Best live albums

http://blogcritics.org/music/article/10-of-the-best-live-albums/

I recently asked some music fanatics from many walks of life to pick "The Best Live Album of All Time" and tell me why they chose it. The following 10 albums are the responses I received. You can listen to 7 of the 10 albums in their entirety on Rhapsody here. 120 tracks/ 11 hours!
Please add your own selections to the comments.

Jeff Buckley - Live at Sin-é
Simply breathtaking. Will leave you speechless for sure. Just Jeff and his guitar which allows for 100% pure emotion and other-worldliness to exude out of every one of his pores. Jeff was in a class of his own. If his 2 studio albums didn't quite do it for you, (a. you're crazy, b...) listen to this one and learn exactly how horrible a loss his death was. The original EP version will always hold a special place in my heart, but the posthumously released extended version is just proof that he could own a space for as long as he liked. -Chris

Buckley always struck me as someone who was enamored with the
musicians who influenced him, and on this recording it seems more obvious than elsewhere. Recorded in 1993, before he released his first proper album, this lengthy set has Buckley splitting time between his original compositions and cover songs. His ability to make both of these into riveting solo performances, vocally and instrumentally, is what sets this album ahead of other, more overblown live releases. The tiny venue where it took place also means less crowd noise, and more Buckley. To me, two hours in a coffee house listening to a young talent lay down flawless Dylan covers is infinitely more interesting than the "filler release" live albums that come from most artists. Plus, anyone who can stretch "Dink's Song" to over 11 minutes certainly gets extra points. - Eric

Selected by Chris of worthyMUSIC.net and by Eric at FIQL.com

Bob Marley - Babylon by Bus
First off, Bob Marley has been mysteriously absent in many of the community playlists we have done. I am putting an end to that right now. Not only did he pretty much launch an entire genre of feel-good positivity, he was a man consumed by his music and philosophy and it was most obvious during his live performances. Although many would argue that Live! is his best live album, in my opinion it's Babylon by Bus. It's clean and heartfelt with not one low spot to be found. Marley captured forever at his peak.

Joni Mitchell - Miles of Aisles
You realize Joni Mitchell is the impeccable real deal as soon as you realize that every time she does anything live, ever, is exactly as good if not better than any of the takes on any of her records. There’s an effervescence that exudes from this particular show—you can smell the stale, plastic cup beer, you can picture the audience of current parents during a brighter, more hopeful time. More than anything, you just sit on the floor in front of your record player and sing along to “Circle Game”, alone, and feel awesome.

Selected by Joan Hiller, Publicist, Sub Pop Records

War - War Live
Recognition must be granted this early 70s live recording by War. One frame would be to call this the greatest live funk album ever. Give or take JB, it's certainly that. Another and perhaps more useful frame would be to call this absolutely the best jam band album ever. I'll take this seven song double album over anything the Grateful Dead ever thought about conjuring. This band was so much more skillful, tight and muscular than the Dead, with much more interesting original compositions than Funkadelic. After a few words for all the brothers locked down in that "ferocious Cook County jail" (the album was recorded in Chicago), they work up their most righteous jam of perseverance on the closing "Get Down." Looked at in that kind of frame, I'd take this recording against nearly any reggae freedom jam ever.

Selected by Al Barger of morethings.com

The Who - Live At Leeds
I nominate this album because the Who were my favorite band growing up, and because this album always makes the short list when best live albums are discussed. This is a great live album. The best? I'll let you know after I've listened to all the others...

Selected by Andy Breeding of Giantpath.com

Bela Fleck - Live Art
Bela Fleck is arguably the best banjo player in the world and his group, "The Flecktones" consists of Victor Wooten, master of the bass, and his brother "Future Man" Roy Wooton, who creates drum sounds on his invented instrument called, "the drumitar." This double disk recording represents the cream of the crop of some of their live shows up to '96, when it was released. Together with guest musicians such as Branford Marsalis, Bruce Hornsby, Chick Corea, and Sam Bush, these exciting perfomances are pleasing to musician and non-musician audiences alike.


Otis Redding/Jimi Hendrix - Live at The Monterey Pop Festival (original vinyl version)
Of all the rock festivals of the 60's, the Monterey Pop Festival had the best lineup, the best vibes, the best performances, and the most music history moments; on a weekend that included the Who, Jefferson Airplane, The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Grateful Dead, et. al., Otis Redding was a show-stopper in a frenetic night of showstoppers. High points were his spinechilling "I've Been Loving You Too Long" which oozes soul, "Respect", "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" all of them record of a gifted man just entering his peak and bantering with the 'love crowd' as he put it, sounding somewhat surprised by the electrified audience. Jimi Hendrix was introduced in America after honing his act in England and played "Like a Rolling Stone" and "Wild Thing"; he humps and burns his guitar and turns feedback into music, making everyone forget they've just seen one of the Who's greatest performances ever. For the longest time, you couldn't get most of the Monterey Pop Festival except on bootlegs; only a single document existed, Live at the Monterey Pop Festival, which featured six Otis Redding songs on one side, and four Hendrix songs on the other side. This editing actually makes the original album (now out of print) actually better than the expanded version now available. Hendrix' set in particular comes across as one thrill after another as its only highlights. Otis Redding and Jimi Hendrix are an interesting contrast on a single disc too. Redding died within the year, and was gone before his breakthrough was complete. Hendrix, of course, was doomed in his own way, but here is presented in his emergent glory.

Selected by uao of Freeway Jam

Neil Young - Time Fades Away
This is one of the few albums that Neil Young has still not released on CD. If you like On the Beach and Tonight's the Night, you should dig up a copy of Time Fades Away on vinyl. Recorded on the 1973 tour that followed his middle of the road success with Harvest, this is a classic case of Neil heading for the ditch. Raw and ragged, sloppy and wasted, these eight songs remind us that the 70s weren't all sunshine and harmony. Time Fades Away is a mean drunk, slurring and stumbling, and pissing off everyone arounded him-in this case, the fans who showed up to hear "Heart of Gold." Cross your fingers and hope that Neil
eventually releases this as part of his Archives.

Allman Brothers Band - The Allman Brothers at Fillmore East
No "best live album" list can be complete without The Allman Brothers Band at Fillmore East, long considered one of the best live Rock recordings ever released by truckloads of music critics. The ABB are grandfathers of the Jam band movement and as you know, the Jam band is all about the live performance. Even though no live recording can truly give the same experience of actually being there, this one comes damn close.

Selected by Robert of the Radish

Peter Frampton - Frampton Comes Alive
This is the Double LP that launched Frampton into the stratosphere and became an album that epitomized the 1970's. Sure it has been overplayed over the years, but it still hoilds up. Peter Frampton had recorded these songs previously, but if you listen to those versions they do not hold a candle to the live versions found on this recording. It just goes to prove that magic can happen during a live performance that just cannot be captured with multi-tracking. The magic was certainly captured when this was recorded in San Francisco circa 1976. In addition, "Do You Feel Like We Do?" was a radio hit and was almost 14 minutes long! That just could not happen today.