The 20 Best Broadway Musicals of All Time

From revolutionary hip-hop history lessons to gothic operas and dancing felines, this lineup spans eras, styles, and just about every reason people fall in love with live theater. Which one takes the crown?

1

The Phantom of the Opera

Andrew Lloyd Webber's gothic romance about a masked composer haunting the Paris Opera House.

1000pts

2

Hamilton

Lin-Manuel Miranda's hip-hop retelling of Alexander Hamilton's life that revolutionized modern musical theater.

930pts

3

Dear Evan Hansen

A contemporary musical about a socially anxious teen entangled in a lie after a classmate's death.

930pts

4

Into the Woods

Stephen Sondheim's dark, witty mashup of classic fairy tales exploring the consequences of wishes granted.

891pts

5

Wicked

The untold story of the witches of Oz, exploring the friendship between Elphaba and Glinda.

891pts

6

My Fair Lady

The Lerner and Loewe classic about a phonetics professor transforming a Cockney flower girl into a lady.

734pts

7

Hairspray

A bright, energetic musical about a plus-size teen fighting for integration on 1960s Baltimore TV.

636pts

8

Fiddler on the Roof

The story of Tevye, a Jewish milkman in Tsarist Russia navigating tradition and change with his daughters.

636pts

9

Rent

Jonathan Larson's rock musical following a year in the life of bohemian artists in New York's East Village.

636pts

10

West Side Story

Leonard Bernstein's Romeo and Juliet-inspired tale of rival gangs in 1950s New York City.

520pts

11

Hadestown

A folk-opera retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth set in a Depression-era underworld.

520pts

12

A Chorus Line

A groundbreaking musical about Broadway dancers auditioning for spots in a chorus line, baring their life stories.

520pts

13

Cats

Andrew Lloyd Webber's Tony-winning spectacle based on T.S. Eliot's poems about a tribe of feline characters.

520pts

14

Company

Sondheim's concept musical examining marriage and commitment through the eyes of a single New Yorker on his birthday.

520pts

15

The Sound of Music

Rodgers and Hammerstein's beloved story of the Von Trapp family fleeing Nazi-occupied Austria through song.

520pts

16

Chicago

A jazz-age satire of fame and murder set in 1920s Chicago's criminal justice system.

382pts

17

Sweeney Todd

Sondheim's macabre tale of a vengeful barber who murders his customers in Victorian London.

382pts

18

Avenue Q

A raunchy, puppet-filled musical parody following twentysomethings navigating adulthood on a gritty New York street.

382pts

19

Les Miserables

The sweeping musical adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel following ex-convict Jean Valjean through revolutionary France.

382pts

20

The Lion King

Disney's stage adaptation of the animated classic, famed for its elaborate puppetry and African-inspired score.

212pts