The Best Live Albums Of All Time, Ranked

Lou Reed, ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Animal’

Most of the albums on this list contain nearly 20 songs, give or take. However, Lou Reed’s live album Rock ‘n’ Roll Animal has just five. These songs were recordings from a December 1973 concert in New York City and were released the following year.

Besides the five songs, the album also contains an instrumental prologue and a new rendition of the classic song “Heroin,” which was an obvious fan favorite. This album was a sleeper hit, reaching No. 45 on the Billboard 200 album chart before earning RIAA gold certification in 1978. Fans ate this live album up!