re: Suggest to me your top 5 live albums of all time

I'm going to add performances from Budokan.
Cheap Trick and Bob Dylan had great recordings there.

Amazing thing about live albums, is that they are still digging up old shows and releasing them, in pretty good quality. Some that come to mind are from Ten Years After, Soft Machine, The Nice, and even The Move- Live at the Fillmore, where they do the entire 'Shazam' album. I collect bootlegs, and also used to try & tape most of the shows on cassette I attended, so if I did this, I know others did too.

Wailers - Babylon by Bus
Nirvana - Unplugged in NY (not the biggest Nirvana fan, but I can't deny this one)
Bob Dylan - Bootleg Series Vol. 6
Tom Waits - Glitter and Doom
Live Phish Vol. 12

ABB -at the Fillmore
The Band- Rock of Ages
Little Feat- Waiting for Columbus
The Band- The Last Waltz
Assembly of Dust- Honest Hour

Pink Floyd-Pulse
Pink Floyd- Is there anybody out there
Bleu Edmondson-Live at Billy Bobs
Metallica-NOLA 04? Downloaded from Metallicalive.com it was the first Metallica concert for me.
American Aquarium-Live in Raleigh

Frampton Comes Alive - Peter Frampton

Songs in the Attic - Billy Joel

Hell Freezes Over - Eagles

Live Bullet - Bob Seger

The Last Waltz - The Band

Live at Fillmore East - Allman Brothers

Live at Leeds - The Who

Mirrorball - Def Leppard (although a better representation of their classic sound is the live DVD In the round, in your face - I cannot see where it was released as an album, though it may be on a bootleg.)

ETA: I know it is way more than 5, but also,

Fleetwood Mac - The Dance

Devin Townsend Project - By a Thread
Alice in Chains - Unplugged
Rush - Exit...Stage Left
Opeth - Live at the Royal Albert Hall
Pink Floyd - Pulse

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I understand the intimacy and emotion that live performances can evoke.

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I've always liked the live stuff - if done well - take Songs in the Attic by Billy Joel, for instance - he very deliberately selected songs that have a different vibe live (as opposed to just his hits, which, like Piano Man, would have been essentially the same live as in the studio). The verion of "Captain Jack" on Songs in the Attic is one of his best, while the studio version is relatively ho hum. This is the opposite of the "intimacy", that you referenced, but the effect is the same - the interaction of artist and audience is largely implied in a studio recording and at its best, live, is palpable.

Also, take the Alice in Chains "Unplugged" album. "Nutshell" is pretty much my favorite AIC song, and I like the live version better than the studio version (and I can play it, a little, on acoustic guitar - I have an old beat up Guild D-35 that comes really close if I tune it down 1/2 step to match the record).

Other examples are live, acoustic versions of "Plush" by STP and "Diamonds and Rust" by Judas Priest, just another emotional layer is reached in those performances because of the removal of the electric guitars and a refocus on the vocals.

Cheap Trick Live at Budakon
Kiss Alive
Kiss Alive 2
Nofx I heard they suck Live
Ted Nugent- Gonzo Live

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For those who haven't listened to the Page and the Crows, do yourself a favor, it's pretty great.

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I was at those 2 shows. So amazing.