A huge part of what makes the Muppets so great is their iconic songbook. Over the decades, Kermit and the gang have worked with amazing songwriters from Paul Williams to Bret McKenzie, resulting in songs that make us laugh, that make us cry, and that make us wonder what is on the other side.

As with any list of a Muppet-y nature, there are certainly incredible songs that didn’t make this particular cut. But hopefully, if you’re looking to build a new Muppet playlist, these 10 choices, ranging across all of the Muppets’ big screen features, can get you started!

10. “Pictures in My Head,” Written by Jeannie Lurie, Aris Archontis, and Chen Neeman (The Muppets)

Pictures in my Head-The Muppets

Sure, the Muppets are always hilarious, but their real staying power lies in their love and devotion to one another. We’ve watched Kermit get frustrated with his friends’ antics since 1976, but we know he loves them, and he’ll always be by their sides, and that’s part of why we always want to be by their sides too. That’s part of why this quiet, unexpected number from 2011’s The Muppets is such an absolute heartbreaker.

When Walter (Peter Linz), Gary (Jason Segel), and Mary (Amy Adams) find Kermit (Steve Whitmire) to let him know about the upcoming destruction of the old Muppet Theatre, they find him… alone. The Muppets have gone their separate ways, and Kermit is alone in a big mansion. And, sure, there’s time for some goofy bits with an '80s robot, but the sight of a solitary Kermit the Frog hurts.

“Pictures in My Head” isn’t bombastic in its grief, but rather quiet and simple, which is perfect for Kermit. “Is there more I could have said?” begins the song, showing immediately that Kermit is taking on all the blame for the Muppets’ break up. As Kermit wanders his mansion, singing to the portraits of his former friends, they begin to sing back to him, giving him courage to agree to save the theatre and get the band back together.

9. “Finale: The Magic Store,” Written by Paul Williams and Kenny Ascher (The Muppet Movie)

Finale The Magic Store - The Muppet Movie

What is the entire Muppet songbook if not a love letter to clowns and fools and show-offs in school? The closing number of the Muppets’ first feature length adventure captures the joy of not just figuring out where you belong, but of discovering that you don’t have to be there alone. “You found a home at the Magic Store,” the Muppets sing as they start production on their first big Hollywood film after receiving their Standard Rich and Famous Contract.

“The Magic Store,” of course, is the narrative bookend to “Rainbow Connection,” and the two work together perfectly. There is a brief reprise of “Rainbow Connection” in “The Magic Store,” but this time it’s sung not just by Kermit, but by the whole gang. Kermit still hasn’t answered any of his questions; the answers aren’t the point, after all. But he has found something here on the other side, and now he gets to ponder those questions about rainbows alongside his friends. Really, alongside his family.

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8. “Movin’ Right Along,” Written by Paul Williams and Kenny Ascher (The Muppet Movie)

Movin' Right Along - The Muppet Movie

“Ah, a bear in his natural habitat. A Studebaker.”

So, okay, every song from The Muppet Movie could make it on this list, and it was really tough to not just include the whole soundtrack. But for pure, unadulterated Muppet fun, we’ve gotta give it up for Kermit and Fozzie’s road trip banger, “Movin’ Right Along.”

This number is absolutely bursting at the seams with hilarious rhymes, great visual gags (a fork in the road, anyone?), and the infectious joy of driving the first miles toward your new dream. It’s also an incredible example of the chemistry between Jim Henson and Frank Oz. Fozzie helps Kermit not lose himself within the weight of his dreams, and Kermit will always give Fozzie chances to be himself on and offstage without asking him to be anything different.

And did I mention Big Bird has a cameo? Because Big Bird totally has a cameo.

7. “I’m Going to Go Back There Someday,” Written by Paul Williams and Kenny Ascher (The Muppet Movie)

I’m Going to Go Back There Someday- The Muppet Movie

For all his madcap shenanigans, there is an undeniable and powerful melancholy to Gonzo the Great. All the way from The Muppet Show through Muppets in Space, much has been made of Gonzo’s origins. What is he? Where does he come from? Does it really matter if his friends here love him just as he is?

Well, yes and no, this song suggests.

“There’s not a word yet for old friends who’ve just met,” sings veteran Muppet performer Dave Goelz in Gonzo’s signature gravelly voice. “I’m Going to Go Back There Someday” tells the story of a creature content and happy where he is now, but who still understands there’s somewhere different for him worth exploring later on. Which is bittersweet, because it says Gonzo believes his time with the Muppets always has a mysterious expiration date to it.

Gonzo has always been an icon for weirdos who don’t quite know where they belong, and “I’m Going to Go Back There Someday” provides us all a worthy and beautiful anthem.

6. “Together Again,” Written by Jeff Moss (The Muppets Take Manhattan)

“Together Again” - The Muppets Take Manhattan

Directed by Frank Oz, The Muppets Take Manhattan perfectly combines the silver screen star power of the Muppets with their razor sharp stage instincts. “Together Again” feels so much like a number from The Muppet Show. Songwriter Jeff Moss (the Sesame Street lyricist behind, among others, “Rubber Duckie”) absolutely captures the feeling of an old Broadway standard while still creating something original and perfect for the Muppets.

This song is just downright pleasing and heartwarming. It is good to be together again, especially if the Muppets are involved. “I just can’t imagine that you’ve ever been gone” is always true about the Muppets. No matter how much time has elapsed between projects, it’s always comforting and familiar to see them (together) again.

5. “A Professional Pirate,” Written by Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann (Muppet Treasure Island)

Tim Curry Muppet Treasure Island

“Upstage, lads! This is my only number!” Which is what makes it the Muppet Treasure Island entry on this list. Just like Michael Caine as Ebenezer Scrooge in Muppet Christmas Carol (we’re getting there, don’t worry), Tim Curry is absolutely the definitive film Long John Silver. Curry effortlessly captures the duality of literature’s most famed buccaneer: He is legitimately menacing and terrifying, but he also represents an aspirational sense of loyalty and freedom. None of us could have blamed this young Jim Hawkins for abandoning Captain Smollett to join Silver and company.

Songwriters Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann also sneak some gorgeous rhymes into these lyrics; “Now take Sir Francis Drake; the Spanish all despise him. But to the British he’s a hero, and they idolize him.”

Pirate history and an iconic Tim Curry performance? What more could you ask from any song?

4. “I’ll Get You What You Want (Cockatoo in Malibu),” Written by Bret McKenzie (Muppets Most Wanted)

Muppets Most Wanted

Bret McKenzie is absolutely one of the best things to ever happen to the Muppets, and this unhinged villain bop from 2014’s Muppets Most Wanted is the proof.

Something inherently tricky when writing about the Muppets is that you want to preserve the integrity of the Muppets as Muppets: as real, tangible beings outside the aid of human puppeteers. But sometimes that means not giving enough credit to the masterful performers behind these characters. Matt Vogel, the Muppets’ current Kermit since 2017, is absolutely remarkable here as Constantine, criminal mastermind and Kermit the Frog’s doppelganger. His vocal performance alone is exceptional; Vogel’s silly accent work working effortlessly with McKenzie’s goofy lyrics are what make this number so great.

And, look, Miss Piggy absolutely deserves whatever she wants, including but not limited to a cockatoo in Malibu. Get it together, Kermit.

3. “Man or Muppet,” Written by Bret McKenzie (The Muppets)

“Man or Muppet” -The Muppets

Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller’s screenplay really earns the love and investment in Gary (Segel) and Walter’s (Peter Linz) relationship. In the midst of catching up with all our old friends and favorites, Segel and Linz imbue these two mismatched brothers with so much sweetness and consideration for one another, even as they ultimately choose different paths. “Man or Muppet,” another Bret McKenzie jam, is a beautiful showcase for these new and immediately beloved characters. Sometimes we can choose journeys independent of our loved ones’, but that doesn’t mean we’re not still choosing them.

Fun fact: “Man or Muppet” is also the only Muppet song to ever win an Academy Award!

2. “Scrooge, ” Written by Paul Williams (The Muppet Christmas Carol)

A Muppet Christmas Carol

I mean, is there a more thrilling musical opening to a movie ever?

Introduced in shadow and rocking a truly epic cape, Michael Caine’s Ebenezer Scrooge swishes and stomps in and out of this song like the shark from Jaws; part of what makes him so scary is the anticipation of him. Caine famously pulled no punches in portraying this character alongside the Muppets, and this opening number prepares us for the cold cruelty to come. “Scrooge is getting worse,” sing the Dickensian Muppets at the song’s conclusion, and he really is. The enduring magic of A Christmas Carol is that we meet Scrooge truly and undeniably at his rock bottom of callousness, and screenwriter Jerry Juhl’s adaptation captures that beautifully.

Also, “no cheeses for us meeses” is one of the greater rhymes in lyrical history.

1. “Rainbow Connection,” Written by Paul Williams and Kenny Ascher (The Muppet Movie)

rainbow-connection
Image via Associated Film Distribution

There’s just no other way to end this list than by extolling the eternal virtues of “Rainbow Connection.”

“Rainbow Connection” understands the quiet but insistent voice that lives inside every dreamer. The little voice that tugs at you and whispers, “Hey, this might be hard, and I don’t totally get it either, but this is part of who you are, so we’ve gotta keep going, okay?” It’s also the perfect theme song for Kermit the Frog himself. At his core, Kermit is a kind and gentle show-frog motivated by his loyalties to his friends and to his dreams, and if he cannot do right by both, he won’t do it at all.

“I’ve heard it too many times to ignore it,” sings Kermit (played, of course, in this film by Jim Henson). “It’s something that I’m supposed to be.” It’s a lyric that’s determined but also a little sad when we first hear it, because we know that Kermit doesn’t know yet whether he’s going to “make it,” whether he’s going to eventually sign that contract and get to make movies. It’s a daring thing to sing out loud, even in the relative privacy of the swamp, because it’s scary to admit who you want to be, even if only to yourself.

That’s why we love Kermit. That’s why this is the song we’ll never stop singing. This is why the Muppets will always matter. All the best Muppet songs and stories are about being true to yourself and celebrating the friends who are attracted to your truth, and none of them does it better than “Rainbow Connection.”