Hamilton Song Countdown (#1- #23)

Happy New Year, everyone!

I hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday, and is doing well in spite of the global pandemic that is still currently happening.

I, for one, am in a good mood all things considered, because in spite of all of the chaos and devastation that 2020 and the first few weeks of 2021 has caused, at least we as a country have managed to get one thing right. We elected a new president of the United States!

I'm just as relieved as the next person that Donald Trump isn't going to be in office anymore, and in light of the inauguration coming up, I wanted to talk about one of my favorite musicals that celebrates the birth of our great nation, Hamilton.

In case you've been living under a rock, Hamilton was a 2015 American musical that was made into a film on Disney+ last year, in which all of the original cast reprised their roles in a taping of the stage performance. Hamilton is also the best movie that came out in 2020, hands down. (And I know that's a low bar to beat considering that most movies coming out in 2020 were released on streaming or delayed due to the pandemic, but still, trust me. It's good.)

As someone who was never really into musical theater, I consider Hamilton to be one of the rare exceptions where everything just... works. The casting works, the music works, the production works. Everything about this show and this film proves to be so amazing that it actually lives up to the hype around it. The story and the music are accessible for those people who don't like musicals, and even those who don't live in America. The whole thing is a perfect storm of brilliance and creativity.

The only thing is, though, not every song on the Hamilton soundtrack slaps as hard as it possibly could. In the context of the show, the entire album is fabulous, and frankly, well deserving of it's multiple Tony and Grammy wins. However, when the show is over and you go back to listen to the soundtrack on your own, there might be some songs that you want to revisit and replay over and over again, and then there are those that you skip.

I've seen Hamilton at least five times already (both last year on Disney+ and many years ago on YouTube when some cheap theater-goer illegally recorded the show and uploaded it. Talk about a true American hero.), and each time I've seen the show I can safely say there are songs that I would unironically crank all the way up, and there are definitely songs that I felt were just filler for the plot of the musical. 

The first time I watched the show (illegally on YouTube, mind you), was my first time hearing the album all the way through, and it shook me to my core at how good it was. But in the years since, I have definitely developed a sense of what songs are actually good, and which songs just needed to be in the musical to move the story along.

In this review of sorts, I will be ranking all 46 songs on the Hamilton soundtrack based on how good they are not only in the musical, but in general- based on how well they establish each character, how well they move the story along, and overall, just how good they sound. This is the first of two parts, as I will continue this review in February. This is partially because February contains President's Day, and also because this review would be too long if I didn't break it up.

So- please allow me to rank the top 23 songs off the Hamilton soundtrack from best to worst. (If you haven't seen the show yet or listened to the soundtrack yet, this review probably won't make much sense, so proceed with caution. Spoilers ahead!) 

1. Non-Stop

I think a large part of the reason why I love this song so much is because of the way it bookends the first act of the musical. "Non-Stop" is the number that sets Hamilton up on his rise to greatness just before his catastrophic fall in Act II. 

It quickly establishes all of the major accomplishments that Alexander and Burr did after the Revolutionary War, and how they became more divided on their stance about not only the Constitution, but also their personal lives. Aaron Burr is so envious of Alexander's drive and his success that he's confounded when Alexander is able to write 51 essays in defense of the Federalist papers.

I think one of the main reasons why I love this song so much is because it's incredibly obvious that Hamilton thinks he's the smartest person in town, and he's so determined to prove it, which is oddly relatable for me. (I'm not saying that I have a big chip on my shoulder like he does, but I can relate to occasionally thinking that I'm better than other people because I think that my ideas are right, even when no one else is listening to me. This proves to be a fatal flaw for Hamilton, but we won't get into that now).

Also this song sums up the founding of our nation and transitions Hamilton's character from a child into a man in a fast paced way that slaps. I personally adore all of the animatics of this song (and every other Hamilton song), but this one, below, is my favorite animatic possibly ever. It's by an artist named pevelis on YouTube.

2. My Shot

This song speaks to me on so many levels, and I'm not sure why.

I think it's got something to do with the uplifting nature of the lyrics and the beat that makes me feel like I can do anything. All of the characters in this song (sparing Burr, of course) are filled with a certain life and urgency that comes with being with your friends and having goals that you want to accomplish. Lafayette wanted to liberate France, Hercules Mulligan wanted to join the rebellion, and John Laurens wanted to free the slaves. All of them wanted to do something great with their lives in order to secure their legacy, including (ESPECIALLY) Hamilton.

I think my favorite part of this song is the "Rise up!" verse where everyone is chanting and singing, because it speaks to a deep part of me that aspires to "rise above my station" as Hamilton would say. It seems reminiscent of the American dream, or Frank Sinatra's law: "If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere." (If you get that Dimension 20 reference we can be friends.) "My Shot" just fills me with a hopeful optimism every time that I hear it, and that's why I love it. I even briefly considered getting a "Rise Up!" tattoo on my wrist back in 2017.

3. Satisfied

Let me tell you something right now. You'd be lying if you said that you have ever heard a song more dramatic with greater twists and turns than this one. This song is the PEAK of theater perfection. It's just too good.

Not only does this song start immediately after Eliza and Alexander get married, but it allows the audience a peak behind the curtain into the mind of the single best character in this musical (in my opinion), Angelica Schulyer, on their wedding day.

This song is amazing because it includes it's own time travel aspect that absolutely blew my mind the first time I saw it on stage. (Actually, if you want to believe it, "Satisfied" was the first song I heard from Hamilton- aside from "My Shot," obviously- but it was the celebrity album where artists did covers of the songs. So the first time I heard this song, Sia was singing it. And while Sia was good, let me tell you, Sia was NOTHING compared to the fantastic Renee Elise Goldsberry.)

As you may or may not know, I'm a sucker for a good time travel concept, and this song has that baked into the music, by reframing everything that happened in the previous song, "Helpless" and showing us how things looked from Angelica's perspective.

In her perspective she decided that she loved her sister more than she loved Alexander, which is both heartfelt and concerning considering that she also said that she knew Alexander was a gold-digger...

Anyway, the point is that "Satisfied" is one of the best songs in this entire musical, and it's incredibly hard to follow up. Renee Elise was incredibly deserving of the Tony that she won for this role.

4. Alexander Hamilton

It's funny that the song about the main character that also happens to be the title of the show is not the best song in the production, but it cracked the top 5, so I guess that's still pretty impressive.

This song is iconic because the opening theme of this song literally bookends every chapter of Hamilton's life. The iconic opening of "Alexander Hamilton" is how you know some more shit is about to happen to everyone's favorite problematic founding father. It's amazing, and it perfectly opens up the show and sets your expectations for what's about to happen without spoiling anything, which is also amazing.

5. The Schulyer Sisters

Remember when I said that everything about this show just works?

Well, I meant it. Literally.

This song is the epitome of "independent woman who don't need no man." This song told me to get my shit together and stop worrying about big headed boys, because I too, am lucky to be alive right now.

This song has no business being so good. It starts off strong with Aaron Burr introducing the three main female leads of the play, two of which remain in their roles throughout the rest of the show (with Jasmine Cephas Jones returning later to play another character). But then Angelica comes in and steals the show with her mention of independence and women's rights. 

With the nod to the Declaration of Independence and referencing meeting Thomas Jefferson, Angelica became the single most iconic character in the entire show. (What makes it better is that it is speculated that the real Angelica Schuyler had a romantic love affair with Thomas Jefferson while abroad. They exchanged love letters and everything.)

Basically Angelica invented women's rights, and we have no choice but to stan.

6. Guns and Ships

This song might not be my favorite song in the entire musical, but let me tell you that this song SLAPS THE HARDEST.

This is the song that people go hard to on the Hamilton soundtrack, and it's frankly the song that put Daveed Diggs (the actor who plays both Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson) on the map, I feel.

I can't help but get hype when I listen to this song, even today. It's just so damn good and energetic, and it fills me with a sense of purpose that a lot of other songs fail to do. Screaming "Lafayette!" at the top of my voice just makes me feel so good, whenever that part of the song comes on. You're lying if you say that it also doesn't make you feel good, too. Like you're a part of something larger than yourself.

7. Right Hand Man

This song starts out so strong and really only gets stronger as it goes along. The entire song is about the introduction of one of the most important characters in the show, George Washington and his relationship with Alexander Hamilton.

This song is great because it also shows us how Washington responded to Alexander and Aaron very differently. The first time I heard George Washington's dismissal of Aaron Burr, MY feelings got hurt. It was bad. Which is also one of the reasons why this song is so good. It helps to establish the connections that Alexander is making while Burr has been essentially sidelined by one of the greatest war generals in American history.

Honestly songs like this help to build up to the growing resentment that leads to Burr killing Hamilton at the end of the show.

8. Wait for it

This is the song that basically moves Aaron Burr (Leslie Odom Jr.) out of the background of the show and proves to everyone that he's just as important to this story as Hamilton is. Sure, the show may be titled after Hamilton, but Burr is just as much of a main character, if not a perfect foil to Hamilton in this show.

It's a song about questioning your own circumstances while also looking at those around you who are doing better than you. It's a song where Burr explores in real time what happened to him to make him the way that he was, and how he feels about Hamilton and his successes.

It's honestly one of the more poignant and beautiful songs in the whole musical, and I'm here for it.

9. Stay Alive

I like that this song starts with the dramatic cry from Eliza in the wings saying, "Stay alive!" and then evolves into a sort of hip-hop song in which a literal war is happening.

This song is exciting, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit that my favorite part of this song was Charles Lee's personal attack on George Washington after he demotes him in the military. Something about it just makes me want to sing along every time, and outside of John Laurens, he may be my favorite character in the whole show, just because he's such an asshole.

Also this song ends in a duel, which is also pretty sweet, if you ask me.

10. Aaron Burr, Sir

This song is great because it does the work of introducing all of the major players that are going to be in Act I of the play without being obnoxious about it. It also introduces the audience/ listeners to Hamilton's particular brand of cocky and Burr's brand of shady. It quickly establishes that they are going to be foils early on (after all, it's only the second song in the show), and it makes the auxiliary characters like John Laurens (played by Anthony Ramos) Marquis de Lafayette (played by Daveed Diggs) and Hercules Mulligan (played by Okieriete "Oak" Onaodowan) sympathetic and fun to be around by comparison. 

I honestly love this song with all my heart, but that might have something to do with the fact that I think Anthony Ramos is adorable and John Laurens is great.

11. The Story of Tonight

I think one of the main reasons why I love this song is because of how it begins with Hamilton singing, "I may not live to see our glory."

Something about that is so hopeful and optimistic while also being so utterly heartbreaking, and I think that this has a lot to do with why I think the lyrics in this song (and this musical overall) are so brilliant. They make you feel something.

When everyone in Hamilton's crew joins in (Laurens, Hercules Mulligan, and Lafayette), it just builds a warm sense of comradery in me that makes me feel like I'm a part of something bigger than myself. 

"Tomorrow there'll be more of us," is both so hopeful and so optimistic as well as utterly devastating (especially if you've seen the musical on Disney+ and you know about what happens with Laurens' song that wasn't on the soundtrack).

Overall, when I first saw the show, "The Story of Tonight" was one of the songs from the musical that I couldn't get out of my head. I definitely kept repeating it on Spotify. 

12. The World was Wide Enough

This song breaks my heart every time I listen to it. It's one of the last songs of the entire show, and it's the first song on this list from Act II.

"The World was Wide Enough" is honestly amazing and I love it so much, because it's essentially the musings of man who screwed up by killing his former friend. I think this song is so beautifully crafted, and the way that it was executed on stage and on the album is flawless. The spoken word before Hamilton gets shot is honestly breathtaking and it makes me tear up most times that I hear it. 

I think my favorite part of the song, though, are Burr's last lines, because they mirror real lines that the actual Aaron Burr has said about killing Hamilton. "Had I read Sterne more and Voltaire less, I should have known the world was wide enough for Hamilton and me.”- Aaron Burr

This song is so great that I love two animatics for it. Check them out if you feel so inclined: The first one is by stariitea on YouTube, and the second if by ThirdChildFilms on YouTube.

13. You'll be back

The first time that I saw this show I think I was confused by this song. I think I was wondering why King George was singing a 60's love song to his colonies in this show based around hip-hop and revolution, but then I realized because this show has a flair for the dramatic. This show can be so off the wall ridiculous while being absolutely heartwarming and utterly wrenching all at once that it's hard to know how to feel at any given moment, really.

However, "You'll Be Back" is a great song, performed expertly by the excellent Jonathan Groff, who we all know from Frozen (Ugh... Read my Frozen review if you really want to know my thoughts on that, by the way). 

Overall, when he came out, I was expecting this song to be a little slow and boring the first time that I saw him, but in the end, he wound up being one of my favorite parts of the show. His sarcasm and pithy dialogue really made him stand out, and having him on stage was a nice break from all of the fun stuff happening with Alexander and his crew during the first act.

Overall, 10/10 for His Majesty the king.

14. The Story of Tonight (Reprise)

I think I just like this song because it plays off of the original song in a fun way. This song is immediately after "Satisfied" and it's such a good time to listen to because of the way that this song is performed both in the show and on the soundtrack. 

This song is meant to follow Hamilton's wedding to Eliza, and it begins with Hamilton's friends all ribbing him for marrying up in the world, which is fun and lighthearted. The lyrics were tweaked so that they would suit this new, happier occasion immediately following this joyous life event.

Then the music switches when Aaron Burr arrives, into a rendition of "Aaron Burr, Sir" to pay homage to the fact that Hamilton looks up to Burr despite how different they were at that point in their lives.

I think I just like this song because of how funny it is. I like that Hamilton's friends give him shit for marrying a rich woman, and I like that they make fun of Burr, calling him the worst. I especially love the shock in Hamilton's voice when Burr reveals that he's having an affair with the wife of a British officer. 

This song's got everything: playful ribbing, infidelity, drunken singing. It's a fun time, and I love this song so much.

15. That Would Be Enough

This is one of my favorite songs on the soundtrack because it reprises one of my favorite lines from the "Schulyer Sisters" song earlier in the musical: "Look around, look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now." Something about that really speaks to not only my inner optimist, but it's also a line that will never not be true, which I think is nice.

(At one point I even had that line as my Twitter bio because I was such a Hamil-stan. Hell, I still am.)

This song is so sweet and beautiful, and it reminds me of how completely talented that the gorgeous Phillipa Soo is, which I love. The line "Look around, look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now," almost becomes Eliza's calling card, because it's repeated by her and to her in no less than five songs throughout the entire musical.  

That's my long winded way of saying that I love this song. It also doesn't hurt that the animatic for this song is absolutely gorgeous. The animatic is by the artist szin on YouTube. 

16. & 17. Cabinet Battle #1 & Cabinet Battle #2

I feel like this meme perfectly sums up the mood of these two songs, and I love it.

Both of these songs are a perfect combination of pettiness, sass, and classic hip-hop references. It's through these songs that we learn more about Alexander Hamilton's relationship with Thomas Jefferson, who he viewed as a political barrier while he was working for President Washington.

In a way, these songs are like those Epic Rap Battles of History that were really popular on YouTube in 2012. They're somewhat educational, but they're mostly just an excuse for two political figureheads to shit all over each other in a public setting.

Overall, both of these songs SLAP, and Hamilton really digs into Jefferson in both of them, which I respect. 

18. Take a Break

I love this song. It's got everything. 

Counting in French? Check.

Adorable children rapping? Check.

Possible infidelity? Check, check, triple check.

I love "Take a Break" because of Angelica and Eliza, specifically. Both Angelica and Eliza (Renee Elise Goldsberry and Phillipa Soo) carry this song on their backs and I'm perfectly okay with that. 

Honestly, both Angelica and Eliza deserved better.

19. The Room Where it Happens

This song is the epitome of an "I want" song, as seen in many a Disney movie in the late 1980s and 1990s (see The Little Mermaid's Ariel singing, "I want to be where the people are..."). It is easily one of the best examples of character development in the show, as it takes Aaron Burr, a character who is too cautious to state his desires for fear of being wrong, and turns him into someone who is now willing to do whatever it takes to get what he wants. He now wants power for the sake of having a claim to something, as opposed to Hamilton who wants it for the sake of leaving a legacy. It's a fundamental flaw that Burr eventually comes to terms with, but in the incorrect way, and that's what makes him such an interesting character.

"The Room Where it Happens" is also one of the most notable songs in the entire show not only because it is the one that sounds the most like a traditional showtune, but it's also the most referenced in pop culture. Hell, one of Trump's former National Security Advisors, Michael Bolton, essentially stole the title of this song for his latest tell-all book. Now that's what you call a cultural impact.

20. The Election of 1800

This song is WILD. It's nearly one of the last songs in the show and so much happens that I'm not even sure where to start. 

This song is great because it leads into the final conflict between Aaron and Alexander, and you can truly see how all of the resentment and anger between them has developed over the course of the show. They have a serious Mozart and Salieri complex, and it comes to a head in this particular song perfectly. Even the secondary antagonist of the show, Thomas Jefferson was impressed with how the events in this song played out.

I also love this particular animatic for this song, so feel free to check it out. It's pretty masterfully done, by the artist pevelis on YouTube once more.

21. Dear Theodosia

This song is so gosh darn sweet and cute that every father should aspire to be as enamored with his children the way that Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton were in this show. This song is also great because it reflects how the two characters were sharing a similar experience despite having completely different outlooks on life, and it reinforces the fact that the two main characters of the show, Hamilton and Burr, were truly foils of one another. Well done, Mr. Miranda. Well done, indeed.

22. Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)

This song is great, because it's like the end of Hamilton's arc for the entirety of Act I. His whole identity up until this song was based on the idea that he was going to die at war for a cause that he believed in because he was determined to leave a legacy. This song is the epitome of that, because it lets Hamilton lead a command under Washington (which is what he'd been begging to do since he met Washington), while also thinking about his future, which he had never done before (because he references his wife who's "expecting").

After they win the war in this song, it's almost like Hamilton was forced to grow up. Soon after this song, Eliza gives birth to their son, Phillip, which motivates him to work even harder to fight for his country. This song was a good transition into this new Hamilton, because it leads into the end of Act I nicely, wrapping up an entire war in about 4 minutes.

 

23. Meet Me Inside

The first time I saw this song performed, I was blown away by how hard they were committed to the whole "Hamilton's got daddy issues" bit, but honestly it works SO WELL. It adds so much to Hamilton's character to know that he sees Washington as a sort of father figure, and then to have Washington treat him accordingly is also fantastic. It really builds on the dynamic that they have together and it leads to some great moments not only in this song, but throughout the show.

Overall, Hamilton (2020) is a near perfect experience. The whole show is fantastic, and if you haven't seen it yet, feel free to listen to the soundtrack or check it out on Disney+ and tell me what you think. Or if you have seen it and you disagree about what the best Hamilton songs are, I would be more than happy to tell you why you're wrong.

Well, that's all I've got for now. The best 23 songs on the Hamilton soundtrack have been officially ranked. Check back in with me next month when I finish up this list and tell you what my absolute least favorite Hamilton song is. (It might not be what you expect...)