I've been fan of music biopics for as long as I can remember and a recent piece on this site spurred me to re-watch some of my favourites. The article was a follow-up to the news that a Kurt Cobain biopic was in the pipeline. Personally, I'm surprised that it's taken this long for one to be made. Last Days definitely doesn't count.

I fully acknowledge that music biopics are often formulaic, but despite this, it's a genre that has produced a number of fantastic movies.

Here's what I consider to be ten of the finest:

Jerry Lee Lewis
Great Balls Of Fire! (1989)

This 1989 biopic about Jerry Lee Lewis is a good watch. It stars Dennis Quaid, Winona Ryder and Alec Baldwin, along with Stephen Tobolowsky in the role which he recently revealed that he had the most fun filming.

This is a fairly safe biopic that doesn't fully explore the darker side of Lewis' behaviour and plays loose and fast with the source material and, indeed, the facts surrounding the events that the movie is "based on". However, Quaid brilliantly captures Lewis' stage persona and gives a great sense of the energy involved in the performances.

Charlie Parker
Bird (1988)

Eastwood brings his love of jazz to the big screen in this movie about legendary saxophonist Charlie Parker. The film suffers from several scenes of clunky exposition, poor dialogue and some strange directorial choices and, as a result, isn't the finest showcase of Clint Eastwood's filmmaking skills. It does, however, feature a great central performance from Forest Whitaker and interesting subject matter.

Bobby Darin
Beyond The Sea (2004)

Kevin Spacey puts in a solid performance as Bobby Darin, despite looking nothing like him. The film was a commercial flop and received a lot of negative reviews but, in my mind, it's one of the finest biopics released in recent years.

As pointed out by Simon, in his recent piece The problem with music biopics: "...it's a movie with flaws, but it's an interesting one nonetheless..." This is a fair assessment of the film and I don't think it's a significantly worse film than Ray or Walk The Line.

Ray Charles
Ray (2004)

Taylor Hackford's 2004 film focuses on 30 years of the great Ray Charles' life. Charles lost his sight at the age of seven after witnessing the death of his brother, but went on to become one of the most well respected and influential recording artists of his generation.

The narrative is pretty typical for what you would expect from a biopic, but this is a thoroughly engaging watch from start to finish. Jamie Foxx plays Charles in his adulthood and the role won him the best actor Oscar. Foxx didn't perform many of the songs featured in the movie; the soundtrack is made up almost entirely of Charles' original recordings, with the exception of a few covers that were performed by the actor.

Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash
Walk The Line (2005)

James Mangold's 2005 biopic was, by all accounts, a huge success. Grossing over $180m worldwide is an impressive return considering the relatively small budget of $28m. Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon scooped Best Actor and Best Actress Golden Globes for their performances. Witherspoon also won the Best Actress Oscar. What makes their performances so special, for me, is that they perform the material brilliantly.

Having been brought up on Cash's music, I was very familiar with the material and wasn't at all disappointed with Phoenix and Witherspoon's renditions. After seeing the film at the cinema, it took me a while to convince my dad that they weren't miming to Cash originals. It's some piece of work, and deserving of its success.

Bob Dylan
I'm Not There (2007)

Perhaps the least conventional biopic on the list, I'm Not There sees six different actors portray aspects of Bob Dylan's life. At no point are any of the characters referred to as Bob Dylan. Instead there's a caption at the beginning of the film that states: "Inspired by the music and the many lives of Bob Dylan".

Out of all the talented actors that appear in the movie, Cate Blanchett is undoubtedly the finest. The choice to cast Blanchett to play Dylan, when he went electric perhaps would seem an odd one on the surface, but she absolutely nails it, as I'm sure anyone who has seen interview footage of Dylan around this time can attest.

The soundtrack to accompany the film is fantastic. It features only one song recorded by Dylan himself, but a number of artists tackle his material. Sonic Youth, Stephen Malkmus, Yo La Tengo, Sufjan Stephens and The Black Keys are just a few of the performers that feature.

Ian Dury
Sex And Drugs And Rock And Roll (2010)

Andy Serkis has been receiving plenty of praise for his portrayal of Ian Dury. Taking to the role with his usual level of dedication, Serkis did everything he could to embody Dury, including forcing himself to walk with a limp and performing and recording with The Blockheads.

Fans of Ian Dury and the Blockheads will get the most out of the film, as a certain amount of prior knowledge is assumed. As a result, the film won't, perhaps, have the wide appeal of a number of the films on the list, but it's an excellent biography that's well worth a watch for Serkis' fantastic performance. It goes without saying that the music's great.

Sid Vicious
Sid And Nancy (1986)

Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb both put in stellar performances in Alex Cox's 1986 film that focuses on the relationship between, Sex Pistols bassist, Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen. Not an easy watch, by any means, but a fantastic film all the same. The soundtrack is light on Sex Pistols material, but features Gary Oldman doing performing Vicious' cover of My Way that shouldn't be missed.

Édith Piaf
La Vie En Rose (La Môme) (2007)

Marion Cotillard bagged seven best actress awards, including an Oscar, for her portrayal of French chanteuse Édith Piaf in Oliver Dahan's 2007 film. The film ditches a conventional narrative structure and shows events out of sequence from her abandonment as a child and growing up in a brothel to a chance encounter leading to international success. Cotillard plays Piaf from ages 17-47, in a performance that more than justifies the awards bestowed on her.

Ian Curtis / Joy Division
Control (2007)

Former 10,000 Things front man turned actor, Sam Riley puts in an outstanding performance as Ian Curtis in Anton Corbijn’s 2007 film about the lead singer of influential British post punk band Joy Division. The film is shot in black and white and follows key events in Curtis' life up until his suicide, and is based on the novel Touching From A Distance written by Curtis' widow Deborah Curtis, which is well worth a read.

All of the actors playing the members of Joy Division perform the live songs that feature in the film and do a fine job in capturing the energy of the band's performances.

Members of Joy Division mostly praised the film upon its release, saying that it was a more accurate account of what happened than what was seen in 24 Hour Party People. The fact that Anton Corbijn knew the band, no doubt lead to such tasteful handling of sensitive material that could have been made into something more exploitative in lesser hands.

Tell us your favourites and why they rate highly below.

• Music in the movies: the best movie songs of 2009
• Music in the movies: opening songs
• Music in the movies: Spotlight on Clint Mansell
• Music in the movies: closing songs
• Music in the movies: spotlight on Tom Waits
• Music in the movies: movie karaoke
• Music in the movies: spotlight on Nick Cave
• Music in the movies: Top 10 music documentaries
• Music in the movies: Oscar picks