Is there anything better than live recordings?

IMHO, the emotion and spontaneity projected from a great live album is unachievable in a studio album. Studio albums can project perfection of the performance and virtuosity. There are so many great live recordings that have been covered earlier, there are many more beyond rock in jazz and blues as well.

My two favorite live albums are The Name of this Band is Talking heads (1982) and Bob Marley and the Wailers, Live at the Roxy (2003). Both, with no or little compression and energy through the roof. They are played very loud (90+ db at your listening position - haha).

Maybe we should compile a list of our top 5 favorite albums?

Two completely different experiences, no live album has anywhere near the sound quality of a properly recorded album. No album is anything like a live performance. Go to a movie and then go to the same performance as a play, chalk and cheese.

I've mixed hundreds of live shows and recorder many. Just ran the mix to a recorder and forgot about it. Many wound up on live albums so go figure. And they sounded damn good. 

As others have said above.

IT DEPENDS

There are many many factors that determine which recordings are best.

Not least personal taste.

Silly question.

I haven't heard any good recordings made by dead people:))

On a more serious note - what constitutes a "live" recording?.  Many classical and jazz recordings made in studios are "live" in the sense that they are played in real time albeit in the absence of an audience - though, admittedly, there may multiple takes and some post production editing. That said, lots of "live" recordings are edited too.

As for rock and pop recordings, most are recorded using a feed from the mixing desk, so they are not what the audience heard via the stage / PA, with perhaps an element of feed from the PA / hall mixed in for atmosphere.