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'All in the Family' vs. 'Saved by the Bell': Vote for the Best TV Theme Songs

The Bunkers take on the Bayside Tigers in Round 1 of Yahoo TV's Theme Song Thunderdome.

With March Madness in full swing, we decided to do a TV-themed bracket of our own: a no-holds-barred tournament to determine the best TV theme song of all time. After lots of heated debate, we've selected and ranked 32 of the most memorable TV theme songs ever, pitting them against each other in a winner-takes-all bracket. Over the next few weeks, we're asking you to vote for your favorite theme songs until we get a winner -- and a few songs stuck in your heads.


(4) "All in the Family" ("Those Were the Days")

The "All in the Family" theme song "Those Were the Days" is sung by the show's lead actors, Carroll O'Connor (Archie Bunker) and Jean Stapleton (Edith Bunker), singing in character at the piano. The performance is off-key -- Stapleton as Edith shrieks some of her lines -- but undoubtedly endearing. "Family Guy's" opening credits mimicked this sequence in animation form with Peter and Lois Griffin also singing at the piano, lamenting the loss of traditional values.


(13) "Saved by the Bell"

From the ringing school bell that jump-starts the song to the rockin' guitar solos, the "Saved by the Bell" theme song still brings back fond Saturday morning memories for those of us who were under the age of 20 in the '90s. The tune is so catchy, we kind of forget just how cheesy the lyrics are: "My dog ate all my homework last night... If I can hand it in tomorrow, it'll be all right."


Which theme song deserves to move onto the next round? Vote in the poll above, click here to see the full bracket and vote on other pairings (Round 1 voting ends Wednesday at 6 PM PT), tweet out your choices using the hashtag #TVThemeSong, and hit the comments to tell us about all the great theme songs we forgot to include.