4 of the Best Live Rock Albums From the 1990s

Who doesn’t love a good live album? Quite a few top-notch concert records were recorded and/or released back in the 1990s. We’re particularly fond of the following four live albums. Let’s jump in!

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1. ‘Arc-Weld’ by Neil Young and Crazy Horse

Neil Young and Crazy Horse decided to release one of the best live double albums back in 1991. Arc and Weld come from a particularly good time for Neil Young. You can hear him at his finest during this collection of live performances. Arc features an assortment of noise and improvisations recorded during a number of live shows. Meanwhile, Weld contains a number of fleshed-out live performances.

“I really made ‘Arc’ for people who ride around in the Jeeps with the big speakers,” said Young of the album. “If you pull up beside somebody on the street and you’re playing that, that makes a f***ing statement.”

2.  ‘The Bootleg Series, Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966 / The Royal Albert Hall Concert’ by Bob Dylan

This gorgeous album was recorded live in 1966 and released in 1998. Before it was neatly packaged and formally released in 1998, this collection of recordings formed one of the most famous live bootlegs of all time. 

Fun fact: Despite being labeled as a concert recording that took place at the Royal Albert Hall in London, these Bob Dylan bootlegs were actually recorded in Manchester.

3. ‘MTV Unplugged In New York’ by Nirvana

What would a list of live albums from the 1990s be without including what is widely considered to be the greatest live rock album of that very decade? Nirvana’s performance in New York for their MTV Unplugged set was on another level. 

For a grunge band so well-known for their gnarly, distorted guitar work and overall sound, it was a very pleasant surprise to hear what they could do with a mostly acoustic setup.

4. ‘New Year’s Eve 1995 Live At Madison Square Garden’ by Phish

Few live albums from the 1990s are as extravagent as this one. Recorded in 1995 but released a decade later, Phish’s New Year’s Eve bash at Madison Square Garden was heavy on the theatrics. If you’re new to Phish (we won’t judge you for being late to the game), we’d recommend listening to this record in full for the real Phish experience.

Photo by Frank Micelotta/Getty Images

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