My first inclination was to pick Star Wars, but I didn't want to base my choice on what I thought was obvious.

So I thought about each score one by one.

Harry Potter is a fun score, but I am finding that, after two viewings of the film, that I appreciate the score in the movie, but not that much on CD. The music doesn't present itself well on disc, which in turn doesn't provide for a memorable listening experience.

I really like parts of Raiders of the Lost Ark, especially the main theme, the love theme, the desert chase and the music when the Ark is opened. But as a whole, I can't find a reason to enjoy this score fully. Maybe it's because my absolute enjoyment of the sequels overshadows this score.

I never embraced Hook because I couldn't embrace the movie for a long time. Since I got a bootleg of the disc, I found myself trying to find magic in the score beyond "Flight to Neverland" and the lovely "When You're Alone" song. Like Harry Potter, I don't find the fun of the score on the disc.

Superman is a marvelous score, helped out by a grandiose march that, like the Imperial March that was to come two years later, could be twisted and turned and re-orchestrated. The action music is great, though at times it seems to try to divert your attention from those obvious minature sets. But that music when young Clark finds the Fortress of Solitude and then takes his identity as Superman is the best seven minutes in the film. I also love the opening music. But in the end, this score suffers from too little meat on its bones outside the main theme and love theme.

I find it impossible to find flaws in Star Wars, so I won't. I'll just say that this music hits every note dead on and, as a separate listening experience, is nothing short of a masterpiece.

So why do I pick E.T. as the best of the six? Because this score still manages to pour every emotion out of me when I hear it. Unlike Star Wars, which I usually listen to and sometimes don't get caught up in.

Think of the cue "Elliot and E.T. get drunk." That's such a fun cue, and always makes me smile thinking of Elliot falling off his chair.

When you talk about themes, that flying theme literally lifts me with the bicycle. And the theme for Keys is simple and threatening.

But what truly gets me is the last 15 minutes. We all know how Spielberg re-edited his film to fit into the music, and I'm glad he did. Otherwise, I bet it would have become a Phantom Menace mess. When the spaceship comes, it's waterworks for me until the last note of the final credits (and I'm man enough to admit it). The rendition of E.T.'s theme is celebratory. We need to feel happy that this liitle thing came into our lives, which is why I cry, I think. Those 15 minutes make me feel more than 100 minutes of Star Wars.

OK, that was my lengthy explanation. What did you pick? And tell me why.

I agree with you on some points. I actually chose SUPERMAN for this poll, but almost selected RAIDERS. I love every minute from each of these scores, thet are brilliant. I chose SUPERMAN eventually due to its variety of material (from the space music to the Americana sections, to the wondrous Fotress of Solitude and finally to the busy "city" music) and its amazing emotional power.

RAIDERS was close because of its superb thematic and action material and consistent level of total fun. The Ark theme is one of my favorites, along with the blazing Indy theme. "Desert Chase" is Williams' best action cue, next to "Battle In The Snow" from EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. There are just so many clever touches to this score, Williams really had fun with it.

I agree with you on your notes for HOOK and HARRY POTTER, though I do find several more moments of magic in the HOOK score in addition to what you listed ("From Mermaids to Lost Boys", "Granny Wendy", "You Are The Pan"). The album is hefty listen and that is just the regular release!

POTTER is almost too new to judge in context, but I am having trouble making it all the way through the album. I stop around "The Quidditch Match" and am happy there.

STAR WARS is just a given as a great one, still effective in many moments but perhaps too well known to view with any sense of objectivity and fairness to the other scores in the poll.

E.T. was never quite a favorite of mine. It works wonders in the film, especially the finale as you mentioned, but I never quite grew attached to the music on disc as most other collectors seem to have. I kinda wish Poledouris had been nominated that year for CONAN and won instead of Williams, but you could argue a good case for either score.

I won't go into too much detail as I don't want to turn this into a morose posting, I became familiar with the E.T. score 3 days before my Dad died in 1982.

For me this has always been a very personal and healing score, even now, I only ever play it at special moments, as such, it has to be the originallly recorded version and not the expanded original release for me.

A brilliant and truly moving score!