If you hadn't already guessed what would top this list then you don't know your TV scores. Angelo Badalamenti's soundtrack to Twin Peaks was outstandingly beautiful and innovative back in 1989/1990, and it remains so today. It is unmatched in its enchanting ability to perfectly encapsulate the atmosphere of David Lynch and Mark Frost's show. What is particularly strange about the score is that it is totally atemporal. It features cues from pretty much every decade from the 1940s onwards, all played through synthesized strings, brushed snares and minor chord changes on Badalamenti's keyboard. As with the show's postmodern bricolage of influences from a multiplicity of eras, Badalamenti's music does everything to avoid strict categorisation. It makes it ghostly, spectral, surreal, unplaceable. There are too many gorgeous moments to mention. Think about Audrey's sensual theme, or Dance Of The Dream Man. There's the unforgettable opening theme, or the ubiquitous Love Theme that appears throughout the series in various different guises. Then there's the Lynch-penned Little Jimmy Scott number, Sycamore Trees, that is just incredible. Lynch and Badalamenti have had a fantastic partnership that has thrown up some wonderful scores, but it's easy to argue that their best - and, indeed, the best of all time - was made for television. Twin Peaks' soundtrack is a masterpiece.
