It was a heavy year for music documentaries, telling the stories of everyone from longtime A-listers to one-hit-wonders to departed legends to the guy who tried to assassinate Björk.
Not included are any of the numerous films about Diddy; this list is also limited to either feature films or two-part documentaries. The 1990s were the decade that loomed largest among this year’s best musical docs.
We Want the Funk
Directed by the duo of Stanley Nelson and Nicole London, this is a delightful history of funk music, from James Brown to Parliament Funkadelic to the Minneapolis Sound.
Part of the Independent Lens series, it’s available on the PBS app.
Happy and You Know It
Documentarian Penny Lane, a couple of years ago, made one of the best music documentaries of the decade, f. Now, she’s back with a look at the business of children’s music, which is more contentious than you probably thought.
My highlight of the film, which debuts on HBO Max on Christmas Day, was the guy angry that someone else lifted “Baby Shark” from him, despite having no claim that he wrote the song.
A King Like Me
Matthew Henderson’s film, which landed on Netflix this summer, tells the story of the Zulu Club, a century-old “crewe” in New Orleans that participants in each year’s Mardi Gras parade, and annually elects a “king.” Like almost every other documentary I’ve ever seen about New Orleans, it made me want to hop on a plane immediately.
Satisfied
This documentary about Hamilton co-star Renée Elise Goldsberry had been kicking around the festival circuit for a long time, and its production, which depicted the early days of Hamilton, goes back so far that Obama was still president at the time. But it finally landed this year and it’s a joy, covering both Goldsberry’s Broadway career and her hope to have a child. It’s now streaming on VOD channels.
It’s All Gonna Break
A look at the popular Canadian band Broken Social Scene, over the course of multiple eras. The project, directed by Stephen Chung, was shot, abandoned, rediscovered, and finally saw the light of day earlier this year. It’s also available on all VOD major channels.
DIG! XX
DIG! Ondi Timoner’s famous documentary about the bands The Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre, and for its 20th anniversary, Timoner released an enjoyable, expanded version, which can now be watched on Criterion Channel.
Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery
Almost every other big musical festival from the 1990s, from successful to not, already got the streaming doc treatment, so it was inevitable that it would eventually be Lilith Fair’s turn. This Hulu film, directed by Ally Pankiw, looks back on the all-female festival that had a three-year run in the late 1990s, as Sarah MacLachlan and others share their reflections.
Hung Up on a Dream: The Zombies Documentary
Another one that was on the shelf for a very long time after a 2023 South by Southwest debut, Hung Up on a Dream follows six decades in the life of the Zombies, the British Invasion band. Director Robert Schwartzman looks at the bands 1960s heyday, as well as the various times they reunited. This one is streaming on VOD channels.
Butthole Surfers: The Whole Truth and Nothing Butt
Sporting what’s undoubtedly the best movie title of 2025, this film, which debuted at South by Southwest and also popped up at other festivals, is a celebration of the titular band, and also of the ethos of Weird Austin in the 1990s. The mayor of that era, Richard Linklater, naturally makes an appearance.
Directed by Tom Stern, the film looks at how the band long resisted selling out, and how they view that decision, from the vantage point of being men in their 60s. The film is not yet available to watch at home.
Sly Lives (aka the Burden of Black Genius)
Questlove’s first documentary since winning the Oscar for his debut Summer of Soul takes another look at the music of the past, telling the story of Sly Stone, who passed away a few months after the film debuted. It’s not quite the achievement of Summer of Soul, but still a worthwhile portrayal, and it’s available to watch on Hulu.
Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted
A fun little documentary, directed by Isaac Gale, Ryan Olson and David McMurr, that’s just what it sounds like: Musician Jerry “Swamp Dogg” Williams, holding court in his backyard while his pool gets painted, and welcoming various famous visitors, including Johnny Knoxville. This documentary is streaming on VOD channels.
Goodbye Horses: The Many Lives of Q Lazzarus
The fascinating story of the singer who recorded the titular song, featured in a pivotal scene in The Silence of the Lambs, and various parodies of it in the ensuing years. A chance encounter with director Jonathan Demme made her music a key part of several of his films, but the singer had a rough go of it in the years afterward.
The Best of Me
Heather Landsman’s archival documentary is one of the most chilling things I saw all year. The film assembles several months of video diaries of Ricardo Lopez, the man who, in 1996, attempted to kill singer Björk by sending her a bomb. I saw it at a one-off local screening, and it’s not available for streaming.
Bono: Stories of Surrender
I didn’t have high hopes for a film in which U2’s Bono performs on stage, tells stories about his life, and sings solo versions of various U2 songs, but I was surprisingly moved by this. It’s streaming on Apple TV and is certainly not the worst collaboration between Apple and Bono.
One to One: John and Yoko
You might have thought there wasn’t much left to say about John Lennon, Yoko Ono and their relationship. But Kevin MacDonald and Sam Rice-Edwards’ film follows a specific moment, in 1972, shortly after the Beatles’ breakup, when the couple was preparing for their “One to One” concert. The structure is amazing, featuring lots of news archival footage as well. One to One is streaming on HBO Max.
Counting Crows: Have You Seen Me Lately?
This Tribeca debut, directed by Amy Scott, follows the first two albums by the band Counting Crows, focusing specifically on frontman Adam Duritz’s complicated relationship with fame. The music is outstanding, but I was even more impressed with the aesthetics, leaning heavily on a specifically 1990s look. Have You Seen Me Lately lands on HBO Max on December 18.
Billy Joel: And So It Goes
Also on HBO Max was this nearly five-hour, career-spanning look at the career of Billy Joel. Filmmakers Susan Lacy and Jessica Levin follow his rise, his decision to walk away from new music in 1993, and his four marriages; the film’s greatest achievement might have been getting all four Mrs. Joels to participate, Christie Brinkley included. The most moving part, though, is the exploration of how Joel’s father survived the Holocaust, and the long estrangement between father and son.
Ladies and Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music
The other film from Questlove this year, which he co-directed with Osmany Rodriguez, is this exploration of important musical moments from Saturday Night Live’s first 50 years. It was the best of the many documentary projects made to commemorate the show’s anniversary, and featured an all-timer of an opening, editing all those decades of performances together. It’s streaming on Peacock.
It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley
Amy Berg directed this examination of the life of Jeff Buckley, the talented singer-songwriter who died at age 30 in 1997 in a freak drowning accident. The film beautifully weaves in Buckley’s music with his tragic story, as told by his mother and multiple women who loved him. It’s streaming on HBO Max, and yes, his version of “Hallelujah” is the best one.
Pavements
But Alex Ross Perry’s Pavements is the music documentary of the year, tying together the story of the 1990s band Pavement with a stage musical that Perry workshopped about them, along with the making of a completely fictitious biopic about the band, with Joe Keery as singer Stephen Malkmus.
This could have been an absolute trainwreck, but instead, it fits together in the best way. It’s streaming on MUBI and also on VOD channels.
