Before the invention of social media, the only way to find out what happened backstage was to somehow get back there yourself – a tall order when trailing the world’s biggest bands, walled off by a legion of security and roadies. The other way was to gorge on the best music documentaries (if there was one) about your favourite bands.
Some of the older rock docs definitely have more of a home-spun feel to them compared to newer, super-slick productions, but that’s part of their vintage charm. They represented a moment in musical history and deserve to be counted. The lucky ones have been given a fresh lick of paint with clever 4K remastering and sumptuous Dolby Atmos sound.
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However, not every music doc is made equal. In other words, some are pure barrel-scraping drivel, made to cash in on a well-worn theme. You will not find one of those in our guide to the best music documentaries and films.
We’ve curated a broad church of offerings here, with metal, classic rock, punk and hardcore each playing a set. We’ve thrown in a curveball (can you spot it?), an Oscar winner and we've muddied the waters between video album and music documentary (cheers, Slipknot). Before we get to the main event, let’s take a look at the different formats available to buy, and which one is worth spending your hard-earned on…
The best music documentaries and music films: the format to buy
It goes without saying that the highest quality format you can buy now is 4K UHD, but not many music documentaries get this primo treatment. Blu-ray delivers enhanced audio and visual quality over DVDs, so if you have a Blu-ray player, don’t hesitate to buy this format if it’s available for your chosen title.
There are a small majority in our best music documentaries and music films guide that are currently only available in DVD format. They’re still worth buying – we wouldn’t have included them if they weren’t.
Don’t forget, you can also buy the official soundtracks for some of the films and documentaries featured below, treating your record player to some new vinyl if you prefer wax to CDs. As for us, we’re saving up the eye-watering sum to buy This Is Spinal Tap on vinyl...
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The best music documentaries and music films
The best music docs and films on Netflix
- The Defiant Ones
- The Dirt
- Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Child
- Keith Richards: Under The Influence
- Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives
- How The Beatles Changed The World
- Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorcese
...and on Amazon Prime Video
- Lamb of God – As The Palaces Burn
- American Hardcore
- Gimme Danger: Story of The Stooges
- Lynyrd Skynyrd – If I Leave Here Tomorrow
- It Might Get Loud (feat. The Edge, Jimmy Page, Jack White)
- Looking For Johnny: The Legend of Johnny Thunders
- Death By Metal (the story of Chuck Schuldiner and Florida death metal pioneers, Death)
- Last Days Here (the story of Bobby Leibling and his seminal band, Pentagram)
About the author
Claire Davies is a music, lifestyle and tech journalist, and has written for Total Guitar, MusicRadar and T3 among other brands. She’s interviewed many of music’s most prodigious and notorious, from Tony Iommi and Slash to Robb Flynn and Nikki Sixx.
