ARIA Award for Best Original Soundtrack, Cast or Show Album
The ARIA Music Award for Best Original Soundtrack / Cast / Show Album is an award presented within the Fine Arts Awards at the annual ARIA Music Awards. The ARIA Awards recognise "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", and have been given by the Australian Recording Industry Association since 1987.
Original soundtrack albums and cast/show albums by solo artists, groups and various artist compilations are eligible. This includes recordings of existing or planned theatrical productions and soundtracks, scores and underscores for existing or planned film and television productions. Compilation soundtracks must contain over 50% of previously unreleased material by tracks and/or time and all artists must meet the artist eligibility criteria. It is judged by a specialist judging school of representatives experienced with the genre.
The ARIA Award for Best Original Soundtrack/Cast/Show Album has been awarded since the inaugural ARIA Awards in 1987, and was originally named Best Australian Original Soundtrack or Cast Recording. Between 1999 and 2003, separate awards were given for Best Original Soundtrack Album and Best Original Show/Cast Album.
Winners and nominees
In the following table, the winner is highlighted in a separate colour and in boldface; the nominees are those that are not highlighted or in boldface. Nominees in 1988 are not available in published sources.| Year | Winner | Album title |
| 1987 | - | - |
| 1987 | Robyn Archer | The Pack of Women |
| 1987 | Martin Armiger | Dancing Daze |
| 1987 | Nathan Waks | For Love Alone |
| 1987 | Peter Best | "Crocodile" Dundee |
| 1987 | Peter Carey, Martin Armiger | Illusion |
| 1988 | - | - |
| 1988 | Original Australian Cast Recording | Nine |
| 1988 | Mario Millo | The Lighthorsemen |
| 1989 | - | - |
| 1989 | Various Artists | You've Always Got the Blues |
| 1989 | Eddie Rayner, Brian Baker, Phil Judd | Rikky and Pete |
| 1989 | David Reeves | Seven Little Australians |
| 1989 | Bruce Rowland | The Man from Snowy River II |
| 1989 | Frank Howson, John Capek, Beeb Birtles, David Scofield | Boulevard of Broken Dreams |
| 1990 | - | - |
| 1990 | Original Australian Cast Recording | Anything Goes |
| 1990 | Australian Cast Recording | 42nd Street |
| 1990 | Various Artists | Sons of Steel |
| 1990 | Various Artists | Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds |
| 1990 | Various Artists | ' |
| 1991 | - | - |
| 1991 | Jon English and David Mackay | Paris |
| 1991 | Brian May | Bloodmoon |
| 1991 | Bruce Smeaton | ' |
| 1991 | Michael Askill & Nigel Westlake | Road to Xanadu - The Genius That Was China |
| 1991 | Vince Jones & Grace Knight | Come in Spinner |
| 1992 | - | - |
| 1992 | Mario Millo | Brides of Christ |
| 1992 | Jan Castor | Red Express |
| 1992 | Not Drowning, Waving | Proof |
| 1992 | Original Australian Cast | Return to the Forbidden Planet |
| 1992 | Philip Judd | Death In Brunswick |
| 1993 | - | - |
| 1993 | John Clifford White | Romper Stomper |
| 1993 | Australian Cast Recording | Jesus Christ Superstar |
| 1993 | Ricky Fataar & Others | Spotswood |
| 1993 | Paul Grabowsky | The Last Days of Chez Nous |
| 1993 | Various | Strictly Ballroom |
| 1993 | Nigel Westlake | Antarctica |
| 1994 | - | - |
| 1994 | Original Cast Recording | Hot Shoe Shuffle |
| 1994 | The Australian Opera, Giacomo Puccini | La bohème |
| 1994 | Michael Easton, Michael Atkinson | Snowy |
| 1994 | Carl Vine | ' |
| 1994 | John Waters, Lennon & McCartney | Looking Through a Glass Onion |
| 1995 | - | - |
| 1995 | Cast Recording | The Pirates of Penzance |
| 1995 | Martin Armiger | Fornicon |
| 1995 | Guy Gross | The Priscilla Companion Original Score |
| 1995 | Various | Heartland |
| 1995 | Various | Metal Skin |
| 1995 | Various | ' |
| 1996 | - | - |
| 1996 | Australian Cast Recording | Beauty and the Beast |
| 1996 | Australian Cast Recording | The Secret Garden |
| 1996 | Iva Davies | The Berlin Tapes |
| 1996 | Cezary Skubiszewski | Lilian's Story |
| 1996 | Nigel Westlake | Babe |
| 1997 | - | - |
| 1997 | Blixa Bargeld, Nick Cave, Mick Harvey | To Have & to Hold |
| 1997 | Mario Millo | G.P. |
| 1997 | Various | Idiot Box |
| 1997 | Various | Love and Other Catastrophes |
| 1997 | Various | What I Have Written |
| 1998 | - | - |
| 1998 | Original Cast Recording | The Boy From Oz |
| 1998 | The Necks | The Boys |
| 1998 | Cezary Skubiszewski | The Sound of One Hand Clapping |
| 1998 | Various | A Little Bit of Soul |
| 1998 | Various | To Hal and Bacharach |
| 1999 Soundtrack | - | - |
| 1999 Soundtrack | David Hirschfelder | Elizabeth |
| 1999 Soundtrack | Felicity Fox | Afrika - Cape Town to Cairo |
| 1999 Soundtrack | David Hirschfelder | The Interview |
| 1999 Soundtrack | Various | Praise |
| 1999 Soundtrack | Various | Two Hands |
| 1999 Cast/Show | - | - |
| 1999 Cast/Show | Judi Connelli & Suzanne Johnston | Perfect Strangers |
| 1999 Cast/Show | Bananas in Pyjamas | It's Show Time! |
| 1999 Cast/Show | Opera Australia, Christine Douglas & Suzanne Johnston | Hansel & Gretel |
| 1999 Cast/Show | State Orchestra of Victoria | Rudolf Nureyev's Don Quixote |
| 2000 Soundtrack | - | - |
| 2000 Soundtrack | David Bridie | In a Savage Land |
| 2000 Soundtrack | Iva Davies | The Ghost of Time |
| 2000 Soundtrack | Paul Grabowsky | Siam Sunset |
| 2000 Soundtrack | Various | Soft Fruit |
| 2000 Soundtrack | Various | The Wog Boy |
| 2000 Soundtrack | David Hirschfelder & Various Artists | What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? |
| 2000 Cast/Show | - | - |
| 2000 Cast/Show | Australian Cast Recording | The Sound of Music |
| 2000 Cast/Show | John Farnham | Live at the Regent |
| 2000 Cast/Show | State Orchestra of Victoria, John Lanchbery | The Merry Widow |
| 2000 Cast/Show | Various | Happy Days - The Arena Mega Musical |
| 2001 Soundtrack | - | - |
| 2001 Soundtrack | Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Various | Music from the Motion Picture – The Dish |
| 2001 Soundtrack | David Hirschfelder, Various | Better Than Sex - Original Soundtrack |
| 2001 Soundtrack | Lisa Gerrard with Hans Zimmer | More Music from Gladiator |
| 2001 Soundtrack | Richard Pleasance, Various | The Very Best of SeaChange |
| 2001 Soundtrack | Single Gun Theory | The Monkey's Mask |
| 2001 Soundtrack | Various | Sydney 2000 The Games of the XXVII Olympiad - |
| 2001 Cast/Show | - | - |
| 2001 Cast/Show | Original Cast Recording | Shout! The Legend Of The Wild One |
| 2001 Cast/Show | Australian Concert Orchestra, Queensland Pops Orchestra, Harper | Scotland the Brave |
| 2001 Cast/Show | David Chesworth | Wicked Voice |
| 2001 Cast/Show | Janet Seidel | Doris and Me |
| 2001 Cast/Show | Various | Sydney 2000 The Games of the XXVII Olympiad - |
| 2002 Soundtrack | - | - |
| 2002 Soundtrack | Paul Kelly, Shane O' Mara, Steve Hadley, Bruce Haymes, Peter Luscombe | Lantana |
| 2002 Soundtrack | Graham Tardif & Rolf de Heer, Archie Roach | The Tracker |
| 2002 Soundtrack | David Thrussell | The Hard Word |
| 2002 Soundtrack | Mario Millo | Changi |
| 2002 Soundtrack | Various | Dirty Deeds |
| 2002 Cast/Show | - | - |
| 2002 Cast/Show | Various | |
| 2002 Cast/Show | Judi Connelli | Back to Before |
| 2002 Cast/Show | Opera Australia, Simone Young | Verdi: Requiem |
| 2002 Cast/Show | Original Australian Cast Recording | The Wizard of Oz |
| 2002 Cast/Show | Play Act One | Story of Abbey |
| 2003 Soundtrack | - | - |
| 2003 Soundtrack | Mick Harvey | Australian Rules |
| 2003 Soundtrack | Cezary Skubiszewski | After the Deluge |
| 2003 Soundtrack | Dave Graney & Clare Moore | Music from the Motion Picture - Bad Eggs |
| 2003 Soundtrack | The Saddle Club | On Top of the World |
| 2003 Soundtrack | Various Artists | The Secret Life of Us Volume 3 |
| 2003 Cast/Show | Various | Long Way to the Top – Live in Concert |
| 2004 | - | - |
| 2004 | David Bridie | Nautical Forlorn |
| 2004 | Australian Chamber Orchestra | Musical Renegades |
| 2004 | Decoder Ring | Somersault |
| 2004 | Elizabeth Drake | Japanese Story |
| 2004 | Various | Australian Idol Final 12 |
| 2005 | - | - |
| 2005 | Severed Heads | The Illustrated Family Doctor |
| 2005 | Art Phillips | Outback House |
| 2005 | Ben Mingay & Deone Zanotto | Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story on Stage |
| 2005 | Roger Mason | The Extra |
| 2005 | Various Artists | ' |
| 2006 | - | - |
| 2006 | Paul Kelly, Dan Luscombe, Katie Brianna & the Stormwater Boys | Jindabyne soundtrack |
| 2006 | David Bridie | RAN – soundtrack |
| 2006 | Nick Cave, Warren Ellis | The Proposition |
| 2006 | Francois Tetaz | Wolf Creek – original motion picture soundtrack |
| 2006 | Various | Little Fish – soundtrack |
| 2007 | - | - |
| 2007 | Choir of Hard Knocks | Choir of Hard Knocks |
| 2007 | David Bridie | Gone |
| 2007 | Monsieur Camembert | Famous Blue Cheese |
| 2007 | David Bridie | The Circuit |
| 2007 | Various | The Countdown Spectacular Live |
| 2008 | - | - |
| 2008 | Chris Lilley | Summer Heights High soundtrack |
| 2008 | Cezary Skubiszewski | Night – original soundtrack |
| 2008 | Cast of Priscilla Queen of the Desert - the Musical | Priscilla Queen of the Desert - the Musical |
| 2008 | Ben Lee and Jessica Chapnik | The Square – original soundtrack |
| 2008 | Various | Countdown Spectacular 2 |
| 2009 | - | - |
| 2009 | Soundtrack | Balibo |
| 2009 | Amanda Brown | Son of a Lion – original soundtrack |
| 2009 | Soundtrack | Samson and Delilah |
| 2009 | Soundtrack | East of Everything – series two soundtrack album |
| 2009 | Tex Perkins, Murray Paterson | Beautiful Kate |
| 2010 | - | - |
| 2010 | Triple J | |
| 2010 | Burkhard Dallwitz | Underbelly |
| 2010 | Christopher Gordon & Various Artists | Mao's Last Dancer |
| 2010 | Various Artists | Bran Nue Dae |
| 2010 | Various Artists | Accidents Happen |
| 2011 | - | - |
| 2011 | Chris Lilley | Angry Boys – Official Soundtrack Album |
| 2011 | Jed Kurzel | Snowtown |
| 2011 | Stephen Pigram, Alan Pigram, Alex Lloyd | Mad Bastards – Music from the Motion Picture |
| 2011 | Sydney Symphony & cast, Alexander Briger | Don John of Austria |
| 2011 | Various Artists – Original Australian Cast Recording | Mary Poppins |
| 2012 | - | - |
| 2012 | Triple J | Straight to You – Triple J's Tribute to Nick Cave |
| 2012 | Jane Rutter | An Australian in Paris |
| 2012 | RocKwiz | The RocKwiz Christmas Album |
| 2012 | Jon English & the Original Cast of the Rock Show | The Rock Show |
| 2012 | Various Artists | The Sapphires Original Soundtrack |
| 2013 | - | - |
| 2013 | Paul Kelly, James Ledger, Genevieve Lacey & ANAM Musicians | Conversations with Ghosts |
| 2013 | David Bridie | Satellite Boy |
| 2013 | Nick Cave and Warren Ellis | Lawless |
| 2013 | Tina Arena | Symphony of Life |
| 2013 | Various Artists | triple j's One Night Stand |
| 2014 | - | - |
| 2014 | Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra | Gurrumul: His Life And Music |
| 2014 | Glenn Shorrock & Brian Cadd | The Story of Sharky and The Caddman |
| 2014 | Katie Noonan | Fierce Hearts: The Music of Love-Song-Circus |
| 2014 | Various Artists | Spirit Of Akasha |
| 2014 | Various Artists | triple j's One Night Stand: Mildura |
| 2015 | - | - |
| 2015 | Various Artists | Beat the Drum – Celebrating 40 Years of Triple J |
| 2015 | Ed Kuepper | Last Cab to Darwin – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack |
| 2015 | Melbourne Symphony Orchestra / Nigel Westlake | Paper Planes – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack |
| 2015 | Opera Australia | Bliss |
| 2015 | Various Artists | The Water Diviner – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack |
| 2016 | - | - |
| 2016 | Josh Pyke & the Sydney Symphony Orchestra | Live at the Sydney Opera House |
| 2016 | Kate Miller-Heidke | The Rabbits |
| 2016 | Queensland Symphony Orchestra | Gallipoli Symphony |
| 2016 | Various Artists | The Divorce |
| 2016 | Various Artists | Velvet |
| 2017 | - | - |
| 2017 | Nigel Westlake & Sydney Symphony Orchestra, with Joseph Tawadros, Slava Grigoryan & Lior | Ali's Wedding |
| 2017 | Australian Cast Recording feat. David Campbell | ' |
| 2017 | Cezary Skubiszewski | ' |
| 2017 | Jessica Mauboy | The Secret Daughter |
| 2017 | Richard Tognetti & Australian Chamber Orchestra | Mountain |
| 2018 | - | - |
| 2018 | Jimmy Barnes | Working Class Boy: The Soundtracks |
| 2018 | Evelyn Ida Morris | Acute Misfortune |
| 2018 | Jessica Mauboy | ' |
| 2018 | Liars | 1/1 |
| 2018 | Various artists | Muriel's Wedding: The Musical |
| 2019 | - | - |
| 2019 | Various Artists | The Recording Studio |
| 2019 | Burkhard Dallwitz | LOCUSTS: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack |
| 2019 | Gang of Youths | MTV Unplugged |
| 2019 | Luke Howard | The Sand That Ate the Sea |
| 2019 | Trials | Cargo'' |