The essential Broadway playlist

Jennifer Halliday's rendition of "I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" from the 1982 musical "Dreamgirls," is the definition of stirring. Decades later, Jennifer Hudson took home an Oscar for portraying aspiring Effie White with an equally compelling version of this legendary torch song. 

Inspired by the poetry of T.S. Eliot, "Memory" is widely considered to be the most recognizable Andrew Lloyd Webber song, and maybe the biggest mainstream success in Broadway history. Sarah Brightman, Barbra Streisand, and Barry Manilow have all recorded versions of the song, and they're all worth listening to. 

Appearing in the 1964 musical "Funny Girl," Barbra Streisand's performance as Fanny Brice is the stuff of Broadway legends. "Don't Rain On My Parade" is peak Streisand and the perfect song for a day when you're seriously determined to be in a good mood. 

Stephen Sondheim is one of the most legendary composers in Broadway history, and "I Feel Pretty" is one of his most enduring compositions. It also appears in the 2019 film adaptation of "West Side Story," performed by Rachel Zegler. 

This staple show tune was penned by Sondheim in 1959, and Ethel Merman's stunning performance in "Gypsy" transformed "Everything's Coming Up Roses" a Broadway standard. 

When it premiered in 1966, the scandalous subject matter in "Cabaret" made this musical controversial among those who considered it too salacious for the Great White Way. But that didn't stop it from becoming one of Broadway's most beloved shows, with one of theatre's most enduring title songs. 

This stirring ballad appears in the first act of "Les Miserables," the sweeping musical based on Victor Hugo's classic novel set at the start of the French Revolution. Even the film version of the song, performed by Oscar-winning actress Anne Hathaway, is worth adding to your Broadway playlist. 

It's hard to choose just one song from Lin Manuel Miranda's groundbreaking musical "Hamilton," so feel free to add the entire soundtrack to your Broadway playlist. But if you must choose only one song, go with "Satisfied," which blends soaring vocals with lightning-fast rap lyrics. 

Original cast members Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth, both powerhouse vocalists in their own right, combine their powers on "Defying Gravity," the soaring ballad from Stephen Schwartz's "Wicked." Don't be surprised if you find yourself screaming this one at the top of your lungs. 

Feel the roaring '20s vibe with "All That Jazz," which appears in the 1975 musical "Chicago." The original cast recording, performed by Chita Rivera, is the standard, but Catherine Zeta-Jones did a pretty solid version herself for the 2002 film adaptation. 

There are few musicals weirder than Alan Mencken's "Little Shop of Horrors," sure, but this show also includes "Suddenly, Seymour," one of the sweetest love ballads in the Broadway canon.  

Even though "Phantom" isn't strictly an opera, there's no denying the influence on "Think of Me," a gorgeous aria that is among Broadway's finest. 

The subject matter of "Sweeney Todd" is decidedly macabre, and "No Place Like London" really drives home the spooky vibe of this musical about the "Demon Barber of Fleet Street," whether you're listening to Josh Groban in the current Broadway revival or Johnny Depp in the 2007 film. 

Judy Garland, Ethel Merman, and Reba McEntire have all performed "There's No Business Like Show Business," the classic Irving Berlin composition from "Annie Get Your Gun." 

This song from the 1964 musical "Fiddler on the Roof" is the most recognizable of all Broadway tunes, so much so that it's been sampled by artists across multiple genres, including Gwen Stefani and rapper Flo Milli. 

This ballad from composer Jonathan Larson, who died just before RENT premiered in previews in 1996, offers lyrics packed with wise advice: measure your life not in minutes in seconds, but in love. 

This musical based on the campy John Waters film was a hit with audiences, both when it debuted on Broadway in 2002 and when John Travolta starred in the film adaptation in 200, thanks largely to upbeat, 60s-inspired tunes like "You Can't Stop The Beat." 

"Consider Yourself" is one of many memorable tunes from the Tony-winning score for "Oliver!," composer Lionel Bart's adaptation of Charles Dickens's classic novel "Oliver Twist." 

Though it originates with "The Music Man," both The Beatles and Anita Bryant recorded hit renditions of Broadway ballad "Til There Was You." 

Widely considered one of the finest songs in the entirety of musical theatre, "Some Enchanted Evening" was penned by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein for "South Pacific," the sweeping World War II-era musical.