The best TV theme songs and TV intros of all time will take you back to some of the greatest moments in TV. Television theme songs set the tone for the entire series, and for the beginning of each episode. We all have a special connection to what we think are the best TV themes. They get stuck in our head, we sing them without noticing, and we remember them fondly after a series has ended. These are the most famous opening theme songs from the most popular TV shows.
What are the best TV theme songs? Vote on the best TV show theme songs here and make sure your favorite gets the attention it deserves. If you think The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song was the coolest or you loved the Friends intro song...by all means, vote! Help improve this list of the best TV theme songs of all time.1CheersTed Danson, Rhea Perlman, John RatzenbergerPopular music comes in all forms, but none of it is as far-reaching and as oft-heard as the themes that introduce our favorite TV shows. Whether it's the haunting, echoing opening passage of or the iconic spy theme of Mission: Impossible, TV themes frame the viewing experience, setting us up for what we are about to watch.
So many TV theme songs have us singing along and recalling the good ol' days that we felt we needed to honor these musical tidbits with a selection of our very favorites. Plus, we're giving IGN readers a sneak peek at the Beta version of IGN's newest channel… IGN TV! What better way to celebrate everything that is TV than with a list of the best themes throughout the ages?
For this list, we decided not to include cartoons or Saturday morning themes… that will get its own due in the coming months. Everything else was fair game. Several factors were taken into account when ranking them: quality, relevance, historic significance and lasting appeal. It all starts here…
[reviews were penned by Spence Abbott, Chris Carle, Eric Goldberg, Dan Iverson, and Brian Zoromski]
50. Beverly Hills 90210
It's hard to believe that the early version of the theme to this hugely successful 1990's teen soap was even more synthesizer fueled then the one in later seasons. Who could forget Jason Priestly pumping his fist to the two beats that open this keyboard and sax-filled melody to rich kids and their tangled love lives? -EG49. Rawhide If the Blues Brothers never had to resort to covering this theme in the rowdy country (and) western bar, it would still be a classic. Whip-cracks and all, you can almost smell the doagies with your ears. A seminal TV western theme, it isn't quite as 'git along' as Bonanza, but it comes close. -CC
48. The Odd Couple 'Da-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo…' The opening bounce of the theme song to Neil Simon's dysfunctional buddy comedy is one of the most unmistakable theme songs in all of television history. That it expertly captures the nebbish, obsessive/compulsive tendencies of Felix Unger as well as the slob, king slacker personality of Oscar Madison is not only a tribute to the show, but also to composer Neil Hefti's (the man also responsible for the raucous Batman TV theme, no less) grasp of the material. -SA
47. Fresh Prince of Bel-Air 'Now... this is a story all about how my life got flipped, turned upside down, and I'd like to take a minute, just sit right there I'll tell you how I became the prince of a town called Bel-Air.' If you are in your yearly to mid-twenties and cannot recite at least this much of the theme, then shame on you. Where were you when Will Smith sat on his throne as the prince of Bel Air? All kidding aside, whether you know the lyrics or not, you cannot deny the simple rhymes that help make this jingle stay in your head long after the opening credits end. -DI
46. The A-Team As everybody knows, all heroes need a theme song. To this end, the spoken word intro leading into the blaring horns and pounding percussion that were laced throughout this theme brought to mind the glory cinematic war/western days of John Wayne and an overwhelming sense of American/national pride. It's like a pomp and circumstance revelry tailor made for jovial mercenaries for hire. Plus it made you want to jump out of a moving van and shoot the bad guys something fierce. -SA
45. Dallas Most of the songs on this list will have lyrics, as it is easier for a jingle with lyrics to get stuck in your head. But every so often a television theme song will represent the mood of the show, and be catchy enough that it will be moving in your head years after the show has been cancelled. Dallas is like that. While listening to the theme song you know that you are getting a large dramatic show, which will have a more grandiose nature. Dallas' theme song is a memorable song that more than represented one of the most popular primetime dramas of the Eighties. -DI
44. Barney Miller Jack Elliot and Allyn Ferguson's theme encapsulated the funky vibe of the mid-'70s to a T. It also molded itself perfectly to the funky, almost off-the-cuff nature of this ensemble police buddy comedy that took place almost entirely in the precinct station house. Driven by loping bass and a staccato horn section this is one of those songs that just way too short. The duo would later reprise their undeniably funky inclinations with the equally rump shaking theme to Fish, the Abe Vigoda spin-off that followed in 1977. -SA
43. Twin Peaks Angelo Badalamenti's eerie, hollow theme was an amazing appetizer for a show that consistently lived on the fringe, outside of expectation. Like the banks of fog that blanket the show's opening, Twin Peaks' theme shrouds the series in mystery and gets the viewer primed for the chilling, sometimes horrifying proceedings. The off-kilter vibe and the empty tone matches the open expanse of Pacific Northwest, where the show is set. -CC
42. Bonanza This rollicking Western track has been used and over-used a ton since its debut on the Sixties series. Conjuring up wagons rolling, and life on the frontier, it is every bit as iconic as some of the traditional American folk sings. In fact, it may already be considered one by many forward-thinking historians. -CC
41. All in the Family What more can you ask for than Carroll O'Connor and Jean Stapleton singing off-key and craggy (totally pre-karaoke, too) 'Those Were The Days'? Charles Strouse, the composer/writer of the opening theme song has no less than three Tony Awards under his belt for Best Musical (among them one for Bye, Bye Birdie), so it's no wonder that the song was not only quirky, but damn catchy in that Broadway type of way. -SA