Name: Top 10 Greatest Live Albums of All Time
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You may find yourself living in a shotgun shack.

Welcome to Watchmojo and today we're counting down our picks for the greatest live LPs ever recorded, the ones that captured legendary live acts at their very best.

Ten how the West Was Won Led Zeppelin Many people will point to Led Zeppelin's iconic the song remains the same as their quintessential live recording.

Perhaps it's the more famous live album of the two.

For our money, though, the band has never sounded better than they did on how the West Was Won.

The performance, the energy and of course the set list are nailed by Robert Plant and company on this one.

If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, you'll be alone now.

For all the criticism the band sometimes received for occasional sloppiness on stage, this is just about as clean and focused as they've ever played.

From the opening drone before Immigrant Song onwards, this is rock music at its very finest.

Number 9 Aretha Live at Fillmore West Aretha Franklin there's no denying that Aretha Franklin deserves a spot on the Mount Rushmore of 20th century vocalists.

Even by her standards, though, Live at Fillmore west is a truly remarkable recording.

The energy is on point from the very first moment Aretha takes to the mic.

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

Covers of the Beatles, Eleanor Rigby and Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water fit snugly amongst other classic tunes.

The band is on fire, the crowd's clearly loving it, and

most of all, Franklin herself barely puts a foot wrong.

An essentially a recording if ever there was one.

Eight Live and Dangerous Thin Lizzy who cares if there are a few studio overdubs or not, Thin Lizzy managed to condense the energy of their live performances into one perfect package when they released Live and dangerous in 1978.

Sure, there was some controversy about the album's live status when it emerged at Point.

Some some parts were redone in the studio.

If you ask us, though, the end product does not suffer.

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

Phil Lynette and the Boys were in rare form, playing a set that contained every cut you'd hope to hear.

Number seven at Folsom Prison Johnny Cash Nobody thought it was a good idea for Johnny Cash to try to revive his career with a concert for prison inmates.

Cash had actually been pushing to do it for well over a decade.

However, the opportunity to play in Folsom Prison only came in 1968, when the country legend was on a bit of a downswing.

Commercially, I'm stuck in Folsom Prison and time keeps dragging on.

Thankfully, this riveting release chronicled the man in Black better than any studio album ever could.

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

Cash, say hello to dad and shake his poor hard working hand.

Not only was it a critical smash, it also gave his career a much needed second wind and eventually led to a second live Prison LP at San Quentin.

And I'm Chains, some chains they're about to drag me down Number six Frampton Comes Alive Peter Frampton Is there a better live album title than Peter Frampton's Frampton Comes Alive?

Well, apart from having a name that does exactly what it says on the tin, it just so happens to be a phenomenal live recording.

Many of these songs do in fact, come alive on this recording.

The album is a mash up of four different 1975 shows, but

listening to it, it all seems incredibly cohesive.

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

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

Number 5 MTV Unplugged in New York Nirvana it's well documented that Kurt Cobain's influence stretched way beyond the limits of punk and proto grunge.

Hearing his work find a new life in acoustic form made it clear that he was a truly gifted songwriter.

Many legendary groups have taken their material to the MTV Unplug stage, but

Nirvana's concert is probably the most iconic of them all.

The band's originals are taken to new heights with these fresh renditions, and

Cobain's choice of covers is truly remarkable.

Lead Belly, Bowie and Meat Puppets are represented beautifully in the set.

See a lot up there but don't be scared who needs acts when you got words?

the band didn't play Smells Like Teen Spirit, which they had by all accounts gotten sick of.

Number four at Fillmore east the Allman Brothers Band the sheer power of the Allman Brothers Band was on full display every time they took to the studio.

However, the most explosive documentation of the band came when they put out Fillmore east in 1971, Now regarded as one of the greatest live double albums ever.

There's an added poignancy due to the death of Dwayne Allman a few months after it came out, The band jams their way through their own material and a selection of blues classics before finishing with a stunning version of Whipping Post.

Although this would be the band's classic era swan song, it's an incredible statement about their prowess.

Number three Stop Making Sense Talking Heads it sure would be worth it to go see this album in the cinema if you ever get the chance.

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

You start a conversation, you can't even finish it.

However, the music still holds up incredibly well once you strip away all the visuals.

David Byrne and his ever expanding band lineup created some of the most rhythmically dense music of the 1980s.

365 degrees burning down the House Songs that were originally built around the band's four member core lineup become something entirely different on this record.

I can never know another yeah, I find you or you find me Byrne takes to the stage solo and before long he is joined by eight other musicians, each of whom contribute something truly essential.

Same as it Ever was Same as it ever was Same as it ever was Number two Live at Leeds the who if you've never heard the who performing live in their absolute prime, there is truly no better place to begin than Live at Leeds.

When a young man ain't got nothing in the world these days.

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

I'm a substitute for another guy I love the Pretty Tall Up High Heels Live at Lee in its original form was a six song, 37 minute snapshot of everything the who did.

Well, they bring blues covers, long extended jams, and only three of their hits.

There ain't no cure for the summertime blues.

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

Rather, the who's debut live album release was exactly what the band wanted it to be.

And we gotta say, we're pretty glad for it.

The Generation My generation My generation Be before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Live at Wembley 86 Queen an exhilarating look at the greatest show on Earth Pressure Pushing down on me Pushing down on me no matter what Made in Japan Deep purple the legendary 70s rockers captured in their prime.

Get your yaya's out The Rolling Stones the Stones truly never sounded better.

Live Dead Grateful Dead the magic and chaos of the Dead recorded perfectly.

Dark Star Crashes Sinatra at the Sands Frank Sinatra, the golden voice of Old Blue Eyes at its peak.

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Number one Live at the Apollo James Brown and the Famous Flames if you've managed to earn yourself nicknames like the King of Soul and the hardest working man in show business, you better deliver the goods on stage.

Ever leave me I'm a praise thankfully for a force of nature like James Brown, he was one of the greatest live performers to ever touch a mic.

While we could point to many eras in his career that could be considered his prime, 1963's Live at the Apollo is a landmark release.

Brown set a totally new standard for performance.

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

Brown was one of the very few who deserve the title of genius, and

this 1963 release is probably his finest hour.

Which riveting live album did manage to make our list?

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Top 10 Greatest Live Albums of All Time

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