Best Music Movies of 2009

When reporter Jean Craddock interviews Bad Blake—an alcoholic, seen-better-days country music legend—they connect, and the hard-living crooner sees a possible saving grace in a life with Jean and her young son.

A Los Angeles journalist befriends a homeless Juilliard-trained musician, while looking for a new article for the paper.

"Notorious" is the story of Christopher Wallace. Through raw talent and sheer determination, Wallace transforms himself from Brooklyn street hustler (once selling crack to pregnant women) to one of the greatest rappers of all time: The Notorious B.I.G. Follow his meteoric rise to fame and his refusal to succumb to expectations - redefining our notion of "The American Dream."

In April 2009, a group of University of Michigan students (Team StarKid) performed what was renamed "A Very Potter Musical", a two act musical parody that featured major elements from all seven Harry Potter books and an original score.

A high school social outcast and the popular girl bond through a shared love of music.

Pop sensations Alvin, Simon and Theodore end up in the care of Dave Seville's twenty-something nephew Toby. The boys must put aside music super stardom to return to school, and are tasked with saving the school's music program by winning the $25,000 prize in a battle of the bands. But the Chipmunks unexpectedly meet their match in three singing chipmunks known as The Chipettes - Brittany, Eleanor and Jeanette. Romantic and musical sparks are ignited when the Chipmunks and Chipettes square off.

This was the band's second performance at the music festival and their first since the success of 'Nevermind' had elevated them to the position of what magazines called the "biggest" rock band in the world. It was also sadly their final concert in the United Kingdom.

A two-hour live concert from her Sticky & Sweet Tour from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Arrogant, self-centered movie director Guido Contini finds himself struggling to find meaning, purpose, and a script for his latest film endeavor. With only a week left before shooting begins, he desperately searches for answers and inspiration from his wife, his mistress, his muse, and his mother.

A chronological account of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden's 2008 world tour through India, Australia, Japan, USA, Canada, Mexico and South America in a jet piloted by the band's front man, Bruce Dickinson. Features interviews with the musicians, their road crew and fans.

The Clifford Ball was an absolutely phenomenal, unequivocably religious, amazing event at the former Air Force Base in Plattsburgh, New York, in August 1996. Phish performed three sets and an encore on each of the two show days, of a Friday-to-Sunday event, where some 70-80,000 fans camped on site for three days.

The troubled fraternal relationship between songwriters Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman, the Oscar and Grammy-winning Sherman Brothers, famous for the iconic hits they wrote for Disney.

An updated version of the 1980 musical, which centered on the students of the New York Academy of Performing Arts.

The Muppets' Musical Gang is back at it with their rendition of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody!

The film follows a petty rock band called the Winners, consisting of vocalist Joey Winner, bassist Jennifer, guitarist Tyler, drummer Sam, and French-Canadian roadie Hugo, along with their sleazy manager Jeff, as they tour across Canada and the USA after Jennifer is turned into a vampire by Queeny. Meanwhile, a vampire hunter who is afraid of the dark named Eddie Van Helsing quickly chases them down.

When the world's muscle building milk is stolen, it takes a strong man to fight back.

Paramore play their hits and songs from their album, 'Brand New Eyes,' exclusively for 'MTV Unplugged. Set List: 1. Ignorance; 2. That's What You Get; 3. Misery Business; 4. Brick by Boring Brick; 5. Decode

The Nightman Cometh, the fictional rock opera from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, is brought to life at The Troubadour nightclub in April 2009.

The story of Elliot Tiber and his family, who inadvertently played a pivotal role in making the famed Woodstock Music and Arts Festival into the happening that it was. When Elliot hears that a neighboring town has pulled the permit on a hippie music festival, he calls the producers thinking he could drum up some much-needed business for his parents' run-down motel. Three weeks later, half a million people are on their way to his neighbor’s farm in White Lake, New York, and Elliot finds himself swept up in a generation-defining experience that would change his life–and American culture–forever.

When a gang of suburban teens stumbled across a bunch of abandoned instruments and formed The Fleshtones little did they know that 30 years later they'll still be struggling to rock - and pay the bills.

Funhouse Tour: Live in Australia is a live show by American pop singer P!NK. It was released on DVD, Blu-ray and also as a separate live album audio version. The album contains the July 17 and 18, 2009 shows from the Funhouse Tour, recorded at the Sydney Entertainment Centre in Sydney, Australia. It was released on October 14, 2009 by LaFace Records. In Australia, the release has been certified 32x Platinum.

Filmed at the Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas, this extraordinary concert features performances of over 30 songs from Beyoncé’s three multi-platinum solo releases, Destiny’s Child catalog and a few surprises. This amazing concert includes the #1 hits, “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It),” “If I Were A Boy,” “Halo,” “Sweet Dreams” and showcases a gut-wrenching performance of “That’s Why You’re Beautiful.” Included on "I AM... YOURS An Intimate Performance At Wynn Las Vegas," is a biographical storytelling woven between many songs and exclusive behind-the-scenes footage.

1. Tragedy 2. Motorvatin' 3. Boulevard Of Broken Dreams 4. Street Poetry 5. Cafe Avenué 6. Obscured 7. Hypermobile 8. Fashion 9. Love's An Injection 10. Whatcha Want 11. 11 Problem Child 12. Mental Beat 13. Underwater World 14. Power Of Persuation 15. A Day Late, A Dollar Short 16. I Can't Get It 17. Back To Mystery City 18. Until I Get You 19. Beer And Cigarette 20. Worldshaker 21. Don't You Ever Leave Me 22. 11th Street Kids 23. Malibu Beach 24. High School 25. Travelin' Band 26. Taxi Driver 27. Lost In The City 28. People Like Me 29. Delirious 30. Oriental Beat 31. Million Miles Away 32. Up Around The Bend Buried Alive is a concert music video by the Finnish glam punk and rock band Hanoi Rocks. The video was recorded at the Tavastia Club in Helsinki of the band's final show. The band's original rhythm guitarist Nasty Suicide appeared as a special guest on this (last show).

Cenerentola (Joyce DiDonato) is the stepdaughter of Don Magnifico but is treated as a servant in his household. As she sweeps the floor and obeys every command given to her, Cenerentola dreams that she will find her very own Prince Charming. Then one day the handsome Prince Ramiro (Juan Diego Florez) arrives at the mansion, announcing that he's looking for the most beautiful girl in the land to be his bride - which changes Cenerentola's life forever!

On October 29th and 30th, 2009, rock 'n' roll royalty held court at Madison Square Garden for what have been called 'the best concerts ever,' and 'where rock 'n' roll history was made.' The concerts featured a who's who of rock 'n' roll from the '50s to the '90s and included artists performing together in unprecedented combinations that will most likely never be witnessed again. 'The 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Anniversary Concerts' included sets by Crosby, Stills & Nash; Stevie Wonder; Paul Simon; Simon & Garfunkel; Aretha Franklin; Metallica; U2; Jeff Beck and Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band. Joining this iconic line up on stage were special guests including: Jerry Lee Lewis, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Smokey Robinson, B.B. King, Annie Lennox, Lou Reed, John Fogerty, Mick Jagger, Fergie and others. A 4-hour special of the concerts aired on HBO to high ratings, and was seen by tens of millions. Now this historic event is available on DVD.

A definitive live concert film documenting AC/DC’s massive Black Ice World Tour. Shot in December of 2009, AC/DC Live at River Plate marks AC/DC’s triumphant return to Buenos Aires where nearly 200,000 fans, and 3 sold-out shows, welcomed the band back after a 13 year absence from Argentina. This stunning live footage of AC/DC underscores what Argentina’s Pagina 12 newspaper reported by saying “no one is on the same level when it comes to pure and clear Rock ‘n Roll.”

When Miley Stewart (aka pop-star Hannah Montana) gets too caught up in the superstar celebrity lifestyle, her dad decides it's time for a total change of scenery. But sweet niblets! Miley must trade in all the glitz and glamour of Hollywood for some ol' blue jeans on the family farm in Tennessee, and question if she can be both Miley Stewart and Hannah Montana.

Every year thousands compete in the world's greatest singing competition - that you've never heard of. AMERICAN HARMONY journeys deep into the ultra-obsessive, zany, and heartfelt world of competitive barbershop singing, where passion is equaled only by raw talent, and the reward is not fame or fortune, but simply victory. The film focuses on four quartets vying to win the International Championships of Barbershop Singing, in what turns out to be the closest and most controversial victory in its 70 year history. Max Q is the heavy favorite - a superstar quartet comprised of former Champions. Looking to upset them is OC Times (The Heart-Throbs), Vocal Spectrum (The Rookies) and Reveille, an aging foursome who that has been together for 30 years. In total, fifty quartets duke it out for the coveted gold medal, while facing the pressures of quartet life - from big egos to brain cancer and everything in between. - Written by Colin King Miller

Celebration: The Video Collection is a greatest videos DVD compilation by American singer-songwriter Madonna. Released by Warner Bros. Records on September 29, 2009, the release accompanied the greatest hits Celebration. The collection follows on from her other greatest videos compilations The Immaculate Collection (1990) and The Video Collection 93:99 (1999).

Jeff Beck played 5 night at Ronnie Scott's Club in Soho, London with special guests - this is a record of those nights. 1. Beck's Bolero / 2. Eternity's Breath / 3. Stratus / 4. Cause We've Ended As Lovers / 5. Behind The Veil / 6. You Never Know / 7. Nadia / 8. Blast From The East / 9. Led Boots / 10. Angel (Footsteps) / 11. People Get Ready (with JOSS STONE) / 12. Scatterbrain / 13. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat / Brush With The Blues / 14. Space Boogie / 15. Blanket (with IMOGEN HEAP) / 16. Big Block / 17. A Day In The Life / 18. Little Brown Bird (with ERIC CLAPTON) / 19. You Need Love (with ERIC CLAPTON) / 20. Rollin' And Tumblin' (with IMOGEN HEAP) / 21. Where Were You

Metallica Live in Nîmes, France - over 2 hours of the greatest hits live in a breathtaking Roman Coliseum. After the global destruction that was the Death Magnetic tour, in July 2009 the four horsemen of the apocalypse rode into the Roman Coliseum in Nîmes, France and unleashed a mind-blowing set of greatest hits including Enter Sandman, Master of Puppets, Nothing Else Matters and many more!

Diana Krall has had a long time fascination with bossa nova, a type of music which perfectly suits her sophisticated yet sensual style. This culminated in her new studio album "Quiet Nights" (released by Verve in spring 2009) and in this stunning concert filmed in the home of the bossa nova, Rio de Janeiro, in November 2008. Accompanied by her band and an orchestra, Diana Krall delivers a superb set of standards in true bossa nova style but clearly bearing her unique stamp. This DVD captures Diana Krall at her scintillating best.

A live video album by American rock band The Killers. The album is pulled from two nights the band performed at the Royal Albert Hall in July 2009, and also includes footage from festival dates the band headlined during the middle months of 2009.

The ultimate concert took place on Labor Day Weekend 1983. Curated by Steve Wozniak (Apple computers), the 3 days of New Wave, Heavy Metal and Rock are legendary. Features performances from U2, the Clash, Judas Priest, Stevie Nicks, Scorpions, INXS, Men at Work, Stray Cats, Triumph, Missing Persons and more

After airing more than 100 MTV Unplugged specials, MTV wanted to bring back the series, in order to expose them to a younger generation. The channel recruited various mainstream and popular artists to perform as part of the series, including Perry, who particularly expressed interest in the idea as it would allow her to showcase herself as an artist and share the stories behind her songs. The extended play includes rearrangements of five songs from Perry's album One of the Boys (2008), a previously unreleased original song and a cover version of a song by Fountains of Wayne. Alongside the audio disc, the album includes a DVD with the video recording of her performance and an exclusive interview.

Live in London is a live concert recording of George Michael's final two concerts in London's Earl's Court arena on 24th and 25th August 2008 as part of his 25 Live tour. It features a career-spanning set that includes Wham! classics and his solo hits. This is the first live DVD of George Michael's career.

Paul and Eddie have just begun previews for the new Off-Broadway musical "Adam and Steve - Just the Way God Made 'Em." Their lives strangely mirror the characters they are playing. Paul is looking for the perfect man and Eddie is dealing with how his sexuality and faith can mix.

Music video for Miles Fisher's cover of the song 'This Must Be The Place' by the Talking Heads, based on the 2000 black comedy/horror film American Psycho.

Following folk musician Joan Baez on her extensive 2008-2009 tour, this film commemorates her career, which has spanned five decades. It includes concert and archival footage as well as interviews with such disparate colleagues, friends and admirers as Bob Dylan, Jesse Jackson and David Crosby. In addition to the music, it also touchs upon Baez's long history of global social activism.

Highlights from the first ever Doctor Who Prom, which took place at the Royal Albert Hall in July 2008, featuring Murray Gold's celebrated music for the television series, performed by the BBC Philharmonic and London Philharmonic Choir under the baton of Ben Foster. Described as the 'hottest ticket in town', the concert is presented by Freema Agyeman (aka Martha Jones), with a surprise guest appearance by Catherine Tate (aka Donna Noble), and features a specially filmed scene written by Russell T Davies, starring David Tennant and a mischievous Graske. Throughout the concert the music, is accompanied by sequences from the series and Christmas specials, as well as a host of monsters and aliens, including the Doctor's oldest enemies, the Daleks and Cybermen.

Status Quo's album "Pictures" (released in November 2008) celebrated 40 years of Status Quo filling the UK charts with hit after hit. The album was an instant success, charting at No.8 and selling over a quarter of a million copies in the UK alone. In July 2009 the Pictures live tour landed at Montreux in Switzerland as part of the world famous festival.

'Madness' are about to release a new album after 10 years, which consists of an interrelated, song cycle about London called 'The Liberty of Norton Folgate'. Although the songs are on one level about different areas of London, they focus musically on the waves of immigration to the city - Irish, Jewish, Caribbean, Asian etc and the musical legacy they have contributed to the city. The concert is at the Hackney Empire, a show with powerful connections to the grand Music Hall traditions of the place, situating Madness where they belong, clearly within a uniquely English Popular Musical Culture with its roots in the Victorian period. Weaving through the concert, Suggs and Carl, take us back in time to the London of Karl Marx and Jack the Ripper. Humorously introducing the subject of each song, they take us on a tour through the psycho geography of the Old East End, Spitalfields, Smithfield, Wapping, Bethnal Green, ending down on the beaches of the Thames beyond Tower Bridge Finally.

A live performance available as either a BluRay or a DVD / CD set, Live in Barcelona captures Il Divo's April 3, 2009, performance at Palau Sant Jordi.

Forty summers ago on a windswept island just off England's southern coastline, a young Canadian folksinger-songwriter-poet-novelist named Leonard Cohen delivered the performance of a lifetime.

This Live CD/DVD was filmed at Jason's Gratitude Café Tour date at the Charter One Pavilion - Chicago (August 13, 2009). 'JASON MRAZ'S BEAUTIFUL MESS - LIVE ON EARTH' features all of the old favorites as well as the hits Lucky (with a special guest appearance from Colbie Caillat), and I'm Yours from 'We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.' The DVD, directed by Darren Doane, features the full length concert, never-before-seen bonus footage, and a special mockumentary titled 'un beau desordre'.

The popular all female singing group brings its unique Celtic sound to a live concert at Powerscourt in Ireland.

Documentary following a generation of post-punk musicians who took the synthesiser from the experimental fringes to the centre of the pop stage.

A lasting tribute and testament to over 25 years of BYO, Youth Brigade and the DIY spirit that has inspired and continues to inspire so many to change the world... Told through interviews and rare footage of the explosive LA punk rock scene from the 80's until now, Let Them Know: The Story of Youth Brigade and BYO Records is a full length documentary feature film that looks at the last 25 years of the influential L.A. Punk band Youth Brigade and BYO Records. This movie documents the early L.A. punk and D.I.Y. scene. Riots, harrassment from the law, amazing bands, crazy stories, and best of all, The Sterns Family's earnest desire to change the world through punk rock are captured in this moving documentary.

A short film from the Pop Life: Art in a Material World exhibition at London's Tate Modern museum. It stars Kirsten Dunst dancing through the streets of the Akihabara district in Tokyo dressed as a colorful princess, singing a cover of the Vapors' "Turning Japanese".