# Greatest Live Album of All Time? What do you think? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [July 26, 2026, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-live-album-of-all-time-what-do-you-think/1031939 "2026-07-26T20:54:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-live-album-of-all-time-what-do-you-think/1031939/1 "2026-07-26T20:54:38Z")
I’m listening to **Live At The Fillmore East, March 1971** · The Allman Brothers Band. I’m thinking this is it. I know the Who’s **Live at Leeds** and Led Zeppelin’s **The Song Remains the Same** (1976) are up there. **At Folsom Prison** – Johnny Cash comes up, not my favorite, but I respect and get it. * * * * * * For what it is worth the [Rolling Stone did a top 50 in 2015](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/50-greatest-live-albums-of-all-time-173246/). Their top 5 are: 1. **James Brown, ‘Live at the Apollo’ (1963)** 2. **The Allman Brothers Band, ‘At Fillmore East’ (1971)** 3. **Johnny Cash, ‘At Folsom Prison’ (1968)** 4. **The Who, ‘Live at Leeds’ (1970)** 5. **B.B. King, ‘Live at the Regal’ (1965)** Good list, I had 3 of them, though no love for Zep. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-live-album-of-all-time-what-do-you-think/1031939/2 "2026-07-26T21:04:19Z")
My very favorite – which I’m surprised that the _Rolling Stone_ list only has at #41 – is _Frampton Comes Alive!_. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-live-album-of-all-time-what-do-you-think/1031939/3 "2026-07-26T21:06:46Z")
_Frampton Comes Alive!_ was so big at the time, but I feel like the album and even Frampton are somewhat forgotten now. It was a really good album that I haven’t heard in decades. The 5 at the top of the Rolling Stone list are 5 super-big names. ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-live-album-of-all-time-what-do-you-think/1031939/4 "2026-07-26T21:08:27Z")
Simon and Garfunkel. Concert in Central Park. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-live-album-of-all-time-what-do-you-think/1031939/5 "2026-07-26T21:09:01Z")
#1 - “Live at the Fillmore East” - Allman Brothers #2 - “Live 1975-85” - Springsteen/E Street Band #3 - “Live/Dead” - Grateful Dead #4 - “Stop Making Sense” - Talking Heads #5 - “You Had To Be There” - Jimmy Buffett “Woodstock” gets an Honorable Mention. The list changes daily. Some stay in the Top 10 for no other reason than _I was there_ when they were recorded. Buffett, for example. Follow up question for the OP: What about live recordings that weren’t major studio releases? Bootlegs? The entire freaking Grateful Dead library of concerts? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-live-album-of-all-time-what-do-you-think/1031939/6 "2026-07-26T21:17:01Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > “Woodstock” gets an Honorable Mention. Fully agree with this. > [@silenus](#): > > Follow up question for the OP: What about live recordings that weren’t major studio releases? Bootlegs? The entire freaking Grateful Dead library of concerts? Does The Animals: The Deluxe BBC Files (1964-'65) count? I know I’m no expert on Bootlegs, but when I heard this I was amazed. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-live-album-of-all-time-what-do-you-think/1031939/7 "2026-07-26T21:45:19Z")
Hmmm…from that list probably Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense. But I practically wore out a vinyl copy of Live at the Filmore East when I was a teen, so I certainly think it’s up there. But I’ve listened to the first in the past year, the second not in decades. I really enjoy listening to live shows, not so much the actually going to them part 🙂. So I like downloading bootlegs of at least passable quality (doesn’t have to be pristine, but I can’t deal with genuinely shitty audio). We were talking about REM over in the Hall of Fame thread and I was fairly recently listening to this [somewhat “famous” 1983 bootleg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rABrCjaxx40&list=PLkm19r2Tz-Xg2k6E69mnwLS2GjN1Omigz&index=1) that had a partial release on vinyl. Best live album? Hardly - not even in spitting distance. But the kind of stuff I like to listen from time to time. Another dinosaur act - I often see Van Morrison described as a lousy live artist. But I suspect the real truth was that he was a very inconsistent one. I’ve always had a sneaking affection for [“…It’s Too Late to Stop Now…”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mouwSjil-ds&list=PLy0Qb80R_fPKp392_loI4AfbhYOU9YQQW) which caught him in perhaps rare form. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-live-album-of-all-time-what-do-you-think/1031939/8 "2026-07-26T21:49:25Z")
Fillmore East is already incredible and then you get to **Midnight Rider** and then **Hot 'Lanta.** I mean, holy crap what an incredible performance. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-live-album-of-all-time-what-do-you-think/1031939/9 "2026-07-26T21:58:00Z")
“Alchemy live” Dire Straits. Sultans of Swing and Telegraph Road from that concert are the two best live performances in history, so the album has to be the best. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-live-album-of-all-time-what-do-you-think/1031939/10 "2026-07-26T22:01:01Z")
Foghat Live is the best. Only six songs, but a very tight set. Perfect album. Head East Live gets honorable mention. Its a double album, with a great set list, but no one outside of the Midwest knows who they are. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-live-album-of-all-time-what-do-you-think/1031939/11 "2026-07-26T22:14:10Z")
_Live At Leeds_ tops the list for me, crackling noises and all. Other favorites include Humble Pie’s _Performance: Rockin’ the Fillmore_, _Made In Japan_ by Deep Purple, _Alive!_ by Kiss, Michael Hedges’ _Live On The Double Planet_, _Get Yer Ya Ya’s Out!_ by The Stones. And I can’t leave out _Frampton Comes Alive!_…having been at Winterland one of those nights I can personally vouch for what a great show it was. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-live-album-of-all-time-what-do-you-think/1031939/12 "2026-07-26T22:18:24Z")
Then tack on “Mountain Jam” from “Eat A Peach,” which was from the same set of concerts. Just breathtaking. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-live-album-of-all-time-what-do-you-think/1031939/13 "2026-07-26T22:41:58Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > And I can’t leave out _Frampton Comes Alive!_…having been at Winterland one of those nights I can personally vouch for what a great show it was. Speaking of Winterland, one of those ‘lost Jimi Hendrix’ recordings that got released after his death was _Jimi Hendrix Live at Winterland_. I listened to Hendrix tunes on the radio since I was a kid. I owned his albums for years, and loved them. But hearing his reworkings of his classics in this live venue, and all the different places he took the songs, was mind blowing. I was in my mid 20s by the time I realized “this is why they call Hendrix a genius”. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-live-album-of-all-time-what-do-you-think/1031939/14 "2026-07-26T22:57:32Z")
Two way tie for First Place: - **The Allman Brothers, Live at the Filmore East**. Duane Allman at the peak of his powers, he’s transcendental throughout the album. Especially (for me) _Statesboro Blues_, _Stormy Monday_, and _In Memory of Elizabeth Reed._ - **Simon and Garfunkel, The Concert in Central Park** Even had they stayed together for any appreciable length of time they never would’ve matched this, much less top it. Runners up for selected tracks: - **Jefferson Airplane, Bless Its Pointed Little Head** for _3/5 of a Mile in Ten Seconds, The Other Side,_ and _It’s No Secret_ wherein Jack Casady is an absolute genius on bass guitar. - **The Who, Live at Leeds** for Keith Moon’s lunatic savant drumming on _Substitute, Happy Jack, Summertime Blues, Amazing Journey/Sparks_. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-live-album-of-all-time-what-do-you-think/1031939/15 "2026-07-26T23:03:17Z")
This. This right here. Every song is better than the studio version. _Stop Making Sense_ is a close second. ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-live-album-of-all-time-what-do-you-think/1031939/16 "2026-07-26T23:06:15Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Foghat Live is the best Obviously the list is subject to personal taste, but I would definitely have this on it. I would also have UFO Strangers in the Night on the list. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-live-album-of-all-time-what-do-you-think/1031939/17 "2026-07-26T23:11:08Z")
Concert for Bangladesh No Nukes ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-live-album-of-all-time-what-do-you-think/1031939/18 "2026-07-26T23:11:41Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > _Frampton Comes Alive!_ was so big at the time, but I feel like the album and even Frampton are somewhat forgotten now. Agreed. Unlike most of the other bands on the list (and in this thread), which were well-known, and successful outside of those live albums, _FCA!_ was Frampton’s singular moment, and magnum opus; I would not be surprised if it outsold all of his other albums, combined. Though I was far too young to have seen him at the original concerts (@blondebear , you lucky bastard!), I did get to meet Frampton when he visited the ad agency where I worked (such a great, personable, and funny guy), 15 or so years ago, and got to see him on the 35th anniversary tour for _FCA!_ in 2012, where he performed the entire album, plus another hour or so of more songs. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-live-album-of-all-time-what-do-you-think/1031939/19 "2026-07-26T23:39:59Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I did get to meet Frampton when he visited the ad agency where I worked (such a great, personable, and funny guy), 15 or so years ago, and got to see him on the 35th anniversary tour for _FCA!_ in 2012, where he performed the entire album… I caught that tour at the show at Wente Vineyards. There was a group at a table up front who had a few too many glasses of vino and were talking all throught the set. At one point Peter started to introduce a song and stopped, the show, pointed at the group and said “This is MY concert and I’M talking now, so please SHUT UP!” That got a huge round of applause and resulted in a quiet table for the rest of the show. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-live-album-of-all-time-what-do-you-think/1031939/20 "2026-07-26T23:57:24Z")
I don’t want to included two Dylan albums, but both Before the Flood (with The Band) and Hard Rain are great. I have to include Live at Leeds on my list, as well as Zappa and The Mothers’ Roxy and Elsewhere. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-live-album-of-all-time-what-do-you-think/1031939.md?page=2)