Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

These are not words I toss around lightly, but seriously, Hamilton is a masterpiece that will change musical theater forever. This show is certain to sweep the 2016 Tony Awards and I would not be surprised at all if Lin-Manuel Miranda is awarded a Pulitzer Prize along the way. As for the soundtrack, let's just say this is one of those epics that gets better and better with every listen (and I've listened dozens of times already). Every member of my family has been addicted to it since the day it was released. It's a brilliant pastiche of musical and poetic styles, all perfectly tailored to each particular character, yet woven into an intricate narrative that will inspire, entertain, and break your heart. I was privileged to see the show the week that it opened, and can't stop telling people about it, so I was beyond thrilled that the production team, including writer/performer Lin-Manuel Miranda and producer Ahmir Khalib Thompson (aka Questlove) chose to produce a full-length soundtrack that skipped nothing from the original show. With such a beautifully-woven narrative, it would have been a shame to leave anything out. Now an entire generation of theater-goers will arrive at Hamilton already knowing the music and words, and that's probably a great thing, because it's incredibly complex and fast-paced. I can't wait to go again, because it's easy to miss so much on first listen. Is this soundtrack for everybody? I think so. I don't listen to hip hop music at all -- at least not until Hamilton. That's one reason this is so groundbreaking. It's a mix of hip hop, R&B, jazz, vintage pop and straight-ahead broadway tunes, all perfectly pushing forward a narrative of the founding of United States of America as an immigrant story -- a story of bold, daring, rule-breaking, enlightened thinkers, and of how they made a name for themselves and for the new world. I could go on and on, but I'm wasting your time. Just order it now!