The Muppets Essentials

For kids who came of age in the late ’70s, the zany, ragtime-inspired opening theme to The Muppet Show was a Pavolvian cue to congregate around the TV each Sunday night. And as Jim Henson’s franchise has expanded into movies, spin-offs, and reboots, The Muppets have amassed a musical repertoire loaded with nonsensical earworms (the immortal “Mah Na Mah Na”) and hilarious pop-song makeovers (like their gleefully anarchic takedown of “Bohemian Rhapsody”). But the absurdity never overwhelms their endearing qualities: Even if you’re not a verdant puppet frog, the outsider sentiments of Kermit’s “Bein’ Green” are still (ahem) deeply felt.