The 10 Best Star Wars Songs of All Time, Ranked

Image via Lucasfilm Published Oct 25, 2026, 5:42 PM EDT Julio is a Senior Author for Collider. He studied History and International Relations at university, but found his calling in cultural journalism. When he isn't writing, Julio also teaches English at a nearby school. He has lived in São Paulo most of his life, where he covers CCXP and other big events. Having loved movies, music, and TV from an early age, he prides himself in knowing every minute detail about the things he loves. When he is older, he dreams of owning a movie theater in a small countryside town. Sign in to your Collider account Whenever we think about Star Wars, the iconic John Williams theme immediately starts playing in our minds. It's only natural, his score for every single movie in the Skywalker Saga is pretty much perfect. However, Star Wars music isn't limited only to score, and also uses diegetic music to perfection — that's every piece of music playing inside the movie itself, that the characters also hear and react to. As a franchise set in a galaxy far, far away, but artistically inspired by the real world, there's a wide variety of genres, from jazz to EDM, all of which are used in-universe to create unique genres. Some of these tracks have become iconic in their own right, so here are the ten best and more otherworldly pieces of diegetic music in Star Wars. 10 "The Mod Parlour" The Book of Boba Fett Image via Lucasfilm Star Wars TV often features multiple cameos, but, for music fans, none has been as surprising as Stephen "Thundercat" Bruner appearing in The Book of Boba Fett as the Mos Espa mod parlor owner in Episode 4, "The Gathering Storm." The legendary bassist plays on the background track, "The Mod Parlour," which he wrote with Joseph Shirley and Ludwig Göransson. Thundercat gives it just enough of an otherworldly feel to make it perfect for Tatooine mods and audience members alike. 9 "Sugaan Essena" Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Image via Respawn Entertainment In the Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order opening sequence, protagonist Cal Kestis (Cameron Monaghan) listens to loud music to dull the noise of the junkyard planet Bracca. That song, "Sugaan Essena," became an instant fan-favorite, combining throat singing and heavy metal. Mongolian rockers The Hu wrote the lyrics in an original language to fit in with the game's setting, with its title translating to "The Black Thunder," while drawing inspiration from the traditional Mongolian creed of the Eternal Blue Sky. 8 "Jabba Flow" Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens Image via Lucasfilm Playing in the background as Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Rey (Daisy Ridley), and Finn (John Boyega) enter Maz Kanata's (Lupita Nyong'o) castle on Takodana in Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens, "Jabba Flow" was co-written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and J.J. Abrams. The Huttese lyrics mention the late crime lord Jabba the Hutt, and, according to Miranda, translate to "No, lover, lover. It wasn't me," in a nod to real-world singer Shaggy's song "It Wasn't Me." 7 "Chicken in the Pot" Solo: A Star Wars Story Image via Lucasfilm "Chicken in the Pot" isn't something that most people would expect to ever hear in Star Wars, but that's an excellent track in Solo: A Star Wars Story. It plays in the background when Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) first enters Dryden Vos' (Paul Bettany) yacht. In the lyrics, a couple talks about what they are going to eat, hence the name. It was written by Solo's composer, John Powell, who was inspired by early concept art from one of the song's in-universe performers, Luleo Primoc, as a chicken-like creature. 6 "Augie's Great Municipal Band" Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace Image via Lucasfilm One of the most iconic scenes in the franchise, the people of Naboo celebrate peace and union at the end of Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace. The song playing, "Augie's Great Municipal Band," is performed by the Gungan marching band of the same name. This particular song also contains nods to the Emperor's (Ian McDiarmid) theme from Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi, with the same notes sung by the choir in a major key and sped-up tempo. 5 "Igyah Kah" Ahsoka Image via Lucasfilm The fast-paced punk rock song Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) listens to while tearing through Lothal's highways in the Ahsoka series premiere is "Igyah Kah," performed in real life by singer Sarah Tudzin, from the Illuminati Hotties. It features lyrics in Huttese and was written by Star Wars composers Kevin Kiner and his daughter Deana Kiner with Ludwig Göransson and Noah Gorelick. Tudzin and Deana Kiner are long-time friends and collaborators, so, when Kiner called her, it was a no-brainer, Huttese lyrics and all. 4 "Yub Nub" Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi Image via Lucasfilm Many things changed between the Original Trilogy's first release in theaters and the 1997 Special Editions, including certain songs. At the end of Return of the Jedi, the Ewok celebration song "Yub Nub" was replaced by "Victory Celebration." Both are excellent and completely diegetic, but "Yub Nub" has a more "tribal" and spontaneous feel for the occasion as the Rebels celebrate with the Ewoks. Composed by John Williams, it features lyrics in Galactic Basic (how English is known in-universe) by his son, Joseph Williams, and Ewok translation by Ben Burtt. 3 "Lapti Nek" Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi Image via Lucasfilm Another song that was replaced in the Special Editions, "Lapti Nek" is what the Max Rebo Band plays at Jabba's Palace in Return of the Jedi. The band is composed of Max Rebo, Sy Snootles, and Droopy McCool — all among the coolest names ever. Once again composed by John Williams and his son, Joseph (lead singer from Toto, by the way), who wrote the Huttese lyrics. The song title translates to "Fancy Man," which sounds about right. Unfortunately, "Lapti Nek" was replaced by "Jedi Rocks" in the Special Editions; it's a good song, but "Lapti Nek" has more swag. Collider Exclusive · 8 Questions · 2 Minutes Which Star Wars Faction Do You Belong To? Rebels · Empire · Mandalorians · Crimson Dawn Eight honest questions about how you actually are: how you feel about rules, where your loyalty goes first, what you do when somebody criticises you in front of other people. Answer them and we will tell you whose side you would really have ended up on. Four factions are recruiting: the believers, the organisation, the ones with a code, and the ones with a price. ✊Rebel Alliance(Andor) 🛰️The Empire(Original Trilogy) 🪖Mandalorians(The Mandalorian) 🌅Crimson Dawn(Solo) PICK YOUR SIDE → 01 How do you feel about rules at work? This one sorts people faster than anything else. AI break the ones that are clearly wrong. BThey exist for a reason and I follow them. CI follow my own, which are stricter. DRules are a starting position for a negotiation. NEXT QUESTION → 02 What is your relationship with money? Nobody answers this the way they think they will. AI get by, and that is genuinely fine. BA steady salary and a clear ladder. CI take exactly what the work is worth. DNever enough, and I know how to get more. NEXT QUESTION → 03 What makes you respect somebody? Whatever you pick, you apply it to yourself too. AThat they speak up when it costs them. BThat they are very good at their job. CThat they keep their word without exception. DThat they deliver, whatever it takes. NEXT QUESTION → 04 How do you behave under real pressure? Your friends would probably answer this for you. ALoud and improvised, but I get there. BCalmly, and strictly by the book. CQuietly, and one step at a time. DColdly, which people find slightly unnerving. NEXT QUESTION → 05 Where does your loyalty go first? Everybody has an order, even if they never say it out loud. ATo the thing I believe in. BTo the organisation that took me on. CTo the people I grew up with. DTo whoever I currently have a deal with. NEXT QUESTION → 06 Somebody criticises you in front of other people. What happens? Be honest about the first thing you feel. AI argue back, right there and then. BI take it, then raise it through the proper channel. CI say nothing at all, and I remember it. DI smile, and make them regret it later. NEXT QUESTION → 07 What does a good life look like in ten years? Pick the one you would actually be happy with. ASomething I helped change, still standing. BA title, a team and a decent office. CA home, a family and my people safe. DOwning the thing I used to work for. NEXT QUESTION → 08 What do you want more than anything else? Eight questions in, this is the one that picks your side. ATo be on the right side of it. BOrder, and a clear place inside it. CTo belong somewhere that would never abandon me. DPower, and nobody above me. REVEAL MY FACTION → The Transmission Is Decoded Your Faction Is…Four sides, four completely different answers to the same question about how a galaxy should work. Here is where you would have signed up, what it would ask of you, and what it would give you back. Rebel AllianceYou belong with the side that has almost nothing and keeps going anyway. The Rebellion is not a glamorous posting, and anybody who tells you otherwise has not seen what it actually costs the people inside it. You are wired to notice when something is wrong and to say so, which makes you useful here and awkward almost everywhere else. Andor is the best thing Star Wars has made in years precisely because it shows the unglamorous half, which is the meetings, the paperwork and the people who never get a medal. Your kind of courage is the ordinary kind, done repeatedly, by somebody who is fully aware of the odds. The Alliance wins because enough people decided separately that they were finished being quiet about it. The Galactic EmpireYou belong to the machine, and the uncomfortable truth is that the machine mostly runs on people who are competent, orderly and convinced they are doing their job properly. Very few of them think of themselves as villains. You want structure, clear expectations and a way to measure whether you are doing well, none of which the other three factions can offer you. The Empire is frightening because of how ordinary it is on the inside, which is the single smartest thing Star Wars has ever done with it. Your risk is the quiet one, which is looking at something wrong and deciding it is somebody else's department. You would be genuinely good at this, and that is exactly the part worth thinking about. The MandaloriansYou belong to the people who lost their planet and kept their code anyway. Mandalorian culture is not a nationality so much as a promise, and anybody who makes that promise and keeps it is one of them. You are loyal to people rather than to institutions, which is why an organisation chart has never once told you who you actually owe. A code only counts when it costs you something, and you are the sort of person who would pay rather than bend it. Mandalorians spend the whole saga arguing about what being one even means, and that argument is far more interesting than the armour. The Mandalorian and Grogu took the creed to cinemas over Memorial Day 2026, the first Star Wars film in seven years. Crimson DawnYou belong to the syndicate, where nobody wastes your time pretending the galaxy runs on ideals. Crimson Dawn deals in leverage, and it is the only faction on this list that would tell you so to your face. You read a room for who owes what, and you are usually right, which is a talent that makes people slightly wary of you. Qi'ra is the most interesting thing to come out of Solo, because she is the one character who learned the actual lesson about power. You would rather be the person setting the terms than the person being told what the terms are. The catch is simple enough. In a syndicate, everybody is leverage, including you, and the smart ones never forget that part. ↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ 2 "Niamos!" Andor Image via Lucasfilm This absolute banger is first heard in Andor in the Season 1 episode "Announcement," when Cassian (Diego Luna) goes to the resort planet Niamos, where he is arrested. Nicholas Britell composed two other versions of "Niamos!" in the first season, including a lo-fi one that plays at Mon Mothma's (Genevieve O'Reilly) soirée on Coruscant. The undeniable best, however, comes in the Season 2 episode "Harvest." It's a remix by Britell and Brandon Roberts that plays as Mon completely unravels on the dance floor of her daughter's wedding after learning that her childhood friend, Tay Kolma (Ben Miles), has to die to protect the Rebellion's secrets. "Niamos!" is a true galactic summer hit, but it's also the ultimate anthem to decadence. 1 "Cantina Band" Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope Image via Lucasfilm One of Star Wars' most unmistakable songs, "Cantina Band" is playing at the Mos Eisley Cantina in Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope when Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) arrive. It's performed by the band Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes, all of whom are aliens of the Bith species. In-universe, "Cantina Band" is known as "Mad About Me" and is considered a jizz classic — that's the actual name of the musical genre. In real life, it was composed by John Williams to cater to George Lucas' wish of having something similar to Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller playing in the cantina. Now, it's one of the franchise's most iconic songs, as well as its most important diegetic song.