cast recordings

The Hamilton Cast Recording Officially Outsells Rent’s

History! Photo: Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards

We the people have spoken: After spending five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes (or, actually, nearly two years) on the charts, the original Hamilton cast recording has officially bested Rent in sales. Spending its 100th consecutive week on the Billboard 200, the music of Hamilton topped 1.285 million sales, putting it ahead of the Rent cast recording’s 1.284 million in total sales. That’s good for sixth place on the all-time list of cast recordings, behind Phantom of the Opera’s London cast highlights, and the original cast recordings of Wicked, Mamma Mia!, Les Miserables, and Jersey Boys. Hamilton has sold 297,000 copies on the year, making it and the cast recording of Dear Evan Hansen — which debuted even higher than Hamilton did on the Billboard 200 — the only two cast albums to sell above 100,000 copies in 2017. Such a win for Broadway hasn’t happened since 2011 when Wicked and The Book of Mormon both crossed that mark. Angsty theater teens and history buffs, give yourselves a round of applause.

The Hamilton Cast Recording Officially Outsells Rent’s