Lots of great nominees, some of which will be duplicated here. I don't know that these are "the" best live R & R albums, but they'll do for starters.
- The Band: Live At The Academy Of Music 1971. A great boxset.
- Dylan & The Band: Before The Flood. Dylan is on fire (his first tour in eight years), absolutely spitting out the lyrics. NO band other than The Band could keep up with him. Petty & The Heartbreakers? Weak. The Grateful Dead? Lame. One show I really regret missing was Dylan & The Hawks at The San Jose Civic Auditorium in late '65. I have two friends who were there, the rat b*st*ards. The little I had then heard from him left me bewildered.
- Dave Edmunds: I Hear You Rockin'. For my money, just about the best practitioner of pure American Rock 'n' Roll there has ever been.
- Rockpile: any of their bootlegged recordings. For my money (what I have left from above ;-), just about the best pure American Rock 'n' Roll band there has ever been. Not "American" Rock 'n' Roll band, "American Rock 'n' Roll" band.
- Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks: Where's The Money?".