The Top 20 TV Songs You Tracked Down This Year

One of the many bonuses to watching all the very good TV this year was that in addition to the shock, awe, love, and/or hate we felt during or after an episode, we frequently had equally good music to go along with or enhance our emotional response.

And thanks to the magic of the advanced technological world we live in, we no longer have to wonder, "What was that great sad song playing when what's-his-face put that sword through what's-her-face, and how can I hear it again?" We can now find and download those memorable TV tracks almost instantly.

In addition to thinking about our favorite TV shows of the year, we wondered about the memorable music in TV and which songs were sought out the most by the general population. Thanks to our friends at Shazam, we now know which songs had you grabbing for your phones and pointing them at your TVs. (Hint: Apparently, we prefer more melancholy music to upbeat dance numbers, and should ask the music editor on "The Walking Dead" to manage all our playlists.)

Here are the 10 songs viewers Shazam'd the most from television shows in 2013:

10. "Girls": fun., "Sight of the Sun" 

(Warning: adult content.)

In an unexpected bit of rom-com-style gallantry — especially unexpected for this show — Adam embraced his inner Fabio and plucked Hannah right out of bed, backed by a track from star Lena Dunham's real-life leading man's band, fun.

9. "Breaking Bad": Badfinger, "Baby Blue" 

As meth kingpin Walter White took his last few breaths on this earth in the closing moments of the series finale "Felina," surrounded by the chemistry equipment he loved so dearly, we were treated to this nostalgic tune from '70s rockers Badfinger. And the opening lyrics were more than appropriate: "Guess I got what I deserved..."

8. "Sons of Anarchy": Joshua James, "Crash This Train"

In the episode "Sweet and Vaded," the Sons have set up shop in a temporary clubhouse at, of all places, a candy store. This folksy tune played over the final scene of the kids running in and grabbing candy, into the end credits.

7. "Ray Donovan": Kendra Morris, "Banshee" 

Another end-credits song that struck a chord with viewers, "Banshee" played over the end of "Fite Night," the episode in which Ray attempts to use his attendance at half-brother Darryl's first boxing match as an alibi for Mickey's maybe-murder.

6. "Pretty Little Liars": Sara Jackson Holman, "Freight Train"

From the episode "Crash and Burn, Girl," this track (which also appeared in an episode of "Bones") played while Hanna is trying to put together the perfect outfit for her mom to wear to the trial.

5. "The Walking Dead": Tom Waits, "Hold On"

From "I Ain't a Judas," Waits' song gets a double-play in the ep: first when sung by Beth at the prison, and later when Laurie teased us by holding her knife over a sleeping Governor and not killing him.

4. "Girls": Icona Pop, "I Love It"

(Warning: adult content.)

Long before the song started climbing the charts and getting permanently stuck in our heads, it was featured in "Bad Friend" when Hannah and Elijah do cocaine at a club and take their highs to the dance floor.

3. "The Walking Dead": Sharon Van Etten, "Serpents"

This one was a doozy from the episode "Indifference"; it was the song playing just before we said goodbye to Carol.

2. "The Walking Dead": Ben Nichols, "The Last Pale Night in the West"

This jaunty-yet-maudlin tune was featured in "Live Bait," as sort of a theme for the Governor when he's in his truck watching Woodbury go up in flames.

1. "The Walking Dead": Ben Howard, "Oats in the Water"

From "Internment," some fans have called it "Hershel's theme," which played first while Hershel was still in the prison, then later when he and Maggie rescue Glenn.

And rounding out the list of the top Shazam'd songs of the year:

11. "The Walking Dead": Fink, "Warm Shadow"
12. "Glee": Glee Cast, "On Our Way"
13. "True Blood": Peaches, "F--k The Pain Away"
14. "Sons Of Anarchy": The White Buffalo, "Oh Darling"
15. "True Blood": The Naked and Famous, "Sun"
16. "Under The Dome": M83, "Wait"
17. "The Blacklist": Radical Face, "Welcome Home"
18. "Shameless": Lord Huron, "Ends Of The Earth"
19. "Sons Of Anarchy": Katey Sagal, "For A Dancer"
20. "Pretty Little Liars": Lana Del Rey, "Ride"