The Best Musicals of All Time + My Top 100

Here’s the list of my favorite musicals of all time! This list is going to be constantly updated as I listen to new cast recordings, see more shows, and re-watch/listen to things. For example, I might not end up obsessing over a musical until seeing it live. Or I might not quite be convinced about a show until listening to a different cast album or reading the libretto.

Notes: This is a personal opinion of my own favorite musicals! Your list is probably going to look a lot different from mine. But this is also a good place to start if you’re looking for new ideas of shows to see or cast recordings to check out. And if you’re like me and want to keep track of all of the best musicals you’ve seen and plays you’ve read, you might just love The Thespian’s Bucket List!

And here’s a comprehensive list of my cast album ratings!

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My Top 10 Musicals

* This list can always change!

1. Les Misérables
2. Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812
3. Sweeney Todd
4. Hadestown
5. Fiddler on the Roof
6. Fangirls
7. Into the Woods
8. Rent
9. Hamilton
10. Chicago

 

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My Top 100 Musicals

* This list is always changing!

1. Les Misérables
2. Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812
3. Sweeney Todd
4. Hadestown
5. Fiddler on the Roof
6. Fangirls
7. Into the Woods
8. Rent
9. Hamilton
10. Chicago
11. In the Heights
12. Falsettos
13. Company
14. Ragtime
15. Miss Saigon
16. The Book of Mormon
17. She Loves Me
18. Cabaret
19. Wicked
20. A Little Night Music
21. Spring Awakening
22. 21 Chump Street
23. West Side Story
24. The Sound of Music
25. Guys and Dolls
26. The Rocky Horror Show
27. The Lion King
28. Singin’ in the Rain
29. Titanic
30. Aladdin
31. American Psycho
32. Heathers
33. Chess
34. Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris
35. Ride the Cyclone
36. Floyd Collins
37. Closer to Heaven
38. Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope
39. A Year With Frog and Toad
40. The Wizard of Oz
41. Grease
42. Mary Poppins
43. Hairspray
44. Preludes
45. Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future
46. Nevermore
47. A Strange Loop
48. Zorba
49. An American in Paris
50. Hundred Days
51. Parade
52. Follies
53. Grey Gardens
54. La Cage aux Folles
55. Little Shop of Horrors
56. Diary of a Wimpy Kid
57. How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
58. Dear Evan Hansen
59. Alice by Heart
60. Sunday in the Park with George
61. The Dolls of New Albion
62. Venice
63. Here We Are
64. Bernarda Alba
65. Gypsy
66. Carousel
67. Anything Goes
68. Caroline, or Change
69. Lizzie
70. Cyrano
71. Sweet Smell of Success
72. The Producers
73. tick, tick… BOOM!
74. Merrily We Roll Along
75. Pippin
76. Next to Normal
77. The Band’s Visit
78. The Color Purple
79. The Last Five Years
80. The Wiz
81. The Robber Bridegroom
82. A Christmas Story
83. Be More Chill
84. The Lord of the Rings
85. Jagged Little Pill
86. Memphis
87. The Scottsboro Boys
88. A Chorus Line
89. The Wild Party (LaChiusa)
90. The Phantom of the Opera
91. A New Brain
92. Anastasia
93. My Fair Lady
94. Fun Home
95. Come From Away
96. A Bronx Tale
97. Something Rotten!
98. Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
99. The Bridges of Madison County
100. South Pacific
101. Big River

 

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Rating: 10/10

The musicals I have given a perfect 10/10 rating are ones that I consider to be the absolute best musicals of all time. These shows have deeply resonated with me, and in my opinion, represent the highest standards of musical theatre.

• Cabaret
• Chicago
• Company
• Falsettos
• Fangirls
• Fiddler on the Roof
• Hadestown
• Hamilton
• In the Heights
• Into the Woods
• Les Misérables
• Miss Saigon
• Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812
• Ragtime
• Rent
• She Loves Me
• Sweeney Todd
• The Book of Mormon

 

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Rating: 9/10

The following musicals are ones that I nearly consider to be among the best of all time. I’d say that the following are just shy of being perfect.

• 21 Chump Street
• A Little Night Music
• A Strange Loop
• A Year With Frog and Toad
• Aladdin
• American Psycho
• An American in Paris
• Chess
• Closer to Heaven
• Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope
• Floyd Collins
• Grease
• Guys and Dolls
• Hairspray
• Heathers
• Hundred Days
• Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris
• Mary Poppins
• Nevermore
• Preludes
• Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future
• Ride the Cyclone
• Singin’ in the Rain
• Spring Awakening
• The Lion King
• The Rocky Horror Show
• The Sound of Music
• The Wizard of Oz
• Titanic
• West Side Story
• Wicked
• Zorba

 

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Rating: 8.5/10

I consider the following musicals to be extremely special. They are very close to being among my favorite musicals of all time.

• Alice by Heart
• Anything Goes
• Bernarda Alba
• Caroline, or Change
• Carousel
• Cyrano
• Dear Evan Hansen
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid
• Follies
• Grey Gardens
• Gypsy
• Here We Are
• How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
• La Cage aux Folles
• Little Shop of Horrors
• Lizzie
• Parade
• Standing at the Sky’s Edge
• Sunday in the Park with George
• Sweet Smell of Success
• The Dolls of New Albion
• The Producers
• The Scottsboro Boys
• Venice

 

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Rating: 8/10

I love the following musicals. They are simply wonderful and ones that I would absolutely recommend listening to/seeing or reading.

• A Bronx Tale
• A Chorus Line
• A Christmas Story
• A New Brain
• A VHS Christmas Carol
• Allegiance
• Anastasia
• Bare
• Be More Chill
• Big River
• Brigadoon
• Cinderella
• Come From Away
• Daddy Long Legs
• Dessa Rose
• Doctor Zhivago
• Dog Man: The Musical
• Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
• Falsettoland
• Fun Home
• Golden Boy
• Harlem Song
• Here Lies Love
• His Story
• Holiday Inn
• Honeymoon in Vegas
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas
• If/Then
• Jagged Little Pill
• Jane Eyre
• Jesus Christ Superstar
• Kean
• Kid Victory
• Leap of Faith
• March of the Falsettos
• Memphis
• Merrily We Roll Along
• My Fair Lady
• Next to Normal
• Nymph Errant
• Oliver!
• On the Twentieth Century
• Passing Strange
• Pippin
• Robert and Elizabeth
• Ruthless!
• Sarafina
• Say My Name!
• Selma
• Six
• Something Rotten!
• South Pacific
• Summer of ’42
• Sunset Boulevard
• The Band’s Visit
• The Bridges of Madison County
• The Capeman
• The Clockmaker’s Daughter
• The Color Purple
• The Connector
• The Fields of Ambrosia
• The Last Five Years
• The Last Ship
• The Life
• The Lion
• The Lord of the Rings
• The Mad Ones
• The Music Man
• The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes
• The Phantom of the Opera
• The Pirate Queen
• The Robber Bridegroom
• The Story of My Life
• The Wild Party (LaChiusa)
• The Wiz
• The Zulu and the Zayda
• Tick, Tick… BOOM!
• Tomfoolery
• Tuck Everlasting
• Violet
• Waitress
• We Aren’t Kids Anymore
• Working

 

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Rating: 7.5/10

The following musicals have something special that makes them feel a bit closer to an 8 than a 7. I really enjoy/appreciate these musicals.

• & Juliet
• 1776
• A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
• A Minister’s Wife
• Adding Machine
• Ain’t Misbehavin’
• Allegro
• Amélie
• Annie
• As Thousands Cheer
• Assassins
• Bandstand
• Beauty and the Beast
• BKLYN The Musical
• Black and Blue
• Blitz!
• Bonnie and Clyde
• Bravo Giovanni
• Bright Star
• Brooklyn Crush
• Bumblescratch
• Camelot
• Death Note
• Death Takes a Holiday
• Descendants
• Destry Rides Again
• Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
• Dogfight
• Dreamland
• Ernest Shackleton Loves Me
• Eugenius!
• Evening Primrose
• Evita
• Fela!
• Fly by Night
• Frankenstein
• Frozen
• Funny Girl
• Ghost
• Ghost Quartet
• Giant
• Goblin Market
• Golden Boy of the Blue Ridge
• Goosebumps The Musical
• Grand Hotel
• Hair
• Hands on a Hardbody
• Hello, Dolly!
• Hell’s Kitchen
• House of Flowers
• I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change
• In Trousers
• Infinite Joys
• Irma La Douce
• It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues
• James and the Giant Peach
• Jasper in Deadland
• Jekyll & Hyde
• Jelly’s Last Jam
• Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
• Kat and the Kings
• King Kong (1959)
• Kinky Boots
• Kismet
• Kiss of the Spiderwoman
• Knickerbocker Holiday
• Knoxville
• Lady, Be Good
• Lempicka
• Life Begins at 8:40
• Light Years
• Li’l Abner
• Louisiana Purchase
• Mamma Mia!
• Marguerite
• Martin Guerre
• Me and My Girl
• Movin’ Out
• Oh! What a Lovely War
• Oklahoma!
• Once
• Once Upon a Mattress
• One Mo’ Time
• Pardon My English
• Peter Pan (1954)
• Polkadots: The Cool Kids Musical
• Pump Boys and Dinettes
• Ring of Fire
• See What I Wanna See
• Simply Heavenly
• Soft Power
• Something for the Boys
• Spamalot
• Strike Up the Band
• Sweet Charity
• Taboo
• Tenderloin
• The Big One-Oh!
• The Burnt Part Boys
• The Cher Show
• The Full Monty
• The Hatpin
• The Hello Girls
• The Immigrant
• The Light in the Piazza
• The Light Princess
• The Little Big Things
• The Little Mermaid
• The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!)
• The New Moon
• The Outsiders
• The Pirates of Penzance
• The Rothschilds
• The Scarlet Pimpernel
• The Show Goes On
• The Spitfire Grill
• The Threepenny Opera
• The View UpStairs
• The Visit
• The Wild Party (Lippa)
• The Will Rogers Follies
• The Witches of Eastwick
• The Woman in White
• Tintypes
• Tokyo Rose
• Top Hat
• Trevor
• Twisted
• Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
• Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch
• Water for Elephants
• Wings
• Yours, Anne

 

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Rating: 7/10

These musicals are solid! Some are beloved classics, while others are fan favorites. I enjoy and appreciate them for what they bring to the stage, even if they don’t top my list.

• 13
• 35mm
• 70, Girls, 70
• A Christmas Carol
• A Class Act
• A Man of No Importance
• Aida
• Ain’t Too Proud
• Almost Famous
• American Idiot
• Amour
• Annie Get Your Gun
• Anyone Can Whistle
• Avenue Q
• Barnum
• Bella: An American Tall Tale
• Bells Are Ringing
• Ben Franklin in Paris
• Big
• Black Nativity
• Blackbirds of 1928
• Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
• Blues in the Night
• Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk
• Bring It On
• Bullets Over Broadway
• Bye Bye Birdie
• Calvin Berger
• Candide
• Carrie
• Catch Me If You Can
• Charlotte Sweet
• Children of Eden
• City of Angels
• Closer Than Ever
• Crazy for You
• Cruel Intentions
• Cry-Baby
• Curtains
• Damn Yankees
• Days of Wine and Roses
• Dear Edwina
• Dearest Enemy
• Desperate Measures
• Disaster!
• Do I Hear a Waltz?
• Doctor Dolittle
• Dreamgirls
• Elf
• Ernest in Love
• Face the Music
• Fame
• Fanny
• Far From Heaven
• Fifty Million Frenchmen
• First Daughter Suite
• Five Guys Named Moe
• Flora, the Red Menace
• Freaky Friday
• Fugitive Songs
• Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
• Get Up Stand Up!
• Greenwillow
• Groundhog Day
• Hannah…1939
• Hedwig and the Angry Inch
• Hex
• How to Eat Like a Child
• I Can Get It for You Wholesale
• I Do! I Do!
• Illya Darling
• I’m Getting My Act Together and Taking It On the Road
• Inner City
• Jamaica
• Jumbo
• Juno
• KPOP
• Legally Blonde
• Let ‘Em Eat Cake
• Let It Be
• Little By Little
• Little Miss Sunshine
• Little Women
• Lizard Boy
• Love Never Dies
• Lucky Stiff
• Mack & Mabel
• Marie Christine
• Matilda
• Mayor
• Milk and Honey
• MJ The Musical
• Mrs Henderson Presents
• Newsies
• Nine
• No, No, Nanette
• No Strings
• On the Record
• On Your Feet!
• Once on This Island
• Only Fools and Horses
• Phantom
• Pickwick
• Pins and Needles
• Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
• Promenade
• Purlie
• Rags
• Raisin
• Reefer Madness
• Salvation
• Saturday Night
• Seesaw
• Shucked
• Smile
• Something’s Afoot
• Song of Norway
• Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark
• Starry
• St. Louis Woman
• State Fair
• Stop the World – I Want to Get Off
• Street Scene
• Sunny Afternoon
• Tanz der Vampire
• Tarrytown
• Tarzan
• The Addams Family
• The Bodyguard
• The Count of Monte Cristo
• The Drifters Girl
• The Drowsy Chaperone
• The Frogs
• The Glorious Ones
• The Golden Apple
• The Grand Tour
• The Great Gatsby
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame
• The King and I
• The Landing
• The Likes of Us
• The Man in the Ceiling
• The Mystery of Edwin Drood
• The New Yorkers
• The Notebook
• The Pajama Game
• The Prince of Egypt
• The Prom
• The Theory of Relativity
• The Who’s Tommy
• They’re Playing Our Song
• Thoroughly Modern Millie
• Tina: The Tina Turner Musical
• Tootsie
• Tovarich
• Two Gentlemen of Verona
• Urinetown
• Victor/Victoria
• We Are the Tigers
• Where’s Charley?
• Yank!
• Young Frankenstein
• You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown

 

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Rating: 6.5/10

These musicals have their moments! While there are aspects I appreciate in each of them, there are also parts that didn’t quite hit the mark for me. Overall, many of them didn’t leave a lasting impression, but they still have their charms.

 

• 3 Guys Naked from the Waist Down
• 42nd Street
• 9 to 5
• A Killer Party
• A Little Princess
• A Tale of Two Cities
• Anne of Green Gables
• Applause
• Babes in Arms
• Baby It’s You!
• Baker Street
• Ballroom
• Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
• Betty Blue Eyes
• Bloomer Girl
• Bombshell
• Bright Lights, Big City
• Bubble Boy
• Busker Alley
• Calamity Jane
• Carmen Jones
• Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
• Chu Chin Chow
• Clinton: The Musical
• Darling of the Day
• Divorce Me, Darling!
• Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!
• Don’t Play Us Cheap
• Dude
• Elegies: A Song Cycle
• Elephant and Piggie’s “We Are in a Play”
• Fame Becomes Me
• Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World
• Finding Nemo
• Fine and Dandy
• Firebringer
• Flahooley
• Flashdance
• Flowers for Mrs Harris
• Flying Over Sunset
• Forever Plaid
• From Here to Eternity
• Gigi
• Golden Rainbow
• Goldilocks and the Three Bears
• Good News!
• Grind
• Half Time
• Hallelujah, Baby!
• Happy Hunting
• Henry and Mudge
• High Society
• High Spirits
• Home Street Home
• Hot Shoe Shuffle
• I and Albert
• I Had a Ball
• I Love My Wife
• I Remember Mama
• In Transit
• Is There Life After High School?
• It Shoulda Been You
• Jerome Robbins’ Broadway
• Jersey Boys
• Junie B. Jones
• Kimberly Akimbo
• Kiss Me, Kate
• Kitty’s Kisses
• Lazarus
• Legacy – Two Song Cycles
• Little Mary Sunshine
• Little Me
• Lock Up Your Daughters
• Love in Hate Nation
• Love Story
• LoveMusik
• Lysistrata Jones
• Magdalena
• Maggie Flynn
• Meet Me in St. Louis
• Million Dollar Quartet
• Mr. Saturday Night
• My One and Only
• Myths & Hymns
• Nativity!
• New Girl in Town
• New York, New York
• Nice Work If You Can Get It
• Nick & Nora
• Nunsense
• Nunset Boulevard
• Of Thee I Sing
• On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
• Operation Mincemeat
• Our House
• Over Here!
• Panama Hattie
• Plain and Fancy
• Porgy and Bess
• Promises, Promises
• Return to the Forbidden Planet
• Road Show
• Roadside
• Romance/Romance
• Salad Days
• Say, Darling
• Scrooge!
• See Rock City and Other Destinations
• Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
• Shuffle Along
• Sing Street
• Snoopy!!!
• Some Lovers
• Songs for a New World
• Spamilton
• Spookley the Square Pumpkin
• Starmites
• Starting Here, Starting Now
• Subways Are For Sleeping
• Suffs
• Take Me Along
• Tell Me on a Sunday
• The Beautiful Game
• The Boy From Oz
• The Boys from Syracuse
• The Fix
• The Gay Life
• The Girl Friend
• The Girl Who Came to Supper
• The Grass Harp
• The Great British Bake Off Musical
• The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals
• The Happy Time
• The Heart of Rock and Roll
• The Human Comedy
• The Lightning Thief
• The Nervous Set
• The Rink
• The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾
• The Three Little Pigs
• Through the Years
• Twelfth Night
• Two by Two
• Very Good Eddie
• Whistle Down the Wind
• Whoop-Dee-Doo!
• Wish You Were Here
• Witness Uganda
• Woman of the Year
• Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
• Wonderful Town
• You Never Know
• Zombie Prom

 

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Rating: 6/10 or Below

The musicals that didn’t quite make it into the above ratings are going to be politely left off of this list and kept safely in my own documents!

 

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So there you have it! My list of the best musicals of all time. This is of course just the beginning, and this list is going to continue to change and evolve. I listen to 5-6 new cast recordings a week and see new shows regularly. So I’ll be updating this as opinions change and become more “refined”. If you like lists and ideas and stuff like that, you can also check out my list of favorite books, musicals, and plays!

But I would be so curious to know … is there anything that you absolutely disagree with above? I would love to know! What would the best musicals of all time look like on your list? Feel free to share in the comments below!