Earlier this year, Netflix launched a “Skip Intro” feature that allows users to bypass a show’s title sequence. People's reactions have been mixed. Some complain the new feature has effectively killed the title sequence, while others rejoice that they won’t have to sit through annoying theme music while they binge. It’s a big decision to make, whether or not to press that button: Opening credits, and more importantly the theme songs that accompany them, can be powerful. A good theme song primes you for the show that you're about to watch: it can get you in the mood to laugh before your favorite comedy, stir up tension before your favorite crime drama, or bring a familiar comfort before your favorite childhood show.

TV themes come in all shapes and sizes. You’ve got your moody instrumentals, your self-referential narratives, your indie-rock anthems. No matter the genre, the best of them preface their shows by crafting the perfect energy for the journey that follows. Now that bingeing is such common practice, theme songs may have lost some of their luster—after all, hearing the same song every 22 minutes can get irksome. But the best of them are impossible to tire of.

A theme song can make or break a TV show. Sure, there have been some great shows that have some pretty awful theme songs (sorry, The Wire), but overall many of the best shows of all time often boast the best theme songs. That’s why it’s no surprise that many of the shows on this list of the best theme songs are also on our lists of the Best TV dramas and the Funniest TV comedies of all time. So stay tuned, because here’s our definitive list of the Best TV theme songs of all time.