The Most Popular Live Albums of 2020

Like many of the things that we love, live music has taken a serious hit in 2020. Musicians have been forced to pivot from live performances, a serious source of income for many acts, to living room concerts, virtual experiences, and other alternatives. When big-name bands canceled tours at the beginning of the year, we turned to some of our favorite live recordings to fill the hole left in our hearts. As 2020 (finally!) comes to a close, we’re looking back at the best live albums released this year.

As it is with our monthly roundup of the most popular albums, this best live albums list is determined by how many Discogs users added it to their Collection during the month. To be included, the album must have been released in 2020 in a physical format, so it won’t take into consideration digital streams. The ranking below is by Master Release; if you’re new to Discogs, this refers to the actual album and not a specific format, meaning our metric will include all versions — vinyl, CD, and cassette — of the release.

Listening to these new drops won’t replace the experience of a concert, but until the time when we can safely cheers you in a crowd, we’ll have these gems spinning on repeat.