Into the Woods (2014 Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Before Lin-Manuel Miranda came along, Stephen Sondheim was Broadway's rappingest wordsmith. Into the Woods works its considerable magic through his exhilarating rhymes and occasionally grim wisdom. The soundtrack kicks off with a stunning 14-minute prologue that introduces its fairy-tale characters and sends them you-know-where. Its reality-based second half solidifies with witchy Meryl Streep's "Last Midnight" and the knowing lullaby "No One Is Alone." A pair of preening princes revel humorously in "Agony," and a particularly wolfish Johnny Depp growls "Hello, Little Girl."