Top 10: Broadway's Best Cast Albums Ever

It used to be that all well-rounded record collections had the best Broadway cast albums included. A great show tune is typically funny and or moving, witty, and it is what you are whistling when you leave the theater. Many of the standards recorded by the best — like Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and the like — were originally from Broadway shows.

Luckily for us, our managing editor, Winston Gieseke, is not only a storehouse of knowledge about the music of Broadway, but he is also a damn fine showman himself.

Herewith, is Winston's top ten list of best cast albums. And before you go all Broadway-psycho on us, yes, we know there are a few movie soundtracks on the list. We hope you will respond by adding your own top ten in the comments below! 

 10. A Little Night Music (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (1977)


I realize this isn't a Broadway recording, but it's still a Broadway musical. And truth be told, the film version of Stephen Sondheim’s brilliant musical adaptation of Ingmar Bergman’s Smiles of A Summer Night isn’t great. Actually, it’s pretty heinous. But the soundtrack — which sadly, I’ve only been able to find on vinyl — is another story. Elizabeth Taylor’s rendition of “Send in the Clowns” is truly cringeworthy, but she more than holds her own with Len Cariou on the genius “You Must Meet My Wife.” Other highlights: the amazing baritone of Laurence Guittard (whose visual hotness helps make the movie bearable) and one of the best ensemble numbers ever, “A Weekend in the Country,” whose catchy melody will stay in your head long after the needle has reached the end of the side two. What makes this better than the Broadway recording? The slightly altered version of “Weekend” and the completely reconfigured “The Glamorous Life,” which went from a clunky ensemble number on stage to a simple, much more effective solo number in the film.