After getting in a Facebook debate regarding just how wretched the Justin Timberlake Super Bowl halftime show was this year, I decided to review all 52 of the Super Bowl halftime shows and rank them from best to worst. The best I can tell is that there is not another list this comprehensive on the web anywhere. Several websites rank the modern concert-type shows (post 1991), but I couldn’t find any that rank all 52. If you scroll down my blog a few days, you will see that I recently ranked all 52 Super Bowl games as well, and ironically, the worst halftime show on this list corresponded with the worst game on that list. It took a little work to find some clips of the other older shows on You Tube, and it is hard to compare the old marching band shows to the current live concerts but here’s what I came up with. Feel free to comment or debate.
| Greatest Super Bowl Halftimes in NFL History | |
| 1 | Super Bowl XXVII- Michael Jackson |
| 2 | Super Bowl XLII- Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers |
| 3 | Super Bowl XLIX- Katy Perry, Lenny Kravitz, Missy Elliott |
| 4 | Super Bowl XXXVI- U2 (9/11 Tribute) |
| 5 | Super Bowl XXXIX- Paul McCartney |
| 6 | Super Bowl XXXVIII- Jessica Simpson, Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Kid Rock |
| 7 | Super Bowl XLVI- Madonna. LMFAO, Nicky Minaj, Cee Lo Green |
| 8 | Super Bowl XLI- Lady Gaga |
| 9 | Super Bowl 50- Coldplay, Beyonce, Bruno Mars |
| 10 | Super Bowl XLIII- Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band |
| 11 | Super Bowl XLI- Prince, FAMU Marching Band |
| 12 | Super Bowl XXXIV- Phil Collins, Christina Aguilera, Enrique Iglesias, Toni Braxton |
| 13 | Super Bowl XLIV- The Who |
| 14 | Super Bowl XL- The Rolling Stones |
| 15 | Super Bowl XXII- Chubby Checker, The Rockettes (Something Grand) |
| 16 | Super Bowl XXIV- Pete Fountain, Doug Kershaw (Salute to New Orleans) |
| 17 | Super Bowl XVI- Up With People (Salute to the 1960s and Motown) |
| 18 | Super Bowl XXXVII- Shania Twain, No Doubt, Sting |
| 19 | Super Bowl XXXI- Blues Brothers and ZZ Top |
| 20 | Super Bowl I- University of Arizona and Grambling Marching Bands |
| 21 | Super Bowl VI- Ella Fitzgerald “Mack the Knife” (Salute to Louis Armstrong) |
| 22 | Super Bowl XVII- LA Drill Team (Kaleido superscope) |
| 23 | Super Bowl VII- Michigan Marching Band “This Land Is Your Land” |
| 24 | Super Bowl IV- Southern Marching Band “When Saints Go Marching In” (Mardi Gras) |
| 25 | Super Bowl III- Florida A & M Marching Band (America Thanks) |
| 26 | Super Bowl V- Southeast Missouri St. Marching Band with Anita Bryant |
| 27 | Super Bowl XXI- Walt Disnery (Salute to Hollywood’s 100th Anniversary) |
| 28 | Super Bowl XXVI- Gloria Estefan (Salute to the 1992 Winter Olympics) |
| 29 | Super Bowl XVIII- Walt Disney (Salute to Superstars of Silver Screen) |
| 30 | Super Bowl XXX- Diana Ross |
| 31 | Super Bowl XXXII- Boyz II Men, The Temptations, Queen Latifah |
| 32 | Super Bowl XXXV- Aerosmith, N’Sync, Brittany Spears, Mary J. Blige, Nelly |
| 33 | Super Bowl XLV- The Black Eyed Peas, Usher |
| 34 | Super Bowl XV- Southern Marching Band (Mardi Gras Festival) |
| 35 | Super Bowl II- Grambling State Marching Band |
| 36 | Super Bowl VIII- Texas Marching Band (A Musical America) |
| 37 | Super Bowl XII- Apache Band (From Paris to Paris of America) |
| 38 | Super Bowl XXXIII- Gloria Estefan and Stevie Wonder |
| 39 | Super Bowl XX- Up with People (Beat of the Future) |
| 40 | Super Bowl XLVII- Beyonce, Destiny’s Child |
| 41 | Super Bowl X- Up With People (Bicentennial) |
| 42 | Super Bowl IX- Grambling State Marching Band (Tribute to Duke Ellington) |
| 43 | Super Bowl XIX- Tops In Blue (World of Children’s Dreams) |
| 44 | Super Bowl XLVIII- Bruno Mars, Red Hot Chili Peppers |
| 45 | Super Bowl XXV- New Kids on the Block (Small World Tribute) |
| 46 | Super Bowl XIV- Up With People, Grambling Marching Band (Big Band Era) |
| 47 | Super Bowl XXVIII- Clint Black, Tanya Tucker, Travis Tritt |
| 48 | Super Bowl XLII- Justin Timberlake |
| 49 | Super Bowl XIII- Ken Hamilton (Salute to Caribbean) |
| 50 | Super Bowl XI- Walt Disney “It’s a Small World” |
| 51 | Super Bowl XXIII- Elvis Presto (1950’s Rock and Roll) |
| 52 | Super Bowl XXIX- Patti Labelle, Tony Bennett (Indiana Jones) |
Ramblings of the Ultimate Sports Sentimentalist 