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With a few exceptions
—
thank you, Orange Is the New Black and Regina Spektor
— they just don't make TV theme songs like they used to. The genre seems to have hit its peak in the 1990s, when hip-hop stars and soul legends had a hand in creating some of the most addictive ear candy we've ever heard. Heck, we turned on some shows just to watch the opening credits.
Don't get us wrong. The '70s and '80s gave us some memorably wholesome tunes, and The O.C. and '00s shows ushered in emo and indie artists, but there's just no competing with Aretha Franklin. Other theme songs from the era, meanwhile, are just so ridiculously delightful that they send us straight back to childhood.
Behold, our best-loved theme songs from the decade. In the interest of variety, we've omitted themes from Friends, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Saved by the Bell, and Dawson's Creek
—
not because they aren't awesome (we all still know all the words, right?), but because they're already so burned into your brain that they seem too obvious. Where's the fun in that?
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