The Sacred Idol

{{Infobox album

| name = The Sacred Idol

| type = studio

| artist = Les Baxter and His Orchestra

| cover = The Sacred Idol.png

| alt =

| released = 1960

| recorded =

| venue =

| studio =

| genre = Easy listening, Exotica

| length =

| label = Capitol ST 1293

| producer = Voyle Gilmore

| chronology =

| prev_title = Goliath and the Barbarians
{{noitalic|(film score)}}

| prev_year = 1959

| next_title = House of Usher
{{noitalic|(film score)}}

| next_year = 1960

}}

The Sacred Idol is an album by Les Baxter and His Orchestra. It was released in 1960 on Capitol Records.{{cite web|title=Les Baxter – The Sacred Idol|publisher=Discogs|accessdate=December 30, 2020|url=https://www.discogs.com/Les-Baxter-The-Sacred-Idol/release/26754058}}{{cite web|title=The Sacred Idol|publisher=AllMusic|accessdate=December 30, 2020|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/sacred-idol-mw0001582769}} The music was composed by Baxter; it was originally intended to be the soundtrack for a film that was never released.

Upon its release, Billboard gave the album a rating of four stars and called it "exciting, exotic and colorful."{{cite web|title=Review Spotlight on Albums|newspaper=The Billboard|date=February 1, 1960|page=36|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BR8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA36}}

AllMusic also gave the album a rating of four stars. Reviewer Jason Ankeny called it "a journey to the center of the mind" and wrote that it conjured "a Latin American fantasia inspired by the legends of Aztec culture and spirituality".