Favorite James Bond Themes Ranked | Worst to Best

It may be the end of the year, but we’re not done with James Bond yet! I’m certainly not about to let the Bondathon end on a sour note with No Time to Die.

The theme song of every James Bond film is more important than one would expect of most other movies. The music in the theme song is often distributed throughout the film in some form or another, like being incorporated into the music score for instance. In some ways, the theme helps improve the score, even if the theme is not that special in comparison to others. However, there are some themes like “Goldeneye” that are solid tracks, but the quiet parts are used in the score most of the time and it makes for a dull soundtrack, overall.

While there were multiple songs in several films—like Tomorrow Never Dies, for example—I’m just going to look at the primary song that is associated with the film. This is a very biased list that has a lot more to do with my own tastes than anything else. I’m also just ranking them based on sound as opposed to the visuals that are tied to them in the opening title sequences. Don’t worry, I don’t have a separate list for those.

The Worst 5

These are the songs that are either the most forgettable or the most unpleasant of the bunch to hear. In listening to this whole list of songs, I had the Skip button ready as soon as any of them wore out their welcome.

27. Casino Royale by Herb Albert & The Tiajuana Brass

Once again, I am forced to bring up this piece of garbage film and it should be no surprise that its song is at the bottom of the list. It doesn’t even really count as a James Bond movie and doesn’t follow the same rules when it comes to opening title sequences. Regardless, the theme sucks for a sucky film. It’s dull, forgettable jazz that is just as funny as the unfunny comedy of the movie. For as weird as the movie gets, you would expect it to be a lot zanier than it is.

26. On her Majesty’s Secret Service by John Barry

One of the only theme songs of the franchise to be purely instrumental, it also happens to be pretty bland. When I sat down to watch the movie again and the opening credits sequence started, I couldn’t remember ever hearing the song before. I won’t judge the theme based on the credits sequence, but I will point out that it’s one of the weakest and least interesting of the franchise, most likely because the song is so boring. I actually booed when the credits ended, it was so off-putting. If I hadn’t decided to include the spoof’s theme, this would be the worst.

25. Tomorrow Never Dies by Sheryl Crow

I have to tip my hat to this song. It is the one that inspired me to make this list in the first place because I immediately knew where this song was going to go when it finished playing. It has some of the sad jazzy tones you expect out of a Bond theme, but its vocals are difficult to ignore. I’ve never been a Sheryl Crow fan, and this song did her no favors. She has a very particular voice with a certain range and she bravely tried to sing outside of that range in this song. The notes she tries to hit just sound scratching and grating against her vocal cords, creating a very unpleasant listening experience.

24. Never Say Never Again by Lani Hall

While not as unpleasant on the ears as “Tomorrow Never Dies,” the reason this song sits towards the bottom is its chorus. It’s a terrible earworm that just gets stuck in your head and it sounds stupid saying the name of the movie over and over again. The rest of the song is a pretty uninteresting experience and its quality sounds a little cheap and compressed.

23. All Time High by Rita Coolage | From Octopussy

Honestly, I completely forgot this song existed until I started making this list. Listening to it again, it’s not terrible. It’s just not very memorable. I frankly don’t have much to say about it other than that.

Middle of the Pack

Below are items 22 - 11. I’ve included them just as a simple bullet list because this whole article is long enough and my overall opinion of them is so unattached that many of the songs could move up or down in the list from day to day. They’re mostly just decent tunes that I find inoffensive but also not interesting enough to reach the top ten.

You might notice that a majority of this section of the list is made up of the Daniel Craig era, which I found to have two main tones: Energetic alternative & melancholic drama. The first two movies had a somewhat aggressive style to match the violence of James Bond without getting too punk or metal in the process. From Skyfall on, however, the themes took a dark and sad tone to match this moody version of Bond that stayed until Craig’s retirement. I’m sure there are people out there who cannot believe I was not blown away by Adele’s “Skyfall” but I found more enjoyment making fun of the song than listening to it. That song is tied to the movie which I consider to be the beginning of the disrespect towards Bond as a character, and the songs that followed seemed to be caught in a similar downward spiral of sadness. In a vacuum and not tied to my negative opinions of those movies, I still like some of the songs from that era, but I also don’t feel they quite fit the franchise. Compare those songs to the upbeat and romantic songs of the past and which do you think sounds more like a James Bond theme?

22. Moonraker by Shirley Bassey

21. The Man with the Golden Gun by Lulu

20. Skyfall by Adele

19. Another Way to Die by Jack White & Alicia Keys | From Quantum of Solace

18. Thunderball by Tom Jones

17. No Time to Die by Billie Eilish

16. Die Another Day by Madonna

15. You Know My Name by Chris Cornell | From Casino Royale

14. Writing’s on the Wall by Sam Smith | From Spectre

13. The Living Daylights by Ah-ha

12. From Russia with Love by Matt Monroe

11. Diamonds Are Forever by Shirley Bassy

Top Ten

10. For your Eyes Only by Sheena Easton

The main thing that pushes this song into the top ten is when the song goes through its various changes. It starts off rather soft and calm, like a simple romantic track. When Easton starts to really get into the song, there’s a lot more emotion in the tune that really picks things up before settling back down again. It’s a track that manages to capture the 1980s pop romance sound that could be used in many movies during a romantic scene in which the two leads are just beginning to lean into one another before they finally smash their faces together and kiss. It’s not the most dramatic song on the list and it doesn’t necessarily match my tastes, but I think it fits the film it represents really well.

9. Goldfinger by Shirley Bassy

Shirley Bassy is the queen of earworms when it comes to themes of the franchise—having done three of them—and this is easily her best. It’s a song of its era with its slant rhymes and jazzy brass horns. The horns of this song would perpetuate themes of other Bond films going forward and become a part of what it means to be a James Bond theme. It’s a song that is perhaps just as iconic as the film itself.

Part of what I like about “Goldfinger” is that Bassy belts her lyrics in a way that is fun to mimic. Every time we started watching a James Bond movie, we would still end up saying “Goldfinger!” in our best or worst Bassy impression by the end of the night.

8. Live and Let Die by Paul McCartney

The other song title that we would scream in comical fashion by the end of a James Bond night besides “Goldfinger” is “Live and Let Die.” This song, while not necessarily a tune I would say sounds like a James Bond theme, is damn catchy when the chorus hits. The only part that I don’t love is during the middle breakdown section, which kind of loses the rhythm. Nonetheless, it is an instant classic of a tune and is one of the most memorable details about the movie it represents.

7. You Only Live Twice by Nancy Sinatra

This song has a particular quality and romantic tone that makes it an instant classic in my mind. It’s much more mellow than other songs from the Connery era, yet it has a bit of mystery to make you feel like you’re about to see a movie that has a lot more to it than what’s on the surface. It also has a sound that’s really adaptable to how the rest of the movie’s score benefits from it. The dynamic sound from the string instruments and the ‘60s style create a song that really flows.

6. License to Kill by Gladys Knight

This song would be higher on my list if the chorus didn’t drop the ball a little. All the build-up to the chorus in “License to Kill” is great with some slow drama and bluesy tones that slightly mimic “Goldfinger”. Then the chorus hits and the overall tone of the song switches from a bluesy R&B classic to 1980s smooth jazz. It’s still good, and it’s a tone that matches Gladys Knight’s style, but I wish it stuck with the ominous tone in a way that was similar to Tina Turner’s “Goldeneye.” Regardless of my issues with it, “License to Kill” is still a solid jam that I enjoy jokingly singing along with. Listen to it a few times and tell me you don’t want to just yell, “Once I get my sights on you!” when it approaches the chorus.

5. The James Bond Theme by John Berry | From Dr. No

Though this song is without lyrics, and even though the other instrumental songs are at the bottom of the list, it’s the theme of James Bond for a reason. It’s groovy. It’s catchy. It’s iconic. People who have never seen a Bond film would still be able to recognize it as something akin to Indiana Jones or Star Wars. It’s a song that works really well in those moments when James Bond is being a badass and the action is picking up. It’s got a great rhythm for action, which is why the worst instance of it being used in the entire franchise is in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, right before the closing credits started rolling.

4. Nobody Does it Better by Carly Simon | From the Spy Who Loved Me

Of all the songs that go for a romantic tone in the entire franchise, this is my favorite, which is fitting when you consider the name of the movie it accompanies as it perfectly represents the dynamic between the main characters. The opening piano is somewhat melancholic, which adds to the sad romance in the vocals that are then accompanied by the guitars, strings, and horns. Carly Simon’s voice echoes with passion. It’s a song sung from the perspective of a person who is trying to push their feelings of love to the side but cannot deny them because of how much they’re being drawn in by their lover. Plus, this song is just surprisingly catchy, especially with the strings and horns at the end. The song is way better in the album version than what is featured in the film for that reason, by the way.

3. A View to a Kill by Duran Duran

What keeps this song out of the top two spots for me is that it is probably one of the songs that sounds the furthest from a James Bond theme aside from “Die Another Day.” When I hear it, I hear a catchy song from Duran Duran during the 1980s, but I don’t really hear that same romantic style or tone to associate with espionage that is often in the background of other titular songs. That being said, I still really like “A View to a Kill” as a song. It’s catchy and full of drama. I also really enjoy the beats and synths that are slightly out of the standard rhythm.

2. Goldeneye by Tina Turner

“Goldeneye” takes its time to get going, but it is nonetheless immediately catchy with its simple beat. It takes almost a full minute before Tina Turner’s voice hits. When she starts, it’s rather quiet and low for Turner who was known for her ability to belt out songs with an impressive range—which she still does before the song ends. Turner adds to the intrigue of the song incredibly well. Then, when the song picks up with the piano and strings, it hits that James Bond sound and pulls in the drama perfectly. When it comes to Tina Turner songs as themes for movies, I’ll take this one over Mad Max: Beyond the Thunderdome.

1. The World is Not Enough by Garbage

While “The World is Not Enough” is a catchy rock tune from the ‘90s, it’s still very James Bond in its sound and style. There are enough strings and horns intermixed with the guitars and drums to make it feel like the right fit for the top spot. The strings evoke a romantic feeling while the twanging guitar is similar in its surfing tone to the original James Bond theme. Shirley Manson’s vocals bring drama and mystique, which reach their crescendo with all the instruments towards the end to cap it all off nicely. It’s ironic that the song is probably the most memorable thing about the movie it’s associated with, but I think it manages to evoke James Bond while also being a good alternative rock song of the Brosnan era.

Do you agree with my list? Do you think the list should just be “Skyfall” by Adele? I’m curious to know. Leave a comment and tell me how wrong I am.