Everybody loves The Simpsons! We’ve been watching Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie for nearly thirty years, and the First Family of Animation has kept us entertained through 27 seasons and a feature-length film (as well as books, comics and games). On top of all the usual highjinks and adventures, episodes have featured celebrity cameos, political satire, fan-voting, and best of all, music.
There have been so many wonderful musical moments in the history of The Simpsons; from Weird Al serenading Marge after Homer messed up (again), to Lurlene Lumpkin with her country ballads, to Marge’s starring role in the Springfield performance of Streetcar Named Desire. However, one of the most fun ways that The Simpsons incorporates catchy tunes is with the big song and dance number. These top-ten musical numbers are the ones where characters burst into song as they go about their day – whether it’s the whole town brought together for a chorus or a villain dancing away his cares behind closed doors, these toe-tapping songs are some of Springfield’s best!
Here is Screen Rant's list of the 10 Best Musical Numbers From The Simpsons.
Monorail! (Marge vs The Monorail: S4, Ep12)
When Springfield gets a two-million-dollar windfall courtesy of Mr. Burns’ terrible environmental practices, a town meeting is held to decide what to do with the money. Ever the practical citizen, Marge wants the roads repaired, but her eminently logical suggestion gets steamrollered by a dashing stranger who pitches a monorail to the crowd.
Lyle Lanley strides in with a joke (“A town with money is like a mule with a spinning wheel…no-one knows how he got it, and danged if he knows how to use it!”) and follows up with one of the catchiest songs ever heard in a town meeting. Concerns are dismissed with a jaunty tune, and by the end, the town is singing on the steps, completely convinced. Altogether now…. Monorail! Monorail! Monoraaaaaiiil!
Listen to the full song - HERE.
Funniest line: “The ring came off my pudding can! / Take my pen-knife, my good man!” (Wiggum and Lanley)
See My Vest (Two Dozen and One Greyhounds: S6, Ep20)
A parody of 101 Dalmations, Two Dozen and One Greyhounds sees the Simpsons family dog, Santa’s Little Helper, run away to the racetrack to fall in love with a lady-greyhound named She’s The Fastest (d’aaaww.) The pregnant pup is given over to the family, and the pair have twenty-five puppies… which quickly become too much for the Simpsons to handle!
Mr. Burns surprises everyone by wanting to adopt the pups, and after he is refused, dog-naps them in a dastardly plot. Bart and Lisa sneak up to the mansion, and get the shock of their life when Burns appears to be actually treating the puppies well - but we all know that that can’t be right! And it’s not. After bathing the adorable pups, Burns launches into a glorious musical number (to the tune of “Be My Guest”) in his wardrobe full of animal-skin clothing, and the peeping children realize that he wants the puppies for a fur tuxedo!
Listen to the full song - HERE.
Funniest line: “Like my loafers? Former gophers. It was that, or skin my chauffeurs!”
Who Needs The Kwik-E-Mart? (Homer and Apu: S5, Ep13)
The Kwik-E-Mart may be a Springfield staple, but it’s not exactly known for the quality of its food. Even Homer’s iron stomach can’t handle a spoiled ham he buys there, and when he complains, Apu just makes it worse by giving him spoiled shrimp to apologize. (Oops!) Lurking nearby is Kent Brockman, and he convinces Homer to don a ridiculously large spy-hat and catch Apu in the act next time.
Apu loses his job, and in a perfectly Homer-esque fit of generosity (toward someone who wouldn’t need that generosity in the first place if Homer hadn’t been around!) he’s invited to move in with the Simpsons. Despite being shot far less in his new life, Apu misses the Kwik-E-Mart, and even the Simpsons serenading him with this upbeat number can’t make him forget his true calling as a cashier.
Listen to the full song - HERE.
Funniest Lines: “When I first arrived, you were all such jerks, but now I’ve come to love your quirks!” (Apu)
“Hey, he’s not happy at all! He lied to us through song!” (Homer)
We Put The Spring In Springfield (Bart After Dark: S8 Ep5)
This raunchy episode just proves that Homer and Bart can’t be left to fend for themselves. Bart gets in trouble with the owner of a creepy-looking house after he damages it playing with his friends. Meaning well (doesn’t he always?) Homer offers the boy’s services doing chores until his debt is paid off. It’s a logical enough punishment… if not for the fact that the house is actually a “burlesque house” called La Maison Derriere!
Bart may love his new job working the door, but when Marge gets home and finds out, she is furious, and tries to get the house shut down. Another instance of Marge being overruled through the power of song, Belle and Homer convince the town that it would be a crying shame to lose this particular brand of adult entertainment. (Sadly, we miss out on Marge’s own song in reply, thanks to a runaway bulldozer.)
Listen to the full song - HERE.
Funniest Line: “Our skimpy costumes ain’t so bad… they seem to entertain your dad!”
Cut Every Corner (Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala-Doh!-cious: S8, Ep13)
In this Mary Poppins spoof, the Simpsons hire a nanny to give Marge a much-needed break. It’s about time, but this is actually sparked by that signature blue hair falling out in clumps due to stress - leaving Marge with a Swiss cheese-like hairstyle (which she finds less than hilarious). Sharry Bobbins takes the job after Homer scares off every other applicant by trying to prove that they are really men in drag (thanks to Mrs. Doubtfire), and although she seems to be absolutely perfect, the Simpsons are too much, even for her.
The episode includes several incredible Poppins parody songs, including “Minimum Wage Nanny” “A Boozehound Named Barney” and the final number “Happy Just The Way We Are”, as well as one sung to the tune of “Margaritaville” as Sharry is overcome with stress trying to cope with the family. However, clear fan favorite is “Cut Every Corner”, in which Sharry explains in song that you don’t have to waste time on boring chores if you just do a half-a**ed job…
Listen to the full song - HERE.
Funniest Line: “If you cut every corner you’ll have more time for play. It’s the American way!”
The Garbage Man Can (Trash of the Titans: S9 Ep22)
Homer is up to his usual unreasonable tricks in this episode, when a missed garbage pickup spirals out of control. After the garbage truck rolls past his home mere seconds before he can struggle out with loaded trash bags, Homer reacts in his usual calm, collected manner… by screaming insults at the garbage men. Understandably less than impressed by this behavior (and by his refusal to apologize), they cut off trash service to the Simpson home.
Then, when Marge writes an apology on his behalf, Homer storms down to the Sanitation Commissioner himself to take it back, and ends up in a bitter (if one-sided) rivalry with him. The citizens of Springfield aren’t keen on the idea of putting him in charge, but Homer being Homer, he decides to tip the scales in his favor with outrageous promises and a song featuring U2. It doesn’t end well for Springfield (shockingly!), but this ditty to the tune of “The Candy Man Can” (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) is a definite winner.
Listen to the full song - HERE.
Funniest Line: “They mop you up when you’re overflowing, and tell you when your arse is showing!”
Everybody Hates Ned Flanders (Dude, Where’s My Ranch? S14, EP18)
When Homer decides to write a Christmas carol, he finds himself constantly interrupted by neighborino Ned Flanders, and ends up writing a song about him instead. The song is a huge hit (although for some reason this doesn’t make Homer any richer…), spawning countless annoying cover versions including an extended salsa mix and a William Shatner cover.
Frustrated by the earworm he created, Homer drives the family to a dude ranch to escape. Despite the fact that this song is actually the set up to the episode, rather than the episode’s focus, this mini-story-arc featured guest star David Byrne and was nominated for an Emmy.
Listen to the full song - HERE.
Funniest Line: “You don’t have to move your feet, just hate Flanders to the disco beat!”
We Do (The Stonecutter's Song) (Homer the Great: S6, Ep12)
In an episode poking fun at the Freemasons, "Homer the Great" reveals that Springfield is home to a secret society called the Stonecutters. Homer finds out about the group from his less-than-subtle colleagues Lenny and Carl, who flaunt their membership privileges. Homer may not be the brightest crayon in the box, but he certainly notices when other people have to do less work than he does!
After finding out his father is a Stonemason, he’s overjoyed to be able to join, and we see the lodge members singing and waving their tankards of beer (two things that Homer loves) in this hilarious song. (Of course, things start to go sideways soon after, but that’s no surprise!)
Listen to the full song here.
Funniest Line: “Who robs cavefish of their sight? Who rigs every Oscar night? We do!”
It's a High to be Loathed (Gorgeous Grampa: S24, Ep14)
After buying a storage locker at auction (because not even Storage Wars can escape the satirical wrath of the Simpsons!), the family discovers that Grampa is hoarding a lot of wigs, leotards, and musclemen magazines. After putting one and one together to make five (and forgetting previous romances that Grampa has enjoyed) the family decide that it’s time he come out of the closet. They would never have expected the truth - that Abe Simpson was a pro wrestler in his youth known as Gorgeous Godfrey.
The ultimate cad in the ring, Gorgeous Godfrey was the character fans loved to hate, but was forced to retire for his antics. It seems that he only had one true fan, Montgomery Burns! Yet another Simpsons song used as persuasion, "It’s a High to be Loathed" is sung by Burns himself to try and convince Grampa to return to the ring…
Listen to full song - HERE.
Funniest Line: “Mr. Burns and Skeletor! Keep your good guys, what a snore…”
Do The Bartman (The Simpsons Sing The Blues Album)
Our final entry doesn’t actually appear in an episode of the Simpsons, but in a TV short from 1990, and on the first of many Simpsons albums The Simpsons Sing The Blues. Despite this, it can’t be left off the list, as it was an international success, reaching number one in the UK singles charts.
Michael Jackson was even involved in the song as a backing singer, with many fans assuming that he penned the hit. While Matt Groening has said that MJ did write it, Bryan Loren also claims that he was the only one behind it. Whoever was responsible, this ‘90s rap remains a Simpsons classic.
Listen to full song HERE.
Funniest Line: “Homer was yelling, (Homer: BART!) Mom was, too, Because I put moth balls in the beef stew.”
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Did we miss any other numbers that should be on this list? Let us know in the comments!