An Artist's Pinnacle

Three examples spring to mind, immediately

The Band's second album. For me, this is their best collection of songs and studio performances. Music From Big Pink sounds less artistically mature and Stage Fright is disappointingly inconsistent (attributed by R. Robertson to the impact of drug use), both in terms of performances and material. Although others will disagree, I'd assert this is the best Americana album ever made, despite the fact that most of the members were Canadian. 

Hendrix: "First Rays of the New Rising Sun"...for my taste, songs such as Night Bird, Angel, Drifting, Freedom, Straight Ahead, etc. constitute his artistic peak. With the incense and Patchouli cleared away, what is left is a more focused, grounded, mature artist. His ability to structure compositions with multiple guitar parts is stunning and the music comes across as much more direct and personal. 

G. Dead: Europe '72. The musicianship speaks for itself. I could never be a deadhead-- the band's maddening inconsistency drives me nuts-- but fair's fair, even allowing for the fact that they went back and overdubbed the vocals.  And this "Americana" phase in their songwriting is my favorite. They were mining a very similar vein as The Band and that's a very good thing, indeed. 

@stuartk - where did you see that the Grateful Dead overdubbed vocals on Europe '72? Not saying they didn't, but I've got the box set of the entire Europe '72 tour - I know there weren't any overdubs on THAT! 😃 I loved that 2nd album from The Band, too - Jerry Garcia Band used to cover 'The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down', and very, very well, too... 

Three more...

Wishbone Ash: Argus. I've sampled a few other W. A. titles, but to my ears, nothing else comes close. The fusion of lyricism and power make this an underrated Rock (no-- it's not Prog) masterpiece, IMHO. 

Fleetwood Mac: Then Play On. It's a shame that P. Green was losing his grip on reality just as Danny Kirwan was coming into his own but nevertheless, I'd assert this recording comprises the band's artistic peak, along with the Live in Boston recordings. While I very much enjoy Kirwan's work on Kiln House, Future Games and Bare Trees, I much prefer P. Green's playing and compositions to those of  J. Spencer and B. Welch. 

Janis Joplin: Pearl. I realize there are an awful lot of folks who, preferring the recordings with Big Brother, characterize Pearl as a "sell out" and "too slick". The fact is, Pearl shows off the best singing of Joplin's career. She's arguably less caught up in and hampered by, the "little girl lost" persona and she's singing from a place of greater personal strength, confidence and stability. Her mastery of dynamics, phrasing and vocal technique as means of conveying emotion were never more evident than on these recordings. 

Kate Bush - 'The Dreaming'

Soundgarden - 'Superunknown'

The Clash - 'London Calling'

Elvis Costello - 'This Year's Model' 

Gang of Four - 'Entertainment'

The Jam - 'Setting Sons'

Love -  'Forever Changes'

PJ Harvey - 'Let England Shake'

Siouxsie and the Banshees - 'The Scream'

Squeeze - 'Argybargy'

Plenty more where those came from!