Top Ten Scores of All Time- Page 4

[Dark_Angel]

Posted: 4/8/07 at 4:18pm

Sorry. It's just every time I think of King and I, I hear Yul Brynner attempting to sing "A Puzzlement". And it makes me cringe.

[wickedfan]

Posted: 4/8/07 at 4:26pm

frontrow-no love for My Fair Lady?

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 4/8/07 at 4:34pm

This is really hard, because there are so many scores that I find absolutely beautiful, but then I don't always listen to the full thing because some songs are kind of meh for me. So I'm going by overall score, not just some amazing songs (for instance, I'd love to put Floyd Collins or Carousel which are just GORGEOUS, but there are some songs in there that just don't cut it for me.)

In no particular order:

1. West Side Story - Probably the best score that exists, because it has such a great mix of fast-paced "catchy" songs and then lush, romantic melodies that just send you soaring.
2. Sweeney Todd - I'm not as fond of the Act II songs, but the score is just friggin' amazing.
3. The Light in the Piazza - Like someone wrote about Jane Eyre, just listening to it takes you away to another world.
4. The Last Five Years - I grudgingly said this over Parade (my third favorite musical) because Parade has some songs that I can skip over, but every moment in L5Y is equally as great as the last.
5. The Secret Garden - One of the most intensely beautiful scores that I've ever heard.
6. Miss Saigon - A few others have put it so I think that I'm safe. Whenever I see it, the score just moves me to pieces.
7. Ragtime - All you have to do is listen to the Prologue to know that you're in for something incredible.
8. Passion - I know that a lot of people find it boring, but I think it contains some of Sondheim's most beautiful work. And no matter how many times I hear it, it has the same emotional impact on me.
9. Cabaret - Do I even have to list the reasons?
10. My Life With Albertine - Haven't seen it mentioned yet, but the score is just so lush and beautiful that I couldn't resist listing it.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 12:19am

Of course, MY FAIR LADY! Fell in love with that cast album when ai was about 4.

This is the problem with choosing only 10.... so many get left off.

I would be hard pressed to limit a list to 50...I had nothing by Kander and Ebb, nothing by Coleman, nothing by J.Herman...

[dramaqueen2]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 12:25am

i agree with many of these.

i just know that my list would incluse, west side story, the light in the piazza, passion, into the woods, and company.

i have to think more on this..

[Rentaholic2]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 2:11am

"We take such through-composition for granted now (though I wish more contemporary composers would use these gimmicks) but when GYPSY premiered in 1959 they were quite innovative, and not surprisingly few critics at the time picked up on it."

Just to clarify, are you saying that the score was innovative in its use of reoccuring motifs and in how they change thematically without changing musically throughout the show? Or something else? It seems like there are examples of shows doing this that pre-date Gypsy, but I could be wrong...

[LoringsGuy]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 2:59am

"We take such through-composition for granted now (though I wish more contemporary composers would use these gimmicks)"

Even though people love to sneer at this show, WICKED has it's own version of the recurring "I had a dream" motif in GYPSY: when Elphaba sings "Unlimited/I'm limited" at various points throughout the show. The music doesn't change, and the lyrics don't particularly change, but the meaning is different each time because of the character's emotional state at that point of the show.

[GYPSY1527]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 9:02am

Munk has the perfect list! He is by far one of the sane ones in this thread!
1. Carousel
2. Sunday in the Park with George
3. Sweeney Todd
4. Follies
5. West Side Story
6. The King and I
7. Gypsy
8. My Fair Lady
9. South Pacific
10. Fiddler on the Roof

I would also add Ragtime in there somewhere.

Updated On: 4/9/07 at 09:02 AM

[geekgirl06]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 9:13am

My top ten, in no particular order:
Company
Follies
Carousel
A Little Night Music
Sweeney Todd
Into The Woods
Pacific Overtures
Sunday in the Park With George
West Side Story
The Light in the Piazza

[Testing1232]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 9:20am

Cant think this early in the morning, but DEFINITELY
"Caroline or Change" and "Ragtime" --

[philcrosby]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 9:43am

GYPSY
MY FAIR LADY
SWEENEY TODD
GUYS AND DOLLS
SHOW BOAT
THE KING AND I
SOUTH PACIFIC
FOLLIES (You said score, not book)
SHE LOVES ME
RAGTIME

[jv92]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 12:33pm

Re: My Fair Lady
I love My Fair Lady and it is one of my favorites, but Loewe's very best work was in Camelot. I also get annoyed with Loewe's music quite often. Does he ever not write in cut time. Jesus.

[skingdom]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 12:55pm

west side story
cabaret
chicago
the sound of music
gypsy
sweeney todd
she loves me
les mis
camelot
a little night music

[Sumofallthings]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 1:17pm

Caroline, Or Change
Sunday In The Park With George
West Side Story
Ragtime
Parade
Sweeney Todd
The Light In The Piazza
Cabaret
My Fair Lady
The Secret Garden

[fossemoves]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 2:28pm

1. Ragtime
2. Light In the Piazza
3. Into the Woods
4. My Fair Lady
5. Porgy and Bess
6. Cabaret
7. The Secret Garden
8. Follies
9. Brigadoon
10. Showboat

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 2:32pm

10. Spring Awakening
9. Ragtime
8. Gypsy
7. West Side Story
6. Sweeney Todd
5. Company
4. Into the Woods
3. Chicago
2. My Fair Lady
1. A Chorus Line

And, yes, Spring Awakening is on my list. That's not a mistake.

[G_Schlozinski2]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 4:18pm

Difficult question! So many deserving scores for so many different reasons. And for many different reasons, here's my list, in no particular order:

A Little Night Music
The Boyfriend
Kiss Me Kate
Anything Goes
West Side Story
Oklahoma!
On The Twentieth Century
Threepenny Opera
Hair
Showboat

[G_Schlozinski2]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 4:22pm

Among contemporary scores, Hairspray stands out for me. It sounds like the kind of thing Cole Porter would do if he were alive and writing today. Great blend of 'traditional' and 'pop.'

[CFK]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 4:58pm

A Little Night Music
Carousel
Kiss me Kate
Last Five Years
Light in the Piazza
Nine
Passion
Ragtime
Sunday in the Park with George
West Side Story





Updated On: 4/9/07 at 04:58 PM

[JsnWse]

Posted: 4/9/07 at 5:19pm

Anything by Jule Styne

[sydney23]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 12:03am

Sweeney todd
West side story
The king and i
Oklahoma
Jesus Christ superstar
Camelot
1776
A chorus line
Fiddler
Gypsy

[metropolis10111]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 12:30pm

In no real order :

HAIR

Hello Dolly

Dance of the Vampires (the original German version is fantastics)

Les Mis

Assassins

Show Boat

Brigadoon

Fantasicks

Jesus Christ Superstar

Starmania (fave recording is the 98 tour)

[Caroline-Q-or-TBoo]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 6:59pm

In no order whatsoever..

Caroline, or Change
A Little Night Music
Sunday in the Park With George
Floyd Collins
No Strings
Jesus Christ Superstar
Bernarda Alba
Candide
Porgy and Bess
My Life With Albertine

[wickedfreak]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 8:00pm

In no particular order:

The Light in the Piazza
West Side Story
The Last 5 Years
Les Miserables
Miss Saigon
Phantom of the Opera (please, no one shoot!)
Into the Woods
Jekyll and Hyde
Chicago
Evita

[Fantod]

Posted: 2/25/15 at 12:45am

Wanted to start a new thread, but figured I'd bump an old one instead. For both sophistication and ease of listening. Excluding pre-Very Good Eddie scores.

1. Porgy and Bess
2. Show Boat
3. South Pacific
4. Candide
5. My Fair Lady
6. Carousel
7. Mame
8. West Side Story
9. Cabaret
10. A Little Night Music