The Best Needle Drops of 2023… So Far

It’s been a pretty great year for TV and movies so far.

With new shows premiering and old favorites returning, plus new movies hitting streaming all the time, there hasn’t been a shortage of incredible things to watch in 2023.

Earlier this month, Team Decider picked the best TV shows and best movies of 2023 so far, and something nearly all of the picks have in common is music.

What would a film be without its score and soundtrack?

From tried and true faves like Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteen, to the Bridgerton staple string quartet covers, to deeper cuts like Linda Rondstadt’s “Long, Long Time” and even some musical theater, there have been countless great needle drops in the shows and movies of 2023 so far.

With so many to choose from, we managed to narrow the best of the best down to 11. Here are Team Decider’s picks for the best needle drops of 2023… so far.

• “I Know the End” by Phoebe Bridgers in Shrinking

  “Hey Siri, play “I Know the End” by Phoebe Bridgers.”

  “Pick a piece of music, something sad as hell, and just feel your feelings.” That’s the advice Paul (Harrison Ford) gives Jimmy (Jason Segel) in the third episode of Shrinking to begin grieving his late wife instead of numbing the pain. That’s where Phoebe comes in. The song of choice here is a perfect one for the moment — especially to those who were familiar with it before it appeared on the Apple TV+ comedy. A very skeptical Jimmy starts listening to “I Know the End” before taking off on his bike and by the end of the song, which climaxes with a cathartic group scream, he’s feeling his feelings. As someone who has experienced the intensity of that song live, I completely understand why Jimmy crashes his bike into an open car door because he’s crying too hard.

• “Anti-Hero” by Taylor Swift in You

  We’ve said it once and we’ll say it again: The Season 4 finale of Netflix’s You includes a Taylor Swift needle drop so perfect that amidst the most gut-wrenching betrayals, gruesome murders, and twisted storylines, you can’t help but emit a genuine cackle. Without spoiling the season, You unexpectedly cuts away from one of its most intense scenes with 10 minutes left in the finale and plays Swift’s iconic Midnights hit, “Anti-Hero.” As she shouts the lyrics, “IT’S ME. HI. I’M THE PROBLEM, IT’S ME,”  you’ll realize it’s the perfect anthem for Joe Goldberg, a man who — like Taylor — swears he’s only cryptic and Machiavellian cause he cares, gets older but never wiser, and should not be left to his own devices. “Anti-Hero” also holds a special place in You star Penn Badgley’s heart, which makes the selection even more satisfying. As noted in our full article on the needle drop, “Anti-Hero” was the song the actor used to make his iconic TikTok intro in October 2022, and Swift famously approved in the comments. Sheer perfection all around. — Nicole Gallucci

• “Shoop” by Salt-N-Pepa in Rye Lane

  Halfway through their day-long odyssey through south London, new friends Dom (Industry star David Jonsson) and Yas (winning newcomer Vivian Oparah) end up at a karaoke night to procure a key to the apartment rented by Yas’ ex, Jules.  Their goal? To retrieve Yas’ A Tribe Called Quest album. Before the event’s beguiling host Mona (Omari Douglas) will relinquish Jules’s key to their friend Yas, they require the pair to perform a song: “Shoop” by Salt-N-Pepa. The usually outgoing Yas gets stage fright, so the introverted Dom takes the stage solo and, unsurprisingly, starts to bomb. Inspired by his gesture, Yas joins him in front of the crowd, and the two are able to cut loose and rap their damn hearts out. As Olan Collardy’s cinematography bathes Dom and Yas in dreamy cool lighting and intimate close-ups, the chemistry between the duo is electric. It’s no wonder they end up making out in the bathroom in the very next scene. — Karen Kemmerle

• “La Cage Aux Folles” by George Hearn in Ted Lasso

  We’ve long known that at least one musical theater nerd was among the writers of Ted Lasso, and Season 3 finally made good on all of those one-liners from the seasons before it with a few excellent needle drops from classic musicals (“Manchester, England” from Hair accompanying the team’s trip to Manchester, England was particularly memorable to this musical theater nerd), but I think I’d have my theater geek card revoked if I didn’t specifically call out the La Cage aux Folles thread in Episode 9 of Season 3. Titled “La Locker Room Aux Folles,” the episode starts with the musical’s title track, but the use of its act one finale “I Am What I Am,” is what I’m actually here to talk about. Widely regarded as a gay anthem, in context, the song is about a drag performer proudly owning his identity and stating he refuses to change for anyone. Ted Lasso uses it in a similar context, because the episode followed Colin’s coming out journey, and the song closes out the episode — Colin, like Albin in La Cage, is finally owning every part of his identity as a gay footballer and was finally met with support from his best friend, who had been distant and cold to him all episode.

• “Love Story” by Taylor Swift in The Bear

  I don’t know what we did to deserve a second brilliant Taylor Swift needle drop this year, but we got one in The Bear Season 2, Episode 7, “Forks.” Unlike You’s selection, which made me cackle alone in my living room, watching Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s Richie have a heartwarming epiphany to “Love Story (Taylor’s Version),”  made me bawl uncontrollably. As noted in our full breakdown of the musical moment, the specific track hit so hard because Taylor Swift references were a running Richie-related thread throughout the season — one that helped us better understand the character’s past and ushered him into a new era. I never expected the sight of a 45-year-old man belting Taylor Swift alone in his car to make me weep with joy, but The Bear wisely used the song as a way to lighten the mood, showcase Richie’s growth, remind us of his soft side, and express his genuine excitement for the future. After nearly two full seasons of Richie struggling with the grief of losing his best friend, searching for his place at the restaurant, and feeling like a burden to everyone around him, a certain sense of healing came from watching him scream-sing and smile along to his girl TSwift in the car after a rewarding day of work. — Nicole Gallucci

• “Deja Vu” by Mike Froudarakis & Alexander Leeming Froudarakis (string cover of Beyoncé) in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story

  Netflix’s Bridgerton shows are known for their steamy romance, fantasy version of historic fashion, and sumptuous string covers of contemporary pop hits. While Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story might have put the likes of Alicia Keys’s “If I Ain’t Got You” front and center in the show’s publicity blitz, the best needle drop of the season was a string cover of Beyoncé’s “Deja Vu.” The song is used in Episode 4 to show key events of Episode 1 from King George’s (Corey Mylchreest) point of view. The result is akin to the iconic moment when Angelica Schuyler rewinds the stage in Hamilton to tell her tragic side of the story during “Satisfied” and a perfect use of “Deja Vu.” — Meghan O’Keefe

• “Long, Long Time” by Linda Rondstadt in The Last of Us

  In addition to having one of the best needle drops of the year so far, the third episode of The Last of Us Season 1 also wins the Best Episode That Made Me Cry My Eyes Out Of The Year So Far award. And a lot of those tears were a direct result of the use of Linda Rondstadt’s “Long, Long Time” to move the story forward. It acts as the catalyst for the relationship between wandering survivalist Frank (Murray Bartlett) and Doomsday prepper Bill (Nick Offerman) when Frank begins to play and sing it (quite badly) on the piano in Bill’s house. Even though Bill doesn’t realize it at the time — because when he sings it back to Frank moments later, he’s not singing it about anyone at all — it comes to define the rest of his life (which becomes their life). The song comes back around at the end, after the episode’s devastating climax; this time, it’s the Rondstadt version playing over the speakers of a car Joel and Ellie procure. It’s the final gut punch in an hour-plus-long series of them. A near-perfect episode? Absolutely. Though it’s part of a larger season, it tells one story from beginning to end and it uses “Long, Long Time” as bookends to do so.

• “No Sleep Till Brooklyn” by The Beastie Boys in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

  The Guardians of the Galaxy franchise is full of damn iconic needle drops, ones that never feel forced because they just feel so personal. Come on — what other superhero franchise is setting badass superhero moments to “Cherry Bomb” or “The Chain”? Writer/director James Gunn went even deeper and weirder for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, adding deep cuts from Faith No More and The The to the playlists of MCU fans everywhere, but it’s the Beastie Boys brawl that absolutely defines the entire franchise. Always a fan of a band’s second-biggest hit, Gunn chose to score the Guardians’ most brutal fight yet with “No Sleep Till Brooklyn,” a snotty, hard-hitting banger from the Beasties’ 1987 debut Licensed to Ill. Presented as an impossible done-in-one take, the scene shows the fully united team — Star-Lord, Rocket, Groot, Drax, Mantis, Nebula, Gamora 2.0, and even li’l Blurp — absolutely wrecking shop against the High Evolutionary’s henchmen and Ani-Men. The scene is the perfect fusion of music and mayhem. “My job ain’t a job, it’s a damn good time.” — Brett White

• “Titanium” by Sia in M3GAN

  One of the funniest needle drops of the year so far is, without question, Miss M3GAN herself from the horror comedy M3GAN singing Sia’s “Titanium” as a lullaby. It’s such an unexpected moment: M3GAN is comforting Katie after a traumatic experience and just… breaks into song. There’s something so ironic about a girl made of metal softly proclaiming “I am titanium,” and though Katie doesn’t realize it yet, M3GAN singing the lines “I’m bulletproof, nothing to lose” couldn’t be more apt as the movie’s third act concludes.

  Killing people, driving cars, showing off her sick dance moves, and singing well-known pop songs as unsettling lullabies: M3GAN does it all.

• “Born in the USA” by Bruce Springsteen in Air

  About halfway through Air, Rob Strasser (Jason Bateman) talks about Bruce Springsteen’s 1984 hit “Born in the USA,” telling Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) that he loves the song, but realized the song isn’t the patriotic anthem he thought it was after really listening to the lyrics one day. And it’s true, “Born in the USA” is about Vietnam veterans and the hardships they faced after returning home juxtaposed against the ways the armed forces are glorified in the name of patriotism. The song then makes an appearance in the film, soundtracking the “where are they now” title cards that play before the credits. It’s a fascinating choice, especially compared to the other 80s hits that make up the soundtrack (down to a score put together using existing film scores from the 80s), because the true meaning is fresh in your mind as you’re finding out where all of the real-life figures of the film are now.

• “Drive” by Incubus in Beef

  Anytime you turned on the radio back at the beginning of this century, you were bound to hear “Drive,” the inescapable hit from the Southern Californian rock band Incubus. The song rose all the way to #1 on Billboard’s Modern Rock charts, and even climbed into Billboard’s Top 10 by the summer of 2001. Like so many bands of that era that were dominating the airwaves — think Sugar Ray, think Crazy Town, think Staind — Incubus largely, and quickly, faded out of the mainstream’s consciousness as the national mood changed post-9/11. This context is absolutely crucial to why Steven Yeun’s character Danny in the Netflix series Beef decides to serenade the members of a church group he’s trying to re-ingratiate himself to with “Drive,” a secular song about the collision of faith and fear. It’s a song from his past, a time when his life was trending upwards — he had a band, he had a girl, he had hope and optimism about the future — and by retreating into his past, he’s attempting to erase the two decades of personal and professional mistakes that brought him to the point where he’s openly weeping in church (which, it’s important to note, he’s only attending in order to run a scam). It’s very much a defining moment for his character, and for the series overall. As Yeun’s voice fades out and Incubus lead singer Brandon Boyd’s fades in as the credits begin to roll, the lyric speaks volumes: “Whatever tomorrow brings, I’ll be there / With open arms and open eyes, yeah.”—Mark Graham