Prime Video doesn't have Netflix's giant music-documentary shelf, but the smaller selection has a surprisingly good hit rate. Better yet, the strongest titles here are included with Prime rather than sitting behind another rental fee.
Prime Video's included catalog rotates frequently. This list stays deliberately short and focuses on the films that make a subscription worthwhile while they are available.
The three, at a glance
Here is what the subscription currently includes.
| Film | Year | Director | On Prime |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long Strange Trip | 2017 | Amir Bar-Lev | Included |
| The Girls in the Band | 2013 | Judy Chaikin | Included |
| Mary J Blige, My Life | 2021 | Vanessa Roth | Included |
Start here
Long Strange Trip, 2017. Four hours about the Grateful Dead and not a wasted minute in it. Amir Bar-Lev makes an unusual structural choice, telling the story largely through the words of the people who were there rather than through music criticism, and it gives the whole thing the feeling of a very long, very good conversation.
Trailer for Long Strange Trip, from the official Prime Video channel.
The reason it works is that it never pretends the Dead were a conventional band. It takes their fans seriously, it takes the business seriously, and it doesn't flinch when the story gets dark around Jerry Garcia. If you have ever wondered what the appeal actually was, this explains it better than any written history.
Start here even if you watch nothing else. Four hours, and the best music documentary on the service by some distance.
The other two worth your time
The Girls in the Band, 2013. Judy Chaikin's film about female jazz musicians of the nineteen thirties and forties who played in the big bands and were then written out of the story almost completely. Rare performance footage and interviews with players like Vi Redd and Clora Bryant. This is the most underseen film on any of these lists and it deserves a far wider audience than it has had. It is a history lesson and a genuinely infuriating one, because you keep wondering why you've never heard these names.
Trailer for The Girls in the Band, from Virgil Films.
It is also the first film we put on the jazz list, because the history in it is jazz history.
Mary J Blige, My Life, 2021. The singer marking twenty-five years of the album that defined her, talking openly about what she was living through when she made it. Vanessa Roth directs. Fans will find it cathartic, and the footage of Blige performing the album live for the first time is the highlight.
Trailer for Mary J Blige, My Life, from Prime Video.
The films people assume are on Prime
Quick one, because it is the most common search we get. The landmark concert films aren't on Prime. Don't Look Back, Gimme Shelter and Monterey Pop are on Max, Stop Making Sense is a rental rather than an included stream, and The Beatles Get Back came out on Disney+. If you want the canon in one place, the Max list is where it lives, and the main list sorts the whole thing by service.
What Prime does better than most services is the mid length artist film. Not the prestige portraits, the ones where somebody who made the record talks at length about what it cost them. That is why both artist titles here earn their evening.
Pick by the kind of evening you are having
- You have a whole evening and you want the best of them. Long Strange Trip, and don't try to squeeze it into ninety minutes.
- You did not know this history existed. The Girls in the Band. It will make you angry, which is the point.
- You want something that is over quickly and still lands. Mary J Blige, My Life.
What else is there
Amazon's music documentary selection rotates more than the other services, so check your region before you get your hopes up about a specific title. Prime also carries a rotating selection of music films through rental rather than inclusion, which means the really old concert classics are sometimes available for a couple of dollars instead of free.
The distinction matters when you are browsing. A title marked as included is covered by the membership you already pay for. Anything marked for rental or purchase is a separate charge, and it is easy to tap through without noticing.
For the wider picture across every platform, start with the full best music documentaries list.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best music documentary on Amazon Prime? Long Strange Trip, 2017, a four hour film about the Grateful Dead. Widely regarded as one of the finest music documentaries ever made, and it comes with Prime.
Do I need to pay extra for these on Prime? Long Strange Trip, The Girls in the Band and Mary J Blige, My Life are included with a standard Prime membership. Some older titles are rental only.
Is Long Strange Trip too long? It is four hours and it does ask something of you. Watching it in two sittings works fine and loses nothing, since the structure is episodic anyway.
Does Amazon Prime have concert films? A rotating selection, mostly available by rental. The permanent concert classics such as Stop Making Sense and Monterey Pop live on Max.
How often does the Prime documentary list change? Often enough that it is worth checking before you settle in. We look again whenever the catalogue shifts, and titles arrive and leave without much notice, so treat any list you read today, including this one, as a starting point rather than a promise.
Are there any free music documentaries outside Prime Video? Yes, several rotate through ad-supported services. The main best music documentaries list covers where to find those.
Is The Girls in the Band worth it if I don't know jazz? Especially then. You don't need to know anything about the big bands to follow it, because the film explains the history as it goes and the interviews do the teaching. It is also the first title we list on our jazz page.