Music me!
I need some new soundtracks.
See, most of the music I listen to these days is movie soundtracks. (Orchestral only. No lyrics.) I find that they’re the best sort of music for when I’m writing, and I also like using them as gaming background.
But I’m starting to get tired of my current rotation. So give me some suggestions.
1) I tend to prefer horror/sci-fi/fantasy soundtracks to others, but other recommendations are okay.
2) I already own a lot, so odds are good that I’ll already have at least a few of your recommendations.
3) Let’s skip the obvious, okay? Assume that I’ve got already got Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Lord of the Rings, and other movies in the “So huge you’d have heard of them even if you lived in orbit” variety. 
4) Some of my favorite composes include Hans Zimmer, John Williams, Randy Edelman, and (sometimes) Danny Elfman and James Horner, when they’re not just stealing from themselves. Not saying that I want you to limit yourself to those–in fact, I want the exact opposite, and I have plenty that I love from other people–I’m just giving you a general feel for the sort of stuff I like.
So, have at. What should I be listening to?
In addition to what you have listed, I like:
the soundtrack for Pan’s Labyrinth, beautiful and haunting
anything by Vangelis – Blade Runner, Alexander (movie: bad, soundtrack: awesome), Chariots of Fire
Brotherhood of the Wolf
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Conan the Barbarian
Ghost and the Darkness
Tangerine Dream
anything by Ennio Morricone (The Mission especially)
Bear McCrary’s soundtracks for BSG & Caprica are pretty good. I got a lot done listening to those. A nice combination of styles that’s pretty unique. Haunting and epic, I think a lot of his stuff is beautiful. (Passacaglia is one of the most beautiful pieces of soundtrack music I’ve ever heard.) There’s a BUNCH of YouTube pages dedicated to him and I’ve often written with them opened in another window while writing.
And how about Ennio Morricone? Great stuff there too! I can listen to “Ecstasy of Gold” over and over again when writing.
I know you said no lyrics, but “Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness” is always epic to me. (I’ll plug away writing with some Dave Matthews Band too.)
I can’t find it anywhere, but I always liked the soundtrack to Branagh’s Henry V to be really good too!
Hope that helps.
Check out a group called Omnimi (OmnimiMusic.com). Though their latest album – 8 Moons – isn’t really a movie soundtrack, it is in the vein of Holst’s “The Planets”, which was the inspiration for much of John Williams’ work. It’s a great album and something probably not on your normal radar.
I second the recommendation of Morricone’s “The Mission.” Other mentions: any of Bernard Herrmann’s Harryhausen soundtracks (“Mysterious Island,” “Jason & the Argonauts”) and his brilliant “North by Northwest” score.
I’d strongly recommend:
Marco Beltrami’s Resident Evil (2002) Score
Resident Evil Apocalypse score
Charlie Clouser’s Resident Evil Extinction Score
Anything by Apocalyptica
E.S. Posthumus (they’re brilliant)
Immediate Music
Ramin Djawadi’s Clash of the Titans score
Repo! The Genetic Opera
Shaka Ponk (for some very mello, very interesting sounds)
and all the independent sounds you can scout off of www. freeplaymusic.com
How these inspire some colorful pictures in your mind.