I searched far and wide for lists of best musical movies of all time. Criteria included the movies being ranked, not just listed, and covering all time, not just a decade. The lists were generally created by groups, whether teams or committees or based on general public voting (like Ranker.com).

I was able to find 22 lists. I took the 22 lists and added all their content into a spreadsheet, noting the rank of every film. The total number was almost 1,300 including all the repeats. I experimented with different formulas, trying to balance the value of being ranked high on any list and being included on the most lists. I ended up averaging the rankings each movie got (there were 201 that were on at least 2 lists) and dividing that average by a factor of the number of lists that movie was on. The lowest score meant a high ranking average on many lists. The complete spreadsheet is attached at the bottom.

The movies that were on the most lists (out of 22 ) were:

  • Singin’ in the Rain (1952) – 20 lists
  • The Wizard of Oz (1939) – 18 lists
  • The Sound of Music (1965) – 18 lists
  • Cabaret (1972) – 18 lists
  • West Side Story (1961) – 17 lists
  • Mary Poppins (1964) – 17 lists
  • La La Land (2016) – 17 lists
  • Chicago (2002) – 17 lists
  • Grease (1978) – 17 lists

Here are links to the lists I used along with dates the lists were created:

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