20 TV shows with the best soundtracks and music

Riverdale

It’s no secret that I’m a Riverdale super fan. I write about this show every week, for better or worse. But long before I swore my allegiance to the soapy, neo-noir teen drama, I noticed what a killer soundtrack it has.

Moody and taciturn, the Riverdale soundtrack is the place for indie crooners to shine. It sometimes dips into the macabre and dark, but other times, it ventures into the campy and tongue in cheek. There are tracks from Harry Styles and The 1975, sure, but it’s also chocked full of surprise gems from Halsey, Lorde, and Lana Del Rey.

It also doesn’t shy away from its Americana past, nodding to its Archie Comics origins. There’s the classic “Sugar Sugar” by none other than The Archies as well as a cover of “Milkshake” that you’ll have on repeat the minute you hear it. You can’t go wrong with a soundtrack that toggles between Dusty Springfield and Cage the Elephant, but if you’ve watched even one episode of the melodrama, you know how exactly perfect this assortment is.

Most recently, the cast took on Carrie the Musical, in which they covered some of the musical’s most notable numbers. I’ll admit, I was deeply impressed with their chops and aplomb, and “The World According to Chris” has become my new anthem.  The mashup of Carrie and Riverdale is just further proof how the show uses music as a narrator (when Jughead isn’t bumming us all out) directing our feelings and telling us how to interpret any given moment in the show.