Many times, singing and dancing in movies is just awkward and uncomfortable (think Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler singing “I Feel Pretty” in “Anger Management”). Sometimes, however, music is used to perfection in movies (think any Quentin Tarantino movie – he uses songs better than anyone else and every one of his movies has at least one scene that could be on this list).

There are, however, some strict guidelines for this list. First, no musicals. It just wouldn’t be fair to allow movies that are based around the music or movies like “The Producers” and “The Sound of Music” would dominate. Second, the song has to physically be a part of the scene. An amazing soundtrack is all well and good, but thousands of movies have good soundtracks. This list is limited to scenes in which the song is an integral part of the scene, not just background music.

1. “Twist and Shout” by the Beatles, from “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”

The parade in which Ferris does his epic performance is apparently some kind of German pride parade, which sounds like a recipe for disaster. But, in true Ferris Bueller fashion, he saves the day. He incites the entire city of Chicago to do some twisting, some shouting and some spontaneous yet choreographed dancing – all while wearing a leopard-print vest. Now that is something only Ferris Bueller could pull off.

2. “Stuck in the Middle With You” by Stealers Wheel, from “Reservoir Dogs”

This scene demonstrates Tarantino’s amazing use of music to set the tone for his scenes. “Stuck in the Middle with You” seems like an odd choice for one of the most grisly scenes in modern cinema, but Tarantino uses its upbeat sound to perfection. Michael Madsen dances and sings along with the lyrics just before he cuts off the ear of a guy who looks suspiciously like Jean-Claude Van Damme. The song is such an integral part of this scene, it quiets as Madsen exits the warehouse and loudens as he re-enters with a can of gasoline. And if you listen closely, you can hear the radio DJ (voiced by Steven Wright, the guy on the couch from “Half Baked”) say that this song is by Bob Dylan sound-alike Stealers Wheel, not Dylan himself, who many people think it is.

3. “Tiny Dancer” by Elton John, from “Almost Famous”

Musically, “Almost Famous” may be the best movie ever made (excluding musicals, of course), and this scene is the apogee of the film. As Stillwater and its entourage break into the chorus of Elton John’s classic song, Patrick Fugit’s William Miller, with a little help from Kate Hudson’s Penny Lane, realizes that his home is with this wild bunch of rock stars.

4. “Total Eclipse of the Heart” by Bonnie Tyler, from “Old School”

The wedding scene in “Old School” is probably the funniest music scene ever. Dropping f-bombs left and right, the Dan Band bewildered Will Ferrell and inspired Vince Vaughn with covers of Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and Styx’s “Lady.” The scene made it clear early on that “Old School” would be a classic along the lines of “Animal House” and solidified writer/director Todd Phillips’s career as a comedic genius, which he hopefully demonstrates yet again in “Old School 2,” due out in 2007.

5. “Johnny B. Goode” by Chuck Berry, from “Back to the Future”

Michael J. Fox whips out his electric guitar and rocks out to one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll songs ever made, complete with pyrotechnics at the end of the show. The crowd, which includes his future parents, is shocked by the display, since the scene takes place in the ’50s, years before they could have witnessed the beauty that is Keith Moon blowing up a drum kit with dynamite.

6. “You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feelin'” by the Righteous Brothers from “Top Gun”

In 1986, Tom Cruise was using his wingmen and a touching rendition of the Righteous Brothers’ “You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feelin'” to seduce Kelly McGillis in “Top Gun.” Also in 1986, Katie Holmes celebrated her eighth birthday. Gross.

7. “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel, from “Say Anything…”

John Cusack holding a boom box above his head playing “In Your Eyes” was the seminal ’80s snapshot from the seminal ’80s good-guy actor. Everyone was rooting for Cusack’s Lloyd Dobler, just as everyone was rooting for his Hoops McCann in “One Crazy Summer” and his Rob Gordon in “High Fidelity.” Although the lyrics to “In Your Eyes” don’t really make sense (“In your eyes, I see the doorway to a thousand churches”), this is another perfectly executed music scene by Cameron Crowe.

8. “You Never Can Tell” by Chuck Berry, from “Pulp Fiction”

Tarantino proves yet again that he is the master of the mood-setting song, John Travolta proves yet again that he can dance better than pretty much anyone on the face of the earth, and Uma Thurman proves yet again that she would never get any work if it weren’t for Tarantino.

9. “Shout” by Otis Day and the Knights, from “Animal House”

The first in a long line of brilliant Harold Ramis comedies, “Animal House” is the film that made movies like “Old School” possible. This scene benefits greatly from actually having Otis Day and the Knights perform the song, especially the piano player, who screams throughout the song like Dumb Donald from “Fat Albert.”

10. “White Christmas” by the Drifters, from “Home Alone”

This was the most notable scene from the biggest Christmas movie ever (yes, even bigger than “It’s a Wonderful Life” – but perhaps not as big as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “Jingle All the Way”). This solidified Macaulay Culkin’s spot as the biggest child actor in history, but that was before he started doing things like “Getting Even With Dad,” “The Pagemaster” and Michael Jackson.

11. “Superstar” by the Carpenters, from “Tommy Boy”

This one is just too good to leave off of the list, so I made an 11th spot for it. There are so many great music scenes in this movie: when Chris Farley and David Spade cry their eyes out to the Carpenters; when they shout along to “Come On Eileen” by Dexys Midnight Runners, “Eres Tu” by Mocedades and “It’s the End of the World as We Know It,” by R.E.M.; and when Chris Farley and Brian Dennehy do a rendition of Ray Charles’s “What’d I Say” at Big Tom’s wedding.

Runners-up

“No Tears” by Scarface, from “Office Space”; “Afternoon Delight” by the Starland Vocal Ban, from “Anchorman”; “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees, from “Airplane!”; “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen, from “Wayne’s World”; “All You Need is Love” by the Beatles, from “Love Actually”