''How I Met Your Music'' is the name of two albums (the first being followed by the subtitle ''Original Songs from the Hit Series "How I Met Your Mother"'', the second being followed by ''Deluxe'') composed of songs from the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

television series ''

How I Met Your Mother ''How I Met Your Mother'' (often abbreviated as ''HIMYM'') is an American sitcom created by Craig Thomas (screenwriter), Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for CBS. The series, which aired from September 19, 2005, to March 31, 2014, follows main char ...

'', the first of which was released hours before the

Season 8 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and polar ...

premiere. It features 20 songs that had appeared in the first seven seasons of the show and was released only digitally, originally through

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. A second iteration, titled ''How I Met Your Music: Deluxe'' album, was released a year later. It contains an entirely different play list. Many critics have said that the albums reflect the series' consistently effective use of music.

Show soundtrack summaries

Critics have often commented on the series' "thoughtful" use of music. As ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' noted:

Maybe you liked the show's soundtrack better than its 'surprise' ending? It may have gotten lost in all the meeting-the-mother mythology, catchphrases, slaps and recurring gags, but How I Met Your Mother was an incredibly musically-minded sitcom... the show had some truly catchy original tunes, ranging from teen pop... to show tunes... to death metal... . If that weren't enough, HIMYM has also been incredibly adept at matching great scenes with great songs.

One critic said the show makes "flawless" music choices that meld with the story. Jessica Blankenship wrote that the show's writers seamlessly "use a song as a punchline, a bridge, or an emotional punctuation mark." It was a hallmark of the series. In 9 seasons (208 episodes), at least 408 songs were used. Viewers report that the soundtrack varies depending upon forums and media. It is claimed there is a significant discontinuity in the songs that were originally used, the

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version, and the

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versions of the show. The 100th episode was dubbed "How I Met Your Musical", which presaged the albums' names.

The albums

The very concept of "best" songs from the series is problematic as the many lists of ' iconic' songs vary. The first album contained about 20 tracks totaling 40 minutes. According to Craig Thomas, a co-creator of ''How I Met Your Mother'', a decision was made to release it without a physical CD, "because that’s so 1992". Entitled ''How I Met Your Music: Original Songs from the Hit Series'', it was originally released digitally to

in 2012, and featured songs from the first seven seasons of the show. Following the show's end, a second album, ''How I Met Your Music: Deluxe'', was released digitally via iTunes in 2014. It features songs from the final two seasons. One review says it contains 14 of the "most memorable songs of the nine seasons of the series." It includes various actors/artists as performers:

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Wayne Brady Wayne Alphonso Brady (born June 2, 1972) is an American comedian, actor, and singer. He is a regular cast member on the American version of the improvisational comedy television series '' Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' He was the host of the daytim ...

Frances Conroy Frances Hardman Conroy (born March 15, 1953) is an American actress. She is best known for playing Ruth Fisher on the television series '' Six Feet Under'' (2001–2005), for which she won a Golden Globe and three Screen Actors Guild Awards, a ...

Alyson Hannigan Allison Lee Hannigan (born March 24, 1974), known professionally as Alyson Hannigan, is an American actress and television presenter. She began her film career with supporting roles in the comedy films '' Impure Thoughts'' (1986) and '' My Step ...

Neil Patrick Harris Neil Patrick Harris (born June 15, 1973) is an American actor, singer, writer, producer, and television host. Primarily known for his comedic television roles and dramatic and musical stage roles, he has received List of awards and nominations ...

John Lithgow John Arthur Lithgow ( ; born , 1945) is an American actor. He studied at Harvard University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before becoming known for his John Lithgow filmography, diverse work on stage and screen. He has rece ...

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Cristin Milioti Cristin Milioti (born August 16, 1985) is an American actress. She is known for playing The Mother, The Mother (How I Met Your Mother), Tracy McConnell, in the CBS sitcom ''How I Met Your Mother'' from 2013 to 2014, and Sofia Falcone in the HBO ...

Jason Segel Jason Jordan Segel ( ; born January 18, 1980) is an American actor and writer. He is best known for his role as Marshall Eriksen in the CBS sitcom ''How I Met Your Mother'' from 2005 to 2014. He began his career with director and producer Judd ...

Cobie Smulders Jacoba Francisca Maria "Cobie" Smulders (born April 3, 1982) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her starring role as Robin Scherbatsky in the CBS series ''How I Met Your Mother'' (2005–2014) and as S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Maria Hill in th ...

The Solids The Solids are an American power pop band from Middletown, Connecticut. The band consists of Carter Bays (vocals, guitar), Craig Thomas (drums), Patrick Butler (keyboards), Doug Derryberry (lead guitar) and Josh Suniewick (bass). They have been ...

John Swihart John Swihart is an American musical composer for film and television. He is perhaps best known for his score to ''Napoleon Dynamite'', '' Youth in Revolt'', '' Employee of the Month'', and his music for the TV shows ''How I Met Your Mother'', and ...

, and

Ben Vereen Benjamin Augustus Vereen (né Middleton; October 10, 1946) is an American actor, dancer and singer. He gained prominence for his performances in the original Broadway productions of the musicals ''Jesus Christ Superstar'', for which he received ...

Track listing

Charts

References

Notes

Citations

{{Authority control 2012 soundtrack albums Television soundtracks How I Met Your Mother