*Originally published in 2020
Updated on October 9, 2024:

Here at Our Community Now, we have compiled a list of our favorite Broadway musical albums because we're all a bunch of theatre kids who never grew up! Seriously, there's nothing like belting out "Defying Gravity" to a captive audience (re: your pets). Now, keep in mind that this was a very difficult list to narrow down because there are just so many Broadway musical albums we wanted to include but didn't, so we apologize if our "Words Fail."

With that being said, take a gander at our list below, and don't forget to let us know if we missed any albums and "All That Jazz." (What? Too much?)

Broadway Musical Albums We Can't Stop Listening To:

*The following list of Broadway musical albums is in no particular order.

The Book of Mormon

Courtesy of Playbill (Joan Marcus)

Synopsis: "The Book of Mormon follows two young missionaries who are sent to Uganda to try to convert citizens to the Mormon religion. One missionary, Elder Price, is an enthusiastic go-getter with a strong dedication to his faith, while his partner, Elder Cunningham, is a socially awkward but well meaning nerd whose tendency to embroider the truth soon lands him in trouble. Upon their arrival in Africa, Elders Price and Cunningham learn that in a society plagued by AIDS, poverty and violence, a successful mission may not be as easy as they expected."

Best song from the album: "I Believe"

The Phantom of the Opera

Courtesy of The Phantom of the Opera (Facebook)

Synopsis: "The longest-running show in Broadway history, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera ... tells the enticing story of the Phantom, who haunts the stage of the Paris Opera and subsequently falls in love with a beautiful young soprano."

Best song from the album: "The Music of the Night"

Les Misérables

Courtesy of Les Misérables - Musical (Facebook)

Synopsis: "Based on Victor Hugo’s classic novel, Les Miserables is an epic and uplifting story about the survival of the human spirit."

Best song from the album: "On My Own"

Hamilton

Courtesy of Hamilton (Facebook)

Synopsis: "Hamilton is the epic saga that follows the rise of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton as he fights for honor, love, and a legacy that would shape the course of a nation. Based on Ron Chernow’s acclaimed biography and set to a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, R&B, and Broadway, Hamilton has had a profound impact on culture, politics, and education."

Best song from the album: "Satisfied"

Wicked

Courtesy of WICKED The Musical (Facebook)

Synopsis: "Wicked, the Broadway sensation, looks at what happened in the Land of Oz … but from a different angle. Long before Dorothy arrives, there is another girl, born with emerald-green skin—smart, fiery, misunderstood, and possessing an extraordinary talent. When she meets a bubbly blonde who is exceptionally popular, their initial rivalry turns into the unlikeliest of friendships…until the world decides to call one 'good,' and the other one 'wicked.'"

Best song from the album: "Defying Gravity"

Fiddler on the Roof

Courtesy of Fiddler on the Roof (Facebook)

Synopsis: "Don’t miss the beloved story of a community and its struggle to balance traditions and desires in a changing world."

Best song from the album: "If I Were a Rich Man"

Into the Woods

Courtesy of Craig T. Mathew and Greg Grudt/Mathew Imaging (via Hollywood Reporter)

Synopsis: "The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales, exploring the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests."

Best song from the album: "Act I Prologue: Into the Woods"

The Music Man

Courtesy of Playbill (Jeremy Daniel)

Synopsis: "The Music Man follows fast-talking traveling salesman, Harold Hill, as he cons the people of River City, Iowa, into buying instruments and uniforms for a boys' band that he vows to organize—this, despite the fact that he doesn't know a trombone from a treble clef."

Best song from the album: "Seventy-Six Trombones"

In The Heights

Courtesy of Playbill (Joan Marcus)

Synopsis: "In the Heights centers on a variety of characters living in the neighborhood of Washington Heights, on the northern tip of Manhattan. At the center of the show is Usnavi, a bodega owner who looks after the aging Cuban lady next door, pines for the gorgeous girl working in the neighboring beauty salon and dreams of winning the lottery and escaping to the shores of his native Dominican Republic."

Best song from the album: "Finale"

Chicago

Courtesy of Playbill (Dan Chevkin)

Synopsis: "Set in the legendary city during the roaring 'jazz hot' 20s, Chicago tells the story of two rival vaudevillian murderesses locked up in Cook County Jail."

Best song from the album: "Cell Block Tango"

Cats

Via Chicago Reader (Matthew Murphy)

Synopsis: "Based on T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, Andrew Lloyd Webber's classic musical tells the story of the Jellicle cats and each cat's individual quest to be selected as the lucky one who will ascend to 'the Heaviside Layer.'"

Best song from the album: "Memory"

The Lion King

Courtesy of Denver Center for the Performing Arts (Deen van Meer)

Synopsis: "A lively stage adaptation of the Academy Award-winning 1994 Disney film, The Lion King is the story of a young lion prince living in the flourishing African Pride Lands."

Best song from the album: "The Circle of Life"