Ranking Bond: The Bond Theme Songs

Having now completed the series, this is my subjective ranking of the Bond theme songs from worst to best. Taking into account some films had instrumental themes, those films do not feature in this ranking. Instead only the themes performed by a recording artist are considered for this list. This is one of a few “ranking Bond” posts that I will publish prior to my final ranking of all 25 EON Bond films by the end of this week.

22. SPECTRE 

‘The Writing’s on the Wall’ by Sam Smith

Sam Smith has the most annoying vocals of anyone famous for singing. It’s like if shitty flute were a vocal style. It’s so bad I cannot listen to it, and so therefore I don’t have much more to say about it other than it is by far and away the worst Bond song because it is outright unlistenable.

21. Quantum of Solace

‘Another Way to Die’ by Jack White & Alicia Keys

Jack White is making noise here, scratchy and irritating in the way that no music should sound. Then to make matters worse, they paired him with Alicia Keys like some early 00s super group with a one hit wonder sold in the dollar bin at your local record shop. This song’s weird noise compilation is grating to the point where it makes my spinal cord flinch, vibrating in me to the point where I need to violently smash the mute button or rip the stereo from its casement like Jaws’ hand into a cargo van. This song makes me want to become a Bond villain so I can forever eradicate anything to do with Quantum of Solace from existence.

20. For Your Eyes Only

‘For Your Eyes Only’ by Sheena Easton

This is the sort of easy listening 80s ballad you’d find playing in a 1982 Dodge Plymouth while your mom smokes Virginia Slims in the front seat fantasizing about divorcing your dad for Tom Selleck. It’s very dated, a hit barely qualified for grocery store playlists and a theme more deserving of a day time soap opera than anything to do with James Bond. Turn it off! The only thing that could be more stuck in the early 80s than this is if REO Speedwagon did a Bond theme (thankfully those icons of dad rock never did bc I’d have to volunteer to make myself deaf).

19. Octopussy

‘All Time High’ by Rita Coolidge

This song sounds like the beginning of an 80s sitcom. I can just picture the 80s yellow Helvetica Font with the ABC logo in the lower corner: guest starring Henry Winkler as the milkman. This song deserves a laugh track at the end. What were they thinking in making this a Bond theme?

18. Die Another Day

‘Die Another Day’ by Madonna

The sped-up, slow-down jerkiness of analog EDM at the end of the 1990s, this song feels more dated than a pair of rave-approved UFO pants. It’s so bad that despite nearly a decade where she faked a British accent, she refused to play the song at her 40th anniversary retrospective tour I attended. For good reason, it stinks.

17. The Man with the Golden Gun

’The Man with the Golden Gun’ by Lulu

60s icon and To Sir with Love singer Lulu delivers a song that feels like it was sent in as last minute homework by the otherwise reliable John Barry and Don Black. A generic and uninspiring outing that is often rightfully derided for its atrocious lyrics. It always surprises me to learn Lulu sang this because it makes no use of her vocal talents or range, instead forcing her to sing like a nursery rhyme comprised of nothing but innuendos. It’s definitely among the worst in the series.

16. Goldeneye

‘Goldeneye’ by Tina Turner

As much as I love Tina Turner, this song has never done it for me. The song is sort of boring, with instrumentals and producing provided here by U2’s Bono and Edge (thank god they didn’t get a song either, put them in MK’s 80s ‘hall of lame’ along with REO Speedwagon). The chorus sort of goes nowhere, fading into the song around it. This song needed more of a climax that we never get. It’s like boring, passionless missionary sex.

15. License to Kill

‘License to Kill’ by Gladys Knight

This is a song Knight should have crushed, instead it just winds up being sort of forgettable and dated in a bad way. It’s a weird juxtaposition, the wandering, soaring vocals of Knight with the very heavy 80s base that sounds more like the video game score of N64’s Goldeneye. Then the chorus is just completely different, abandoning all the darker elements of the song of a very dark Bond film for the typical 80s love ballad chintz set to high piano keys. Skip.

14. ‘No Time to Die’

‘No Time to Die’ – Billie Eilish

Gen-Z gonna come for me now for ranking this so low, but breathy indie girl voice doesn’t belong fronting a Bond theme. While Eilish is certainly an acquired taste, and even I can find myself vibing to some of her music, she’s mostly just not for me or for this franchise even if I also respect her as an artist. She is this generations Lana Del Rey (albeit much more talented). Nonetheless this is a decent enough understated and melancholy theme that is unfortunately for a film that I refuse to ever watch again.

13. Tomorrow Never Dies

‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ by Sheryl Crow

Another great artist who just isn’t fit for Bond song duty. This is an easy listening track from the 1990s with a tab rated super easy on GuitarTabs.net. It’s got Crow’s notable lack of range, with that iconic raspy rock voice that says “I breathed in too much smog on Santa Monica Boulevard.” Nothing wrong with Crow as an artist, but she’s just not the right fit for a Bond theme.

12. Casino Royale

‘You Know My Name’ by Chris Cornell

As talented a musician as the late Chris Cornell is, this is not Bond theme material in spite of his significantly greater vocal talents than many of the artists lower than him on this list. When I think of Soundgarden, I think flannel shirts, menthol cigarettes and fuck you flip flops. Not exactly Bond theme material in spite of the excellent lyricism. It’s better reserved for the types of radio stations that end their tagline with “nothing but rock.” This isn’t butt-rock, it’s Bond.

11. The Living Daylights

‘The Living Daylights’ by A-Ha

I really like A-Ha, but as the story goes they had a very difficult time working with series legend and composer John Barry. What we wind up with here is a very middling performance from the band, where the track never really kicks it up a gear. It has a lot of the same song construction problems as Tina Turner’s Bond song, but I like the melody here quite a bit more and the chorus is more serviceable as well making it easier to listen to than some lower ranked songs on this list. But it’s very much relegated to easy listening monotony overall. It’s not terrible, but it’s not a standout either.

10. Moonraker

‘Moonraker’ by Shirley Bassey

She’s back albeit with the weakest of her three Bond themes. The string orchestral work here is beautiful and haunting, but the song itself leaves something to be desired. It’s got that distinctive late 70s soft rock vibe to it with just that hint of a Rhodes keyboard being played beneath our strings. This is all fine, it’s just not as good as what Carly Simon offers in a similar genre of music only a film earlier. The lyrics also feel like they’re for a love film, not a film about hover gondolas and Jaws in space but I guess that would be pretty hard to write for.

9. Thunderball

‘Thunderball’ by Tom Jones

This is one of those iconic Bond themes that has all the brassy John Barry score signatures combined with lyricist partner Don Black’s very best work. It’s instantly recognizable as a Bond theme before a single word is sung, and that is the power and iconography that ranks it higher than many songs on this list but it’s the crooning baritone vocals that I don’t really care for. So it’s not as high as some other equally iconic tracks of the golden era.

8. Diamonds are Forever

‘Diamonds are Forever’ by Shirley Bassey

Many fans and critics consider this song to outdo Bassey’s more famous Goldfinger ballad. I’m not sure I agree. This one is an ear worm for sure, but it’s also very repetitive. That’s what drops it lower than its predecessor for me.

7. Goldfinger

‘Goldfinger’ by Shirley Bassey

This is the quintessential Bond song, performed by newcomer at the time, Shirley Bassey, who would go on to perform three themes in total. This song set the template for all Bond themes to come. It still holds up as re-playable but it’s also a product of its era.

6. The World is not Enough

‘The World is not Enough’ by Garbage

I absolutely love the band Garbage, and have been fortunate to hear this wonderful David Arnold co-produced track performed by the band live at Hollywood Bowl. This is the only Bond theme written from the perspective of the villain, which also gives us a terrific Shirley Manson starring music video. The song is epic, with strong orchestral work mixed with Garbage’s signature sound and Shirley’s terrific vocal range that captures the scale of the song. Like some other top ranking Bond songs on this list, the song is a journey, it builds to its climax in a very satisfying way, like… sex with ice cubes? “That’s enough ice for one day.”

5. Skyfall

‘Skyfall’ by Adele

Such an iconic Bond theme, returning to the classic formula with nobody better suited for such a song in Adele. This is as good as it gets in terms of a theme song for Bond, harkening back to the epic scale of Shirley Bassey’s early work. However, because the song is also the title of the film, which came out in 2012, it feels a bit weird to just throw this one on and listen in 2026. It doesn’t have the re-playability of some other Bond themes, which is why on my subjective ranking it is not number one even if it probably should be on an objective ranking.

4. Live & Let Die

‘Live & Let Die’ by Paul McCartney and The Wings

This is probably the most iconic Bond theme on this list. It’s such a mega hit that it has far surpassed the film it was written for in terms of iconography. It’s so iconic that it is almost outplayed, and sadly it also gave us that terrible Guns N’ Roses version as well. But this version, this is McCartney and producer George Martin (the fifth Beatle) at their very best. Nonetheless it’s dropped down over the years only because it is so overexposed. 

3. A View to a Kill

‘A View to a Kill’ by Duran Duran

This song is instantly re-playable, a mega hit co-produced by the legendary John Barry and 80s supergroup Duran Duran. Sure it’s just about as stuck in the 80s as some of the biggest stinkers on this list. But this is 80s music at its very best! We get a great suspenseful theme with an insanely viral pop chorus with Simon Le Bon’s instantly recognizable vocals. Like Adele, Simon Le Bon was meant for Bond theme duty. This song rocks, and is on just about any 80s synth pop playlist I make for good reason. As synth-pop is also one of my favorite genres of music, this is near the very top of my list of subjective Bond song rankings. I love it!

2. The Spy Who Loved Me

‘Nobody Does it Better’ by Carly Simon

Like Live & Let Die this is just a terrific 70s pop song. I absolutely turn this song up every time I hear it. While not a prototypical Bond song in that it’s a bit more of a love song than the cold, calculating lyrics found in some others, it’s fitting for the film and Moore’s lighter era. The way the song builds from easy listening ballad to a strong ending is what makes this song feel like a journey, and all the best songs are and this one is a journey along with Carly Simon’s terrific and iconic vocals singing about who does it best: Bond. This one could honestly be in contention for my favorite Bond song of all time depending on the mood you find me in.

1. You Only Live Twice

‘You Only Live Twice’ by Nancy Sinatra

This is a beautiful song that benefits mostly from its incredible orchestral work done by John Barry and Leslie Bricusse. This song plays out like a fever dream, imagining what it must be like to be reborn again in some exotic land. Sinatra’s vocals elevate the song to ballad status without ever feeling saccharine. It is perhaps the most iconic of Bond score refrains recycled for score used in the film, leading it to be used in the recent Oscars tribute for producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson. It has often been at the top of my list, cycling in and out of of the number one position where it currently finds itself again today.