By Alex Dulude—
Did I read all the books? Yes. Did I watch all the movies? Sadly, yes. The Twilight Saga took bookstores and movie theaters by storm, flooding stores with weird merchandise that people bought up like hotcakes.
Despite both reading and watching the entire Saga (I felt obligated to fight through Kristen Stewart’s stoic performance after reading the whole series), I can’t confidently say I like them. Or at least, not anymore.
But what Twilight did give us besides shelves full of paranormal teen romance novels and a generation of girls who associate themselves as ‘Team Edward?’ Well, how about some fantastic soundtracks?
Watching the first movie, one of its saving graces were a few really good songs inserted in that made me curious enough to check out the soundtrack. With tracks from Paramore (who released “Decode” and “I Caught Myself” specifically for the film) Linkin Park, and Muse, there are familiar names everyone can recognize, but also tracks that introduced me to some really good artists such as these:

Full Moon- The Black Ghosts

Eyes on Fire-Blue Foundation

Flightless Bird, American Mouth-Iron and Wine
 
 
 
 
Naturally, I was skeptical about the soundtrack for the second movie. But, once again, I was pleasantly surprised.
It too had some recognizable names like Death Cab for Cutie who wrote “Meet Me On The Equinox” specifically for the soundtrack. But with songs from Radiohead’s front man Thom Yorke, collabs between Bon Iver and St. Vincent, and even a single written by the Killers, this may be the best of all the soundtracks.
Here are some of my favorites:

Friends-Band of Skulls

The Violet Hour-Sea Wolf

No Sound But The Wind-The Editors
 
 
 
 
When the third film came around, I made sure to look up the soundtrack when the tracklist was realized. I wasn’t disappointed. I may be biased because of my love for Florence + the Machine but her single for the film, “Heavy in Your Arms,” was just as brilliant as her other work. This soundtrack featured a wide expanse of artists, from CeeLo Green to Vampire Weekend. Some of the ones I like the best are:

Chop and Change-The Black Keys

Rolling In On A Burning Tire-The Dead Weather

Let’s Get Lost-Beck and Bat For Lashes
 
 
 
 
I had a bit more trouble with the soundtracks for Breaking Dawn: Part 1 & 2. But then again, I had the same feelings about the movies and the book. These soundtracks had less of that varied, inspiring sound the others had and though I tried listening to them twice, I only liked a handful of songs.
They feature music for some more well-known names such as Green Day, Bruno Mars, and Christina Perri.
Here are three of the songs I enjoyed:

Bittersweet-Ellie Goulding

Neighbors-Theophilus London

The Antidote-St. Vincent
 
 
Though I wish the Breaking Dawn soundtracks had a little more to offer, they too are surprisingly better than what you’d expect from a series about vampire babies and never-ending chess games.
Not only do these soundtracks have familiar artists performing original songs, but some great selections from lesser known ones as well. These tracks fully caught my attention during the film and if the music makes me want to go home and look it up, the artists have to be doing something right.
So if you’re hesitant looking into the music from the Twilight Saga because of the quality of the movies, don’t be. They’re definitely worth the listen.