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1. You Only Live Twice
2. Live and Let Die
3. A View to a Kill
- We Have All the Time in the World
4. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
5. Goldfinger
6. From Russia with Love
7. GoldenEye
8. The Living Daylights
9. You Know My Name
10. Diamonds are Forever
11. Skyfall
12. Nobody Does it Better
- Surrender
13. Thunderball
14. The World is Not Enough
15. Licence to Kill
16. Moonraker
17. Writing's on the Wall
18. For Your Eyes Only
19. Tomorrow Never Dies
20. All Time High
21. Another Way to Die
22. The Man with the Golden Gun
23. Die Another Day
- Never Say Never Again
1 A View To a Kill
2 Diamonds Are Forever
3 Goldeneye
4 The World Is Not Enough
5 Goldfinger
6 From Russia With Love
7 The James Bond Theme
8 You Only Live Twice
9 On Her Majesty s Secret Service
10 Moonraker
11 You Know My Name
12 Skyfall
13 The Living Daylights
14 For Your Eyes Only
15 Live And Let Die
16 Licence To Kill
17 Another Way To Die
18 The Man With the Golden Gun
19 Die Another Day
20 Tomorrow Never Dies
21 All Time High
22 Thunderball
23 Nobody Does It Better
24 writing s On the Wall
WHATTITW would be in the top three, NSNA in the bottom three.
1 James Bond Theme... 50+ years old, still awesome, still required
2 Live and Let Die... Classic McCartney, classic Bond
3 You Only Live Twice... Even forgettable Nancy Sinatra couldn't ruin this
4 A View to a Kill... Duran Duran delivers
5 From Russia With Love... Classic 60s Barry, maybe not the best, but I love it
6 Diamonds Are Forever... Goldfinger gets the glory, but this moody track is just as awesome
7 On Her Majesty's Secret Service... Another JB theme, thanks be to John Barry
8 Crawl, End Crawl... Never a David Arnold fan until QoS, now I want him back
9 Licence to Kill... For those missing Bassey, G Knight kills it
10 Nobody Does It Better... I hate the soundtrack, but this schmaltzy tune is a classic
11 You Know My Name... Rebooted, generic rock, but good lyrics and fantastic titles make it exhilarating
Honorable mentions: 007, If There Was a Man, Goldeneye
Dishonorable mentions: Another Way To Die, Die Another Day, Tomorrow Never Dies, Writing's On the Wall
SF
LALD
WOTW
OHMSS
NDIB
DAF
TWINE
GF
AVTAK
TLD
FRWL
TB
GE
MR
AWTD
TMWTGG
TND
ATH
YOLT
DAD
LTK
FYEO
1. You Know My Name [From Casino Royale] (Chris Cornell)
2. Goldfinger (Shirley Bassey)
3. Nobody Does It Better [From The Spy Who Loved Me] (Carly Simon)
4. A View to a Kill (Duran Duran)
5. Skyfall (Adele)
6. Live and Let Die (Paul McCartney & Wings)
7. Thunderball (Tom Jones)
8. GoldenEye (Tina Turner)
9. O.H.M.S.S. Theme (John Barry)
10. Licence to Kill (Gladys Knight)
11. The World Is Not Enough (Garbage)
12. Diamonds Are Forever (Shirley Bassey)
13. Writing's on the Wall [From Spectre] (Sam Smith)
14. You Only Live Twice (Nancy Sinatra)
15. The Man with the Golden Gun (Lulu)
16. From Russia with Love (Matt Munro)
17. Tomorrow Never Dies (Sheryl Crow)
18. The Living Daylights (Ah-ha)
19. For Your Eyes Only (Sheena Easton)
20. Moonraker (Shirley Bassey)
21. Another Way to Die [From Quantum of Solace] (Jack White & Alicia Keys)
22. All Time High (Rita Coolidge)
23. Die Another Day (Madonna)
1. O.H.M.S.S. Theme (John Barry)
2. Skyfall (Adele)
3. You Only Live Twice (Nancy Sinatra)
4. Goldfinger (Shirley Bassey)
5. Licence to Kill (Gladys Knight)
6. Diamonds Are Forever (Shirley Bassey)
7. Thunderball (Tom Jones)
8. GoldenEye (Tina Turner)
9. Live and Let Die (Paul McCartney & Wings)
10. All Time High (Rita Coolidge)
11. A View to a Kill (Duran Duran)
12. The Living Daylights (Ah-ha)
13. For Your Eyes Only (Sheena Easton)
14. You Know My Name [From Casino Royale] (Chris Cornell)
15. The Man with the Golden Gun (Lulu)
16. From Russia with Love (Matt Munro)
17. Moonraker (Shirley Bassey)
18. Nobody Does It Better [From The Spy Who Loved Me] (Carly Simon)
19. Tomorrow Never Dies (Sheryl Crow)
20. Writing's on the Wall [From Spectre] (Sam Smith)
21. Die Another Day (Madonna)
22. The World Is Not Enough (Garbage)
23. Another Way to Die [From Quantum of Solace] (Jack White & Alicia Keys)
This is my very rough order..........as several of the mid-placement songs could change position.
Regarding my bottom selection. In my view this song is a total piece of s**t, and it gets worse when Alicia Keys starts doing her strangled cat impression. The song is totally out of touch with the film, and stands out like a sore thumb on a Bond theme songs collection.
Whats staggering, is that there were some terrific songs written for QOS, but they were all rejected, because the studio thought they could make more money with the Jack White song, coz he was popular at the time.
2. Skyfall
3. Thunderball
4. A View to a Kill
5. Nobody Does It Better [TSWLM]
6. You Know My Name [CR]
7. The Living Daylights
8. For Your Eyes Only
9. Diamonds Are Forever
10. Moonraker
11. The World Is Not Enough
12. We Have All the Time in the World [OHMSS]
13. All Time High [OP]
14. Writing's on the Wall [SP]
15. Licence to Kill
16. Live and Let Die
17. Goldeneye
18. Die Another Day
19. You Only Live Twice
20. From Russia With Love
21. The Man with the Golden Gun
22. Tomorrow Never Dies
23. Another Way to Die [QOS]
Updated. Initial reaction was to drop WOTW way down there, but the song grew on me over the last few weeks. Agree with @mepal1 … AWTD is pathetic. I skip through the QOS title sequence every time. I have a similarly tough time with TND.
1. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
2. The Living Daylights
3. Thunderball
4. Licence to Kill
5. Diamonds Are Forever
6. A View to a Kill
7. GoldenEye
8. James Bond Theme
9. Goldfinger
10. Tomorrow Never Dies
11. Skyfall
12. For Your Eyes Only
13. Nobody Does It Better
14. From Russia with Love
15. The Man with the Golden Gun
16. Die Another Day
17. You Know My Name
18. The World Is Not Enough
19. Live and Let Die
20. You Only Live Twice
21. Moonraker
22. All Time High
23. Another Way To Die
24. Writing's on the Wall
PS, sorry McCartney fans, LALD is a bit overrated in my book.
1. Skyfall
2. The Living Daylights
3. Goldeneye
4. Diamonds Are Forever
5. Live And Let Die
6. Casino Royale (You Know My Name)
7. You Only Live Twice
8. The Spy Who Loved Me (Nobody Does It Better)
9. For Your Eyes Only
10. The World Is Not Enough
11. Moonraker
12. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (Barry's theme)
13. Goldfinger
14. From Russia With Love
15. Spectre (Writings On The Wall)
16. Thunderball
17. Die Another Day
18. Another Way To Die
19. A View To A Kill
20. The Man With The Golden Gun
21. License To Kill
22. Tomorrow Never Dies
23. Octopussy (All Time High)
Before I get lynched I should mention that I've grown to like and enjoy all of them, this is purely based on how much I listen to them outside of watching the movies. Never really did get the fascination with AVTAK and ATH is fairly limp. But as soon as any one of these comes on and those titles roll out, I'm completely in the mood for the movie itself.
=D>
1. You Know My Name (Chris Cornell) - Powerful, defining, and pretty much exactly what you want from a Bond song. This pretty much is the definitive Bond song, just as Goldfinger was in the 60's, but this one definitely surpasses it IMO.
2. Nobody Does It Better (Carly Simon) - I know many people like to think of this song as overrated, but I really think that out of all of Moore's songs (and pretty much all the songs before and since up to You Know My Name), this is the best. The piano is the best piece of instrumental music in any Bond theme, and Carly Simon's vocals are really good. Also, the lyrics here aren't too cheesy and if anything, are actually quite good. Moreover, the instrumentals in this are the reason I reckon Marvin Hamlisch (who is criticized for Bond 77) is probably the second or third best Bond scorer after John Barry. This song was so good that the next three songs were all romantic and light in an attempt to replicate the effect this song had - none of them came close. Nobody does it better than Carly Simon.
3. Goldfinger (Shirley Bassey) - Still thought of as the reigning queen of Bond themes today, but I think that, like the film, this song is overrated. In spite of that, though, we have to acknowledge Bassey's vocals, which are probably still the most potent of any Bond singer. The sheer majesty and presence of the brass is similarly impressive, and the fusion of the two elements culminated in what almost everyone regards as the quintessential archetype (and stereotype) of Bond themes.
4. The Living Daylights (A-Ha) - Pretty much anywhere else on the internet, I'd probably be laughed off the thread for putting this up in the top 10, let alone the top 5 (and above Skyfall). But this style of 80's music is just more appealing to me than AVTAK. It delivers consistently enthralling instrumentals and the lyrics, while hardly making sense, are still better than AVTAK's. It's just the likable feel of this song which makes me want to listen to it over and over, and for that, this deserves to be up here.
5. Skyfall (Adele) - It's bold, it's powerful, there's some beautiful piano music and an immensely powerful chorus. My only issues with this song are the strange backup singing and the fact that Adele's voice clearly grows weak in certain parts of the song and she's forced to take very audible gasps of air. She definitely doesn't have the vocal strength of Shirley Bassey, but nonetheless this is an absolutely fantastic song.
6. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (John Barry) - Quite possibly the best thing John Barry has ever scored. It's bold, potent, and its presence is unmistakable. But it doesn't really feel like Bond, and to someone that's never watched Bond before, there's no way they'll guess that it's a Bond song (that might be because of the lack of vocals). I just feel that this song (like the film) is overrated despite being fantastic all the same.
7. You Only Live Twice (Nanacy Sinatra) - The hauntingly beautiful strings pretty much sell this song by themselves, but Nancy Sinatra's rather fittingly Asian-like singing really works for the Japanese setting.
8. Live and Let Die (Paul McCartney & Wings) - Overrated, but still a fantastic theme. I still hear it in public venues today - that's just a measure of its effect on the public/pop culture, which definitely has to be taken into account.
9. Thunderball (Tom Jones) - It's good, but overrated. It's basically a male singing Goldfinger - I admire the vocals, the loud presence of the song, the unique lyrics, and just the vibrant energy and power of the song, but it's still an overrated replica of Goldfinger. It defines Bond well, but there are other songs which actually brought a new, original style of Bond theme onto the table and worked.
10. GoldenEye (Tina Turner) - An interesting song that harks back to the Goldfinger era without really trying to be a blatant rip-off. Don't like the repetitive beat that comes up every time Turner says "GoldenEye", but the instrumentals that start from when she says "You'll never know..." are bloody brilliant.
11. A View To A Kill (Duran Duran) - Another overrated song. It's distinctly from the 80's, which probably explains why, as a 90's kid, I'm not exactly a fan of it. I have to admit the first few beats are pretty intoxicating to your ears, though. I'm just curious, though - what the hell are the lyrics that Duran Duran's singing?
12. The World Is Not Enough (Garbage) - A rather good title song that doesn't get enough appreciation. Don't really care for the "aching" vocals/pitiful lyrics and the occasional strange electronic sounds, but the instrumentals at the start and during the chorus are absolutely phenomenal. But that alone isn't enough to propel the song into the top ten.
13. For Your Eyes Only (Sheena Easton) - As dated as the score, but it's a good theme nonetheless. A nice, sublime song, and out of the trilogy of "more romantic" songs that followed Nobody Does It Better, I think this one was the best, and probably the only one that actually worked. Pretty cheesy lyrics but I doubt anybody would cringe at the lines in this one, as opposed to, say, All Time High. And the actual singing is just beautiful, too.
14. Diamonds Are Forever (Shirley Bassey) - Bassey really comes into her own with this one. This is what a sublime Bassey song should be, not like Moonraker. I also really like the whole wittiness of the lyrics, which is in tone with the witty script of DAF. That being said, I prefer other songs to this one. They just have more presence.
15. From Russia With Love (John Barry) - Here's the last of the good songs. If this was Matt Monro's version, I would've placed it a couple of spots higher, but the instrumental version still doesn't feel incomplete or anything. It's functional, and despite having no lyrics, is pretty suggestive, although that might just be because of my association of it with the title sequence.
16. Writing's On The Wall (Sam Smith) - It's a pretty average song. Don't like the chorus and the excessive falsettos, but at least it's a fairly unique song not trying to do the same as the last. Doesn't evoke anything for me, but I don't really hate it. In short, I pretty much don't care for it, to be honest.
17. Moonraker (Shirley Bassey) - Underrated, perhaps, but the rest of the songs above this one are just better, IMO. This does have some interesting instrumentals but honestly they seem more fitting on a romance movie, or even a Disney film. The main problem I have with this is that it's a blatant attempt to cash in on the whole "romantic title songs" thing from the Moore era, because of Nobody Does It Better's success. And it's definitely nowhere near as successful. Also, Shirley doesn't quite bring her majesty into full effect with this one.
18. All Time High (Rita Coolidge) - Don't like the opening notes but I actually like the more sublime feel of this song. Too bad that it's far too repetitive in the Moore era, and it gets docked for the cheesy lyrics. Not really a fan of the excessive moaning from Coolidge, either.
19. Licence to Kill (Gladys Knight) - This is probably just me not liking soul music and the type of songs that Gladys Knight normally sings. The first few notes are promisingly good, but the whole jazziness and especially the failed attempts to appear aching/yearning and just the attempt to do a Shirley Bassey really disappoint in my opinion. Definitely wouldn't mind an instrumental version of this, though.
20. Tomorrow Never Dies (Sheryl Crow) - Quite a few users say this is underrated, but I can't see why. It's boring and is filled with strange and crappy sounds.
21. The Man With The Golden Gun (Lulu) - I understand that it's meant to be more of a "fun" song, and was meant for the 70's, but it still feels like it can't decide between whether it's a pop song or some shrill cat lady baloney. Definitely better than the next two, but it still feels like a rather poor contribution to the Bond theme palette.
22. Die Another Day (Madonna) - Pretty damn bad, but not as bad as Another Way To Die. Ruins what would've been a great title sequence, which is the main reason for it being down here.
23. Another Way To Die (Alicia Keys/Jack White) - Pitiful song that I skip every time I watch QoS. Just blatantly awful.
2. Thunderball
3. Goldeneye
4. Live and Let Die
5. Goldfinger
6. You Know My Name
7. You Only Live Twice
8. Diamonds Are Forever
9. The Living Daylights
10. Moonraker
11. A View to a Kill
12. Nobody Does It Better
13. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (Instrumental)
14. For Your Eyes Only
15. The World Is Not Enough
16. From Russia with Love
17. The Writing's on the Wall
18. All Time High
19. License to Kill
20. Tomorrow Never Dies
21. The Man with the Golden Gun
22. Die Another Day
23. Another Way to Die
2. A View to a Kill
3. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (Instrumental)
4. Goldfinger
5. James Bond Theme/Kingston Calypso
6. Nobody Does It Better
7. GoldenEye
8. Licence to Kill
9. The World Is Not Enough
10. Skyfall
11. Thunderball
12. Diamonds Are Forever
13. Live and Let Die
14. You Only Live Twice
15. Tomorrow Never Dies
16. All Time High
17. From Russia with Love (Instrumental)
18. The Man with the Golden Gun
19. You Know My Name
20. For Your Eyes Only
21. Die Another Day
22. Moonraker
23. Another Way to Die
24. Writing's on the Wall
To be honestr only the last two are unlistenable to me. Although I do think LALD and FYEO are a bit overrated.
That's in order of release, not quality, by the way.
2. You Only Live Twice
3. Thunderball
4. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
5. Live and Let Die
6. Goldfinger
7. From Russia with Love
8. Nobody Does it Better
9. Diamonds Are Forever
10. GoldenEye
11. The Writing's on the Wall
12. You Know My Name
13. Moonraker
14. The World is Not Enough
15. A View to a Kill
16. The Living Daylights
17. For Your Eyes Only
18. Tomorrow Never Dies
19. Licence to Kill
20. All Time HIgh
21. The Man with the Golden Gun
22. Another Way to Die
23. Die Another Day
1. Goldfinger
2. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
3. Live and Let Die
4. Nobody Does It Better
5. You Know My Name
6. GoldenEye
7. A View to a Kill
8. You Only Live Twice
9. Skyfall
10. Thunderball
11. Diamonds are Forever
12. From Russia With Love
13. For Your Eyes Only
14. The World is not Enough
15. Moonraker
16. All Time High
17. Another Way to Die
18. The Man with the Golden Gun
19. Writings on the Wall
20. Tomorrow Never Dies
21. The Living Daylights
22. Licence to Kill
23. Die Another Day
This one is so good, the titles were half over before I realized nobody was singing.
For me, Bond themes are mostly about that first 30 seconds, where they hopefully grab you out of the pre-title sequence and get you excited as you see Bond's name and the title of the movie. And this one opens with a blast of horns, and then has that great four-note synth guitar bit that tells you right away things are going to be a bit more serious than the last adventures with the other fellow. Top.
2. Another Way to Die
I know, everyone hates it. I kind of get it. I'm not honestly wild about the vocals on this one--they're not Bondian, they're kind of rambly. But no matter. The way this song kicks off after Daniel says "Time to get out" just kicks ass all over the place. I hadn't heard the song before the movie, and when that dirty bass sound played at the intro, followed by the horns, I was psyched. Then Jack started singing, and, well, it didn't bother me that much. Cos I was already pumped.
3. Licence to Kill
Yeah, I have another hated one in my top 3, what can I say? I think the takeoff on the Goldfinger opening is incredible, and to repeat myself again, the music that takes you from the start to the title of the movie is the most important bit, and this one is perfect for me. The instrumental part has a great melody, and I love how much more powerful it is the second time it comes in. There's also some creepy tones on the low end after the big overture melody, but I'm not enough of a musicologist to say what it is.... Gladys Knight does a fine job, but the lyrics to this song are 70% crap. If I didn't speak English, this would probably be my favorite Bond theme.
4. Goldeneye
I have no idea what Bono's lyrics are about, but the music here couldn't have been better. The sneakily light opening leading to the brassy explosion and Tina's voice is a great lead-in. If I someone asked me what a Bond theme is supposed to sound like, this is the one I'd point to.
5. Live and Let Die
Weird song, but it's appropriate for the movie in which it appears in. You can almost hear the colors of the title sequence when you listen to it.
6. You Know My Name
A Bond movie with good lyrics? Lyrics that make sense for the movie but are not weird character descriptions? Incredible! This is a tune that successfully redefined what a Bond theme can sound like, sort of like Nobody Does It Better, but in a more kick-ass way.
7. A View to a Kill
It was a huge hit for a reason. Not even the usual Simon LeBon word salad can take away from the energy of this track, which was a welcome break from a decade of ballads. If you played this for an alien, they'd know it must be from a spy movie.
8. The Living Daylights
a-ha actually made a better version on one of their albums. John Barry's strings actually make this one a bit clunky in places, I have to admit, but overall it's got a great drive to it. I once heard a slightly sped up version on TV (trying to make room for more commercials) and it was perfect. But the legit version's good too.
9. You Only Live Twice
One of the lightest of the bunch, but perfectly suited to its film, the lightest Bond yet in 1967. Swirly strings!
10. The World Is Not Enough
From the Goldeneye school of modern electronic touches and big orchestration with a powerful female voice. Deserved a better movie.
11. From Russia with Love (instrumental)
Great gatling gun blast of an opening, and I love the transition back to the Bond theme at the end. Better choice than the Matt Munro song, good as that is.
12. Skyfall
Haunting tune with the kind of vocal the series had been missing. And the best use of a classic nonsense Bondian compound noun in a song. Take that Moonraker!
13. Diamonds Are Forever
Often overlooked. It's the Bassey song with a bit of a groove.
14. Nobody Does It Better
Really classic tune, and probably the first that works just as well outside the context of the movie. Maybe better, actually. The beginning of the ballad era, and definitely the best.
15. Thunderball
Another one of the Bond themes where you can hear the imagery somehow. And Tom knocks it out of the park.
16. Tomorrow Never Dies
Sheryl Crow was a weird choice, but her odd scratchy voice makes this lounge singer piece more interesting. And no, Surrender wasn't better.
17. Moonraker
Love the spacey strings, love Shirley's vocal, love the touch of disco. But I prefer the full-on disco version from the end of the movie.
18. The Man with the Golden Gun
This would be good music for strippers at a truck stop or something. Jesus, take it down a notch, Lulu. At least it's got some energy.
19. Dr No melody thing
Bond theme's great. I guess Three Blind Mice is fine. And that interlude is fine. But why not have like one song?
20. The Writing's on the Wall
Little known fact: Sam Smith was Daniel Craig's stunt double for Casino Royale's ball-whipping scene! Meh.
21. Goldfinger
Be honest with yourself: this song is very annoying. But the top 21 are all pretty decent, so here comes the big quality drop!
22. Die Another Day
I included this in the list despite it not really being a song. Awful. At least we didn't have to watch Madonna sing(?) it in the title sequence. Speaking of which:
23. For Your Eyes Only
Sounds like a Christian pop song. Dire.
24. All Time High
Shit sandwich.
24: Another Way to Die (Quantum of Solace)
Yeah. Shit. That's all I care to say about it.
23: Die Another Day
Slightly less shit.
22: Tomorrow Never Dies
Slightly slightly less shit.
21: For Your Eyes Only
Really, really boring. I used to like this one a lot, actually, and I don't outright dislike it, but... my God is it ever a chore to listen to.
20: The Man with the Golden Gun
Yeah. I hate Lulu. I don't like this song. I like a couple of the Barry cues though. However, the end credits rendition is ten times better.
19: Moonraker
Yeah the lyrics kinda suck here and Bassey was past her prime.
18: All Time High (Octopussy)
I used to hate this one. I actually like it quite a bit - especially the wonderful way Barry used it for leitmotifs - but it doesn't have anything that evokes Bond.
17: Writing's On the Wall (SPECTRE)
In the context of the credits this song is perfect; I don't mind it and it gets better each time I hear it.
16: Goldfinger
Yeah, I kinda agree with Calvin Dyson here. It's iconic, it's great... but that brass is just overloaded at times.
15: From Russia With Love (Instrumental)
If this had been the Matt Munro version, it'd likely be at least two or three spots higher. One of Barry's best cues, but the lack of vocals is a big detriment for me, as opposed to a different entry on this list, where vocals would've ruined it...
14: Diamonds Are Forever
Bassey's best and a classic theme for the ages.
13: GoldenEye
I used to think GoldenEye was a re-do of a tired formula, but watching GoldenEye this time... I actually love it. It's amazing that so many of the themes are great that this is only #13.
12: Thunderball
Tom freaking Jones and that long freaking note!
11: Licence to Kill
This is the beginning of the themes I love and could listen to any time.
10: The World is Not Enough
Yeah I'm with Calvin Dyson again here.
9: The James Bond Theme/Kingston Calypso/Three Blind Mice (Dr. No)
If this was just the Bond theme it would be #2. The sudden changes and just lack of cohesiveness really hurt it.
8: The Living Daylights
Yeah. I don't get the hate. At all.
7: You Only Live Twice
I was shocked the first time I saw hate for this one. I thought it was universally adored.
6: Live and Let Die
The best part of the film and one of the best rock songs ever made.
5: A View to a Kill
Oh god I love Duran Duran so much.
4: Skyfall
On the other hand, I hate Adele... except here. This is a classic Bond theme, it has all the elements that musically evoke Bond... and somehow, this one does it better than Goldfinger, or Thunderball, or GoldenEye, or Licence to Kill...
3: You Know My Name (Casino Royale)
Oh man. Just. Oh man. My most memorable, favourite moment in a cinema was when this song began blasting over the gunbarrel and credits.
2: Nobody Does it Better (The Spy Who Loved Me)
Indeed, Carly Simon. Indeed. One of the greatest pieces of music ever written and one that gets me all weepy eyed every time I hear it. I do have one minor minor minor gripe with the film version though; that outro is so infinitely powerful and the film all but cuts it entirely. If it weren't for that, this would be above the Bond theme (if the Bond theme was #2) and might even place above my #1 pick...
1: On Her Majesty's Secret Service (Instrumental)
Yeah. I've gone on and on and on and on about this one. You all know why I love it. It is the best piece of music John Barry has ever composed. It is sonic perfection. It is innovative. It is cool. It is BOND.
"If you can see the handwriting on the wall … you’re on the toilet."
1. You Only Live Twice
2. Nobody Does It Better
3. For Your Eyes Only
4. From Russia With Love
5. All The Time In The World
6. Goldfinger
7. Live And Let Die
8. Diamonds Are Forever
9. You Know My Name
10. Skyfall
11. Moonraker
12. Thunderball
13. The Writings On The Wall
14. All Time High
15. The Living Daylights
16. Licence To Kill
17. A View To A Kill
18. Goldeneye
19. Tomorrow Never Dies
20. The World Is Not Enough
21. Another Way To Die
22. The Man With the Golden Gun
23. Die Another Day
not only the best Bond theme but it is the bloody greatest song ever! Yes, you read that right.
2 THE REST
3 ANOTHER WAY TO DIE ANOTHER DAY
2. Live and let die
3. You only live twice
4. Diamonds are forever
5. The world is not enough
6. Goldfinger
7. A view to a kill
8. For your eyes only
9. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
10. Skyfall
11. Licence to kill
12. Thunderball
13. You know my name
14. All Time High
15. The man with the golden gun
16. Goldenye
17. Tomorrow Never Dies
18. Nobody does it better
19. From Russia with love
20. The writings on the wall
21. Another Way To Die
22. Moonraker
23. Die Another Day
It's a great song, @BondJasonBond006, the trouble is Simon Le Bon murders it with his frankly awful singing!
1. A View to a Kill
Synths and instrumentation is top notch, song is catchy and endlessly replayable.
2. Goldfinger
Punchy, powerful, catchy, iconic. Actually Bassey's only good one.
3. Live and Let Die
Iconic, and the instrumentation rocks.
4. For Your Eyes Only
Incredibly powerful and atmospheric song, so soothing and beautiful.
5. Licence to Kill
Ok yes, it does steal from Goldfinger but its great in its own right, vocals are beautiful. I could listen to this one forever - there's so much soul right here.
6. Nobody Does It Better
Lovely, easy and romantic, the power is subtle, just perfect!
7. You Know My Name
Heart-pumping, adrenaline-inducing, amazing stuff!
8. Goldeneye
Catchy tune, powerful, all-round good song, some of that instrumentation is vivid and engaging as well.
9. From Russia with Love
Extremely powerful, has a great timeless sound helped by a very buttery voice.
10. We Have All the Time in the World
A song that could melt the hardest of hearts, becomes incredibly sad and cruelly ironic. I prefer OHMSS but I discounted it.
11. The World Is Not Enough
Really great vocals and instrumentation and ties into the film well.
12. Writing's on the Wall
Instrumentation is very good and it is very haunting and solemn.
13. Skyfall
Powerful ballad with top notch instrumentation but not as replayable since it rouses a different feeling.
14. Tomorrow Never Dies
I do think she screeches but the instrumentation is really really good and I dig the lyrics.
15. The Living Daylights
A little flat in some ways but easy listening.
16. The Man with the Golden Gun
Upbeat and funky which is great but I don't like the vocals and the lyrics are all wrong and it sort of tries too hard. The bridge is rather tender.
17. Moonraker
Sort of boring but certainly has an allure about it. Middling from Bassey.
18. Another Way to Die
Decent duet with well-written lyrics but the voices don't mesh, which is unfortunate for a duet, really... Has a unique sound and isn't as bad as it is made out to be but it fails to rouse a true feeling.
19. Diamonds Are Forever
I don't know where to place this one. Positive: alluring start, Bassey's vocals; Negative: very, very annoying. Similar problem to DAD in that it starts out 'catchy' but by the end you sort of want to ram your head through a wall, it really is bad at that point.
20. All Time High
Flat, but good to put on if you're in that mood. I used to love it a lot, shame. Unobjectionable.
21. You Only Live Twice
Never liked it as much as others did, I like the guitar and the vocals are pretty nice but it doesn't do much. I never find myself wanting to play it even though it's a good song.
22. Thunderball
I hate the instrumentation here and there is too much bass (I know it's the James Bond theme but you have to use it right!!!) and it's actually too loud, I think the vocals are really over-the-top and in the end it sort of falls in on itself.
23. Kingston Calypso
Easy listening but it's very unexciting. (JB theme discounted)
24. Die Another Day
It's catchy but because the tech gets more grating as it goes on, it definitely goes on too long. By the end you're pretty much dead.
Discounted: The James Bond Theme, On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Never Say Never Again isn't awful either.
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Goldfinger
Diamonds Are Forever
Thunderball
You Only Live Twice
The Living Daylights
Live And Let Die
Moonraker
A View To A Kill
Licence To Kill
Skyfall
GoldenEye
For Your Eyes Only
From Russia With Love
The Writings on the Wall
You Know My Name
Nobody Does it Better
All Time High
Never Say Never Again
Tomorrow Never Dies
The Man With The Golden Gun
Another Way To Die
The World Is Not Enough
Die Another Day
1. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
2. You Only Live Twice
3. From Russia With Love
4. Live And Let Die
5. Diamonds Are Forever
6. You Know My Name
7. Skyfall
8. For Your Eyes Only
9. Moonraker
10. James Bond Theme/Three Blind Mice
11. Nobody Does It Better
12. Goldfinger
13. The Living Daylights
14. Thunderball
15. The Man With The Golden Gun
16. A View To A Kill
17. Licence To Kill
18. All Time High
19. Another Way To Die
20. Writing's On The Wall
21. Die Another Day
22. The World Is Not Enough
23. GoldenEye
24. Tomorrow Never Dies
Only considering music played over the credits sequence - DN would have been higher had it not been for the third part of the medley.
1. The World Is Not Enough (Garbage)
2. You Only Live Twice (Nancy Sinatra)
3. Diamonds Are Forever (Shirley Bassey)
4. Skyfall (Adele)
5. Moonraker (Shirley Bassey)
6. You Know My Name (Chris Cornell)
7. Live and Let Die (Paul McCartney and Wings)
8. O.H.M.S.S. Theme (John Barry)
9. Goldfinger (Shirley Bassey)
10. From Russia with Love (Matt Munro)
Fantastic Themes:
11. A View to a Kill (Duran Duran)
12. GoldenEye (Tina Turner)
13. Thunderball (Tom Jones)
14. Tomorrow Never Dies (Sheryl Crow)
Good Themes:
15. Licence to Kill (Gladys Knight)
16. Writing's on the Wall (Sam Smith)
17. The Living Daylights (A-ha)
18. Nobody Does It Better (Carly Simon)
19. The Man with the Golden Gun (Lulu)
Poor, Forgettable Themes:
20. All Time High (Rita Coolidge)
21. Die Another Day (Madonna)
22. For Your Eyes Only (Sheena Easton)
Atrocious Themes:
23. Another Way to Die (Jack White and Alicia Keys)
YOLT's theme could rank #1 for me in normal circumstances. It is my idea of the quintessential Bond theme. However, my true soulmate is TWINE's theme. My bond with it (no pun intended) is unbreakable because it is Elektra King's point of view, one of my favorite characters and the shining light of TWINE.
I rank these based on how I enjoy them during the title sequence. For example, I quite like the LTK song by itself, but in connection to the film and the franchise, it doesn't pack a punch like the ones ranked above it. I also split them into tiers because while some themes may flip spots depending on my mood, they'll usually stay inside those tiers.
2. From Russia With Love
3. Writing's On The Wall
4. The World Is Not Enough
5. Skyfall
6. You Know My Name
7. Goldeneye
8. The Living Daylights
9. OHMSS
10. You Only Live Twice
That's it, can't go any further. Too difficult.