More than 30 lists were aggregated to create this master list of the best TV theme songs of all time. Entrants are listed by the name of the TV show in parentheses followed by the artist who recorded the theme song, the name of the song, and the year the song was released.
The release of the song does not necessarily correspond with the beginning of the show. For example, in the case of The Wonder Years, which debuted in 1988, the theme song was Joe Cocker’s recording of “With a Little Help from My Friends” from 1968. In other cases, such as Happy Days, the show premiered in 1974 but the theme song which became so popular debuted in 1976.
Click here to see other genre-specific song lists and here for media lists, which includes print media, movies, television, and music videos.
1. Cheers: Gary Portnoy “Where Everybody Knows Your Name” (1983)
2. Friends: The Rembrandts “I’ll Be There for You” (1995)
3. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990)
4. M*A*S*H: Johnny Mandel “Suicide Is Painless” (1970)
5. Gilligan’s Island: The Wellingtons “The Ballad of Gilligan’s Isle” (1965)
6. Happy Days: Pratt & McLain “Happy Days” (1976)
7. Addams’ Family: Vic Mizzy “The Addams’ Family Theme” (1964)
8. The Jeffersons: Janet DuBoise “Movin’ on Up” (1975)
9. The Brady Bunch: Peppermint Trolley Company “The Brady Bunch Theme” (1969)
10. The Golden Girls: Andrew Gold “Thank You for Being a Friend” (1978)
11. The Andy Griffith Show: Earle Hagen “The Fishin’ Hole” (1961)
12. The Flintstones: Randy Van Horne Singers “Meet the Flintstones” (1960)
13. Mission: Impossible: Lalo Schifrin “Mission: Impossible Theme” (1968)
14. The Monkees: The Monkees “Monkees’ Theme” (1966)
15. All in the Family: Carroll O’Connor & Jean Stapleton “Those Were the Days” (1971)
16. The Mary Tyler Moore Show: Sonny Curtis “Love Is All Round” (1970)
17. The Beverly Hillbillies: Flatt & Scruggs “The Ballad of Jed Clampett” (1962)
18. The Greatest American Hero: Joey Scarbury “Believe It Or Not” (1981)
19. Sesame Street: Jean “Toots” Thielmans “Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street?” (1969)
20. Sanford and Son: Quincy Jones “The Streetbeater” (1972)
21. Batman: The Marketts “Batman Theme” (1966)
22. The Simpsons: Danny Elfman “The Simpsons Theme” (1989)
23. Welcome Back, Kotter: John Sebastian “Welcome Back” (1976)
24. Miami Vice: Jan Hammer “Miami Vice Theme” (1985)
25. WKRP in Cincinnati: Steve Carlisle “WKRP in Cincinnati” (1981)
26. Laverne and Shirley: Cyndi Grecco “Making Our Dreams Come True” (1976)
27. The Love Boat: Jack Jones “Love Boat Theme” (1980)
28. The Twilight Zone: Marius Constant “The Twilight Zone Theme (Dramatic Twilight)” (1959)
29. The Mickey Mouse Club: The Mouseketeers “Mickey Mouse Club March” (1955)
30. Full House: Jesse Frederick “Everywhere You Go” (1987)
31. The Muppet Show: Jim Henson & Sam Pottle “The Muppet Show Theme” (1976)
32. The Dukes of Hazzard: Waylon Jennings “Just the Good Ol’ Boys” (1980)
33. Malcolm in the Middle: They Might Be Giants “Boss of Me” (2001)
34. Moonlighting: Al Jarreau “Moonlighting Theme” (1987)
35. The Pink Panther Theme: Henry Mancini “The Pink Panther Theme” (1964)
36. The Big Bang Theory: Barenaked Ladies “The Big Bang Theory Theme” (2007)
37. Good Times: Jim Gilstrap & Blinky Williams “Good Times Theme” (1974)
38. Scooby-Doo: Larry Marks “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?” (1969)
39. Rockford Files: Mike Post “The Rockford Files Theme” (1975)
40. The X Files: Mark Snow “The X Files Theme” (1993)
41. Game of Thrones: Film Symphony Orchestra “The Game of Thrones Main Theme” (2011)
42. Green Acres: Eva Gabor & Eddie Albert “Green Acres Opening Theme” (1965)
43. Diff’rent Strokes: Alan Thicke with Gloria Loring & Al Burton “It Takes Diff’rent Strokes” (1978)
44. The Facts of Life: Gloria Loring “The Facts of Life (Theme)” (1979)
45. The Wonder Years: Joe Cocker “With a Little Help from My Friends” (1968)
46. Davy Crockett: Bill Hayes “The Ballad of Davy Crockett” (1955)
47. Star Trek: Alexander Courage “Theme from Star Trek” (1966)
48. Peter Gunn: Ray Anthony “Peter Gunn Theme” (1958)
49. Three’s Company: Ray Charles & Julia Rinker “Come and Knock on Our Door” (1977)
50. I Love Lucy: Eliot Danie “I Love Lucy Theme” (1951)
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First posted 8/29/2022; last updated 9/1/2022. | 
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