12 Best Movie & TV Biopics About Musicians, Ranked

If there's one thing Hollywood loves more than a biopic, it's a music biopic. From "Walk the Line" to "A Complete Unknown," these mythologizing movies about famous musicians tend to be reliable crowd pleasers that, even when they repeat and remix the same formula over and over, are almost sure to win all involved extra attention during awards season, and for good reason.

These films often require even more meticulous work on behalf of the cast and crew, as directors and designers have to capture the feel of iconic locations, time periods, and historical events. Screenwriters have to tell life stories that span decades while naturally weaving musical numbers into the story. And the actors must faithfully and respectfully embody some of the most recognizable and beloved figures in entertainment history, while almost always having to musically perform iconic songs. Making even a halfway decent music biopic is deceptively difficult, and the 12 films and television shows we've selected for this list showcase the full potential of this endlessly entertaining subgenre.

Here are the 12 best movie and TV biopics about musicians, ranked.

We'll start our list in earnest with a relatively recent entry that chronicles the formation and rapid growth of the seminal English punk band. The miniseries was written and created by Craig Pearce, the scribe best known for his frequent collaborations with director Baz Luhrmann on films like "Moulin Rouge!," "The Great Gatsby," and the 2022 music biopic "Elvis" (we'll save you the scroll — it just barely missed the cut here), and is based on the autobiography "Lonely Boy" by Pistols guitarist Steve Jones. As such, much of the story is told from Jones' perspective, who is portrayed in the series by "Euphoria" newcomer Toby Wallace.

Under the direction of acclaimed filmmaker Danny Boyle, "Pistol" is a punk rock miniseries as raw and powerful as the band that inspired it, eschewing many of the restrictive visual conventions common in the music biopic subgenre for a dreamy, documentary-adjacent style that strikes a power chord from the very first frame. The ensemble cast, which also includes Anson Boon, Jacob Slater, Louis Partridge, Emma Appleton, Maisie Williams, and Thomas Brodie-Sangster, expertly avoids caricature and captures the chaotic, youthful spirit that made the Sex Pistols a musical revolution.

"Control" dramatizes the life of Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis (portrayed in the film by Sam Riley, who coincidentally was also cast as The Fall frontman Mark E. Smith in "24 Hour Party People"). Director Anton Corbijn and screenwriter Matt Greenhalgh derive their much darker take on Curtis' life from the autobiography of his wife Deborah Curtis, who is played in the film by Samantha Morton.

Through the lens of their turbulent relationship, "Control" paints an intentionally conflicted portrait of Ian Curtis, an artist at war with himself in every aspect of his life. As he attempts to maintain the liberating but challenging persona of a revolutionary rock star while living with chronic epileptic seizures, Ian's foundational relationship with Deborah suffers tremendously, forcing him to reconsider what the cost of greatness is — or if its even worth it when your sense of reality starts to slip. "Control's" success is ultimately in its restraint, avoiding the impulse to chronicle every moment in the band's uprising and instead keeping the narrative focused to those which serve to render the internal struggle that makes Curtis such a fascinating protagonist.

Of the entries on this list, "The Temptations" might be the least known and most underrated. Released in four parts in 1998 on NBC, the miniseries tells the history of Motown's most famous group act from the early performances of their founding members in the '50s right through to their whereabouts in the mid-'90s. 

Founding member Otis Williams served as a producer on the miniseries (which you can actually watch it for free, legally, on YouTube, thanks to Shout! Studios), based on his autobiography. His presence is felt as a guiding force at times, for better or worse, but his focus feels natural given how integral he was to the group's success at every stage of their tumultuous career. Williams is played by Charles Malik Whitfield. 

Other Temptations featured in the film include Melvin Franklin (D.B. Woodside), Eddie Kendricks (Terron Brooks), Paul Williams (Christian Payton), David Ruffin (Leon Robinson), Richard Street (J. August Richards), and Al Bryant (Chaz Lamar Shepherd). As fans of Motown history know, the introduction and exit of each member usually came with personal drama, heartbreak, and conflict, all of which is beautifully captured by the grounded yet passionate work of the ensemble cast.

As we alluded to in discussing "Control," one of the major recurring drawbacks of the music biopic subgenre is how reliant on formula it can be, leading to films that are forced to hit the same beats as they attempt to dramatize the entirety of a subject's life (often similar to those of their peers in the industry who have been dramatized prior) in just two hours. This has made the popularization of the docuseries such a boon for the subgenre, as it gives storytellers room to hit all the historical events and legendary moments fans expect while also creating a story that feels fresh and exciting. There's perhaps no better example of this than "Wu-Tang: An American Saga."

Premiering in 2019, the Hulu original series took advantage of an expansively episodic runway to chart the groundbreaking music group's rise from the New York hip-hop scene to global stardom. It's uniquely semi-autobiographical in nature, as Wu-Tang Clan member RZA co-created the series with Alex Tse (best known for being one of the writers of Zack Snyder's "Watchmen"). Method Man also serves as one of the executive producers.

In the 1991 film "The Doors" — named for the Los Angeles rock band it chronicles — director Oliver Stone engages in some of his characteristic historical distortion, so much so that we almost relegated this to a passing mention. However, there's enough truth about the essence of the band's history within the film to justify its proper inclusion on this list, if nothing else on the sheer dramatic strength of Val Kilmer's turn as the band's enigmatic frontman Jim Morrison.

The late "Top Gun" and "Batman" actor devoted every bit of himself as an artist to Morrison, with Stone casting him after a violently off-script audition that convinced the director no one else could tackle the role as well. The end result of his work is a powerful performance that recreates the entrancing mystique of Morrison's persona within Stone's psychedelic visual style. Despite being snubbed for an Oscar nomination the following year, we feel Kilmer's performance in "The Doors" easily ranks as one of the best of his career, and the film as a whole is one of the best music biopics of all time.

While most films included on this list come from the last 20-or-so years, "The Buddy Holly Story" is a biopic that now, through its distinctly '70s look and filmmaking style, carries the nostalgia of its subject's sound even further. Gary Busey stars as the titular young artist, who quickly rose to prominence in the late '50s due to the unique blend of his acceptable southern country boy persona and the popular but then-controversial sounds of rock and roll.

Holly's story is tragically short, with the film following him from the day when his band became an overnight radio sensation to "the day the music died." The tone of the film never feels fatalistic, however, even in spite of a pace that appropriately reflects the relentless pace at which Holly drove his own career. Some who knew Holly personally take severe issue with many of the film's alleged inaccuracies, so you may want to take its presentation with a hefty grain of salt. That said, "The Buddy Holly Story" is as captivating as its subject and as entertaining as a music biopic could hope to be.

To dramatize the journey of the influential rap group N.W.A. in its totality, "Straight Outta Compton" had to manage both the success story of the group and individual, conflicted successes of its founding members. This easily could've resulted in an unfocused, awkwardly balanced project like the Queen biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody," and yet, "Straight Outta Compton" achieves an unexpectedly cohesive narrative because of how clearly it understands the relationship between the artists and the environment that united and inspired them.

It certainly helped that Ice Cube and Dr. Dre were heavily involved in the production, though their presence thankfully didn't steer the film toward a white-washing of the group's complicated history. As grandly rendered as their triumphs are, they're made all the more cathartic by the heartbreaking and at times even infuriating obstacles they faced along the way. These obstacles take many forms, ranging from the corrupt LAPD, their unscrupulous manager Jerry Heller (Paul Giamatti), and their own egos. The film touches on wounds still so fresh within the hip-hop community that there were reports of violence on the set, alleged to be connected to a feud partially depicted in the film. The cast features Ice Cube's son O'Shea Jackson Jr. as the man himself, while Corey Hawkins and Jason Mitchell play Dre and Eazy-E respectively. A sequel was teased in 2015, but it has yet to materialize.

As some of the most popular music biopics often follow the same narrative formula even today, the best often rise above the pack on the strength of their lead actors. This is true for most of our top 5 picks, including "Love and Mercy," in which Paul Dano gives one of the best performances of his impressively consistent career.

Dano and John Cusack both star as musician Brian Wilson, a founding member of the pop-rock group the Beach Boys who is widely regarded as a musical genius. The two actors play Wilson at different distinct points in his life — Dano while the musician is completing the seminal Beach Boys album "Pet Sounds" and Cusack while he's much older and trying to navigate an adult romantic life within the context of his success and personal struggles. The film examines the relationship between Wilson's perception as a genius and his fluctuating mental health, as dubiously trustworthy forces in the music industry attempt to control his brilliance. 

It's a heartbreaking film that's often tough to watch, but affirming for anyone who had felt alienated because of what they're passionate about. The creative decision to have the story jump between past and present gives it a structure just as unique to the subgenre as Wilson himself was to pop music.

Though all music biopics are technically musicals, few embrace the conventions of the musical genre as fearlessly as "Rocketman." This is to be expected, obviously, as the film follows the life of Elton John, an iconic musician who was responsible for musicals like "Billy Elliot," "Aida," and "The Lion King." Screenwriter Lee Hall — who worked with John on "Billy Elliot" and wrote the script for the infamous 2019 film adaptation of the musical "Cats" — penned the script, while "Bohemian Rhapsody" salvager Dexter Fletcher served as director.

With this specific team at the helm, "Rocketman" is able to imbue every aspect of its presentation with the singular and infectious musical energy of Elton John (portrayed in the film by a stunning and transformative Taron Egerton). John's involvement is noticeable, but worth it to ensure the film stays true to his wild life. It's without a doubt the best music biopic released in the last 10 years, due in large part to its unabashedly fantastical visual and narrative style.

Anchored by an Academy Award-winning performance by Jamie Foxx as the titular musician, "Ray" is an example of a film perfecting the popular contemporary music biopic formula. Director Taylor Hackford and screenwriter James L. White confront the whole of Ray Charles' astounding life, following him from the moment his family realizes he will lose his eyesight at the age of 7. He found solace in singing and playing the piano, two skills star Foxx actually possessed — for better and for worse.

The actor's uncanny, fully-embodied performance is what elevates "Ray" far beyond a perfunctory biopic to a work of passionate art. The subgenre's formula isn't a mere blueprint here, but a sturdy foundation upon which Foxx is given the room to push boundaries as a performer — not unlike the man he was portraying. "Ray" is one of if not the best film Foxx has ever starred in (even if he followed it with some questionable career choices) and remains the quintessential music biopic for many.

As powerful as Jamie Foxx is a Ray Charles — or Taron Egerton as Elton John, or Paul Dano as Brian Wilson — no leading performance in a music biopic released as of writing matches that of Angela Bassett as Tina Turner in 1993's "What's Love Got to Do with It." Both she and the film itself benefit from Turner's personal autobiography "I, Tina," which revealed to the world the extent of her abusive relationship with her husband Ike (played in the film by Laurence Fishburne).

The focus on Turner's survival of her marriage and triumph over Ike's abuse gives the film a thematic north star that distinguishes it contextually from other music biopics even as Turner experiences many of the same ups and downs. Though the real Turner herself took issue with dramatic liberties taken by the film, she found Bassett's portrayal of her to be "perfect" (saying as much when she honored the actor in a 2023 issue of Time). She was passed over for an Academy Award in 1994, but to us, Bassett's turn in "What's Love Got to Do with It" is still the definitive music biopic performance.

"Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" is a parody music biopic and a genuine masterclass in the music biopic subgenre that displays an unparalleled understanding of its tropes, story beats, and history in every single scene. It is not only able to expertly craft a credible biopic based on a musician who never existed but also able to introduce subversive elements for comedic effect, making it fresher, more exciting, and more cohesive than any music biopic released before or since. Oh, and it has a full album's worth of original music that unironically rocks.

Inspired by the most popular music biopics at the time (particularly James Mangold's Johnny Cash flick "Walk the Line," "Ray," "Yellow Submarine," and "The Buddy Holly Story"), "Walk Hard" follows the life and career of musician Dewey Cox (John C. Reilly), who overcomes an inability to smell and the tragic childhood machete-halving of his brother to become the greatest country/rock/punk/disco/folk/psychedelic pop artist in the history of music. 

Along the way, Cox struggles with a logically progressive addiction to drugs, juggling two-halves of a split-heart shared by the two loves of his life (played by Kristen Wiig and Jenna Fischer), and the perils of a constantly evolving music industry. Of course, he also encounters numerous legendary musicians along the way, including Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, and the Beatles (all played by actors or cameoing musicians who we really don't want to spoil here).

As funny as it feels not to place a movie based on a real artist at the top of this list, there's just no denying that "Walk Hard" hits all the notes a music biopic should and then some. Even films released afterward can't help but be parodied by it, as they repeat the same formula "Walk Hard" brilliantly dissected in 2007. It is a strange masterpiece and certainly the pinnacle of the music biopic subgenre.