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:

Rags

from: Sony

Release Date May 24, 1991
I could simply say: MARVELOUS! it's so beautifully orchestrated and sung. The melodies are pretty, the story is fascinating and some songs are simply awesome. Do not hesitate and get this album before it goes out of print. It's a pity it didn't make it in Broadway, thus becoming one of the most beautiful losers of all times.

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

A Total Embrace: The Composer

from: Sony

Release Date September 09, 2003
I could simply say: MARVELOUS! it's so beautifully orchestrated and sung. The melodies are pretty, the story is fascinating and some songs are simply awesome. Do not hesitate and get this album before it goes out of print. It's a pity it didn't make it in Broadway, thus becoming one of the most beautiful losers of all times.

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

Of Thee I Sing/Let 'em Eat Cake (1987 Studio Recording)

from: Sony

Release Date October 25, 1990
Honestly, I absolutely cannot understand why these 2 masterpieces by the Gershwins are not part of standars musical repertoire, given the great qualities of the music and the immortal lucidity of the satire of the american political intitutions.
Waiting for the next great revival of these shows, Sony should AT LEAST reissue these recordings, which, in spite of the absence of spoken dialogues, are markstones of American musical theater.

CD-Charts Position 7
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 ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

West Side Story (Original Broadway Cast)

Release Date
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 ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

Nymph Errant (1990 Concert Cast)

from: EMI

Release Date October 15, 1990
Cole Porter said his favorite song was "Love for Sale," and his favorite show "Nymph Errant," starring Gertrude Lawrence. The show opened in England in 1933. Only a short reprisal of the show played very briefly in New York in 1989. The result is that very few people are familiar with this show, one of Porter's best. Like "Kiss Me, Kate," virtually every number in this show is memorable.

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

As You Like It - Shakespeare in Music

by: Henry Purcell, Leonard Bernstein, Cole Porter, Felix Mendelssohn, Ambroise Thomas, Hector Berlioz, Sergey Prokofiev, John Wilson, Pelham Humfrey, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Jean Sibelius, New York Philharmonic, Berliner Philharmoniker, Cleveland Orchestra, English National Opera Orchestra, Andre Kostelanetz Orchestra, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Jeanne Lamon, George Szell, James Conlon, Pembroke Davenport, Andre Kostelanetz, Bo Skovhus, Richard Tucker, Carol Lawrence, Lucine Amara, Charles Bressler

Release Date January 18, 2000
Cole Porter said his favorite song was "Love for Sale," and his favorite show "Nymph Errant," starring Gertrude Lawrence. The show opened in England in 1933. Only a short reprisal of the show played very briefly in New York in 1989. The result is that very few people are familiar with this show, one of Porter's best. Like "Kiss Me, Kate," virtually every number in this show is memorable.