Jamming out to your favorite band is fun and all. But, there is nothing like seeing that band live and in concert. Unfortunately, our favorite bands might not always be accessible for live and in-person shows. So, that is where live albums come in. But, there is something different about listening to a live album.
Live albums offer a vulnerable and honest listening experience where fans are introduced to another side of their favorite band or artist than studio albums portray. Not only that, the between-song speeches and the crowd’s roar featured on live albums create a similar experience to being at a concert. With that being said, we ranked the best live albums of all time that deserve a listen.
In 1982, Talking Heads released a live album titled The Name of This Band is Talking Heads. This album contains various live performances recorded between 1977 and 1981. During this time, Talking Heads performed in cities like Tokyo, Japan, and New York City.
The new wave rock band formed in 1975 and was still getting its start during these live shows, so the live album isn’t perfect. But, this album ended up being ranked No. 28 on the charts in 1982, and it was so successful that it received a CD reissue in 2004 featuring 16 additional tracks.
Europe ’72 is a triple-live album covering the Grateful Dead’s tour of Western Europe in 1972, hence the name. The album was released because of the complications of their European expedition, how costly that tour was, and the hope that the live album would help recoup some of the band’s losses.
This live album features several songs that were never recorded in a studio. It was also the last Grateful Dead work to feature band member Ron “Pigpen” McKernan before he passed away in 1973. Nevertheless, this album will stay in Dead Heads’ hearts forever.
Something that sets this live album apart from the others is that it wasn’t released until 22 years after the live performances. For example, Sam Cooke’s live album Live at the Harlem Square Club featured recordings from 1963 from a show at Miami’s Harlem Square Club. But, they weren’t released until 1985 because the record label shelved them until then.
In those 22 years, Sam Cooke fell in popularity and didn’t have a fanbase like he used to. However, the live album showed a new, raw perspective that helped him garner a new generation of fans, which was well-deserved for an artist of his caliber.
The 1970s were a time when rock music was rising in popularity, and 1978’s live album Live and Dangerous by Thin Lizzy is a perfect example of this. The album was recorded in London in 1976 and Philadelphia and Toronto in 1977 before being released in 1978.
It came out because the band’s producer Tony Visconti didn’t have time to work on a full studio album. So, the band decided to release a live album instead, and it was a success. They proved themselves a formidable rock force and gained fans along the way. Good for them!
Most of the albums on this list contain nearly 20 songs, give or take. However, Lou Reed’s live album Rock ‘n’ Roll Animal has just five. These songs were recordings from a December 1973 concert in New York City and were released the following year.
Besides the five songs, the album also contains an instrumental prologue and a new rendition of the classic song “Heroin,” which was an obvious fan favorite. This album was a sleeper hit, reaching No. 45 on the Billboard 200 album chart before earning RIAA gold certification in 1978. Fans ate this live album up!
Blues guitarist and singer B.B. King recorded his live album Live at the Regal in 1964 at the Regal Theater in Chicago. This album instantly received high praise upon its release in 1965 and is regarded as one of the most terrific blues albums ever recorded.
B.B. King’s style developed over the years, but over time he had one of the most identifiable and beloved guitar styles. He often mixed traditional blues, jazz, swing, and pop into a unique sound that brought him to a broad audience outside of just blues enthusiasts, and the attention was well deserved!
English rock musician Peter Frampton released the double live album Frampton Comes Alive in 1976 in both the United States and the United Kingdom. The album was recorded in the summer and fall of 1975, primarily in San Francisco and New York.
Originally, A&M Records, the label that Frampton was signed to at the time, wanted more than just a solo album. Thus, this live album was born. Before this album, Frampton only achieved moderate success, but this one was the icing on the cake for him.
The Canadian-American rock band, The Band’s live album The Last Waltz is based on a concert film with the same name. The esteemed live compilation included a dozen guests, including but not limited to Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and Bob Dylan.
The Last Waltz was advertised as The Band’s farewell appearance and was recorded on November 25, 1976, at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. The concert included a Thanksgiving feast for concertgoers who paid $25 more a ticket. Nowadays, that would be a steal!
Alive 2007 is the second live album by Daft Punk’s French electronic music duo. It features the pair’s performance at the Palais Omni-sports de Paris-Bercy arena on June 14, 2007. The live album was released later that year.
This live album alone won Daft Punk two 2009 Grammys for the Best Electronic/Dance Album and Best Dance Recording for the song “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.” In addition, this live album was exceptionally well done because they were successfully able to rework and remix their most popular songs to give fans more to love. That takes true talent!
Like The Band and their live album The Last Waltz, Neil Young and Crazy Horse released a live album with a concert film. The live album was composed of performances at several venues, including Cow Palace near San Francisco.
Live Rust was recorded during Young’s fall 1978 Rust Never Sleeps tour, which was also the title of his concert film. Young directed the film himself under the pseudonym Bernard Shakey, which he used for everything film-related.
Live/Dead is the first official live album released by the Grateful Dead out of their 70-plus live albums. The 16-track album contains rock improvisation and their usual psychedelic rock style of music. The live album was released in 1969, and it was the product of a series of concerts performed and recorded earlier that year.
In addition, the album helped dig the Dead out of a hole. After releasing their 1969 album Aoxomoxa, they were $180,000 in debt to the record label Warner Brothers. Luckily, the album was so successful that they didn’t have to worry anymore!
Duke Ellington is famous for his place in jazz music history. Ellington remained a mainstay for jazz enthusiasts and the live album Ellington at Newport helped solidify his career. Destined for stardom, Ellington recorded this live album at the Newport Jazz Festival.
After recording this masterpiece, Ellington ended up on the cover of Time magazine, and two years later, he released a follow-up album called Newport 1958. Over time, in 2022, Ellington at Newport was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry.
The 1992 album Unplugged by Eric Clapton was recorded at Bray Studios in England for the wildly popular music television show MTV Unplugged. Clapton worked with bassist Nathan East, drummer Steve Ferron, and pianist Chuck Leavell on this album. He also worked with guitarist Andy Fairweather Low on the album.
Many fans were enamored with acoustic versions of his hits Layla and Tears in Heaven. In 1993, the album became the bestselling live album of all time and Clapton’s best-selling album, selling 26 million copies worldwide.
Kick Out The Jams is the debut album by proto-punk band MC5. This album was recorded live at Detroit’s Grande Ballroom over two nights in 1968: October 30, known as Devil’s Night, and October 31, Halloween. Then, Elektra Records released the album in February of 1969. This album had two versions: an edited and unedited version.
Angry lead singer of MC5 Rob Tyner was big on expletives, and so was this album. As a result, a Detroit-based chain called Hudson’s Department Stores wouldn’t stock and sell the album. The band angrily took out a full-page ad in a newspaper and used it to grow their album and audience even more.
Originally, Jimi Hendrix played with the group the Jimi Hendrix Experience. But, The Experience broke up in June of 1969. Bur the breakup didn’t stop Hendrix from releasing music. Released in 1970, Band of Gypsys was the first live album without his celebrated trio.
It was recorded at the Fillmore East in New York City on two consecutive nights. Featuring Buddy Miles on the drums and Billy Cox on the bass. The new group needed to develop an identity, and luckily this album helped them with that task and set them up for success going forward.
The Köln Concert is a live album consisting of piano improvisation by Keith Jarrett. The album was recorded at the Opera House in Cologne, Germany, on January 24, 1975. The double-vinyl live album was released in November of the same year.
The most remarkable part about this live album is that it was a one-person show. Jarrett was running on little sleep and felt pain on the night the album was recorded. He also didn’t receive the piano he requested. Yet, despite all of this he created one of the bestselling solo jazz and piano albums in the genre’s history.
English rock band Deep Purple’s live album Made in Japan was recorded during the band’s first tour of Japan in August of 1972. Deep Purple was world-renowned for its stage presence and decided a live album would be a good idea to promote the band.
The budget was $3,000, and when it came to publicity, it worked wonders. The double-live album was critically and commercially successful. In the United States, the hit “Smoke on the Water” was famous throughout the 1970s and was one of the main reasons for the band’s success.
On Valentine’s Day of 1970, one of the most famous rock bands in music history, The Who, performed at the University of Leeds. This performance was recorded and later turned into their first live album, Live at Leeds.
The English rockers performed six tracks for the live album, but later on, in other renditions of the album, they added 27 other songs that were played at that concert. Today, Live at Leeds is considered one of the best live rock recordings of all time.
Live at the Apollo is James Brown’s first live album. It was recorded on October 24, 1962, and he financed the entire show himself. Brown’s record label, King Records, didn’t realize the potential a live performance could have for Brown. However, Brown knew, and success went his way.
The 31-minute show spent 66 weeks on the Billboard charts and left fans wanting him to release more music as soon as possible. In 1998, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and in 2004 it was chosen that year by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry. Those are high honors!
The 1984 live album Stop Making Sense featured nine tracks from the live concert film with the same name released earlier that year. The film and the live album were recorded over three nights at Hollywood’s Pantages Theater in December of 1983.
The concert film and live album were released to promote Speaking in Tongues. The live album spent over two years on the Billboard 200 chart and ranked 345th on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
98.12.28 was the third and final live album recorded by the incredibly popular Japanese band Fishmans. The live album was recorded at the Akasaka Blitz, a music venue in Minato, Tokyo, on December 28, 1998. Polydor Records released it in Japan on September 29, 1999.
The live album documents the band’s final live performance with frontman Shinji Sato before passing away. The tour name, “A Men’s Farewell: December 28, 1998,” symbolized bassist Yuzuru Kashiwabara’s departure from the band at the end of their three-piece era.
Rust Never Sleeps is another of the live albums recorded by singer and songwriter Neil Young and the famous rock band Crazy Horse. This album used the same 1978 recordings as the concert film and album Live Rust with an added twist.
This album also included added overdubs divided into electric and acoustic songs. Reprise Records released it on June 22, 1979. The album got its name because Young used the phrase “rust never sleeps” as a concept to tour progressively with Crazy Horse. Crazy!
Recorded at the Fillmore East in New York City, At Fillmore East was the first live album and third overall album released by The Allman Brothers Band. It was recorded over three nights in March of 1972, and the band performed extended jam versions of their hit songs.
This album resulted in the band gaining a new loyal fanbase. Many concert-goers and music fans alike called this album one of the best live albums of all time, especially for jazz music. Like other albums on this list, in 2004, this album was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress by the National Recording Registry.
John Cash’s At Folsom Prison was his first live album ever released. It also helped to relaunch Cash’s career, which stalled thanks to substance abuse. After releasing his hit song “Folsom Prison Blues,” Cash wanted to record a live performance at a prison. The idea was put on hold until 1967, but it became a reality with Columbia Records.
Backed by June Carter, Carl Perkins, and the Tennessee Three, Cash performed two shows at Folsom State Prison in California in January of 1968. The live album had 15 songs from the first show and two from the second. In addition, a 50th Anniversary Edition of the live album was released in 2018.
MTV Unplugged in New York is a live album by the beloved band Nirvana. There is no denying that Nirvana’s acoustic performances resonated with fans. But, this MTV Unplugged set was different from most. Instead of performing an entirely acoustic show, Nirvana used electric amplification and guitar effects to spice things up.
Additionally, the band played lesser-known material and more cover songs than many expected. The live album was recorded in November of 1993 and aired on television on December 16, 1993. The live album was released about a year later on November 1, 1994.