ONE of the most difficult aspects of any best and worst list is that memory not only tends to cancel out pain – it also evens out pleasure. But, for better or worse, here are my Broadway selections for the end of the year, in alphabetical order.

BROADWAY’S 10 BEST

“CLOSER” – Smart, sexy Brit drama.

“CONTACT” – Terrific dance musical, but arrive at intermission.

“DAME EDNA” – Superb, equal-opportunity insults.

“DEATH OF A SALESMAN” – It’s Miller time; even “The Price’ is right.

“FOSSE” – Give ’em that old razzle-dazzle.

“THE ICEMAN COMETH” – Done and gone, but lovingly remembered.

“KISS ME, KATE” – Just delovely.

“PUTTING IT TOGETHER” – Patchwork Sondheim makes great musical jigsaw.

“SWING” – Beat that bass, see that show.

“THE WEIR” – Eerie Irish ghosts unforgettable in Irish pub.

BROADWAY’S 10 WORST

“BAND IN BERLIN” – Should have been banned on Broadway.

“EPIC PROPORTIONS” – Size matters; it’s minutely small.

“THE LION IN WINTER” – Chilly tabby cat meows.

“MARIE CHRISTINE” – Tuneless opera.

“MARLENE” – A pale imitation of the one-and-only.”NIGHT MUST FALL” – Not soon enough.

“SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER” – Temperature falls; patient dies.

“YOU’RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN” – Not in my book you weren’t.

“VOICES IN THE DARK” – An unthrilling thriller.

“WAITING IN THE WINGS” – Still waiting.