Right now, there are four official English-language versions of Les Miserables: the Original London Cast Recording, the Original Broadway Cast Recording, the Complete Symphonic Recording, and the 10th Anniversary Concert Recording. Les Mis' addicts are best served by purchasing all recordings, as they showcase different stages (as in the OLC and the OBC) of the development of this mega-musical, as well as the interesting variations in presentation and performances by the different casts and orchestras.

If you're the average musical-theater listener who can't afford to buy all available English-language recordings, however, my advice would be to get the CSR (due to the fact that it's "complete") and the TAC recording (due to the fact that performer- and performance-wise, it's leaps and bounds better than all of the other recordings). You deserve no less.

I have seen Les Mis in three different countries and with various casts.

This is amazing that they would put all the best together for the pure enjoyment of Les Mis enthusiasts.

All of the people saying Colm is this and Colm is that can take a hike. I have never been more moved by the part of ValJean than when Gary Morris sings. He brings such an amazing heartfelt joy to the part that you can't help but choke up every time he sings.

It's like people who hold out that Michael Crawford is the defineative Phantom, yet have never taken the time to listen to Robert Guillome (Benson) sing the part....Simply amazing.

If you want the best of the best of Les Miserables, then this album is for you.

For those new to the musical, this is definitely the one to purchase for the simple fact that this contains the entire score. The performances are also solid (though the 10th Anniversary Concert recording has the best cast, the best performances, and the most exciting atmosphere).

With regard to the most-commented-on character Eponine, unlike the majority of reviewers who don't like Frances Ruffelle (London and Broadway recordings) for her portrayal of Eponine as a weak, whiney character, I actually like the fact that her version is different from Kaho Shimada's sad version here and Lea Salonga's strong-willed characterization in the TAC recording -- the different versions help us enjoy the character in different ways. Frances is actually a good actor: her emotions come across, and her part in "A Little Fall of Rain" is one that I particularly like listening to. However, like the majority of reviewers who criticize Frances for her singing, I must say that it does leave much to be desired. She needs a vocal coach and a speech coach. She doesn't have nice voice (which is NOT an excuse, even with the ridiculous claim that Eponine is supposed to have an ugly voice), and she exacerbates the situation by eating her words, dragging her lines, and doing bad improvisations ("the pavement shines LI-I-KE silver..."); for a musical of this caliber, her singing is definitely sub-par. And this is where the two other Eponine actors are clearly superior. Kaho Shimada's lovely voice and emotive singing make listeners forget her problems with the English language. On the other hand, Lea Salonga's captivating crystal-clear voice, understandable diction (she's one performer who never forgets that she's COMMUNICATING when singing: she articulates clearly without over-enunciating), and technically perfect vocal attack, in addition to her very solid internalization of character, commands such attention that it's not surprising countless reviewers consider her THE quintessential Eponine.