The Best Movies about the Music Industry and/or Artists, Ranked (Number 1 on the list won three Oscars)

Although the majority of movies out there have music, for many the focus isn’t on the music or the artists themselves. But this ranked list begs to differ. Several of these movies have been decorated with awards, most notably number 1 and 5, in which both combined scored a total of 9 oscar trophies (crazy we know!).

1

The Pianist

Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Frank Finlay
Roman Polanski
2002

The true story of pianist Władysław Szpilman's experiences in Warsaw during the Nazi occupation. When the Jews of the city find themselves forced into a ghetto, Szpilman finds work playing in a café; and when his family is deported in 1942, he stays behind, works for a while as a laborer, and eventually goes into hiding in the ruins of the war-torn city.

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8.5 IMDB
2

Whiplash

Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons, Paul Reiser
Damien Chazelle
2014

Under the direction of a ruthless instructor, a talented young drummer begins to pursue perfection at any cost, even his humanity.

8.5 IMDB
3

Green Book

Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali, Linda Cardellini
Peter Farrelly
2018

Tony Lip, a bouncer in 1962, is hired to drive pianist Don Shirley on a tour through the Deep South in the days when African Americans, forced to find alternate accommodations and services due to segregation laws below the Mason-Dixon Line, relied on a guide called The Negro Motorist Green Book.

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8.2 IMDB
4

Bohemian Rhapsody

Rami Malek, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy
Bryan Singer
2018

Singer Freddie Mercury, guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor and bass guitarist John Deacon take the music world by storm when they form the rock 'n' roll band Queen in 1970. Hit songs become instant classics. When Mercury's increasingly wild lifestyle starts to spiral out of control, Queen soon faces its greatest challenge yet – finding a way to keep the band together amid the success and excess.

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8 IMDB
5

La La Land

Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, John Legend
Damien Chazelle
2016

Mia, an aspiring actress, serves lattes to movie stars in between auditions and Sebastian, a jazz musician, scrapes by playing cocktail party gigs in dingy bars, but as success mounts they are faced with decisions that begin to fray the fragile fabric of their love affair, and the dreams they worked so hard to maintain in each other threaten to rip them apart.

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8 IMDB
6

Straight Outta Compton

O\'Shea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell
F. Gary Gray
2015

In 1987, five young men, using brutally honest rhymes and hardcore beats, put their frustration and anger about life in the most dangerous place in America into the most powerful weapon they had: their music. Taking us back to where it all began, Straight Outta Compton tells the true story of how these cultural rebels—armed only with their lyrics, swagger, bravado and raw talent—stood up to the authorities that meant to keep them down and formed the world’s most dangerous group, N.W.A. And as they spoke the truth that no one had before and exposed life in the hood, their voice ignited a social revolution that is still reverberating today.

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7.9 IMDB
7

Once

Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová, Hugh Walsh
John Carney
2007

A vacuum repairman moonlights as a street musician and hopes for his big break. One day a Czech immigrant, who earns a living selling flowers, approaches him with the news that she is also an aspiring singer-songwriter. The pair decide to collaborate, and the songs that they compose reflect the story of their blossoming love.

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7.8 IMDB
8

Walk the Line

Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Ginnifer Goodwin
James Mangold
2005

A chronicle of country music legend Johnny Cash's life, from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins.

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7.8 IMDB
9

A Star Is Born

Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Sam Elliott
Bradley Cooper
2018

Seasoned musician Jackson Maine discovers — and falls in love with — struggling artist Ally. She has just about given up on her dream to make it big as a singer — until Jack coaxes her into the spotlight. But even as Ally's career takes off, the personal side of their relationship is breaking down, as Jack fights an ongoing battle with his own internal demons.

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7.7 IMDB
10

Ray

Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington, Regina King
Taylor Hackford
2004

Born on a sharecropping plantation in Northern Florida, Ray Charles went blind at seven. Inspired by a fiercely independent mom who insisted he make his own way, He found his calling and his gift behind a piano keyboard. Touring across the Southern musical circuit, the soulful singer gained a reputation and then exploded with worldwide fame when he pioneered couping gospel and country together.

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7.7 IMDB
11

Control

Sam Riley, Samantha Morton, Alexandra Maria Lara
Anton Corbijn
2007

Control is the biography of Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis, taking his story from schoolboy days of 1973 to his suicide on the eve of the band's first American tour in 1980.

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7.7 IMDB
12

La Vie en Rose

Marion Cotillard, Sylvie Testud, Pascal Greggory
Olivier Dahan
2007

From the mean streets of the Belleville district of Paris to the dazzling limelight of New York's most famous concert halls, Edith Piaf's life was a constant battle to sing and survive, to live and love. Raised in her grandmother's brothel, Piaf was discovered in 1935 by nightclub owner Louis Leplee, who persuaded her to sing despite her extreme nervousness. Piaf became one of France's immortal icons, her voice one of the indelible signatures of the 20th century.

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7.6 IMDB
13

August Rush

Freddie Highmore, Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Kirsten Sheridan
2007

An orphaned musical prodigy uses his gift as a clue to finding his birth parents.

7.5 IMDB
14

Inside Llewyn Davis

Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, John Goodman
Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
2013

In Greenwich Village in the early 1960s, gifted but volatile folk musician Llewyn Davis struggles with money, relationships, and his uncertain future following the suicide of his singing partner.

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7.5 IMDB
15

Love & Mercy

Paul Dano, John Cusack, Paul Giamatti
Bill Pohlad
2015

In the late 1960s, the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson stops touring, produces "Pet Sounds" and begins to lose his grip on reality. By the 1980s, Wilson, under the sway of a controlling therapist, finds a savior in Melinda Ledbetter.

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7.4 IMDB
16

Rocketman

Taron Egerton, Jamie Bell, Richard Madden
Dexter Fletcher
2019

The story of Elton John's life, from his years as a prodigy at the Royal Academy of Music through his influential and enduring musical partnership with Bernie Taupin.

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7.3 IMDB
17

Crazy Heart

Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Colin Farrell
Scott Cooper
2009

When reporter, Jean Craddock interviews Bad Blake—an alcoholic, seen-better-days country music legend—they connect, and the hard-living crooner sees a possible saving grace in a life with Jean and her young son.

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7.2 IMDB
18

Pitch Perfect

Anna Kendrick, Skylar Astin, Brittany Snow
Jason Moore
2012

College student Beca knows she does not want to be part of a clique, but that's exactly where she finds herself after arriving at her new school. Thrust in among mean gals, nice gals and just plain weird gals, Beca finds that the only thing they have in common is how well they sing together. She takes the women of the group out of their comfort zone of traditional arrangements and into a world of amazing harmonic combinations in a fight to the top of college music competitions.

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7.2 IMDB
19

8 Mile

Eminem, Mekhi Phifer, Brittany Murphy
Curtis Hanson
2002

The setting is Detroit in 1995. The city is divided by 8 Mile, a road that splits the town in half along racial lines. A young white rapper, Jimmy "B-Rabbit" Smith Jr. summons strength within himself to cross over these arbitrary boundaries to fulfill his dream of success in hip hop. With his pal Future and the three one third in place, all he has to do is not choke.

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7.1 IMDB