"I think it's time we blow this scene. Get everybody and the stuff together. OK, 3, 2, 1,
let's jam!"
- "Tank!
", Best. Theme Song. EVER. Especially when played LIVE! It's catchy as all hell, it's got amazing percussion, the brass is going nuts throughout the entire thing, and it ends in such a satisfying way. It's considered one of the best opening songs for a reason, after all. - Also "See You, Space Cowboy". This version was going to be the regular ending credits, but it wasn't ready in time for the first episode broadcast, so they switched the songs, instead saving this song for the final shootout between Spike and the Red Dragon in the final episode of the series.
- "Bad dog, no biscuits" is so awesome it will make you weep. Angriest. Trombone solo. Ever. More so, that is a soprano bone.
- One of the most AWESOME endings in the history of anime segues seamlessly into the beautiful "Blue". Roughly 90% of anime fans want that song played at their funerals. The ending of the final episode is one of the few end credit sequences to an anime series that [adult swim] doesn't speed up to get in more advertising time (including most other Cowboy Bebop episodes after the initial run). "Blue" is just that PERFECT an ending to the series.
- As if that's not enough, "Space Lion", is truly and simply beautiful. Quite possibly the best OST ever.
- "No Reply" is an astoundingly beautiful, passionate song. It doesn't even bother most people that the song is about the dying moments going through the singer's mind as he's committing suicide. It's THAT. DAMN. GOOD.
- "What Planet is This". Not only is the music amazing on its own, but the fact it is used during a protracted dogfight/chase with main character Spike, using what are essentially futuristic fighter jets. Surprisingly, it fits the scene perfectly.
- "Elm" shows that even in the middle of a chase scene, the right song can turn it from being about catching the bad guy to an internal, emotional struggle. Just try replacing this song with anything else, and Jet's chase scene will be nowhere near as powerful.
- "Green Bird" mixes tragedy and futile hope in its simple vocal harmonies. The emotion is real.
- "Call Me, Call Me" is a truly beautiful Tear Jerker when taken in context when it's used in the series.
- "Is It Real?". It has such a fatal and tragic message, and yet it's also quite moving.
- Yo Pumpkin Head: Dancing in your chair = impossible to resist.
- The ever-so chill Ask-DNA. A catchy beat, funky instrumentation, and some kick-ass vocals only help enforce how strong of a song it is. "What's up, Sweet Cakes?"
- The ending song from the film, Gotta Knock a Little Harder.
- The melancholy Road to the West could be described as a saxophone weeping lyrically for 3 minutes. As one of the comments states, "If I ever break up with my girlfriend and I find myself driving on the highway at night alone, while it's raining, still remembering her and the times we had, this is the song that would be playing in my head." This is actually the emotional context in which it was used in the series.
- Pushing the Sky, the final battle theme against Vincent Volaju in The Movie.
- The Iron Maiden-inspired Live in Baghdad.
- N.Y. Rush is a fast piece that's good background music for a fight or a chase, like the scenes it was used in, or even just a night on the town.
- Too Good Too Bad, too good. The animation it's paired with catapults both of them way past the line of mere "awesome."
- Memory, the very first song we hear in the series, a heartstring-pulling music box song that strikes all of the right pangs in one's heart.
- The ending theme, The Real Folk Blues. A heartbreaking piece about reminiscing of lost love, essentially summing up the greatest loss of Spike's life and indeed for many of the characters. A remixed version plays in the last episode, and it's telling that it's also said episode's name, considering the tragic end that it accompanies. It also got elevated to another level in 2020, when Funimation and Sunrise put out a massive collaboration cover of the song to raise money for COVID-19 relief.
- On the Run is a cover of the Pink Floyd song of the same name off of The Dark Side of the Moon. It's easily as terrifying as the original, especially considering what it's used for in the series.
- Autumn in Ganymede has an amazing bass line.
- Go Go Cactus Man, an Ennio Morricone Pastiche that could only be more Spaghetti Western if it caused Parmesan to come out of your speakers.
- The Egg and I, light, happy, carefree and still amazingly complex. Also doubles as funny when you remember that it was also used for the scene of Jet and Spike trying to get a betamax player.
- Cats on Mars is a silly track used as one of Ed's leitmotifs. It sounds a bit like Stereolab. You might have already heard it because it's become ubiquitously-used stock music on anime-related YouTube.
- Don't bother None is a great, laidback blues song with some stellar vocals, guitar and harmonica. Simply a delight to listen to.
- Cosmic Dare (Pretty With A Pistol) introduces Faye in The Movie and perfectly fits her personality.
