Listening Trails

"Some listening trails you could walk in a day, while you might find it best to walk others over the period of weeks, camping out at particular shows for extended introspection. However you travel, my hope is that these trails will serve folks well, and always make the daunting task of confronting the Grateful Dead’s musical collection less, well… daunting."

from the introductory Listening Trail post

Best Grateful Dead Shows:

It is understandably natural to want to find your way to the best Dead shows ever when first exploring Grateful Dead music. The band was famous for playing a lot of concerts, and always known for being better live than they ever were on studio albums. However, we are heading into treacherous waters when we try to claim which Dead shows were the best of all time. (Read more...)

Best AUDs Ever:

n the world of Grateful Dead tape collecting, we could debate which audience tapes have the best sound quality until we grow too old to press the play button. The list of “Best Grateful Dead AUD tapes” goes on and on. However, there are a few recordings (some of which have been featured on the Guide already) which stand the test of time as tapes that can stop you in your tracks and make you say, “Wait a minute. That’s an audience tape?” (Read more...)

Unsung Heroes:

This is probably my favorite topic of them all, and I could (and probably will) fill many listening trails with shows that fall under this category. Everyone likes to be turned on to a great show that they’d never otherwise give a second glace. With a music collection as big as the Dead’s, there are bound to be hidden gems hiding under rocks and around corners all over the place. (Read more...)

1980's Grateful Dead:

Any fan who begins travelling down the road of Grateful Dead concert tapes will often find the 60’s and 70’s to be the most open entry points. It makes sense since this band was famous for being a pioneer of the “psychedelic 60’s sound,” and then a stadium-rock titan that played 3 plus hour shows of cosmic exploration in the 70’s. For those folks exposed only to this elevator pitch story of the band’s history, the 80’s mark some sort of black hole. (Read more...)

Call Of The Wall:
You aren’t going to get very far into Grateful Dead tape collecting without hearing about the Wall Of Sound. Considering 1974, the year of the Wall’s existence, the Dead’s sound system marked a triumph in audio engineering. (Read more...)

The Dark Star Garden:
There is no denying it. Nothing quite describes the Grateful Dead’s deepest level of musical magic better than Dark Star. It’s at once some of the most “cosmic” music the band made, and at the same time the most personal. (Read more...)