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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