# Help Me Select A New Ring Tone! Win Absolutely Nothing **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 18, 2012, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-select-a-new-ring-tone-win-absolutely-nothing/616129 "2012-03-18T10:47:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2012, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-select-a-new-ring-tone-win-absolutely-nothing/616129/21 "2012-03-18T19:20:37Z")
Not entirely sure what you’re into but I’ve had a few good ones from [Television Tunes](http://www.televisiontunes.com/) I’m currently using the theme from Barney Miller which works well because it starts out low and slow so most of the time I hear it before anyone around me does. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2012, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-select-a-new-ring-tone-win-absolutely-nothing/616129/22 "2012-03-18T22:26:53Z")
I heard someone’s ringtone was [this Moby theme from the Bourne movies](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOuPqeHXMzQ). If I ever figure out how to get a different ringtone, I’ll use it. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2012, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-select-a-new-ring-tone-win-absolutely-nothing/616129/23 "2012-03-18T23:25:42Z")
My wife uses the “[Boss’s Ringtone](http://www.geico.com/about/commercials/music/ringtones/)” from Geico whenever I call her. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2012, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-select-a-new-ring-tone-win-absolutely-nothing/616129/24 "2012-03-18T23:57:16Z")
I always wanted the doorbell/foghorn from “The Addams Family” TV show! ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-select-a-new-ring-tone-win-absolutely-nothing/616129/25 "2012-03-19T02:13:55Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > I suppose my phone is the only one that uses an actual ring? But I like it because I can always tell it apart. This. Sorry, **r** but you’d have an identity crisis if you ever came to visit my quadrant of the galaxy. I use a plain-old-fashine ring-sounding tone, and fairly quiet too. To the OP: For Og’s sake, choose one that is unobtrusive and unobnoxious (which from your OP it sounds like what you plan to do), and keep the volume down. Nobody appreciates those ring tones that you can hear from Sydney all the way to Moscow! ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-select-a-new-ring-tone-win-absolutely-nothing/616129/26 "2012-03-19T03:06:44Z")
Go [here.](http://www.myxer.com/artist/8783636/) Download the one called “Smack that @ss.” ---
**Author:** ![Gleena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b3f665/32.png) [@Gleena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gleena)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-select-a-new-ring-tone-win-absolutely-nothing/616129/27 "2012-03-19T03:32:59Z")
Heh, mine has Janis’s opening scream in Cry Baby. It’s on vibrate 99% of the time anyway, and if it’s not it’s because it’s in another part of the house and I need to hear it. From that era, though, in the past I’ve had: Turn Turn Turn (Byrds) Mercedes Benz (Janis Joplin again, I’m a fan) Fortunate Son, Run Through the Jungle and Looking Out My Backdoor (at different times of course, CCR) House of the Rising Son (Animals) Pick the right bits of course. I have to change them when they become earworms. ---
**Author:** ![Teufelblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@Teufelblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teufelblitz)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-select-a-new-ring-tone-win-absolutely-nothing/616129/28 "2012-03-19T05:57:26Z")
I use the movie version of Journey of the Sorcerer. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6cVKL9XWZMM/hqdefault.jpg "The Hitchikers: Guide To The Galaxy Soundtrack - 07. Journey Of The Sorcerer") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cVKL9XWZMM) The intro starts off low enough that it’s fairly unobtrusive, but it gets good and fanfarish soon enough that you can catch a call you may have missed. (I named my Andriod phone Marvin) ---
**Author:** ![crookedteeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b4bc9f/32.png) [@crookedteeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crookedteeth)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-select-a-new-ring-tone-win-absolutely-nothing/616129/29 "2012-03-19T06:14:50Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > I suppose my phone is the only one that uses an actual ring? But I like it because I can always tell it apart. Nope, me too. I used songs back when you had to buy them, it’s kinda lame now. ---
**Author:** ![Critical\_Mass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@Critical\_Mass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical_Mass)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-select-a-new-ring-tone-win-absolutely-nothing/616129/30 "2012-03-19T10:48:10Z")
Theme from [CHiPs](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYKdayl7BHM&feature=related) ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-select-a-new-ring-tone-win-absolutely-nothing/616129/31 "2012-03-19T11:34:43Z")
> [@Lazlo](#): > > Yup, you can use a YouTube clip in most smart phones but it might take a little work. > > 1. Grab the audio off the clip. There are myriad ways to do this, but the easiest is usually to use a free service like [ListenToYouTube](http://www.listentoyoutube.com/). > [snip] Guess I’m not going to work early after all. > [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > … > PS- Possibly the best phone unsung phone accessory ever produced was the ability to tag different ringtones to different contacts. Like [sisters](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4kiXh8YOzk), fer instance. > > Granted, it _does_ make it difficult to tell if its the one from the East or the one from the West. 😉 I think that can be managed with the photos you assign them. House on her…East. No house…West. My own sister is kind of awesome, but guess what ringtone Mom’s getting as soon as I master the steps outlined above… ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-select-a-new-ring-tone-win-absolutely-nothing/616129/32 "2012-03-19T14:32:37Z")
> [@gwendee](#): > > Guess I’m not going to work early after all. Ditto! I just rediscovered a song I wanted as a ringtone back before I had a phone that could handle it. The theme from “[The Big Country](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWlhBwPncVQ&feature=related)” by Jerome Moross. That’ll get your (or anyone’s) attention… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-select-a-new-ring-tone-win-absolutely-nothing/616129/33 "2012-03-19T15:22:33Z")
I’ve been using the opening tunes from classic arcade games. My current one is the intro from Pac-Man. I’ve used an air raid siren before but too many people freak out from that one. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Righteous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Dr.Righteous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Righteous)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-select-a-new-ring-tone-win-absolutely-nothing/616129/34 "2012-03-19T15:28:02Z")
Currently I’m using the opening to Heart’s _Barracuda_, but I’ve also got Van Halen _Eruption_, AC/DC _Back in Black_, the beginning of Ozzy’s _Crazy Train_ and The Police’s _Synchronicity I_. ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-select-a-new-ring-tone-win-absolutely-nothing/616129/35 "2012-03-19T16:07:18Z")
I play with the sounds on my phone, but once I find one I like I generally stick with it. My general ringtone is a sound clip of the Three Stooges answering phones all at the same time. It’s somewhat musical and fun. I also get to pretend I’m the fourth stooge when I join in and it fits my sense of whimsy. The ringtone often gets smiles, not eye rolls when it goes off. I have a couple of custom ringtones. For a friend of mine I have AC/DC’s Highway to Hell. It starts off with just the drumbeat and isn’t too obnoxious if I can get to it quickly. It ramps up in volume so I can’t not notice it if I’m in a noisy environment or set my phone down somewhere in the house. For my wife I have the opening to Green Day’s Basket Case. She loves it, we both like Green Day, and the “Do you have the time/To listen to me whine/About nothing and everything all at once” cracks her up. She’s been known to call me when we’re in the same room so she can hear snippets of the song and sing along. Yea, we’re weird like that. In general I like to go with something that starts off low and ramps up to a cacophony of noise so if I can get to it early it doesn’t disturb many people, but it eventually gets loud enough to wake me if I get an emergency call during the night. Enjoy, Steven ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-select-a-new-ring-tone-win-absolutely-nothing/616129/36 "2012-03-20T01:38:45Z")
Thanks for all the suggestions to date. I still haven’t settled on one but will over the next few days. Actually “Band on the Run” is sounding good 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-select-a-new-ring-tone-win-absolutely-nothing/616129/37 "2012-03-20T03:42:31Z")
[Sunday Morning.](http://www.amazon.com/Sunday-Morning/dp/B007CFQROE/ref=sr_1_707?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1331343520&sr=1-707) ---
**Author:** ![kbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kbear)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-select-a-new-ring-tone-win-absolutely-nothing/616129/38 "2012-03-20T08:09:43Z")
I’ve always liked my Hockey Night in Canada ringtone. It’s punchy and very few people in the Uk know what it is. I feel a bit of a dork tho when it rings when I’m in Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Lazlo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lazlo/32/9678_2.png) [@Lazlo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lazlo)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-select-a-new-ring-tone-win-absolutely-nothing/616129/39 "2012-03-20T10:00:03Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > [Sunday Morning.](http://www.amazon.com/Sunday-Morning/dp/B007CFQROE/ref=sr_1_707?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1331343520&sr=1-707) Ooh. I love it! It also reminded me of this one: [Laputa, The Castle in the Sky](http://youtu.be/b-s7rX2FdE0). ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-select-a-new-ring-tone-win-absolutely-nothing/616129/40 "2012-03-20T10:45:17Z")
Mom is a snippet from Cabaret’s “Money”, Middlebro one from the Ride of the Walkyries (not one of the best known parts) and Littlebro is a Spanish song. One of my coworkers has a snippet of Il Barbiere di Siviglia which kind of sounds like “ok, guys, you thought I was belting it before, wait for it”; another one has Aida’s triumphal march; one (a lawyer by training, although not by trade) has Groucho Marx doing that “party of the first part” speech. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-select-a-new-ring-tone-win-absolutely-nothing/616129.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-select-a-new-ring-tone-win-absolutely-nothing/616129.md?page=3)