Top 10 Greatest Live Albums of All Time

WatchMojo

Turn it up to eleven! Join us as we count down our picks for the greatest live albums ever recorded. These legendary performances captured musical history in its purest form, showcasing artists at their absolute peak. From soul-stirring prison concerts to explosive rock spectacles, these albums don't just document shows—they transport you right into the crowd.

Transcript

00:00You may find yourself living in a shotgun shack

00:04Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the greatest live LPs ever recorded

00:09The ones that captured legendary live acts at their very best

00:13Which came as a surprise

00:16Number 10, How the West Was Won, Led Zeppelin

00:21Many people will point to Led Zeppelin's iconic The Song Remains the Same as their quintessential live recording

00:26Perhaps it's the more famous live album of the two

00:28For our money though, the band has never sounded better than they did on How the West Was Won

00:32The performance, the energy, and of course the set list

00:40Are nailed by Robert Plant and Co. on this one

00:42For all the criticism the band sometimes received for occasional sloppiness on stage

00:53This is just about as clean and focused as they've ever played

00:56From the opening Drone Before Immigrant Song onwards, this is rock music at its very finest

01:05Number 9, Aretha Live at Fillmore West, Aretha Franklin

01:16There's no denying that Aretha Franklin deserves a spot on the Mount Rushmore of 20th century vocalists

01:21Even by her standards though, Live at Fillmore West is a truly remarkable recording

01:31The energy is on point from the very first moment Aretha takes to the mic

01:35Opening up her set with respect was a gutsy decision, and boy did it pay off

01:39Covers of the Beatles' Eleanor Rigby

01:48And Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water

01:50Fit snugly amongst other classic tunes

01:52The band is on fire, the crowd's clearly loving it

01:58And most of all, Franklin herself barely puts a foot wrong

02:01An essential recording if ever there was one

02:04Number 8, Live and Dangerous, Thin Lizzy

02:12Who cares if there are a few studio overdubs or not

02:14Thin Lizzy managed to condense the energy of their live performances

02:17Into one perfect package when they released Live and Dangerous in 1978

02:22Sure, there was some controversy about the album's live status

02:31When it emerged that some parts were redone in the studio

02:33If you ask us though, the end product does not suffer

02:41In fact, some people have called this record the greatest live hard rock LP of all time

02:46Phil Lina and the boys were in rare form

02:56Playing a set that contained every cut you'd hope to hear

02:58Number 7, At Folsom Prison, Johnny Cash

03:07Nobody thought it was a good idea for Johnny Cash to try to revive his career with a concert for prison inmates

03:11Cash had actually been pushing to do it for well over a decade

03:18However, the opportunity to play in Folsom Prison only came in 1968

03:23When the country legend was on a bit of a downswing commercially

03:25Thankfully, this riveting release chronicled the Man in Black better than any studio album ever could

03:36It's the type of live album that transports you directly into the room with Mr. Cash

03:41Say hello to dad and shake his poor hard-working hand

03:46Not only was it a critical smash, it also gave his career a much-needed second wind

03:50And eventually led to a second live prison LP at San Quentin

03:54And them chains, them chains, they're about to drag me down

04:00Number 6, Frampton Comes Alive, Peter Frampton

04:05Is there a better live album title than Peter Frampton's Frampton Comes Alive?

04:09Well, apart from having a name that does exactly what it says on the tin

04:19It just so happens to be a phenomenal live recording

04:21Many of these songs do, in fact, come alive on this recording

04:24The album is a mash-up of four different 1975 shows

04:33But listening to it, it all seems incredibly cohesive

04:36There's an argument to be made that this is the definitive way to listen to Peter Frampton for the first time

04:45Isn't that exactly what a live LP should do?

04:47Number 5, MTV Unplugged in New York, Nirvana

04:58It's well documented that Kurt Cobain's influence stretched way beyond the limits of punk and proto-grunge

05:04I need an easy friend

05:07I do with all that you lend

05:11Hearing his work find a new life in acoustic form

05:13Made it clear that he was a truly gifted songwriter

05:16Many legendary groups have taken their material to the MTV Unplugged stage

05:20But Nirvana's concert is probably the most iconic of them all

05:23Oh no, not me

05:26The band's originals are taken to new heights with these fresh renditions

05:33And Cobain's choice of covers is truly remarkable

05:36Lead belly, bowie, and meat puppets are represented beautifully in the set

05:40Oh, and the band didn't play Smells Like Teen Spirit

05:48Which they had, by all accounts, gotten sick of

05:51What else should I be? All apologies

05:57Number 4, At Fillmore East, The Allman Brothers Band

06:02The sheer power of The Allman Brothers Band was on full display every time they took to the studio

06:07Wake up now, turn your lamp down

06:10However, the most explosive documentation of the band came when they put out At Fillmore East in 1971

06:16Now regarded as one of the greatest live double albums ever

06:25There's an added poignancy due to the death of Dwayne Allman a few months after it came out

06:29The band jams their way through their own material and a selection of blues classics

06:41Before finishing with a stunning version of Whipping Post

06:43Although this would be the band's classic era swan song

06:46It's an incredible statement about their prowess

06:48Number 3, Stop Making Sense, Talking Heads

07:00It sure would be worth it to go see this album in the cinema if you ever get the chance

07:03Stop Making Sense is best known as one of the most iconic live concert films of all time

07:08However, the music still holds up incredibly well once you strip away all the visuals

07:16David Byrne and his ever-expanding band lineup created some of the most rhythmically dense music of the 1980s

07:22Songs that were originally built around the band's four-member core lineup become something entirely different on this record

07:33Byrne takes to the stage solo, and before long, he is joined by eight other musicians

07:45Each of whom contribute something truly essential

07:47Number 2, Live at Leeds, The Who

07:56If you've never heard The Who performing live in their absolute prime, there is truly no better place to begin than Live at Leeds

08:02Well, a young man ain't got nothing in the world these days

08:07Renowned for their explosive stage shows, the band didn't need to rely on anything other than raw power and musicality to deliver the goods

08:14Live at Leeds, in its original form, was a six-song, 37-minute snapshot of everything The Who did well

08:28They bring blues covers, long-extended jams, and only three of their hits

08:31However, it's not an album that's about pleasing the fans with their set list

08:42Rather, The Who's debut live album release was exactly what the band wanted it to be

08:47And we gotta say, we're pretty glad for it

08:49Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions

08:59Live at Wembley 86, Queen

09:02An exhilarating look at the greatest show on earth

09:04Made in Japan

09:12Deep Purple

09:13The legendary 70s rockers captured in their prime

09:15Get Your Yeah Yeahs Out

09:21The Rolling Stones

09:22The Stones truly never sounded better

09:24Live Dead

09:30Grateful Dead

09:31The magic and chaos of the dead recorded perfectly

09:34Sinatra at the sands

09:40Frank Sinatra, the golden voice of old blue eyes at its peak

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10:05If you've managed to earn yourself nicknames like the king of soul and the hardest working man in show business

10:16You better deliver the goods on stage

10:18Thankfully, for a force of nature like James Brown, he was one of the greatest live performers to ever touch a mic

10:28While we could point to many eras in his career that could be considered his prime

10:371963's Live at the Apollo is a landmark release

10:41Brown set a totally new standard for performance

10:43He sang, he danced, wrote most of the songs, and arranged them to the point of being a tyrant

10:54Brown was one of the very few who deserved the title of Genius

10:57And this 1963 release is probably his finest hour

11:01Which riveting live album didn't manage to make our list?

11:08Let us know in the comments below

11:10We'll see you next time

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