CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

West Side Story (1957 Original Broadway Cast)

by: Carol Lawrence, Larry Kert, Chita Rivera

Release Date September 15, 1998
This an absolutely fantastic cast recording. No other recording even comes close. Usually some revival cast recordings bring something new and we sometimes even prefer the revival recording but of all the hundreds of cast recordings I own, there is absolutely nothing that tops this album. It is absolutely timeless and a master work. And for the price offered here on Amazon, there is no better deal in town.

Treat yourself to what I think is the absolute BEST Broadway show ever performed by the most talented people in theatre. This was so innovative and different from what we normally saw that it will touch your heart so many times over while even listening to it one time. I can't go too long without listening to this wonderful ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

Greatest Hits: Broadway

from: Sony

Release Date October 29, 1996
A nice sampler. I bought it primarily for "Together, Forever" from Gypsy, though its nice to have the Broadway version of "Send in the Clowns (I believe by Glynis Johns). But it is just a sampler, and fans of Broadway music are probably better served buying the full original cast recordings.

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

Broadway - The American Musical (PBS Series)

from: Sony

Release Date October 19, 2004
Of course there should have been much more. I remember there been a Metropolian Opera series called CAST ALBUMS- 100 YEARS that was put out for a limited time only and had like five volumes.
As Peter Filichia noted they left out SHE LOVES ME, BRIGADOON and SWEENEY TODD. Also nothing from PACIFIC OVERTURES, BIG RIVER, CHESS, CRAZY FOR YOU, JEKYLL & HYDE, TITANIC, THE SCARLET
PIMPERNEL, FOOTLOOSE- THE MUSICAL, THE FULL MONTY, URINTOWN...
But they couldn't have put it all. I would have done without Lee Remick's
"Anyone Can Whistle", because the show was a flop. I guess because it was Sondheim's first "serious" show...

CD-Charts Position 4
Average Rating:

A Total Embrace: The Composer

from: Sony

Release Date September 09, 2003
Of course there should have been much more. I remember there been a Metropolian Opera series called CAST ALBUMS- 100 YEARS that was put out for a limited time only and had like five volumes.
As Peter Filichia noted they left out SHE LOVES ME, BRIGADOON and SWEENEY TODD. Also nothing from PACIFIC OVERTURES, BIG RIVER, CHESS, CRAZY FOR YOU, JEKYLL & HYDE, TITANIC, THE SCARLET
PIMPERNEL, FOOTLOOSE- THE MUSICAL, THE FULL MONTY, URINTOWN...
But they couldn't have put it all. I would have done without Lee Remick's
"Anyone Can Whistle", because the show was a flop. I guess because it was Sondheim's first "serious" show...

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

The Best of Broadway

by: Various Artists

Release Date January 08, 2002
Of course there should have been much more. I remember there been a Metropolian Opera series called CAST ALBUMS- 100 YEARS that was put out for a limited time only and had like five volumes.
As Peter Filichia noted they left out SHE LOVES ME, BRIGADOON and SWEENEY TODD. Also nothing from PACIFIC OVERTURES, BIG RIVER, CHESS, CRAZY FOR YOU, JEKYLL & HYDE, TITANIC, THE SCARLET
PIMPERNEL, FOOTLOOSE- THE MUSICAL, THE FULL MONTY, URINTOWN...
But they couldn't have put it all. I would have done without Lee Remick's
"Anyone Can Whistle", because the show was a flop. I guess because it was Sondheim's first "serious" show...

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

Subways Are for Sleeping (1962 Original Broadway Cast)

by: Jule Styne, Betty Comden, Adolph Green

Release Date March 26, 2002
What a wonderful show! Sydney Chaplin,son of Charlie Chaplin and the grandson of Eugene O'Neill, was a great leading-man find in the 1960's. However, he didn't seem to get along with his leading ladies. First, he and Carol Lawrence almost fought onstage and then he and Barbra Streisand were great enemies in "Funny Girl." But Chaplin won a Tony for "Bells Are Ringing" as did his co-star Judy Holliday.
I think it's time for a revival of "Subways Are For Sleeping." There are two scripts and perhaps combining the two might create an acceptable script. Do it as a early 1960's pastiche and you might have a great revival with Bernadette Peters and James Naughton.
Great idea, huh?

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

Frederick Fennell & the Eastman Wind Ensemble: Grainger; Persichetti...

from: Philips

Release Date August 09, 1991
I have heard nearly all of Vincent Persichetti's available symphonies (the composer withdrew his early # 1 & 2) and have reviewed 3, 4 & 7 (Persichetti: Symphonies 3, 4 & 7) and 5 & 8 (Vincent Persichetti: Serenade No. 5, Op. 43; Symphony for Strings, Op. 61: Symphony No. 8). The original, RCA recording of # 9 (Sinfonia Janiculum) has been reissued in Japan in an Ormandy series and I have ordered it, but it seems unavailable already. But # 6, his most popular and oft-recorded Symphony (among other reasons, no doubt, because it is scored for the popular College Wind Band), was missing in my survey. This classic recording by Frederick Fennell and the Eastman Winds, made in 1959, is recommended by the esteemed Fanfare critic and recognized ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

Composers on Broadway (George Gershwin)

from: Decca Broadway

Release Date June 20, 2006
I have heard nearly all of Vincent Persichetti's available symphonies (the composer withdrew his early # 1 & 2) and have reviewed 3, 4 & 7 (Persichetti: Symphonies 3, 4 & 7) and 5 & 8 (Vincent Persichetti: Serenade No. 5, Op. 43; Symphony for Strings, Op. 61: Symphony No. 8). The original, RCA recording of # 9 (Sinfonia Janiculum) has been reissued in Japan in an Ormandy series and I have ordered it, but it seems unavailable already. But # 6, his most popular and oft-recorded Symphony (among other reasons, no doubt, because it is scored for the popular College Wind Band), was missing in my survey. This classic recording by Frederick Fennell and the Eastman Winds, made in 1959, is recommended by the esteemed Fanfare critic and recognized ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

The Bernstein Songbook

from: Sony

Release Date October 25, 1990
With the Thanksgiving passing of songwriter Betty Comden, I recalled that I had, in my album collection, this album, not just featuring her songs but Comden singing on "Carried Away" and "Some Other Time" from the Tony-award-winning "New York." Two other songs from the play are featured, culled from a 1960 recording.

This compilation has some of the best of Broadway, not just the songs but the performers as well. Familiar names like Boris Karloff, the legendary Rosalind Russell, Nancy Walker, Chita Rivera, and Carol Lawrence are showcased in various selections from the likes of "Peter Pan," "Trouble in Tahiti," "Wonderful Town," "Candide," "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue," and, in this writer's opinion, the best musical in the history of the stage, "West ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

Divas Collection

from: First Night Records

Release Date June 17, 2003
This cd entitled, "The Divas Collection" is a compilation album filled with West End Divas and Their favorite songs from the shows they played in!

1)"Anything Goes" - Elaine Paige
2)"I Dreamed A Dream" - Patti LuPone
3)"Easy Terms" - Petula Clark of Blood Brothers
4)"The Movie In My Mind" - Joanna Ampil & Sonia Swaby
5)"I'm in Love With A Wonderful Guy" - Gemma Craven
6)"Losing My Mind" - Julia McKenzie
7)"The Last Man In My Life" - Marti Webb
8)"I Dont't Know How To Love Him" - Claire Moore
9)"Somke Gets In Your Eyes" - Elisabeth Welch of Kern
10)"Wasted Life Blues" - Carol Woods of Blues in the ... Read More: