Perhaps the most stunning slice of entertainment to grace any screen in the last five years, Breaking Bad continues to grip, shock and awe. While lost in the drama at the edge of your seat, you seldom notice a major element that contributes to this show’s brilliance: the soundtrack. Blessed by the talents of ZZ Top, Norah Jones, Beastie Boys, Nancy Sinatra and many, many more, the tracks the music supervisors were able to lock for the show are themselves an impressive feat and well worth a listen on their own. To celebrate the premiere of the fifth and final season of the show this upcoming Sunday, I listened to every song used in every episode to date (156 in total) and selected my top 30 for your listening pleasure (iTunes and Amazon links below). In order of my play counts:

1. Black – Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi (feat. Norah Jones) [S4, Ep13] Amazon
2. Horse With No Name – America [S3, Ep2] Amazon
3. Waiting Around To Die – The Be Good Tanyas [S2, Ep3] Amazon
4. Goodbye – Apparat (feat. Soap & Skin) [S4, Ep13] Amazon
5. Catch Yer Own Train – The Silver Seas [S1, Ep6] Amazon
6. If I Had a Heart – Fever Ray [S4, Ep3] Amazon
7. The Hole – Glen Phillips [S1, Ep2] Amazon n/a
8. Truth – Alexander Ebert [S4, Ep1] Amazon
9. We Are Born When We Die – Apollo Sunshine [S4, Ep12] Amazon n/a
10. Tush – ZZ Top [S3, Ep3] Amazon
11. Windy – The Association [S3, Ep12] Amazon
12. Out Of Time Man – Mick Harvey [S1, Ep1] Amazon
13. Magic Arrow – Timber Timbre [S3, Ep2] Amazon
14. Who’s Gonna Save My Soul – Gnarls Barkley [S1, Ep7] Amazon
15. Into the Night – Benny Mardones [S2, Ep4] Amazon
16. DLZ – TV On The Radio [S2, Ep10] Amazon
17. Boots Of Chinese Plastic – The Pretenders [S4, Ep7] Amazon
18. Rocket Scientist – Teddybears (feat. Eve) [S3, Ep5] Amazon
19. Good Morning Freedom – Blue Mink [S2, Ep9] Amazon
20. Enchanted – The Platters [S2, Ep11] Amazon
21. Didn’t I – Darondo [S1, Ep4] Amazon
22. Uh – Fujiya & Miyagi [S1, Ep5] Amazon
23. Shambala – Beastie Boys [S3, Ep13] Amazon
24. Crapa Pelada – Quartetto Cetra [S3, Ep13] Amazon
25. The Peanut Vendor – Alvin “Red” Tyler [S2, Ep5] Amazon
26. Sabado en el Parque – Grupo Fantasma [S3, Ep11] Amazon n/a
27. It’s Such A Pretty World Today – Nancy Sinatra [S2, Ep4] Amazon
28. Dead Fingers Talking – Working For A Nuclear Free City [S1, Ep1] Amazon n/a
29. Without You – Sasha Dobson [S1, Ep3] Amazon
30. Negro y Azul: The Ballad of Heisenberg – Los Cuates de Sinaloa [S2 Episode 7] Amazon