Top 10 Live Albums

1. Grateful Dead Closing of Winterland, 12/31/78. My first SF dead show on my 24th birthday (I was living in Anchorage AK at the time)!  The Dead didn't start till midnight and played 3 sets! Breakfast was served at dawn after the show ended.  The night started with the showing of the movie Animal House, followed by the Blues Brothers backed up by Joni Mitchell's Band Tom Scott and the LA Express followed by New Riders of the Purple Sage. Then the Flying Karamazov Brothers entertained the crowd and at midnight Bill Graham rode a giant joint from the balcony down to the stage and then they dropped a zillion ballons at midnight and the Dead started with Sugar Magnolia!  Quite the evening!  The show was issued on DVD a few years back.

2. Little Feat Waiting for Columbus

3. Leonard Cohen Live in London

4. GD Europe 72

5. The Band The Last Waltz & Rock of Ages

6. Joni Mitchell Miles of Aisles

7. Bob Marley and the Wailers Live

8. Talking Heads Stop Making Sense

9. Renaissance Live at Carnegie Hall

10. Grateful Dead Live Dead (1969)

 

I will also second Gentle Giant Playing the Fool!

An incredible band that a lot of people haven't connected with.

They are incredible.

Grateful Dead 12/31/1978

Track listing

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Disc one

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First set:

1. "Sugar Magnolia" > (Bob Weir, Robert Hunter) – 7:21
2. "Scarlet Begonias" > (Jerry Garcia, Hunter) – 11:55
3. "Fire on the Mountain" (Mickey Hart, Hunter) – 15:05
4. "Me and My Uncle" (John Phillips) – 3:11
5. "Big River" (Johnny Cash) – 7:05
6. "Friend of the Devil" (Garcia, John Dawson, Hunter) – 10:48
7. "It's All Over Now" (Bobby Womack, Shirley Womack) – 8:23
8. "Stagger Lee" (Garcia, Hunter) – 8:03
9. "From the Heart of Me" > (Donna Godchaux) – 3:49
10. "Sunshine Daydream" (Weir, Hunter) – 3:15

Disc two

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Second set:

1. "Samson and Delilah" (traditional, arranged by Weir) – 9:17
2. "Ramble On Rose" (Garcia, Hunter) – 9:35
3. "I Need a Miracle" > (Weir, John Barlow) – 11:19
4. "Terrapin Station" > (Garcia, Hunter) – 12:23
5. "Playing in the Band" > (Weir, Hart, Hunter) – 13:06

Disc three

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Second set, continued:

1. "Rhythm Devils" > (Hart, Bill Kreutzmann) – 19:23
2. "Not Fade Away" > (Norman Petty, Buddy Holly) – 19:34
3. "Around and Around" (Chuck Berry) – 9:19

Disc four

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Third set:

1. "Dark Star" > (Garcia, Hart, Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, Weir, Hunter) – 11:53
2. "The Other One" > (Weir, Kreutzmann) – 4:55
3. "Dark Star" > (Garcia, Hart, Kreutzmann, Lesh, McKernan, Weir, Hunter) – 1:09
4. "Wharf Rat" > (Garcia, Hunter) – 11:08
5. "St. Stephen" > (Garcia, Lesh, Hunter) – 7:52
6. "Good Lovin''" (Rudy Clark, Arthur Resnick) – 13:57

First encore:

7. "Casey Jones" > (Garcia, Hunter) – 5:17
8. "Johnny B. Goode" (Berry) – 7:14

Second encore:

9. "And We Bid You Goodnight" (traditional, arranged by Grateful Dead) – 4:13

These seem to have been missed:

The Dream Syndicate: Live at Raji's - An absolutely stunning album featuring a fantastic band at the peak of its power.  Truly a magical, enthralling thing to behold.

Bob Dylan: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966, The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert - The electric half is legendary for very good reasons.

Peter Green has several live albums that are amazing.  Live at Ronny Scotts I believe also some albums under Peter Green's Splinter Group. A totally underappreciated artist. He put out some incredible music after he left Fleetwood Mac.