Best Scores of the Last 20 Years- Page 2

[Jake01]

Posted: 7/20/12 at 8:33pm

Passion
Titanic
Ragtime
The Wild Party (Lippa)
The Last Five Years
Hairspray
The Light in the Piazza
Spring Awakening
In the Heights

Anything by David Yazbek

And if movies count:
The Nightmare Before Christmas
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Menken)

[pianovox]

Posted: 7/20/12 at 8:37pm

RAGTIME wins it Hands down

[ClapYo'Hands]

Posted: 7/21/12 at 5:41am

No love for Little Women?

Love Never Dies
Betty Blue Eyes

[After Eight]

Posted: 7/21/12 at 8:23am

"I was having a heated discussion with a friend about scores of the last 20 years. They were arguing that there hasn't been a single truly great score in the past 20 years. Help me prove them wrong! "

I can't help you prove them wrong because they were right.

[Jon]

Posted: 7/21/12 at 8:32am

To repeat what many other here have said:

RAGTIME

THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA

[hyperbole_and_a_half]

Posted: 7/21/12 at 9:04am

There are too many wonderful scores to pick a definitive list, but I do love (most of) Parade and Caroline or Change. Also, those of you who can play piano at an advanced level should try to get your hands on the P/C score for LaChiusa's Wild Party...pretty exciting stuff from behind the keyboard.

[ethan231h]

Posted: 7/21/12 at 9:26am

The best are

Newsies
In The Heights
Billy Elliot
13
The Book of Mormon
Hair
Catch Me If You Can

[Amalia Balash]

Posted: 7/21/12 at 10:24am

The Book of Mormon
Hairspray
In the Heights
Legally Blonde
Wicked
Billy Elliot

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 7/21/12 at 10:36am

Among others, already posted and not:

Rent
Titanic
The Drowsy Chaperone
Howard Crabtree's Whoop-dee-Doo (off Broadway)
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
and, although others may disagree, I love Sunset Boulevard's score
Next to Normal
Grey Gardens
Triumph of Love
Chess (bad show; great score; although that's somewhat older than the last two decades - yes, it is)

I don't like Side Show as a musical, but the more I listen to its score, the more I have to admit that the music is outstanding. It may well be the most accomplished score of the last two decades.

Not sure Falsettos qualifies as it was written before 20 years ago, although it first appeared on Broadway within the last two decades.

Updated On: 7/21/12 at 10:36 AM

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 7/21/12 at 11:14am

Hair?

[Outoftowner2]

Posted: 7/21/12 at 11:30am

Ragtime

[Outoftowner2]

Posted: 7/21/12 at 11:30am

double post..sorry

Updated On: 7/21/12 at 11:30 AM

[SingingChef]

Posted: 7/21/12 at 11:54am

Into the Woods
Passion
Light in the Piazza
The Secret Garden
Parade
The Wild Party (Lippa)
john & jen

[dented146]

Posted: 7/21/12 at 12:02pm

Wicked
Ave Q
Ragtime
Light In The Piazza

[Nettik]

Posted: 7/21/12 at 12:29pm

Ragtime
The Secret Garden
Tommy (though this one may not count as the rock opera was recorded quite a ways back)
Next to Normal
In the Heights
The Last 5 Years

[jv92]

Posted: 7/21/12 at 2:16pm

Passion
Floyd Collins
Ragtime
Parade
A Man of No Importance
Light in the Piazza
Grey Gardens
Next to Normal
The Scottsboro Boys

I'd like to mention Seussical and Catch Me If You Can as well, because the scores are very enjoyable, even if the shows don't entirely work.

[Jon]

Posted: 7/21/12 at 2:17pm

Into the Woods? Hair?

What part of "last 20 years" do you folks not get?

[Kelly2]

Posted: 7/21/12 at 2:39pm

Oops!

Updated On: 7/21/12 at 02:39 PM

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 7/21/12 at 2:45pm

Ragtime is the best, but Next to Normal is the best of the last 10 years.

On a Side Show note: I think music-wise it is a strong score, but the lyrics bog it down incredibly.

[My Oh My]

Posted: 7/21/12 at 2:46pm

West Side Story
Show Boat
Follies
Evita

EDIT: Nevermind. Apparently, I DESPERATELY need my eyes checked. Here's my revised list.

I tried to revise my list but, can't think of any!

Updated On: 7/21/12 at 02:46 PM

[GrandAsTheCanyon]

Posted: 7/21/12 at 4:51pm

In order of preference:
1)The Light In The Piazza (It's actually my favourite score of all time. It was the first score that made me realize that music can sometimes tell a story better than words (not that the lyrics aren't beautiful, but a lot of them are in italian and you still understand the story perfectly). The ouverture really makes you feel like you are walking in Italy on a beautiful sunny day)

2)Side Show
(I know that the show has it's flaws (Bill Russell's lyrics are extremely touching, but he sometimes overuses similes), but it's the only show where I never skip a song when I play the cast recording.They are all stellar.)

3)Ragtime
4)Parade
(I love the gorgeous epicness of both scores)

5)Hunchback Of Notre Dame
( I know that the stage adaptation has never been played on Broadway but I think that it's Menken/Schwartz's best work. They are both known for writing fun and light scores, but I think that their undeniable talents shine best on ``dark`` material like this one.)

6)Hairspray
(Usually the score for fun, dance-y shows have bland, unmemorable songs but all the songs in Hairspray are genuinely enjoyable)

7)RENT
8 )Next To Normal
(I'm not that much into rock music, but I really enjoy the scores of RENT and Next To Normal, so that's saying a lot. All the songs are well crafted and memorable)

9)Grey Gardens (It's really an unusual topic for a musical and it could have easily turned into a hot mess, but Scott Frankel and Michael Korie managed to make it a extremely touching and entertaining show.

10)Urinetown (The music is not groundbreaking, but I love how satirical the lyrics are)

[broadwayfever]

Posted: 7/22/12 at 2:29am

#1 - In the Heights
#2 - Rent
#3 - Book of Mormon
#4 - Wicked
#5 - Next to Normal

#6 - Spring Awakening
#7 - Avenue Q
#8 - Bonnie & Clyde
#9 - Drowsy Chaperone
#10- The Color Purple

[broadwayfever]

Posted: 7/22/12 at 2:29am

#1 - In the Heights
#2 - Rent
#3 - Book of Mormon
#4 - Wicked
#5 - Next to Normal
#6 - Spring Awakening
#7 - Avenue Q
#8 - Bonnie & Clyde
#9 - Drowsy Chaperone
#10- The Color Purple

[Rentaholic2]

Posted: 7/22/12 at 7:17am

1) Ragtime
2) Parade
3) Rent
4) Spring Awakening
5) Avenue Q

Honorable mentions:

The Last Five Years
Urinetown
Spelling Bee
Caroline, Or Change
Hairspray
The Producers

Am I the only one who doesn't get the obsession with the scores for Next to Normal and Light in the Piazza? I think both are great and both were probably the best scores of their respective years. But neither one has ever jumped out at me as being one of the best scores of all time. I've always found the songs from NTN to be pretty conventional and not very memorable. The Piazza score is beautiful and technically brilliant, but lacks variance and can sort of just drone on after a while (*ducks*). That being said, I'm gonna go listen to them both again right now--maybe I'll have a change of heart.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 7/22/12 at 5:24pm

If we are discussing score and not the troubled original productions, LaChiusa's Wild Party and his *gorgeous* Marie Chrstine definitely need to be included.