20 TV shows with the best soundtracks and music

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Gilmore Girls

For a show about two fast talking WASPs, Gilmore Girls was surprisingly cool and relevant during its original airing. I probably shouldn’t say “surprisingly” because this show was (and is now) one of the defining factors in my formative years. For a while I wanted to be Rory, and then as I got older, I understood I was probably far more Lorelai than her daughter.

I longed to be as cool as them, listening to music from David Bowie, The Shins, and actually going to see The Bangles in concert. Although some could construe the duo as hokey or two-dimensional, the girls, and the show itself, hold their own in the pop culture department.

In fact, singer-songwriter legend Carole King actually rerecorded her 1971 hit “Where You Lead” with her daughter especially for the series intro. That’s pretty badass, if you ask me. The show gives both mother Lorelai and daughter Rory excellent taste in music, and it goes even further in the character Lane.

The list of allusions, short musical cameos, name drops or actual music is endless, but PJ Harvey, Joey Ramone, John Lennon and Elastica end up on the actual set list. Hell, even Sebastian Bach becomes a series regular in the later episodes, and no one could ever forget Lorelai’s ill-fated, but mostly on key, rendition of “I Will Always Love You.”

The show features music like another character, offering exposition, characterization and emotional direction.