The Way We Were is the fifteenth studio album recorded by American singer Barbra Streisand. The album was released in January 1974, preceded by the commercial success of its lead single "The Way We Were" first released in September 1973.

Three additional songs were newly recorded for the album, while six of the tracks salvaged unreleased material from previous Streisand projects. Following the distribution of a soundtrack album for the eponymous 1973 film, Columbia added a caption to Streisand's LP (Featuring the Hit Single The Way We Were and All in Love Is Fair) in order to minimize confusion between the two albums.

Covering a wide array of themes, Streisand sings about recovering relationships, social awareness, and love in general: a contemporary pop album blended with her signature vocal style. Streisand's production team included Tommy LiPuma and Wally Gold, while Marty Paich contributed to the title track.

The lead single topped the charts in both Canada and the United States, where it became the top-selling single of 1974. The second single "All in Love Is Fair" was released in March 1974 and also charted in the two countries.

The album received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who praised Streisand's vocals and found the record capable of being extremely successful. Commercially, The Way We Were topped the Billboard 200 in the United States and reached the top ten on album charts in Australia and Canada. It also entered the charts in Japan and the United Kingdom. The album has since been certified 2× Platinum in the United States by the RIAA.