Top 25 Musicals

This is a list of the best musicals ever put on film. The list was compiled by aggregating multiple best-of lists (see resources at bottom of page) along with films’ overall status in Dave’s Movie Database.

1. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
2. West Side Story (1961)
3. The Sound of Music (1965)
4. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
5. Grease (1978)

6. Cabaret (1972)
7. Chicago (2002)
8. Mary Poppins (1964)
9. My Fair Lady (1964)
10. Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)

11. La La Land (2016)
12. Moulin Rouge! (2001)
13. A Star Is Born (1954)
14. An American in Paris (1951)
15. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Les Parapluies de Cherbourg) (1964)

16. Top Hat (1935)
17. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
18. Guys and Dolls (1955)
19. Dreamgirls (2006)
20. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

21. All That Jazz (1979)
22. Funny Girl (1968)
23. The Band Wagon (1953)
24. 42nd Street (1933)
25. On the Town (1949)

Resources:

Dave’s Movie Database: Genre Lists
ABC News/People Magazine (3/22/2011). “Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time” (includes top 5 musicals)
American Film Institute (2006). “25 Greatest Movie Musicals of All TIme”
Ambient-Mixer.com “20 of the Best Musical Movies of All Time”
Glamour magazine (7/29/2019). “Incredible movie musicals that will spark joy in your life”
TheGuardian.com (12/3/2013). “Top 10 musicals”
Guinness Book of Film (1999). “The Top 100 Films by Genre Type” (includes top 5 musicals)
Independent.co.uk (4/6/2019). “The 20 greatest movie musicals of all time”
IndieWire.com (12/15/2017). “Ranking the 20 Best Movie Musicals of All Time…”
Internet Movie Database (1/25/2016). “The 57 best musical films of all time”
LiveAbout.com (10/3/2017). “8 Classic Musicals You Have to See”
MarieClaire.com (8/27/2019). “The 40 Best Musical Movies to Get You Singing”
Newsweek (8/8/2018). “The Best Movie Musicals of All Time, According to Critics”
NYTimes.com “Classic Musicals”
Norman, Barry (1993). “100 Greatest Films of All Time” (includes top 10 musicals)
ThePlaylist.net (1/10/2017). “The 50 Best Movie Musicals of All Time”
Ranker.com “The Best Musical Movies of All Time”
Reader’s Digest “The 10 Best-Ever Movie Musicals You Need to Watch Again”
RottenTomatoes.com “100 Best Musical Movies of All Time”
TeenVogue.com (2/15/2018). “The 30 Best Movie Musicals for Teens”
TheTopTens.com “Best Musical Movies of All Time”
Time Out (3/30/2016). “The 30 best musical movies of all time”
Vulture.com (4/2/2018). “The 25 Best Golden-Age Movie Musicals”
WhatCulture.com (7/22/2018). “10 Greatest Ever Musical Movies”

Originally posted 9/2/2019; last updated 5/25/2023.