Last updated March 2024
Want to watch sensationally awesome Best Music Movies? We assembled 30 marvelous Best Music Movies with universal acclaim from revered IMDB critics and our own legion of discerning users. Available for instant viewing, these world-class titles are as jaw-droppingly good as entertainment gets. Help fellow fans uncover buried treasures by voting for the titles you feel are keepers. We appreciate members who take the time to pay it forward with great recommendations!
Toma (2021)
Plot Summary:
Biopic about Toma Zdravkovic, the man who is remembered not only for his songs and unique way he was singing them, but also as a bohemian, both in his behavior and his soul
Duration: 140 min
IMDB Rating: 8.7/10
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Music, Romance
Country: Serbia
Plot tags: musician, musician's life, price of fame, rising to stardom, relationship vs career, music, friends, celebrity, historical figure, family problems, lifestyle, historical character, gambling, female nudity, sex scene, addiction, hitchhiking, star, convertible
Bo Burnham: Inside (2021)
Plot Summary:
Stuck in COVID-19 lockdown, US comedian and musician Bo Burnham attempts to stay sane and happy by writing, shooting and performing a one-man comedy special
Duration: 87 min
IMDB Rating: 8.6/10
IMDB Votes: 53000
Genere: Documentary, Comedy, Drama, Music
Country: USA
Plot tags: comedian, stand up comedy, musician, music, humour, satire, lifestyle, experiment, stoner, moving, intrigue, concert, pop culture, feeling, stand up comedian, pandemic, quarantine, mental illness, breaking the fourth wall, internet culture, electronic music, athlete, pop music, male nudity, nudity
Whiplash (2014)
Plot Summary:
Under the direction of a ruthless instructor, a talented young drummer begins to pursue perfection at any cost, even his humanity
Duration: 106 min
IMDB Rating: 8.5/10
IMDB Votes: 952000
Genere: Drama, Music
Country: USA
Plot tags: music, jazz, obsession, mentor, teachers and students, follow your dream, emotional abuse, desire for fame, drummer, musician's life, musician, public humiliation, conservatory, music school, art, music competition, aspiring musician, teacher, bullying, motivation, music conductor, twists and turns, manipulation, music teacher, character study
The Pianist (2002)
Plot Summary:
The true story of pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman's experiences in Warsaw during the Nazi occupation. When the Jews of the city find themselves forced into a ghetto, Szpilman finds work playing in a café; and when his family is deported in 1942, he stays behind, works for a while as a laborer, and eventually goes into hiding in the ruins of the war-torn city
Duration: 150 min
IMDB Rating: 8.5/10
IMDB Votes: 890000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Music, War
Country: France, Poland, Germany, UK, USA
Plot tags: holocaust, world war two, survival, genocide, nazi, classical music, wartime, war, nazism, pianist, nazi occupation, hunger, anti semitism, concentration camp, against humanity, ghetto, biopic, atrocity, music, starvation, world war, life & death, judaism, ss, secret hideout
Amadeus (1984)
Plot Summary:
The incredible story of genius musician Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, told in flashback by his peer and secret rival Antonio Salieri – now confined to an insane asylum
Duration: 160 min
IMDB Rating: 8.4/10
IMDB Votes: 421000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Music
Country: USA, France
Plot tags: music, classical music, composer, genius, mozart, envy, opera, musician, musician's life, rivalry, mentor, obsession, bohemian life, character study, prodigy, desire for fame, artist, piano, nobility, biopic, jealousy, classical composer, father son relationship, art, success
Mr. Muhsin (1987)
Plot Summary:
No overview found
Duration: 119 min
IMDB Rating: 8.4/10
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Music
Country: Turkey
Plot tags: lonely, kurd, turk, advice, social commentary, love and romance, follow your dream, couples, showbiz, ambition, against the odds, artists and showbiz, competition, singing competition, singing, cassette tape, folk music, audio cassette, turkish, romance
Coco (2017)
Plot Summary:
Despite his family’s baffling generations-old ban on music, Miguel dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz. Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the stunning and colorful Land of the Dead following a mysterious chain of events. Along the way, he meets charming trickster Hector, and together, they set off on an extraordinary journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel's family history
Duration: 105 min
IMDB Rating: 8.4/10
IMDB Votes: 568000
Genere: Animation, Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Music, Mystery
Country: USA, Mexico
Plot tags: day of the dead, afterlife, musician, music, life after death, life & death, death, childhood, memory, good versus evil, boy, dog, child protagonist, betrayal, singer, skeleton, ghost, love, fantasy world, murder, twists and turns, father son relationship, customs, singing, cemetery
Bo Burnham: What. (2013)
Plot Summary:
Left brain and right brain duke it out and then belt out a tune in comedian Bo Burnham's quick and clever one-man show. As intelligent as he is lanky, Burnham cynically pokes at pop entertainment while offering unadulterated showmanship of his own
Duration: 60 min
IMDB Rating: 8.3/10
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Comedy, Music
Country: USA
Plot tags: music, stand up comedy, musician, celebrity, humour, comedian, joke, satire, public speaking, stand up comedian, talk show, artists and showbiz, stand up, variety, performance, netflix
Bo Burnham: Make Happy (2016)
Plot Summary:
Combining his trademark wit and self-deprecating humor with original music, Bo Burnham offers up his unique twist on life in this stand-up special about life, death, sexuality, hypocrisy, mental illness and Pringles cans
Duration: 60 min
IMDB Rating: 8.3/10
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Comedy, Music
Country: USA
Plot tags: suprisingly clever, stand up comedy, obsession, existentialism, bittersweet, art, death, space travel, destiny, corruption, mental illness, dialogue, insanity, humanity, manipulation, life & death, redemption, creativity, ethnic conflict, life philosophy, honest, unlikely friendships, artists and showbiz, music, live performance
A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
Plot Summary:
When Charlie Brown complains about the overwhelming materialism that he sees amongst everyone during the Christmas season, Lucy suggests that he become director of the school Christmas pageant. Charlie Brown accepts, but is a frustrating struggle. When an attempt to restore the proper spirit with a forlorn little fir Christmas tree fails, he needs Linus' help to learn the meaning of Christmas
Duration: 25 min
IMDB Rating: 8.3/10
IMDB Votes: 42000
Genere: Animation, Comedy, Drama, Family, Music
Country: USA
Plot tags: christmas, holiday, peanuts, christmas season, snow, xmas, winter, dog, tree, children, best friend, melancholy, new year, superhero, god, swing, happiness, vacation, faith, lonely, christian, trapped, music and dance, director, depression
The Snowman (1982)
Plot Summary:
A young boy makes a snowman one Christmas Eve, which comes to life at midnight and takes the boy on a magical adventure to the North Pole to meet Santa Claus
Duration: 26 min
IMDB Rating: 8.2/10
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Animation, Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Music
Country: UK
Plot tags: christmas, imaginary kingdom, holiday, northern lights, winter, xmas, snow, christmas spirit, new year, forest, cold, ice, new year's eve, bittersweet, dance, little boy, heroes, friendship, youth, wish come true, friends, misfit, love and romance, imaginary, disorder
Green Book (2018)
Plot Summary:
Tony Lip, a bouncer in 1962, is hired to drive pianist Don Shirley on a tour through the Deep South in the days when African Americans forced to find alternate accommodations and services due to segregation laws below the Mason-Dixon Line relied on a guide called The Negro Motorist Green Book
Duration: 130 min
IMDB Rating: 8.2/10
IMDB Votes: 546000
Genere: Biography, Comedy, Drama, Music
Country: USA, China
Plot tags: racism, road trip, travel, musician, interracial friendship, driver, friendship, racial prejudice, journey, on the road, black american, friend, dignity, african american, piano, blacks and whites, loneliness, pianist, prejudice, racial slur, chauffeur, deep south, trip, american south, talent
Farewell My Concubine (1992)
Plot Summary:
Abandoned by his prostitute mother in 1920, Douzi was raised by a theater troupe. There he meets Shitou and over the following years the two develop an act entitled, "Farewell My Concubine," that brings them fame and fortune. When Shitou marries Juxian, Doutzi becomes jealous, the beginnings of the acting duo's explosive breakup and tragic fall take root
Duration: 171 min
IMDB Rating: 8.1/10
IMDB Votes: 32000
Genere: Drama, Music, Romance
Country: China, Hong Kong
Plot tags: gays and lesbians, suicide, homosexuality, gender bending, theater, child abuse, lgbt, communism, drug addiction, childhood, lgbtq, transsexual, friendship, actor, transgender, music, cultural revolution, prostitute, love triangle, homosexual, chinese history, lesbian, love, sex, world war two
Autumn Sonata (1978)
Plot Summary:
After a seven-year absence, Charlotte Andergast travels to Sweden to reunite with her daughter Eva. The pair have a troubled relationship: Charlotte sacrificed the responsibilities of motherhood for a career as a classical pianist. Over an emotional night, the pair reopen the wounds of the past. Charlotte gets another shock when she finds out that her mentally impaired daughter, Helena, is out of the asylum and living with Eva
Duration: 99 min
IMDB Rating: 8.1/10
IMDB Votes: 37000
Genere: Drama, Music
Country: West Germany, UK
Plot tags: dysfunctional family, marriage, autumn, child neglect, mother daughter estrangement, pianist, reconciliation, classical music, family relations, bad mother, women, existentialism, nordic, mother daughter relationship, art, european, mother, unrequited love, psychology, musician, mother daughter reunion, parents and children, family life, family problems, family in crisis
La La Land (2016)
Plot Summary:
Mia, an aspiring actress, serves lattes to movie stars in between auditions and Sebastian, a jazz musician, scrapes by playing cocktail party gigs in dingy bars, but as success mounts they are faced with decisions that begin to fray the fragile fabric of their love affair, and the dreams they worked so hard to maintain in each other threaten to rip them apart
Duration: 128 min
IMDB Rating: 8.0/10
IMDB Votes: 645000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Music, Musical, Romance
Country: USA, Hong Kong
Plot tags: music, jazz, dancing, love, musician, audition, bigger dreams, jazz club, love story, traffic jam, pianist, boyfriend girlfriend relationship, filmmaking, actress, trumpet player, aspiring actress, jazz musician, destiny, rags to riches, dance, drummer, concert, meet cute, singing, music and dance
CODA (2021)
Plot Summary:
As a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults), Ruby is the only hearing person in her deaf family. When the family's fishing business is threatened, Ruby finds herself torn between pursuing her love of music and her fear of abandoning her parents
Duration: 111 min
IMDB Rating: 8.0/10
IMDB Votes: 157000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Music
Country: France, Canada, USA
Plot tags: deaf, sign language, mute or deaf, musician, coming of age, family relations, teenager, disability, deafness, fisherman, women, parents and children, family problems, female singer, moral dilemma, dream, kids and family, family life, father daughter relationship, mother daughter relationship, direction and purpose, social problems, family business, aspiration, financial problem
Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982)
Plot Summary:
A troubled rock star descends into madness in the midst of his physical and social isolation from everyone
Duration: 95 min
IMDB Rating: 8.0/10
IMDB Votes: 84000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Music
Country: UK
Plot tags: rock, rock and roll, music, teacher, surrealism, loss of father, musician, rock music, drug addiction, visceral, trippy, childhood, addiction, corporal punishment, psychology, fascism, rock star, violent, social commentary, rebellion, isolation, nightmare, youth, misfit, dream
The Legend of 1900 (1998)
Plot Summary:
The story of a virtuoso piano player who lives his entire life aboard an ocean liner. Born and raised on the ship, 1900 (Tim Roth) learned about the outside world through interactions with passengers, never setting foot on land, even for the love of his life. Years later, the ship may be destroyed, and a former band member fears that 1900 may still be aboard, willing to go down with the ship
Duration: 169 min
IMDB Rating: 8.0/10
IMDB Votes: 68000
Genere: Drama, Music, Romance
Country: Italy
Plot tags: jazz, music, genius, ship, prodigy, musician, pianist, child prodigy, cruise ship, orphan, piano, trumpet player, friendship, classical music, musician's life, loneliness, immigrant, art, european, dancing, sea, world war two, artist, music and dance, love
Soul (2020)
Plot Summary:
Joe Gardner is a middle school teacher with a love for jazz music. After a successful gig at the Half Note Club, he suddenly gets into an accident that separates his soul from his body and is transported to the You Seminar, a center in which souls develop and gain passions before being transported to a newborn child. Joe must enlist help from the other souls-in-training, like 22, a soul who has spent eons in the You Seminar, in order to get back to Earth
Duration: 100 min
IMDB Rating: 8.0/10
IMDB Votes: 365000
Genere: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Music
Country: USA, Japan
Plot tags: jazz, self discovery, life after death, afterlife, meaning of life, life, lifestyle change, acceptance, life & death, following a dream, teaching the ways of the world, death, musician, soul transference, jazz musician, teacher, african american, life philosophy, pianist, wisdom of life, happiness, out of body experience, black, mentor, ambition
Almost Famous (2000)
Plot Summary:
In 1973, 15-year-old William Miller's unabashed love of music and aspiration to become a rock journalist lands him an assignment from Rolling Stone magazine to interview and tour with the up-and-coming band Stillwater – fronted by lead guitar Russell Hammond and lead singer Jeff Bebe William
Duration: 122 min
IMDB Rating: 7.9/10
IMDB Votes: 289000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Music
Country: USA
Plot tags: coming of age, journalism, rock and roll, musician, on the road, rock music, music, rock, musician's life, fame, road trip, manic pixie dream girl, singer, drug, travel, adolescence, journalist, music band, rock band, writers, music industry, aspiring writer, rock musician, friendship, music business
Three Colors: Blue (1993)
Plot Summary:
Julie is haunted by her grief after living through a tragic auto wreck that claimed the life of her composer husband and young daughter. Her initial reaction is to withdraw from her relationships, lock herself in her apartment and suppress her pain. But avoiding human interactions on the bustling streets of Paris proves impossible, and she eventually meets up with Olivier, an old friend who harbors a secret love for her, and who could draw her back to reality
Duration: 94 min
IMDB Rating: 7.9/10
IMDB Votes: 109000
Genere: Drama, Music, Mystery, Romance
Country: France, Poland, Switzerland
Plot tags: loneliness, loss of child, grief, loss of spouse, depression, stripper, classical music, solitude, love, philosophy, existentialism, sex club, trauma, european, relationships, music, obsession, art, isolation, storytelling, character study, musician, strong female lead, sex, spirituality
The Blues Brothers (1980)
Plot Summary:
Jake Blues is just out of jail, and teams up with his brother, Elwood on a 'mission from God' to raise funds for the orphanage in which they grew up. The only thing they can do is do what they do best – play music – so they get their old band together and they're on their way, while getting in a bit of trouble here and there
Duration: 133 min
IMDB Rating: 7.9/10
IMDB Votes: 210000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Music, Musical
Country: USA
Plot tags: music, chase, blues, road trip, buddy, rock and roll, car chase, police chase, on the road, carsploitation, prison, race against time, twists and turns, mission from god, car, lack of money, rock, nothing goes right, obsessive quest, criminal heroes, driving, pig, on the run, reckless driving, musician
This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
Plot Summary:
"This Is Spinal Tap" shines a light on the self-contained universe of a metal band struggling to get back on the charts, including everything from its complicated history of ups and downs, gold albums, name changes and undersold concert dates, along with the full host of requisite groupies, promoters, hangers-on and historians, sessions, release events and those special behind-the-scenes moments that keep it all real
Duration: 82 min
IMDB Rating: 7.9/10
IMDB Votes: 145000
Genere: Comedy, Music
Country: USA
Plot tags: heavy metal, music, musician, rock and roll, satire, singer, rock, music band, pianist, found footage, rock music, fame, musical tour, concert tour, success, stoner, fictional band, showbiz, subculture, hard rock, music and dance, dancing, time travel, tough guy, punk
Sing Street (2016)
Plot Summary:
A boy growing up in Dublin during the 1980s escapes his strained family life by starting a band to impress the mysterious girl he likes
Duration: 106 min
IMDB Rating: 7.9/10
IMDB Votes: 99000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Music, Romance
Country: Ireland, UK
Plot tags: youth, teenager, music band, musician's life, friendship, rock and roll, coming of age, school, bullying, dream girl, singing, adolescence, teenage boy, teenage life, bittersweet, singer, music, creativity, brother brother relationship, musician, high school, heartwarming, love, fall in love, boyfriend girlfriend relationship
Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)
Plot Summary:
Singer Freddie Mercury, guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor and bass guitarist John Deacon take the music world by storm when they form the rock 'n' roll band Queen in 1970. Hit songs like "Killer Queen", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "We Are the Champions" and "We Will Rock You" become instant classics. When Mercury's increasingly wild lifestyle starts to spiral out of control, Queen soon faces its greatest challenge yet – finding a way to keep the band together amid the success and excess
Duration: 134 min
IMDB Rating: 7.9/10
IMDB Votes: 576000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Music
Country: UK, USA
Plot tags: musician, lgbt, music, gay, aids, singer, rock band, rock music, musician's life, friendship between men, fame, rock concert, homosexual, music industry, rise to the top, betrayal, music band, lgbtqi, male homosexuality, desire for fame, based on real people, love, biopic, prodigy, lgbtq
Gully Boy (2019)
Plot Summary:
A coming-of-age story based on the lives of street rappers in Mumbai
Duration: 154 min
IMDB Rating: 7.9/10
IMDB Votes: 43000
Genere: Drama, Music, Romance
Country: India
Plot tags: success, poverty, slum, ghetto, fight, friend, motivation, youth, escapades, rivalry, society, ambition, couple relations, teenager, writers, hindu, coming of age, love, singer, bus, social outcast, second marriage, girlfriend boyfriend relationship, bare chested male, rapper
Cleo from 5 to 7 (1962)
Plot Summary:
Agnès Varda eloquently captures Paris in the sixties with this real-time portrait of a singer set adrift in the city as she awaits test results of a biopsy. A chronicle of the minutes of one woman’s life, Cléo from 5 to 7 is a spirited mix of vivid vérité and melodrama, featuring a score by Michel Legrand and cameos by Jean-Luc Godard and Anna Karina
Duration: 90 min
IMDB Rating: 7.8/10
IMDB Votes: 26000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Music
Country: France, Italy
Plot tags: cancer, soldier, superstition, feminist, feminism, anxiety, women, art, storytelling, character study, hospital, night, fear of death, swing, female nudity, love, time travel, illness, spirituality, mission, woman, femme fatale, girl power, new love, modernism
Secret Superstar (2017)
Plot Summary:
Insia Malik is a talented 15-year-old school girl from Baroda whose spirit is ripped because her mother is in a troubled and violent marriage. Of course she still dares to pursue her dream of becoming a singer and she also valiantly attempts to free her mother from her conservative, cold father
Duration: 150 min
IMDB Rating: 7.8/10
IMDB Votes: 29000
Genere: Drama, Music
Country: India
Plot tags: teenage girl, father daughter relationship, secret, teenager, mother daughter relationship, family secret, husband wife conflict, follow your dream, longing, unsupportive parent, women, coming of age, airplane, lawyer, train, teacher, violence, telephone call, teenage boy, airport, female lawyer, ice cream, husband wife relationship, newspaper, grandmother
Straight Outta Compton (2015)
Plot Summary:
In 1987, five young men, using brutally honest rhymes and hardcore beats, put their frustration and anger about life in the most dangerous place in America into the most powerful weapon they had: their music. Taking us back to where it all began, Straight Outta Compton tells the true story of how these cultural rebels—armed only with their lyrics, swagger, bravado and raw talent—stood up to the authorities that meant to keep them down and formed the world’s most dangerous group, N.W.A. And as they spoke the truth that no one had before and exposed life in the hood, their voice ignited a social revolution that is still reverberating today
Duration: 147 min
IMDB Rating: 7.8/10
IMDB Votes: 215000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, Music
Country: USA
Plot tags: hip hop, racism, music, gangster, ghetto, rags to riches, profanity, rap, rapper, african american, biopic, fighting the system, police brutality, violence, gangsta, marijuana, aids, musician's life, black, musician, vengeance, feud, redemption, racial slur, civil rights
Once (2007)
Plot Summary:
A vacuum repairman moonlights as a street musician and hopes for his big break. One day a Czech immigrant, who earns a living selling flowers, approaches him with the news that she is also an aspiring singer-songwriter. The pair decide to collaborate, and the songs that they compose reflect the story of their blossoming love
Duration: 86 min
IMDB Rating: 7.8/10
IMDB Votes: 120000
Genere: Drama, Music, Romance
Country: Ireland, USA
Plot tags: music, musician's life, pianist, street musician, friendship, love, singer, love and romance, musician, recording studio, immigrant, rock and roll, love story, lifestyle, unfulfilled love, artists and showbiz, hopes, unrequited love, love of one's life, music and dance, follow your dream, relationships, dialogue, melancholy, great ending