Every “Les Misérables” Song Ranked

Out of sheer curiosity, I decided to revisit one of my favourite musicals. I’ve seen “Les Misérables” live in the West End as a kid, but a few weeks ago I watched the 10th anniversary “Dream Cast” version … and mon dieu. I forgot how incredible this musical was.

I want to rank all of the amazing songs, but there are a couple of catches – firstly I decided not to include the exposition-heavy songs (the ones where a character basically talks over minimal music), and I tried to avoid many repeats (e.g. how “Turning” is just “Lovely Ladies” with new lyrics). Hopefully I haven’t missed anything!

Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:

Beatles Albums Ranked

1986: The Year In Music

Every “Clair Obscur: Expedition 33” Boss Ranked

World Cup 2026 – My Predictions

Forgettable

These songs are nobody’s favourites.

25 – Little People

One unfortunate song had to come last, and in the case of “Les Misérables” it has to be Gavroche’s solo “Little People”.

It’s a somewhat funny joke in the moment, but it didn’t need to be longer than fifteen seconds. Also, Javert infiltrating the barricade is perhaps the least believable, weakest part of the whole plot.

24 – Drink with Me

Maybe this is a hot take, but I don’t think the second half of “Les Misérables” is as strong as the first. It’s still an incredible show … but moments like “Drink with Me” drag the pace right down.

I understand why the writers included it – we needed to see the young aristocrats share a drink on their final night together, but it’s musically and narratively quite thin.

23 – Thénardier Waltz

I wasn’t going to include “Thénardier Waltz” as it borders on exposition, but I think it’s quite an important bit of exposition – and it has its own distinct melodies, to give it credit.

The Thénardiers are normally the fun kind of annoying but here they come across as plain pathetic. Luckily, Valjean manages to buy Cosette – and the two of them can start their new life.

Okay

I don’t love these songs, but they move the plot along.

22 – Red and Black

I used to consider “Red and Black” my least favourite “Les Misérables” song (apart from “Little People”) due to its broad melodies and sometimes eye-rolling melodrama, but it hit slightly harder on my rewatch.

It’s a solid use of colour metaphor, and I like how Marius flips the script to liken the colours to Cosette instead. All in all, this is my “bare minimum” for musical songs.

21 – Lovely Ladies

Poor, poor Fantine. She’s the central tragedy in the first half of the musical, and almost everyone around her – aside from Valjean – treats her like dirt.

“Lovely Ladies” is as cynical as a song can get. It’s both snarky and sickening, and it marks a harrowing decision in Fantine’s life.

20 – Castle on a Cloud

Originally, I was going to rank “Castle on a Cloud” near the bottom alongside “Little People”. It’s a somewhat tacky, child-led solo that perhaps goes on for too long.

But, like “Drink with Me”, I think this song serves a very important purpose. It introduces the audience to Cosette and makes her instantly likeable. Who doesn’t empathize with a young, impoverished dreamer?

19 – A Little Fall of Rain

I might catch some heat for ranking this one so low.

In context, “A Little Fall of Rain” is devastating. Eponine finally gets the chance to be held by the man she loves, but it comes at the cost of her life. The version I watched with Lea Salonga and Michael Ball was performed so delicately and heart-breakingly.

… But musically, the song is a little boring. It relies on the drama of the moment rather than being an interesting song in its own right.

Great

In other, weaker musicals, these songs would be a highlight.

18 – On Parole / The Bishop

“Les Misérables” has one of the strongest prologues of any story I’ve ever seen. Jean Valjean gets a full character arc within the first twenty minutes.

The most crucial part of the prologue is when he steals from the Bishop, and I love the twist that the Bishop chooses not only to spare Valjean but to help him further. It’s such a lovely moment in an otherwise chaotic prologue.

17 – Who Am I?

Valjean has just grown comfortable in his new life when all of a sudden he is presented with a terrible choice – condemn an innocent man to death or condemn himself.

He makes the right choice in the end, of course, and it’s all laid out in the thought-provoking “Who Am I?” I like how this melody makes a return in “One Day More”, as if Valjean is questioning himself yet again.

16 – At the End of the Day

Songs like “At the End of the Day” are why I love this musical so much. What should’ve been a transitional, simple song ends up being this huge, catchy ensemble piece.

I love how the franticness of the song compliments the chaos of Fantine losing her job.

15 – Come to Me

Technically “Come to Me” is a prelude / teaser to “On My Own”, and by my own rules I shouldn’t have included it … but I wanted to rank it separately because it’s so gorgeous.

It’s one of the most heart-breaking moments of the first act. Fantine on her deathbed hallucinates Cosette – it’s a fitting end to this musical’s most hard-done-by character.

14 – What Have I Done

The prologue ends with Jean Valjean confronting himself after the Bishop’s act of kindness, and it’s the most thrilling song of “Les Misérables” up until that point.

Shout-out to Colm Wilkinson in the 10th anniversary show – he commands the song, navigating the quieter and louder moments with ease. That huge final note ushers in the start of the first act.

13 – Master of the House

The Thénardiers are probably my least favourite characters in “Les Misérables”. They’re always slimy and outwardly antagonistic … but their theme song is hella catchy so I’ll let them off.

I love how jaunty the song is, and how lyrically dense it is. Every single line here is a humorous jab – and you can’t help but smile with the backing music.

12 – Javert’s Suicide

The only thing holding “Javert’s Suicide” back from the top ten is how understated and quick it is – it only really crescendos in the last few seconds, but what a crescendo it is.

I love the direct parallels to Valjean’s “What Have I Done” soliloquy from the first act (even some of the lyrics are identical, but now take on a whole new meaning!), and I absolutely adore the “Stars” orchestral reprise at the very end. A fitting end to a phenomenal character.

11 – I Saw Him Once / In My Life / A Heart Full of Love

It might be cheating to include all of these love songs under one banner, but they all come back-to-back-to-back in the show.

“I Saw Him Once” and “In My Life” are both fine but nothing special. On their own they might’ve ranked in the bottom five. “A Heart Full of Love”, however, is one of the most gorgeous and romantic pieces of the whole show.

As a side note, the movie version (with Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne and Samantha Barks) is one of the only songs the film does equally as good as the stage show. Mostly because Seyfried, Redmayne and Barks are the three best singers in the film.

Iconic

These are the songs which make “Les Misérables” my favourite musical of all time.

10 – I Dreamed a Dream

I don’t usually put ten songs – just under half the total songs of a production – in the highest tier of one of my rankings, but “Les Misérables” deserves it. In my mind, it stands head and shoulders above every other musical.

Though “I Dreamed a Dream” may only be tenth on my list, I still consider it one of the finest songs ever penned for a musical. There are too many amazing songs, y’all!

If you weren’t on Fantine’s side before this song, you definitely were by its conclusion. It’s a raw, saddening tale of a woman who wasn’t supported in her era.

9 – On My Own

God, the female characters in this play – aside from Cosette, arguably – have such a hard time. Fortunately for the audience, that gives the singers a chance to pour their hearts out to us.

I’m going to sing the praises of the 10th anniversary show yet again, and Lea Salonga in particular. She gives such an incredibly powerful performance – you just want to leap on stage and give her a hug. Eponine deserved better than Marius, that’s for sure.

8 – Look Down (Prologue)

Technically, the very first song of the show is called “A Work” (or I’ve sometimes seen it referred to just as “Prologue”) as the official “Look Down” comes later in the show as a sort of reprise. But c’mon … This is the real “Look Down”.

I was stunned on my rewatch by how monumental this opening number is. “Look Down” wastes no time at all conveying the rough setting, as well as introducing the audience to Valjean and Javert.

This melody is referenced a lot over the course of the show – usually when Valjean and Javert reunite – and it does such a fantastic job of harkening back to a troubled history.

7 – Confrontation

Oh look, it’s the “Look Down” melody again. Except this time it’s packed with twice as much drama … and twice as much singing.

I’m not usually a fan of when two singers shout over each other as I feel it can get too messy, but “Confrontation” is a structured kind of chaos. Both Valjean and Javert get some really good digs in by the song’s end.

Also, and I know this is a pretty obvious observation, but both of them singing “I swear to you, I will be there” and it meaning two different things … *chef’s kiss*.

6 – Empty Chairs at Empty Tables

Marius is a bit of a nothingburger character for a lot of the show’s runtime. He’s dragged along for a revolution, he falls in love with Cosette in seconds, and for the most part he’s just tagging along for the ride. I guess what I’m trying to say is that he doesn’t have much agency in the plot.

His “normalness” is finally justified in “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables”, however – he’s forced to live on while all his revolutionaries and friends are dead. It’s one of the most soul-crushing, tear-jerking moments in the whole show.

5 – Finale

When I watched “Les Misérables” as a kid, I thought it was rousing but I don’t remember being emotionally attached. On my recent rewatch, when the “Finale” played out, I had tears in my eyes. I get it now. The pain of loss, the power of love and family … they’re the kinds of themes that only an older man could understand.

“Finale” has it all – an afterlife appearance from both Eponine and Fantine, the death of Valjean, and a glorious final rendition of “Do You Hear the People Sing?”. Speaking of which …

4 – Do You Hear the People Sing?

In many ways, “Do You Hear the People Sing?” is the theme tune of “Les Misérables”. It’s the song most people think of first when recalling this musical, and it could almost be called its “main” song.

It’s one of my favourite melodies in the whole show. It commands your attention and is a rousing call for great change – we should make this the global national anthem.

3 – Bring Him Home

For the majority of the show, Jean Valjean is about as masculine as a man can be. He’s a reformed prisoner who vows to look after his found family through strength and by whatever means necessary.

Which is what makes “Bring Him Home” so powerful by contrast. Valjean sings highly – both literally and metaphorically – towards Marius, wishing that the younger man survives the battle ahead. It’s a moment of weakness which cements Valjean as a true man.

Top marks to the 10th anniversary show yet again – Colm Wilkinson imbues his voice with such fragility.

2 – Stars

I run the risk of sounding like a broken record, but the 10th anniversary version is absolutely the definitive version of “Les Misérables” … and Philip Quast is undoubtedly the best version of Javert I’ve ever seen.

You’d think “Stars” is a hero’s song, not a villain’s. Javert looks to the sky for guidance and stability in his ever-darkening life, and the song he belts out is such a fascinating glimpse into how his mind works.

I could write a full essay about how amazing the lyrics are, and a separate essay all about Quast’s pitch-perfect vocal and physical performance. I almost ranked this as my number one based on his performance alone.

1 – One Day More

I vividly remember the first time I watched “One Day More”, and my mind was shattered into a million pieces. Never before had I heard such a perfect coming together of an entire act’s worth of melodies and themes.

Not only is it the flawless end to a first act, but it also brilliantly sets up the various tensions and conflicts going into the second half of the show.

This kind of musical perfection shouldn’t be humanly possible … which is why we should be glad to exist in an era where we can listen to it.

Aaaand that’s my list! If you liked this post and want to support me, please consider giving me a one-time donation. Even a few pence (or whatever currency you use) is fantastic! I’ve never monetized this blog before, but it would be great if I could do this comfortably and not have to worry about the yearly website domain costs. Thank you so much!