When the Muppets, including our friends from Sesame Street, popped up during the recent World Cup halftime show, they didn’t just trend online. They felt like familiar faces stepping back into the spotlight, the kind you instinctively wave to as if they can see you. I first met most of the characters during the seventh season of Sesame Street, and a couple of years later, my mother brought home my very first Sesame Street records. These soon became tiny portals: part music lesson, part imagination workshop, and entirely magical.
What follows is a selection of my favourite Sesame Street records, the ones that taught me, delighted me, and helped shape a lifelong love of storytelling through sound. If you’re building a collection, or simply revisiting childhood treasures, these albums are a wonderful place to begin. All titles are under the Sesame Street Records label unless noted otherwise.
1. The Sesame Street Book and Record (Columbia, 1970)
I’ve mentioned this one before, but here is where it all began: all the early classic songs on one album, from the iconic theme song to the inexplicable but wonderful pop hit Rubber Duckie. I consider this the best introduction for anyone just getting to know the characters. The album was re-issued in 1974 as Sesame Street 1 Original Cast on the custom label bearing the show’s name.
2. The Year of Roosevelt Franklin / My Name is Roosevelt Franklin (Columbia, 1971 / Sesame Street, 1974)
Matt Robinson, the first Gordon on the show (not counting the pilot), not only voiced the Muppet character, but he also wrote the lyrics, while he and Joe Raposo composed the music. The album mixes the alphabet and counting with lessons on safety, getting along with others and, just as important, being true to oneself, making it one of the most character-driven and thoughtful entries in the Sesame Street record catalogue.
3. “C” is for Cookie (1974)
This album was my first from the label, and an absolute favourite, a compilation spotlighting the one and only Cookie Monster. It blends material from earlier releases with original songs and skits, including a standout moment: Cookie’s spirited rendition of If I Knew You Were Coming I’d’ve Baked a Cake, with the Count accompanying him on piano.
4. The Sesame Street Fairy Tale Album (1977)
This Grammy-nominated album features the Muppets telling their favourite fairy tale stories, old and new alike. One of my personal favourites is the Count narrating Goldilocks and the Three Bears, which inevitably goes off the rails whenever he begins counting. Other highlights include Cookie Monster’s version of Hansel and Gretel, Prairie Dawn’s original tale Silly Annabelle, and Bert and Ernie’s The Brothers Who Always Complained, a playful twist on The Three Wishes.
5. Sesame Street Fever (1978)
Before the disco trend began to fade, the Muppets got into the act with their own dance-floor album. Along with disco-styled versions of Rubber Duckie and “C” is for Cookie, the LP featured Bee Gees member Robin Gibb performing Trash and the title track with the characters. What makes this record unforgettable is its cover, a playful parody of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, with Grover striking the John Travolta pose and Ernie, Bert and Cookie Monster standing in for the Bee Gees.
6. The Electric Company (1974)
Originally released by Warner Bros. Records in 1972, this abridged version of the Grammy-winning album features skits and songs mostly similar to those from the show. Highlights include Silent “E” (sung by its composer Tom Lehrer), Punctuation (with Rita Moreno and Lee Chamberlin alongside the Short Circus), Jennifer of the Jungle (featuring Morgan Freeman, Skip Hinnant and Judy Graubart), and the classic Sign Song, all delivering a high-energy approach to reading and grammar through music and humour.
7. Somebody Come and Play (1974)
I play this one occasionally because it’s so much fun: an activity-participation concept built around the title song from the original LP. Most of the tracks come from earlier releases, with two exceptions: a pair of soundtracks from the show’s What’s My Part skits, a parody of the classic game show What’s My Line. The label later re-issued the album as Play-Along Songs.
8. The Sesame Street Monsters! (1975)
With the subtitle A Musical Monster-osity, this album is a classic in its own right. As the opening number declares, they’re monsters, but they’re sweet, and then some. From there, the LP takes you through a series of wonderful, silly, and fun selections by the lovable creatures. Incidentally, one particular song has proven especially popular with listeners, at least in my experience: Fur, performed by “a maroon-and-yellow monster.” I’m inclined to agree.
9. The Count Counts (1975)
Broadcasting “live” from the Sesame Street Studios above Mr. Hooper’s store, the Count hosts his Top 12 countdown, a mix of re-recorded classics like Ladybugs’ Picnic, The Alligator King, and Doll House, along with original songs and tongue-in-cheek commercials created for the album. The Count’s irresistible charm and the show’s early musical creativity make this LP one of the most playful concepts in the line.
10. Bert and Ernie Sing-Along (1975)
Based on a storyline from the show, Ernie interrupts Bert’s quiet time in the bathtub by inviting the whole gang to a sing-along, even hauling in a piano because “everyone sounds better singing in a bathroom.” Naturally, Muppets and humans alike join in, each with a song, much to Bert’s growing consternation and waning patience. This album has been a popular favourite since its initial release, and it’s not hard to see (or hear) why.
And there you have it: a list of my favourite albums, brought to you by the letters B and W, and by the number 10. And now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to spin a few and explore some still unopened titles on the shelf. I don’t have to ask, “Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?” because they’re right here. And they always will be.
