20 TV shows with the best soundtracks and music

Schoolhouse Rock!

This may seem the outlier of the bunch, but any show that can cross generations, communities, cultures and income brackets bears a mention. Schoolhouse Rock! has some of the catchiest ear worms ever featured in a series.

The show’s staying power is a testament to it’s musical acumen, teaching children of all ages all about what makes a bill, where to use a conjunction, and what exactly an adverb is. The animated children’s classic first debuted in 1973, and ran on and off until 1999. That’s no small feat, as cultural norms ebb and flow. It features songs that vary wildly in educational content, from grammar to government to science.

A handful of contemporary artists took a swing at some of the classics, and Blind Melon’s “Three Is A Magic Number” is particularly inspiring. I imagine it’s been played at more baby showers than can be counted. Buffalo Tom’s “Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, Get Your Adverbs Here,” is a rollicking rock number that is impossible not to move to. Better Than Ezra takes on everybody’s fave “Conjunction Junction” and it’s an homage to the classic, not venturing too far from the spirit of the original.

My knowledge of our legislative system is almost exclusively from the Sunday morning classic, and the show will live on in the pop culture canon as the most inclusive, far reaching of the weekend-morning shows. I’ll take Schoolhouse Rock! over Saved by the Bell any day.