Music

Lou Reed - Rock ‘n’ Roll Animal

Sonata Arctica - Songs of Silence, Live in Tokyo

Listening to the studio versions of these songs is weird for me now. It is one of the few live albums I've listened to where the audience adds something.

This isn’t an album, but I love O’Brother’s various Audiotree recordings. They’re just so BIG and intense. I don’t know how to explain it. You can really feel some sort of alchemy happening while they’re playing, and the vocals are freaking wild. I love the recorded versions, but these ones feel turned up a notch to me. There is an energy in it that i find really compelling. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uflJpjdmyG8

Pink Floyd was already mentioned, but David Gilmour’s Live at Pompeii is also a thing of beauty. I accidentally ran across it playing on PBS a few years ago and was glued to the screen for the whole thing, then immediately ordered the Blu-ray to watch again.

On less mainstream note, New Grass Revival’s Live cd is not just better than their live albums, but is close to my favorite bluegrass album of all time. Studio bluegrass can sound too “manufactured” for me.

Also, aside from the Zappa already mentioned, there’s a Zappa Plays Zappa live album/dvd with Napoleon Murphy Brock and Steve Vai, which I also really love. The Zomby Woof from that on YouTube is a great highlight.

I've posted once but another favorite and something that everyone should experience at least once is Monsters of Rock 1991 in Moscow, Russia during the dissolution of the USSR.

I'm not sure if I'd call it a live album in the classic sense but it was a giant concert recorded live featuring Metallica, Pantera, AC/DC, E.S.T (A Russian heavy metal Band), and The Black Crowes performing at Tushino Airfield. Here's a more in-depth article about the event.

It was documented into a film called For Those About to Rock: Monsters in Moscow, which is available on YouTube

Back Sabbath - Live Evil Metallica - S&M

Neil Young - Live at Massey Hall

Iron Maiden- Live After Death

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XECqZcIO1fU

Aside from having a great setlist, I was a huge fan at the time, and they manage to make minor changes to some of the songs which really enhanced them. I don't usually feel that way about live performances, but I listened to, and watched the hell out of this one.