Throughout its 15 seasons,Supernaturalbecame known for many things, including its soundtrack of classic rock songs. Created by Eric Kripke,Supernaturalcentered on brothers Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) as they traveled around the United States hunting monsters. In its earliest seasons,Supernaturalfocused on standalone stories, delivering a miniature horror movie each week.
As the show progressed, however, the stakes became apocalyptic as Sam and Dean faced off against angels, demons, and everything in between. In its pilot episode,SupernaturalrevealedDean Winchester’s iconic car, a 1967 Chevrolet Impala, which would essentially become its own character on the show.
Dean’s Impala boasted a cassette player, which he often used to blast classic rock musicfrom the likes of AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, and Metallica. WhileSupernaturalcouldn’t always get the rights to the songs they wanted (Led Zeppelin was apparently especially tricky), the series still managed to provide the perfect soundtrack to the Winchesters' saga.
10"Back In Black" – AC/DC
Season 1, Episode 1 - “Pilot” & Season 2, Episode 3 - “Bloodlust”
“Back in Black” actually pops up in two differentepisodes ofSupernatural,including the show’s pilot. In it, Sam criticizes Dean’s cassette tape collection, calling it the"greatest hits of mullet rock."
This prompts Dean to pop in one of the cassettes and establish the rule that the"driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole.“In the originally aired version of the pilot, this is when AC/DC’s “Back in Black” begins to play.
ForSupernaturalseason 1, the show only had the rights to much of the music for network television and DVD. So viewers who watched the show on Netflix or another streaming platform missed out on some great musical moments, including the pilot’s use of “Back in Black.”
The song plays again inSupernaturalseason 2, episode 3, “Bloodlust,” as Sam and Dean cruise down the road in the Impala. Dean has just finished repairing his beloved car after a crash at the end of season 1, and he’s excited to get back on the road.
“Back in Black” is the perfect anthem for “Baby,“Dean’s affectionate nickname for his iconic Impala, and the song helps establish the tone ofSupernatural.
9"Night Moves” – Bob Seger
Season 11, Episode 4 - “Baby”
Throughout much ofSupernatural’s 15 seasons,Dean’s ‘67 Chevy Impala served as the Winchesters’ only permanent home.The brothers often spent their nights in cheap motel rooms, but they regularly spent hours traveling across the country in Dean’s car.
After the Impala received a lovely tribute in “Swan Song,” season 11’s “Baby” puts the spotlight on the car yet again, delivering an episode from Baby’s perspective.
The camera never leaves the confines of the car, making “Baby” a unique episode and one ofSupernatural’sbest. After Dean discovers Sam with a girl in the back of the Impala one morning,he puts on Bob Seger’s “Night Moves,” and the two brothers end up laughing and singing along.
It’s a hilarious and surprisingly touching scene that perfectly uses the song by"one of the greatest rock writers of all time,“according to Dean.
Season 3, Episode 16 - “No Rest For The Wicked”
At the end ofSupernaturalseason 2, Dean made a deal with a demon to bring Sam back from the dead, but the demon only gave him one year to live before Dean’s soul would be taken to Hell.
Throughout season 3,Sam and Dean search for a way to prevent Dean’s looming death,but are ultimately unsuccessful. This story culminates in the season 3 finale, which finds Dean with only a day left to live.
As Sam and Dean head toward thedemon Lilith (Sierra McCormick)and what will likely be Dean’s death, Dean plays Bon Jovi’s “Wanted Dead or Alive.” As the brothers laugh and sing along,Dean’s smile slowly fades as he takes in the lyrics of the song and his impending death.
What begins as a fun moment quickly turns into a tragic one, made even more so by the episode’s final moments, which offer a glimpse of Dean’s torment in Hell.
7"Eye Of The Tiger” – Survivor
Season 4, Episode 6 - “Yellow Fever”
In one ofSupernatural’smost hilarious episodes, Dean gets infected by a ghostly illness that causes him to experience extreme anxiety and fear. If the brothers can’t find the cause of the disease, as well as a way to get rid of it, it will eventually lead to Dean’s death.
As the episode progresses,the usually brave Dean grows increasingly scaredas he and Sam investigate the possible cause of the ghost sickness.
Dean refuses to hold a gun, gets spooked by a cat hiding in a locker, and eventually rants about how insane it is to hunt monsters. At one point, Dean relaxes in the Impala and jams out to “Eye of the Tiger,” but the real treat comes after the episode’s story comes to a close.
In an outtake,Jensen Ackles performs an incredible lip sync performance to “Eye of the Tiger"that was so good,Supernatural’sproducers added it after the credits of “Yellow Fever.”
6"Rock Of Ages” – Def Leppard
Season 5, Episode 22 - “Swan Song”
Supernaturalcreator Eric Kripkeplanned for the show to end with season 5, but its success kept it going for 10 more years. Still,the season 5 finale wraps up the show’s first major story arc in a satisfying way,earning its status as one of the best episodes of the show.
One of the episode’s best moments comes as the archangels Michael and Lucifer prepare to begin their apocalyptic final battle.
Before the fight can begin, however,Dean Winchester rolls up in his ‘67 Chevy Impala with Def Leppard’s “Rock of Ages” blaringfrom the car’s speakers. It’s an epic entrance not only for Dean, but also for his Impala, which ultimately plays a big role in preventing the apocalypse.
With its distinct opening lines and lyrics about burning a place down, “Rock of Ages” makes this one ofSupernatural’smost memorable moments.
5”(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” – Blue Öyster Cult
Season 1, Episode 12 - “Faith”
SometimesSupernaturalcould be a bit on the nose with its song choices, but that didn’t make them any less impactful.The season 1 episode, “Faith,” finds Sam and Dean investigating a preacherwho can supposedly heal incurable illnesses and injuries.
When the pastor successfully heals Dean after an electrocution injury he suffered, the Winchesters discover that another man died in Dean’s place.
Appropriately, “Faith” marked the first appearance of a reaper inSupernatural,but they would go on to appear in nearly 20 episodes, making them the fourth most recurring monster in the show.
This eventually leads Dean to the realization that the brothers are dealing with a reaper. As soon as Dean reveals this, “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” begins playing, and the scene cuts to a frightening-looking reaper following a girl in the woods. In the haunting scene,the song continues to play as the reaper kills the girlwhile the pastor “miraculously” heals another one of his followers.
4"Renegade" – Styx
Season 2, Episode 12 - “Nightshifter”
In “Nightshifter,” the Winchesters are on the trail ofa shapeshifter who has been robbing banks.A former security guard and conspiracy theorist named Ron Reznick (Chris Gauthier) believes he has figured out what’s going on, and he takes the patrons of a bank hostage to uncover the true culprit. Sam and Dean try to de-escalate the situation, but Ron is killed by a police sniper.
When an FBI agent on scene identifies Dean as a suspect he’s been tracking, Sam and Dean have to get creative to escape the bank unscathed.
After killing the shapeshifter,Sam and Dean steal the uniforms of two SWAT team membersand exit the bank, with “Renegade” playing as they make it back to the Impala. It’s a great scene that illustrates Sam and Dean’s ingenuity while also hinting at theWinchesters’ future run-ins with the law.
3"Heat Of The Moment" – Asia
Season 3, Episode 11 - “Mystery Spot”
In another one ofSupernatural’scomedic episodes, Sam and Dean get stuck in a time loop that only Sam is aware of. Every day for the next one hundred days,Dean keeps dying in increasingly bizarre ways as Sam tries to prevent it.
A powerful supernatural being known asthe Trickster (Richard Speight, Jr.)reveals himself to be the orchestrator of the time loop, as part of a lesson to show Sam that Dean’s upcoming death is inevitable.
Although the Trickster had been introduced long before angels became a part ofSupernatural’smythology, the season 5 episode “Changing Channels” revealed that he was actually the archangel Gabriel.
Sam lives through at least 100 Tuesdays, and every morning,he wakes up to “Heat of the Moment” blaring from the motel room’s radio.
Dean gets into the music, turning up the volume when Sam complains.“Mystery Spot” has some truly hilarious momentsas Sam works to escape the time loop, but it’s also a surprisingly dark episode that forces Sam to confront the idea of a life without his big brother.
2"O Death" – Jen Titus
Season 5, Episode 21 - “Two Minutes To Midnight”
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse popped up throughoutSupernaturalseason 5, as the battle between Heaven and Hell grew closer. In the season’s penultimate episode,the most powerful horseman, Death (Julian Richings), finally arrives,in one of the best character introductions of all time.
As the scene cuts from the Winchesters preparing for their meeting with Death, the Appalachian folk song “O Death” begins to play.
As Jen Titus' haunting version of the song continues,Death pulls up in his 1959 Cadillac Coupe Deville and slowly begins walking down the street.The scene alternates from slow motion to real time in stops and starts, as a passerby bumps into Death’s shoulder before falling down dead on the street.
This introduction beautifully sets up Death as avillain unlike any the Winchesters have ever faced, and Julian Richings definitely delivers on this promise.
1"Carry On Wayward Son" – Kansas
(Almost) Every Season Finale
No other song has come to representSupernaturalas much as “Carry On Wayward Son,” which serves as a perfect anthem for the show and the Winchester brothers.
The song first played during “The Road So Far” recap at the beginning of the penultimate episode of season 1, “Salvation.” After that episode,the song played during the recap at the beginning of every season finale.
In season 10’s “Fan Fiction,” an all-girls school performs a musical version of the Winchester brothers' story as told through the in-universe novels by Chuck Shurley, aka God (Rob Benedict). This includes a lovely slowed-down version of “Carry On Wayward Son.”
Supernatural’s series finaledoes not begin with “Carry On Wayward Son” as part of a recap, instead including the song later during a montage of Dean driving through Heaven while Sam lives out his life on Earth. In this instance, the song transitions from the original Kansas version to a beautiful cover by the female duo Neoni.
The lyrics of “Carry On Wayward Son” beautifully describe the saga of the Winchester brothers, and the song acts as the perfect theme forSupernatural.
