Rolling Stone: The 100 Greatest TV Theme Songs of All Time

[TMC]

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/m...me-1234630913/

Then we considered two main factors: 1) How great is it as a song? 2) How well does it prepare you for the show that follows, in terms of mood and/or an explanation of the premise? Sometimes, one factor weighed more heavily than the other, and many bitter fights were fought. (There are still hurt feelings regarding which of ABC’s T.G.I.F. family sitcoms got the nod and which ones didn’t.) Like any attempt to quantify art, there was ultimately a lot of gut feelings involved: On its own, Theme Song A is an objectively better piece of music than Theme Song B, but Theme Song B is a much more perfect match for its show.

Here are the Top 20:

1. “The Jeffersons” (1975 to 1985)

2. A tie between “The Brady Bunch” (1969 to 1974) and “Gilligan’s Island” (1964 to 1967)

3. “Sanford and Son” (1972 to 1977)

4. “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” (2015 to 2019)

5. “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” (1968 to 2001)

6. “The Twilight Zone” (1959 to 1964)

7. “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” (1990 to 1996)

8. “Friends” (1994 to 2004)

9. “The O.C.” (2003 to 2007)

10. “Too Many Cooks” (2014) (It was a TV short on Adult Swim.)

11. “Game of Thrones” (2011 to 2019)

12. “Hawaii Five-O” (1968 to 1980)

13. “Cheers” (1982 to 1993)

14. “The Wire” (2002 to 2008)

15. “Mission: Impossible” (1966 to 1973)

16. “The Rockford Files” (1974 to 1980)

17. “The Muppet Show” (1976 to 1981)

18. “The Simpsons” (1989 to Present)

19. “The Sopranos” (1999 to 2007)

20. “All in the Family” (1971 to 1979)

[space1999]

Not bad, I was expecting more shows from the 2000s to be on top.

[Yong Fang]

My personal favorite is TAXI. I just love that instrumental and just has a total feel of the series and that era.

Second is Barney Miller. This didnt make the Top 20?

When I was a kid, I would turn up the TV to the highest volume to listen to the Hawaii Five-0 theme. I think this number was actually on the musical charts. If it hasnt already, school bands should play this.

[Edward216]

Originally Posted by Yong Fang

My personal favorite is TAXI. I just love that instrumental and just has a total feel of the series and that era.

Second is Barney Miller. This didnt make the Top 20?

When I was a kid, I would turn up the TV to the highest volume to listen to the Hawaii Five-0 theme. I think this number was actually on the musical charts. If it hasnt already, school bands should play this.

Yes the the theme song from Hawaii Five-O did make it on to the music charts, and I've actually heard school bands play it a few times.

Ed.