MOVIES
Critical Response - AFI
100 Years... 100 Songs
This list features movie songs that have have been ranked as the greatest of all time by the American Film Institute.
RANK | SONG | FILM | PERFORMER | SONGWRITER | YEAR |
1 | "Over the Rainbow" | The Wizard of Oz | Judy Garland | Harold Arlen, E.Y. Harburg | 1939 |
2 | "As Time Goes By" | Casablanca | Dooley Wilson | Herman Hupfeld | 1942 |
3 | "Singin' in the Rain" | Singin' in the Rain | Gene Kelly | Nacio Herb Brown, Arthur Freed | 1952 |
4 | "Moon River" | Breakfast at Tiffany's | Audrey Hepburn | Henry Mancini, Johnny Mercer | 1961 |
5 | "White Christmas" | Holiday Inn | Bing Crosby | Irving Berlin | 1942 |
6 | "Mrs. Robinson" | The Graduate | Simon & Garfunkel | Paul Simon | 1967 |
7 | "When You Wish Upon a Star" | Pinocchio | Cliff Edwards (as Jiminy Cricket) | Leigh Harline, Ned Washington | 1940 |
8 | "The Way We Were" | The Way We Were | Barbra Streisand | Marvin Hamlisch, Alan and Marilyn Bergman | 1973 |
9 | "Stayin' Alive" | Saturday Night Fever | The Bee Gees | Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb | 1977 |
10 | "The Sound of Music" | The Sound of Music | Julie Andrews | Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II | 1965 |
11 | "The Man That Got Away" | A Star Is Born | Judy Garland | Harold Arlen, Ira Gershwin | 1954 |
12 | "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" | Gentlemen Prefer Blondes | Marilyn Monroe (also partial dubbing by Marni Nixon) | Jule Styne, Leo Robin | 1953 |
13 | "People" | Funny Girl | Barbra Streisand | Jule Styne, Bob Merrill | 1968 |
14 | "My Heart Will Go On" | Celine Dion | James Horner, Will Jennings | 1997 | |
15 | "Cheek to Cheek" | Top Hat | Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers | Irving Berlin | 1935 |
16 | "Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born)" | A Star Is Born | Barbra Streisand | Barbra Streisand, Paul Williams | 1976 |
17 | "I Could Have Danced All Night" | My Fair Lady | Marni Nixon (dubbing Audrey Hepburn) | Frederick Loewe, Alan Jay Lerner | 1964 |
18 | "Cabaret" | Cabaret | Liza Minnelli | John Kander, Fred Ebb | 1972 |
19 | "Someday My Prince Will Come" | Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs | Adriana Caselotti (as Snow White) | Frank Churchill, Larry Morey | 1937 |
20 | "Somewhere" | West Side Story | Jimmy Bryant (dubbing Richard Beymer), Marni Nixon (dubbing Natalie Wood) | Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim | 1961 |
21 | "Jailhouse Rock" | Jailhouse Rock | Elvis Presley | Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller | 1957 |
22 | "Everybody's Talkin'" | Midnight Cowboy | Harry Nilsson | Fred Neil | 1969 |
23 | "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" | Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid | B. J. Thomas | Burt Bacharach, Hal David | 1969 |
24 | "Ol' Man River" | Show Boat | Paul Robeson | Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II | 1936 |
25 | "High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin')" | High Noon | Tex Ritter | Dimitri Tiomkin, Ned Washington | 1952 |
26 | "The Trolley Song" | Meet Me in St. Louis | Judy Garland | Hugh Martin, Ralph Blane | 1944 |
27 | "Unchained Melody" | Unchained | Todd Duncan | Alex North, Hy Zaret | 1955 |
28 | "Some Enchanted Evening" | South Pacific | Giorgio Tozzi (dubbing Rossano Brazzi) | Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II | 1958 |
29 | "Born to Be Wild" | Easy Rider | Steppenwolf | Mars Bonfire | 1969 |
30 | "Stormy Weather" | Stormy Weather | Lena Horne | Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler | 1943 |
31 | "Theme from New York, New York" | New York, New York | Liza Minnelli | John Kander, Fred Ebb | 1977 |
32 | "I Got Rhythm" | An American in Paris | Gene Kelly | George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin | 1951 |
33 | "Aquarius" | Hair | Ren Woods, Ensemble | Galt MacDermot, James Rado, Gerome Ragni | 1979 |
34 | "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" | Shall We Dance | Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers | George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin | 1937 |
35 | "America" | West Side Story | Rita Moreno, George Chakiris, Ensemble | Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim | 1961 |
36 | "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" | Mary Poppins | Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, Ensemble | The Sherman Brothers | 1964 |
37 | "Swinging on a Star" | Going My Way | Bing Crosby | Jimmy Van Heusen, Johnny Burke | 1944 |
38 | "Theme from Shaft" | Shaft | Isaac Hayes, Chorus | Isaac Hayes | 1971 |
39 | "Days of Wine and Roses" | Days of Wine and Roses | Chorus | Henry Mancini, Johnny Mercer | 1962 |
40 | "Fight the Power" | Do the Right Thing | Public Enemy | Carlton Ridenhour, Eric Sadler, Hank Saxley, Keith Boxley | 1989 |
41 | "New York, New York" | On the Town | Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and Jules Munshin | Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden, Adolph Green | 1949 |
42 | "Luck Be a Lady" | Guys and Dolls | Marlon Brando, Ensemble | Frank Loesser | 1955 |
43 | "The Way You Look Tonight" | Swing Time | Fred Astaire | Jerome Kern, Dorothy Fields | 1936 |
44 | "Wind Beneath My Wings" | Beaches | Bette Midler | Jeff Silbar, Larry Henley | 1988 |
45 | "That's Entertainment" | The Band Wagon | Fred Astaire, Jack Buchanan, Nanette Fabray, Oscar Levant | Arthur Schwartz, Howard Dietz | 1953 |
46 | "Don't Rain on My Parade" | Funny Girl | Barbra Streisand | Jule Styne, Bob Merrill | 1968 |
47 | "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" | Song of the South | James Baskett | Allie Wrubel, Ray Gilbert | 1946 |
48 | "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" | The Man Who Knew Too Much | Doris Day | Jay Livingston, Ray Evans | 1956 |
49 | "Make 'Em Laugh" | Singin' in the Rain | Donald O'Connor | Nacio Herb Brown, Arthur Freed | 1952 |
50 | "Rock Around the Clock" | Blackboard Jungle | Bill Haley and His Comets | Max C. Freedman, James E. Myers | 1955 |
51 | "A Whole New World" | Aladdin | Lea Salonga, Brad Kane | Alan Menken, Tim Rice | 1992 |
52 | "Beauty and the Beast" | Beauty and the Beast | Angela Lansbury | Alan Menken, Howard Ashman | 1991 |
53 | "I've Got a Feeling" | A Hard Day's Night | The Beatles | John Lennon, Paul McCartney | 1964 |
54 | "Ghostbusters" | Ghostbusters | Ray Parker Jr. | Ray Parker Jr. | 1984 |
55 | "Eye of the Tiger" | Rocky III | Survivor | Frankie Sullivan, Jim Peterik | 1982 |
56 | "Under the Sea" | The Little Mermaid | Samuel E. Wright | Alan Menken, Howard Ashman | 1989 |
57 | "Let It Go" | Frozen | Idina Menzel | Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez | 2013 |
58 | "Circle of Life" | The Lion King | Carmen Twillie, Lebo M. | Elton John, Tim Rice | 1994 |
59 | "Hakuna Matata" | The Lion King | Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, Jason Weaver | Elton John, Tim Rice | 1994 |
60 | "I Just Called to Say I Love You" | The Woman in Red | Stevie Wonder | Stevie Wonder | 1984 |
61 | "Let the River Run" | Working Girl | Carly Simon | Carly Simon | 1988 |
62 | "The Power of Love" | Back to the Future | Huey Lewis and the News | Huey Lewis and the News | 1985 |
63 | "Ghost" | Ghost | Faith Hill | Bruce Hornsby | 1990 |
64 | "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)" | St. Elmo's Fire | John Parr | David Foster, John Parr | 1985 |
65 | "Take My Breath Away" | Top Gun | Berlin | Giorgio Moroder, Tom Whitlock | 1986 |
66 | "Everything I Do (I Do It for You)" | Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves | Bryan Adams | Bryan Adams, Michael Kamen, Robert John “Mutt” Lange | 1991 |
67 | "Kiss from a Rose" | Batman Forever | Seal | Seal, Guy Sigsworth | 1995 |
68 | "I Will Always Love You" | The Bodyguard | Whitney Houston | Dolly Parton | 1992 |
69 | "Men in Black" | Men in Black | Will Smith | Will Smith, Danny Elfman | 1997 |
70 | "Everything Is Awesome" | The Lego Movie | Tegan and Sara, The Lonely Island | Shawn Patterson | 2014 |
71 | "Happy" | Despicable Me 2 | Pharrell Williams | Pharrell Williams | 2013 |
72 | "Remember Me" | Coco | Miguel, Natalia Lafourcade | Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez | 2017 |
73 | "Shallow" | A Star Is Born | Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper | Lady Gaga, Andrew Wyatt, Anthony Rossomando, Mark Ronson | 2018 |
74 | "Into the Unknown" | Frozen II | Idina Menzel, Aurora (AURORA) | Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez | 2019 |
75 | "All Star" | Shrek | Smash Mouth | Greg Camp | 2001 |
76 | "I'm a Believer" | Shrek | Smash Mouth | Neil Diamond | 2001 |
77 | "Freaks Come Out at Night" | Freaks | Whodini | Jalil Hutchins, John Fletcher | 1984 |
78 | "Take On Me" | Deadpool | a-ha | Pål Waaktaar, Magne Furuholmen | 2016 |
79 | "Footloose" | Footloose | Kenny Loggins | Kenny Loggins, Dean Pitchford | 1984 |
80 | "Danger Zone" | Top Gun | Kenny Loggins | Giorgio Moroder, Tom Whitlock | 1986 |
81 | "Unforgettable" | Little Women | Nat King Cole | Irving Gordon | 1994 |
82 | "Proud Mary" | Dirty Dancing | Tina Turner | John Fogerty | 1987 |
83 | "Bohemian Rhapsody" | Wayne’s World | Queen | Freddie Mercury | 1992 |
84 | "We Don’t Talk About Bruno" | Encanto | Stephanie Beatriz | Lin-Manuel Miranda | 2021 |
85 | "Surface Pressure" | Encanto | Jessica Darrow | Lin-Manuel Miranda | 2021 |
86 | "Husavik" | Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga | Will Ferrell | Savan Kotecha, Fat Max Gsus, Rickard Göransson | 2020 |
87 | "Sh-Boom" | Grease | The Chords | James Keyes, Claude Feaster | 1978 |
88 | "Hopelessly Devoted to You" | Grease | Olivia Newton-John | John Farrar | 1978 |
89 | "You're the One That I Want" | Grease | Olivia Newton-John, John Travolta | John Farrar | 1978 |
90 | "Summer Nights" | Grease | Olivia Newton-John, John Travolta | Jim Jacobs, Warren Casey | 1978 |
91 | "Greased Lightnin'" | Grease | John Travolta | Jim Jacobs, Warren Casey | 1978 |
92 | "Beauty School Dropout" | Grease | Frankie Avalon | Jim Jacobs, Warren Casey | 1978 |
93 | "We Go Together" | Grease | Ensemble | Jim Jacobs, Warren Casey | 1978 |
94 | "Moonlight Serenade" | Swing Time | Fred Astaire | Glenn Miller, Mitchell Parish | 1935 |
95 | "Blue Skies" | Holiday Inn | Bing Crosby | Irving Berlin | 1942 |
96 | "I've Got You Under My Skin" | Born to Dance | Virginia Bruce | Cole Porter | 1936 |
97 | "Cheek to Cheek" | Top Hat | Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers | Irving Berlin | 1935 |
98 | "Sing, Sing, Sing" | Swing Time | Benny Goodman | Louis Prima | 1937 |
99 | "Stormy Weather" | Stormy Weather | Lena Horne | Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler | 1943 |
100 | "I Got Rhythm" | Girl Crazy | Ethel Merman | George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin | 1930 |
References
