Last week we asked you to tell us your top TV theme songs, and the results are in!
50. Barney Miller (0%)
The theme for Barney Miller is one that I personally enjoy and have in my top 20 TV themes of all time, but nobody that voted put in their top 10. I can’t say that I disagree with that. You’ll want to give it a listen if you love a good piece of jazz.
49. Littlest Hobo (0.4%)
I had never heard of this show or this theme song before I started this list, but I rather like this theme. No, it’s definitely not the greatest of all time, but it is a fun theme.
46 (tie). Hill Street Blues (0.7%)
Similar to Barney Miller, Hill Street Blues is another late 70s-80s show with a jazz theme that has stood the test of time as being very listenable as a song without prior knowledge of the show being needed.
46 (tie). Sanford and Son (0.7%)
Sanford and Son is a very fun piece of junkyard funk. There’s no more to really be said.
46 (tie). Taxi (0.7%)
The theme from Taxi is easy listening at its finest. There’s no way you could hear this theme and not get relaxed and ready for some quality television.
45. The Bob Newhart Show (1.1%)
It’s clear that the Hypable audience isn’t a fan of these great jazz theme songs, and in my opinion The Bob Newhart Show is the best of them. It’s firmly in my personal top 10.
43 (tie). Love Boat (2.2%)
The theme that was sung on America’s Got Talent and inspired this vote is of course the Love Boat theme. It sounds just as you would expect – it sounds like it was sung on a cruise ship.
43 (tie). Peter Gunn (2.2%)
Another theme from my personal top 10 that has been pushed all the way down here is Peter Gunn. Most readers likely don’t remember it from i’s airing as that was all the way back in 1958. I’ll bet most of the readers have heard it, though. It was a key theme in the popular Saturday Night Live spinoff movie The Blues Brothers.
42. Bonanza (2.6%)
The only theme song from a western on this list, Bonanza is by far my personal favorite. It sets the tone for the show perfectly. When the lyrics were released it fit even more as the they include, “We’ve got a right to pick a little fight, Bonanza!”
40 (tie). The Dukes of Hazzard (3.7%)
The theme from Bonanza may have been the only theme from a western on this list, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only country song. The theme from The Dukes of Hazzard was sung by Waylon Jennings, and it’s a classic.
40 (tie). The Jeffersons (3.7%)
No best TV theme song list could be complete without this soulful classic. Unfortunately, the only video I could find of the original song from the TV show was of these two guys dancing to the theme and sometimes singing over it.
39. All in the Family (4.5%)
The All in the Family theme song describes exactly how I feel about TV theme songs. Those were the days.
38. Mary Tyler Moore (4.9%)
Mary Tyler Moore is the lady everybody couldn’t help but love, and her theme song said exactly that.
37. Green Acres (6.3%)
Perhaps it’s the hokiest TV theme song of all time, but how could it not be? It’s one of those theme songs that gives a basic synopsis for any new viewer and it tells how a husband decides to give up his life in New York to become a farmer, much to his wife’s dismay.
36. Beverly Hillbillies (6.7%)
If Green Acres isn’t the hokiest theme song of all time, it’s the Beverly Hillbillies. It’s another example of a show with the synopsis in the theme, and it’s one of the best of all time like that.
35. A-Team (8.6%)
I’m surprised the A-Team theme is so far down on this list because it is so good, and Mr. T is such an iconic character.
34. The Andy Griffith Show (9.7%)
This is my personal number 1 best TV theme of all time, and it saddens me to find it down this far. In one of the finer moments of my life, I whistled part of this theme while walking down the hallway at my University and then someone sitting in one of the classrooms whistled the end of it back at me.
32 (tie). Mad Men (10.8 %)
I do not know what makes “A Beautiful Mine” by RJD2 such a perfect theme song for Mad Men, but it’s perfect in every way. This video is of a much longer version many of you have probably never heard.
32 (tie). Parks and Recreation (10.8%)
The theme for Parks and Recreation has to be one of the most fun themes on TV today.
31. Star Trek: The Next Generation (11.2%)
Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s theme combine’s the themes from the original series and Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and in doing so it made good themes even better. The original series theme, and consequently this theme, will forever be remembered by music nerds for its use of a minor seventh.
30. Law & Order (12.7%)
The ultimate police procedural and legal drama TV series, Law & Order has the never-losing-your-cool kind of theme you would expect.
29. Teen Titans (15.3%)
One of the most kick-ass teen crime-fighting teams of all time, the Teen Titans have an equally awesome theme song to boot.
27 (tie). CatDog (16.0%)
A top TV themes list just wouldn’t be complete without some 90s cartoons, and CatDog is one of the best.
27 (tie). Cheers (16.0%)
The top theme on many peoples’ list, Cheers is a favorite of many. I mean, come on. Who wouldn’t want to go somewhere where everybody knows your name?
26. Mission Impossible (16.4%)
The James Bond of TV themes (it would eventually become a movie franchise), Mission Impossible has a very cool spy theme. It’s a hard one not to like.
25. The Twilight Zone (16.8%)
New suspenseful themes will always be written, but it’s likely that none will ever match The Twilight Zone in terms of pure suspense.
24. Dexter (17.2%)
Truth be told, I’ve never heard the theme from Dexter before writing this. I can see why people like it so much and it really has that serial killer vibe to it. I think I’ll play it the next time I eat a bowl of cereal.
23. Smallville (18.3%)
If there’s one show I wish was on right now, it’s Smallville. I look forward to the day when I do finally get to watch this series. It doesn’t have then grand kind of theme you would expect in a Superman-related show, and I think that is to its credit. It’s definitely original.
22. Power Rangers (18.7%)
Is there a better electric guitar line in any theme song? Just listen to that guitar.
21. Happy Days (19.0%)
For the first two seasons Happy Days had the Bill Haley and His Comets hit “Rock Around the Clock” as its theme song, but by season 3 a longer version of the previous outro tune, “Happy Days,” would become the theme everyone knows and loves. A theme like this really shows that you can sing about the days of the week; it just has to be good. Yes, I’m talking to you, Rebecca Black.
20. Gilligan’s Island (20.5%)
As we crack the top 20 we also crack into themes that are agreed upon by 20% of the audience. Gilligan’s Island is another example of a theme that give’s a synopsis in the song. It’s also one of many written by TV legend Sherwood Schwartz, and the first of Schwartz’s to appear on this list.
19. Batman (1966 Series) (20.9%)
While it definitely wouldn’t compete with other theme songs if you looked solely at the lyrics (na na na na na na na na…), it makes up for it by being so iconic. If there’s anybody out there that wouldn’t be able to hear the theme and instantly know that it’s Batman, I don’t know them.
18. Downton Abbey (22.0%)
Downton Abbey is a theme with absolutely beautiful piano playing over a beautiful score. There’s not much more to be said.
16 (tie). Duck Tales (23.5%)
My personal favorite theme from a cartoon, Duck Tales includes so many great elements. From its catchy tune to its funky bass line to its cool trumpet lines, Duck Tales hits on all the right elements.
16 (tie). True Blood (23.5%)
I would have never guessed the sex-driven vampire show to have a country theme, but it absolutely works. It’s very long for a theme song, especially in this day and age, but that’s absolutely to its credit.
15. Arthur (25.7%)
Ah, childhood. Everybody has this nostalgic feeling with something, and I absolutely get it with Arthur.
14. Brady Bunch (28.4%)
The epitome of synopsis theme songs, The Brady Bunch begins with “Here’s the story…” and by season 2 the six Brady kids were singing it. They redid it every year to show the kids’ aging voices, and this video includes all five different renditions of it. This is the other Sherwood Schwartz-written theme to make this list.
13. The Muppet Show (28.4%)
Arguably the most fun theme ever, it’s hard not to hear the theme from The Muppet Show and not smile. It’s always interesting to see what Gonzo will end up doing at the end!
12. Full House (30.2%)
I was never a fan of the show, so I can’t say I enjoy the theme from the good times it brought me, but it definitely is catchy. And you have to love that sax.
11. Game of Thrones (31.3%)
A brilliantly orchestrated theme, the theme to Game of Thrones is just as grand as you would expect it to be.
10. SpongeBob SquarePants (34.3%)
It’s either the most annoying or most jolly theme of all time, and I never can decide which.
9. The Simpsons (41.0%)
The Ssssiiiiimmmmmppppsssoooooonnnnnssss.
8. Kim Possible (41.8%)
Apparently the mix of spy music and the Disney Channel is something loved by a lot of people.
7. Doctor Who (42.9%)
No theme has stood up the test of time better than Doctor Who. It’s just that good, and, quite frankly, it should be higher on this list.
6. The Addams Family (43.7%)
Just try and not snap along.
5. Pokemon (48.5%)
Who doesn’t want to be the very best? Pokémon fans did their best to make this the number one cartoon theme song, but…
4. Scooby Doo, Where Are You! (50.4%)
…Scooby Doo, Where are you! takes it by a mere five votes.
3. Big Bang Theory (58.6%)
Only one TV show could come in first for current theme songs, and that award belongs to Big Bang Theory.
2. Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (59.0%)
Another song that tells the show’s premise, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is by far the fan favorite.
1. Friends (65.7%)
The votes are in, and Friends is far and away your favorite TV theme!
What are the top TV theme songs on your list?
Special thanks to Josh Nealey for the image!