Metal, rock or reggae, no matter which genre of music you prefer, there is something for you on our list of best music documentaries on YouTube.
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this in some of my previous music documentaries related articles, but the last couple of years have been terrific for everyone who enjoys them. There is more interest from the audience to get to know the acts whose music they enjoy, and filmmakers are delivering. This, of course, doesn’t mean that there were no good music documentaries in the past. There were, but the majority of them didn’t look to explore in depth everything about a particular band or the music scene in general or those depictions didn’t have much connection with the reality. They were usually concert films that would contain some brief interviews with musicians or their crew. This is also ok, but I personally prefer the documentaries that tell a story and offer me the information I couldn’t find anywhere else.
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While I was looking for the music documentaries on YouTube, I was disappointed that I couldn’t find one of the single greatest music documentaries ever made (at least for me). I am talking about This Is Spinal Tap. To be completely honest, this is a mocumentary so it doesn’t exactly fit into the category. Mockumentaries are fictional films that are presented as documentaries. Although the events depicted are not real, through them the filmmakers try to comment or give a critique on the events or issues that are real. This Is Spinal Tap follows the fictional British band Spinal Tap on their tour across the United States and shows the problems they are facing like the low ticket for their concerts and their album being badly received by the fans. Just as they are about to call it quits, they find out that their songs are performing well in Japan and they embark on a sellout tour there. In fact, through a fictional band, the mocumentary gives a genuine picture about many real bands that were active at the time. After watching the documentary, lots of musicians confirmed that This Is Spinal Tap is a more loyal depiction of the bands than many documentaries. The success of the documentary eventually led to a real band being formed by the actors who portrayed the characters in the mocumentary. Although This Is Spinal Tap isn’t available on YouTube, you should definitely watch it if you have a chance. I know I will do it again. In case you rely solely on Hulu to watch documentaries, you may want to check out our list of 11 Best Music Documentaries on Hulu.
In order to compose our list of best music documentaries on YouTube, we decided to look what the internet users would recommend, so we consulted Quora and Reddit among others. Then, we checked all the recommended titles for their availability on YouTube in full and for free. We didn’t take into consideration the documentaries that were solely composed out of live performances from music acts. Those documentaries that fit in the criteria were then ranked according to their IMDb rating. Let’s get this show started.
11. Lemmy
IMDb rating: 7.8
Lemmy Kilmister will always be remembered as one of the most unusual and interesting personas in the world of music. He didn’t care what anyone else thinks; he just wanted to make music and play it for his fans. This documentary from 2010 gives the viewers a better insight into the life of this rock legend, through interviews with him and with his close collaborators and friends. The documentary that ranks 11 in our list of best music documentaries on YouTube reveals some interesting things about Lemmy, like the fact he spent most of his life either touring with his band Motörhead or hanging out in the popular rock musician gather place called Rainbow Bar and Grill.
10. The Clash: Westway to the World
IMDb rating: 7.9
The documentary ranks 10th in our list of best music documentaries on YouTube. It tells the story of the history of the band, combining archival footage and interviews from 1982 with interviews from the more recent period. Unlike other documentaries about the band, this one looks at the year 1982 as one when band officially stopped with the work. That year the drummer Topper Headon left the band and year after that so did the lead guitarist Mick Jones. Rest of the band continued making music until 1986. I don’t know about you, but I am still hoping that I might see The Clash reunion someday. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like that might happen.
9. Blur: No Distance Left to Run
IMDb rating: 7.9
After having a huge success in the ’90s and a big success at the beginning of the 2000s, Brit Pop band Blur went on a long break until they finally reunited in 2008. This documentary carries the name of one of their songs and gives an overview of the history of the band while also focusing on their reunion tour. The documentary features archival footage, interviews with the band members and their collaborators accompanied by footages from their reunion tour.
8. Gimme Shelter
IMDb rating: 7.9
This entry on our list of best music documentaries on YouTube will sound familiar if you followed our previous similar articles. The documentary follows the tour of the Rolling Stones across the United States in 1969, featuring some exclusive footage from behind the scenes. The major focus of the documentary is the Altamont Free Concert, which served as the closing show of the tour. Besides the Rolling Stones, the concert featured various other popular acts like Santana and Jefferson Airplane. What should have been a holiday of rock music, turned out to be a violent event that culminated in three deaths and numerous injuries. Even the Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger was attacked by a member of the audience.
7. Marley
IMDb rating: 8.0
Bob Marley is one of those musicians that really changed the face of music. He introduced reggae to the rest of the world and had an enormous influence on the generations of musicians. The documentary covers his life and career from the struggling beginnings to his rise to stardom. It features rarely seen footages about him and interviews with his close friends and family who speak about the legacy he left behind and reveal some previously unknown facts.
6. Cannibal Corpse: Centuries of Torment
IMDb rating: 8.1
Things are getting a bit heavier on our list of best music documentaries on YouTube with this one. It follows the career of cult American death metal band Cannibal Corpse from the late ’90s when the band didn’t manage to get enough exposure to being the most successful death metal band in history in terms of album sales. The documentary is three hours long and also features some of the rare and exclusive footages of band’s live performances.
5. Such Hawks, Such Hounds
IMDb rating: 8.1
After famous acts, it is time for the documentary that explores the underground rock music scene in the United States from the 1970s until the recent period. It covers less known acts and the whole new music sounds that don’t make the charts but has a devoted base of fans. The documentary combines the archival footage alongside interviews with musicians.
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4. Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey
IMDb rating: 8.1
We have some more documentaries about metal on our list of best music documentaries on YouTube. Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey is a pretty interesting piece to watch since the main figure in the documentary isn’t a music artist, but an anthropologist. Sam Dunn is a longtime heavy metal fan and decides to take a journey across the world to find out more about his favorite genre of music while also wanting to see other peoples’ opinions about it. On his journey, he also explores lots of other subjects related to metal music including the metal culture, controversies surrounding it and its origins.
3. Searching For Sugar Man
IMDb rating: 8.2
The documentary ranks 3rd in our list of best music documentaries on YouTube. It tells the story about two fans from South Africa who want to find out more about American musician Sixto Rodriguez, whose songs are extremely popular in their native country, but no one knows much about him. Ultimately they discover he lives a normal life and isn’t even remotely aware of his popularity. Now, this is a great documentary. That being said, I have felt a bit cheated by it, and maybe so will you. The truth is that Rodriguez wasn’t some unknown underground act that just recorded few albums and disappeared like the documentary suggest. In fact, he did have his share of popularity, especially in Australia where he had big tours and successful chart performances.
2. The Last Waltz
IMDb rating: 8.2
Although this is a concert film, it does have some elements of documentary film and I had to feature it on the list since it is one of the greatest concert films ever made and was the most recommended out of all featured on our list. It was directed by Martin Scorsese and follows the last concert of the rock band The Band that featured many other notable acts like Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, and Eric Clapton. It turned out this wasn’t the last time The Band performed, although later tours were without guitarist Robbie Robertson.
1. Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage
IMDb rating: 8.5
We started our list of best music documentaries on YouTube with rock, so it is only fitting that we finish it in the same way. This documentary talks about Canadian rock legends Rush, focusing on the band’s history but also chronicling their music evolution from progressive style of rock music to heavy rock. The documentary features interviews with the members of the band, but also with their contemporaries and musicians who were influenced by their sound.
