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Top 20 Broadway Musical Scores: 2000 - 2009
By an Amazon.com customer
Caroline, Or Change (2004 Original Broadway Cast)Caroline, Or Change (2004 Original Broadway Cast) by Jeanine Tesori
Buy new: $13.98 / Used from: $7.04
2004 - Hands down, the best new Broadway musical score of the 21st century. Gritty, intense and musically adventurous, it deserves to be discovered.
The Light in the Piazza (2005 Original Broadway Cast)The Light in the Piazza (2005 Original Broadway Cast)
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2005 - Gorgeous. Like "Caroline, or Change", this is a totally orginal musical with an harmonically unusual score.
A Catered Affair (Original Broadway Cast Recording)A Catered Affair (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
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2008 - This show flopped quickly and the score has none of the flashy razzle-dazzle so prevalent on Broadway these days. What it does have is elegant music, thoughtful lyrics and marvelous singing. Yeah...that's all it has.
Grey Gardens - The MusicalGrey Gardens - The Musical
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2007 - Another unusual, original gem. Christine Ebersole in her finest moment.
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (2005 Original Broadway Cast)Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (2005 Original Broadway Cast) by David Yazbek
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2005 - Clever, tuneful, sardonic and memorable...this is David Yazbek's masterpiece.
Urinetown (2001 Original Off-Broadway Cast)Urinetown (2001 Original Off-Broadway Cast) by John Cullum
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2001 - "Urinetown" won a Tony for best score. This is a clever, bizarre and very funny treat.
Wicked (2003 Original Broadway Cast)Wicked (2003 Original Broadway Cast) by Kristin Chenoweth
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2003 - Derided by some at the time as forgettable, this score is actually powerful, intricate, and much more adult than "Wicked's" teeny-bopper rep would indicate.
Avenue Q (2003 Original Broadway Cast)Avenue Q (2003 Original Broadway Cast) by Jeff Marx
Buy new: $11.98 / Used from: $7.38
2003 - "Avenue Q" was a surprise bonanza that lasted 6+ years on Broadway. This hysterical CD is evidence enough of why the show caught on.
In The Heights (Original Broadway Cast Recording)In The Heights (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
Buy new: $16.99 / Used from: $13.20
2008 - Corny, yes. Clumsy lyrics at times, yes. But there is so much tuneful energy and passion in the score that it's hard to resist its spell.
The Full Monty: The Broadway MusicalThe Full Monty: The Broadway Musical
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2000 - This lively musical was overwhelmed by the "Producers" juggernaut despite numerous Tony nods. It's a forgotten gem.
Sweet Smell of Success (2002 Original Broadway Cast)Sweet Smell of Success (2002 Original Broadway Cast) by Marvin Hamlisch
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2002 - This show flopped quickly on Broadway and the musical numbers were rearranged for the CD. Whatever they did worked because this is a jazzy score that is expertly sung by a strong cast.
Spring Awakening (2006 Original Broadway Cast)Spring Awakening (2006 Original Broadway Cast) by Duncan Sheik
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2006 - The songs are sometimes indistinguishable from one another...more often they're sweepingly beautiful. A real heartbreaker, onstage and on CD.
The Last 5 Years (2002 Off-Broadway Cast)The Last 5 Years (2002 Off-Broadway Cast) by Jason Robert Brown
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2002 - A quirky gem, this 2-character cast album has 2 great actors...Sherie Rene Scott and Norbert Leo Butz. Enough said.
Hairspray (2002 Original Broadway Cast)Hairspray (2002 Original Broadway Cast) by Marc Shaiman
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2002 - Corny, without a doubt. And not a significant work by any means. Yet this charmer is full of life and subversively funny at times.
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (2005 Original Broadway Cast)The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (2005 Original Broadway Cast) by William Finn
Buy new: $18.97 / Used from: $12.00
2005 - The eccentric gem of the decade. While the music sometimes lets down, the lyrics are clever, insightful and often hysterical...and the cast is uniformly excellent.
Passing StrangePassing Strange by Original Broadway Cast
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2008 - This brooding rock musical is sometimes a bit murky, but the score has moments of beauty and always challenges the listener. Daniel Breaker is terrific.
The Color Purple (2005 Original Broadway Cast)The Color Purple (2005 Original Broadway Cast) by Brenda Russell
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2005 - This underrated musical has a sweeping score that never panders and often moves the heart and the funnybone.
The Frogs (2004 Broadway Cast)The Frogs (2004 Broadway Cast) by Stephen Sondheim
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2004 - This was not a revival...more than half the songs were new as was the book for the show. Onstage it didn't really work. This CD, however, has funny and beautiful moments.
Tick, Tick... Boom! (2001 Original Off-Broadway Cast)Tick, Tick... Boom! (2001 Original Off-Broadway Cast) by Jonathan Larson
Buy new: $9.98 / Used from: $4.02
2001 - Written in the early '90s, this Jonathan Larson work was first produced in 2001. Not a major work, but a curio with some fine moments.
Next to Normal (Original Broadway Cast)Next to Normal (Original Broadway Cast) by Alice Ripley
Buy new: $16.99 / Used from: $17.55
2009 - This score is a bit overrated but it deserves credit for tackling unusual subject matter...and the cast is quite strong.