The 25 Best Music Documentaries

28 documentaries

Musicians, scenes and the stories behind the songs.

The best music documentaries are about people, not albums. Searching for Sugar Man has one of the great reveals in any film, Amy is heartbreaking, and Summer of Soul is footage that sat in a basement for 50 years. Turn these up.

Searching for Sugar Man poster

1

Searching for Sugar Man

2012 · 1h 25m

8.295%

Amy poster

2

Amy

2015 · 2h 8m

7.896%

Summer of Soul poster

3

Summer of Soul

2021 · 1h 57m

8.099%

The Greatest Night in Pop poster

4

The Greatest Night in Pop

2024 · 1h 36m

7.998%

Anvil! The Story of Anvil poster

5

Anvil! The Story of Anvil

2008 · 1h 21m

7.998%

Marley poster

6

Marley

2012 · 2h 24m

7.995%

Dont Look Back poster

7

Dont Look Back

1967 · 1h 36m

7.992%

20 Feet from Stardom poster

8

20 Feet from Stardom

2013 · 1h 29m

7.499%

Pump Up the Volume: A History of House Music poster

9

Pump Up the Volume: A History of House Music

2001 · 3 eps

8.4

Gimme Shelter poster

10

Gimme Shelter

1970 · 1h 32m

7.893%

Cobain: Montage of Heck poster

11

Cobain: Montage of Heck

2015 · 2h 12m

7.597%

808 poster

12

808

2015 · 1h 34m

7.3100%

Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey poster

13

Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey

1993 · 1h 23m

7.3100%

Sisters with Transistors poster

14

Sisters with Transistors

2021 · 1h 26m

7.497%

Who Killed the KLF? poster

15

Who Killed the KLF?

2023 · 1h 28m

7.2100%

Moonage Daydream poster

16

Moonage Daydream

2022 · 2h 15m

7.692%

Buena Vista Social Club poster

17

Buena Vista Social Club

1999 · 1h 45m

7.692%

Dig! poster

18

Dig!

2004 · 1h 47m

7.789%

What Happened, Miss Simone? poster

19

What Happened, Miss Simone?

2015 · 1h 41m

7.690%

Metallica: Some Kind of Monster poster

20

Metallica: Some Kind of Monster

2004 · 2h 20m

7.588%

Studio 54 poster

21

Studio 54

2018 · 1h 38m

7.090%

Avicii – I'm Tim poster

22

Avicii – I'm Tim

2024 · 1h 37m

7.7

God Said Give 'Em Drum Machines poster

23

God Said Give 'Em Drum Machines

2022 · 1h 30m

7.4

Trainwreck: Woodstock '99 poster

24

Trainwreck: Woodstock '99

2022 · 3 eps

7.4

Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love poster

25

Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love

2019 · 1h 38m

7.080%

More music documentaries

Everybody in the Place: An Incomplete History of Britain 1984–1992 poster

Everybody in the Place: An Incomplete History of Britain 1984–1992

2018 · 1h 1m

7.4

Desire: The Carl Craig Story poster

Desire: The Carl Craig Story

2025 · 1h 30m

6.7

Kurt & Courtney poster

Kurt & Courtney

1998 · 1h 35m

6.161%

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