10 Best Songs Featured in ‘Rick and Morty,’ Ranked

After eight seasons, it’s fair to say Rick and Morty has had its fair share of featured songs. Pulling from both original work and recognizable hits, the Adult Swim animated series deftly uses music to drive home a punchline or pull at a heartstring. As with everything on Rick and Morty, the only predictable thing about the music selections is the complete unpredictability.

For a show that enjoys a sometimes bleak sensibility, the songs used betray a sentimentality Rick (Justin Roiland and Ian Cardoni) would not admit to under torture. From emotional ballads to classic melodies used in unexpected ways, these are the best songs featured in Rick and Morty. The songs are ranked by how well they were used in Rick and Morty, and their added significance to the moment in the overall story of the series.

10

“Borrowed Time” by Tennis

Season 5, Episode 9 “Forgetting Sarick Mortshall”

The partnership between Rick and Morty (Justin Roiland and Harry Belden) is frequently strained, but when their team had a short-lived dissolution, it was the band Tennis‘ song “Borrowed Time” that was played to mark the occasion. The final straw happened at the beginning of “Forgetting Sarick Mortshall” when Morty, after using the portal gun to clean up messes from past adventures, failed to hide the fact that he used Rick’s equipment. Rick tries to make a hurtful point to Morty by replacing him with two crows.

By the end of “Forgetting Sarick Mortshall,” Rick has learned the relationship between him and Morty was toxic, and he chooses to continue on with the two crows, leaving Morty to have a regular life. As Rick boxes up his equipment from a now-empty garage, Morty tearfully watches his grandfather leave as “Borrowed Time” begins to play. The song is well-used, and one of many great songs by the band Tennis; it’s only a shame it couldn’t have been used in a moment with a more lasting impact than one episode. Then again, the show is called Rick and Morty, not Rick and Two Crows.

9

“Angela (Theme From ‘Taxi’)” by Bob James

Season 6, Episode 5 “Final DeSmithation”

While not technically a fully-fledged song like the rest of the entries, a special mention needs to be thrown to “Angela,” better known as the theme song to the sitcom Taxi, written by Bob James. The softly melodic theme is first mentioned by Morty and Summer (Spencer Grammer) in the opening scene of the Jerry-centric episode “Final DeSmithation.” Rick walks into a family dinner at Panda Express, irritated that his grandkids changed his ringtone to the classic sitcom theme, but the jazz arrangement comes back in a big way later in the episode.

Jerry (Chris Parnell) receives a fortune cookie that says he’s destined to have sex with his mom, and with the help of Rick, they return to the Panda Express to get answers. During a gunfight with the Panda Express staff, Rick is preparing to psych himself up before returning fire, and he asks his ship to give him a good soundtrack. The ship responds with the Taxi theme, and the smooth, relaxing music plays in the background while Rick rains death down on the Panda Express staff.

8

“Goodbye Moonmen” by Jemaine Clement

Season 2, Episode 2 “Mortynight Run”

The hilariously funny and talented Jemaine Clement not only lent his voice to the animated series, but he also sang a fan-favorite psychedelic song during his guest appearance. In the episode “Mortynight Run,” Clement voices Fart, a name given to the gaseous being Morty saves from being assassinated. Fart and Morty quickly bond, and the interdimensional being takes the teen on a mind-bending experience while singing “Goodbye Moonmen.”

The David Bowie-inspired song is seemingly an extension of Fart’s gentle demeanor, promoting peace and harmony in an existence free from war and famine. However, the hopeful spirit of the song is not in alignment with Fart’s plan to wipe all carbon-based life forms from the planet, since their violence is harmful to the galaxy. Morty must tearfully kill Fart to save humanity, but at least he’ll always have the memory of “Goodbye Moonmen” to remember his genocidal friend by.

7

“Between the Bars” by Elliott Smith

Season 2, Episode 7 “Big Trouble in Little Sanchez”

Although the song “Between the Bars” only makes a brief appearance, any contribution from the late great Elliott Smith is worth noting. Remembered for his soulful ballads such as the Oscar-nominated “Miss Misery” and cautiously optimistic “Say Yes,” Smith left an irreplaceable void with his early death, but it was nice to hear his music in Rick and Morty. Used in the second season’s episode “Big Trouble in Little Sanchez,” the episode follows Rick as he transforms into a teenage version of himself to walk among the students at Morty and Summer’s high school.

Rick, now calling himself Tiny Rick, is there to kill a vampire, but once the threat has been slain, he sticks around to revel in the feeling of being young. Understanding that Rick needs to return to his old body, Morty holds Tiny Rick down while Summer forces her youthful grandpa to listen to Elliott Smith’s “Between the Bars.” The emotional song allows Rick to regain control of his body and return to his natural older state. Summer and Morty get all the credit, but it was really Smith who saved the day.

6

“It’s in the Way That You Use It” by Eric Clapton

Season 4, Episode 8 “The Vat of Acid Episode”

One of the best moments in the entirety of Rick and Morty features Eric Clapton‘s upbeat hit, “It’s in the Way That You Use It.” In the highly-rated Rick and Morty episode “The Vat of Acid Episode,” Rick makes Morty a device that will allow him to save a spot in time and allow him multiple opportunities to live out a moment. Morty makes quick use of the device, trying anything that comes to his mind during a montage as “It’s in the Way That You Use It” plays in the background.

Clapton’s song is replaced by a light orchestral score when a montage within a montage shows Morty meeting a girl with whom he proceeds to have a deep and meaningful relationship. The relationship has highs and lows, with the young couple experiencing traumatic hardship when their plane crashes on a freezing mountainside, where they barely survive. Morty has found stable, reciprocal love, until Jerry, thinking the device is a remote, presses the button and wipes away Morty’s entire relationship. “It’s in the Way That You Use It” blares a triumphant return, playing as Morty scares away the person he loves in a darkly comedic punchline.

5

“Live Forever” by Kotomi and Ryan Elder

Season 7, Episode 4 “That’s Amorte”

Rick and Morty delivered one of its darkest stories in the form of the Season 7 episode “That’s Amorte.” The story starts out simply enough, with the Smith family enjoying a spaghetti dinner prepared by Rick, but Morty discovers the delicious pasta comes via an incredibly sinister process. By some fluke discovery, Rick finds a reality where people who have committed suicide have their insides turn into irresistible spaghetti.

As Morty grapples with the ethical dilemma of his newfound information, the reputation of the dish spreads, and a high demand leads to a potential feeding frenzy of the worst kind. To quell everyone’s hunger, Rick broadcasts the final thoughts of Fred (Ian Cardoni), a man who chooses to end his own life, and a cover of Oasis’ “Live Forever” plays during a montage of Fred’s life flashing before his eyes. This version of “Live Forever,” performed by Kotomi and Ryan Elder, slows the tempo down as the unpredictable victories and heartaches of Fred’s life humanize the pain required to make the pasta, leaving no one with an appetite. Spaghetti was probably unappealing to viewers, but a new song was in their playlist.

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4

“I Am the Antichrist to You” by Kishi Bashi

Season 5, Episode 3 “A Rickconvenient Mort”​​​​​​​

Morty experiences the devastation of love lost in “A Rickconvenient Mort” and the impact is added by the haunting song “I Am the Antichrist to You” by Kishi Bashi to accompany it. The episode sees Mort meet and fall in love with Planetina (Alison Brie), an Earth-minded hero who, much like Captain Planet, is summoned by elemental rings. When Mort frees Planetina from a ring-bound captivity, she’s finally able to make her own decisions, leading to violent and unexpected results.

Mort agrees with Planetina that the environment is in danger, but her actions become increasingly extreme, reaching a point of no return for Morty when she begins to brutally murder miners who refuse to leave their jobs. The images of a massacre while the ethereal melody of “I Am the Antichrist to You” builds is unsettling but unforgettable; an eerie mixture of beauty and pain. The scene of Planetina’s rage would have undoubtedly been startling, but Kishi Bashi’s song leaves a feeling that’s hard to shake afterward.

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3

“Do You Feel It?” by Chaos Chaos

Season 2, Episode 3 “Auto Erotica Assimilation”

Rick and Morty quickly stood out as one of the best Adult Swim series in the lineup by mixing absurdist humor and tragedy effectively, and one of the earliest examples is in the Season 2 episode “Auto Erotica Assimilation.” Rick reconnects with an alien hive mind named Unity (Christina Hendricks), with whom he once shared an intense romantic relationship. After a brief fling that proved once again they were too destructive as a pair to continue, Unity leaves Rick, and the song “Do You Feel It?” by Chaos Chaos begins to play.

Rick’s volatility was well-established by the second season of the series, but viewers had yet to see how it manifested during bouts of depression. Rick brushes off the break-up with his family, but as he enters the solitude of the garage and succumbs to his emotions, “Do You Feel it?” swells while the scientist prepares to kill himself. By blind luck, Rick passes out before his attempt is successful, but the song fans now know by heart played on as night turned into morning on a barely alive Rick.

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2

“Don’t Look Back” by Kotomi and Ryan Elder

Season 4, Episode 10 “Star Mort Rickturn of the Jerri”

A key song for Rick and Morty, “Don’t Look Back,” has been used twice for important moments in the series. First heard in the Season 4 episode “Star Mort Rickturn of the Jerri,” the song highlights Rick’s disgust with himself over his failures as a father to daughter Beth (Sarah Chalke) and as a friend to Birdperson (Dan Harmon). The song returns as an acoustic version, “Don’t Look Back (Diane’s Version)” in the Season 8 finale “Hot Rick,” when Rick says goodbye to the last memory of his dead wife Diane (Kari Wahlgren) before mind-blowing himself to make sure he forgets.

​​​​​​​The theme visited in the lyrics of “Don’t Look Back,” the idea of accepting trauma, acknowledging it while truly experiencing it, and then moving on to hopefully make better future decisions, is a concept at the core of Rick and Morty, especially with regard to Rick’s personal journey. It’s likely viewers have not heard the last of “Don’t Look Back,” as it has strong potential to be the anthem of Rick’s emotional growth.

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1

“Look on Down From the Bridge” by Mazzy Star

Season 1, Episode 6 “Rick Potion No. 9”

One of the songs most closely associated with Rick and Morty is “Look on Down From the Bridge” by the band Mazzy Star. The song is used twice so far in the series, first in the Season 1 episode “Rick Potion No. 9,” and then later called back to in Season 7 during the end of “Unmortricken.” In both instances, the song signals a profound shift in perspective for the main characters.

After a love potion run amok forced Rick and Morty to abandon their reality for a new one where they recently died, “Look on Down From the Bridge” plays as a shell-shocked Morty looks around in a daze. The song is then revisited for a similar moment with Rick, where, after killing the version of himself that murdered his wife in “Unmorttricken,” Rick is left with an emptiness after revenge doesn’t ease his burden. The gentle melancholy of the song marks a defining moment for both, signaling their lives will not be the same moving forward.

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NEXT: The 10 Darkest ‘Rick and Morty’ Episodes, Ranked