, released in 2009. Crazy Love, named after the Van Morrison song that is the album’s fourth track, contains a wide range of styles and pairs old school standards with newer pop songs to show off Bublé’s range and charisma; no matter when a song was written, he can make it sound timeless. His performance of “Cry Me a River” is big and bombastic enough to kick off a James Bond film, but he tones things down for a very respectful version of “Georgia On My Mind.” The best track here, though, is Bublé’s collaboration with Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings for “Baby (You’ve Got What It Takes).”

Good Times, by the Monkees
Believe it or not, Good Times is actually a new album from the Monkees, their first in 20 years! The album was released in May as part of the band’s 50th anniversary tour, and the three surviving band members (Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork) are sharing vocal duties and playing a whole lot of new songs. Not only that, but they’re collaborating with some pretty impressive songwriters, including Rivers Cuomo, Ben Gibbard, and Noel Gallagher, who wrote “Birth of an Accidental Hipster” with Paul Weller for this album. The band itself still knows how to have fun, and this Barnes & Noble exclusive record proves it.