A Beginner’s Listening Guide To Grateful Dead Music

At the heart of the music of the Grateful Dead are well-crafted songs. No two albums exhibit the songcraft of the Dead better than Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty. These two albums, in many ways, for the bedrock of the Dead’s body of work and set a high standard in the process. Many people will argue that the Dead’s studio albums aren’t very good (I am NOT one of those people. I think their studio work is vastly underrated), but nearly everyone agrees that these two albums are gems. Both albums are readily available in a variety of formats. They can be purchased as stand alone discs or as a part of the Golden Road box set. The links here are for the expanded, remastered versions of the albums.

More than anything else the Grateful Dead were a live act. Famed for their extended sonic improvisations, however, I don’t think most people can just jump into that stuff. A more subtle introduction to the Dead in their natural habitat can be had.

If you’ve gotten this far then you’re probably ready for a bit more experimentation in the live setting. The following releases do a great job of cherry picking choice performances by the Dead. [Scroll horizontally to see all selections.]

Up to this point I’ve dealt mostly with live compilations because they tend to trim the fat from shows, runs, or tours. In some cases compilations are the best of the best. However, the Grateful Dead experience is one of risk and reward. Part of that risk is that trainwrecks, clams, and breakdowns appear in the midst of a perfectly good show. Many Deadheads prefer complete shows over compilations. The Dick’s Picks and Road Trips series contained both, while the Download series contained full shows, more or less, and the Dave’s Picks series is committed to full show releases. If you’ve gotten to this point there’s a good chance you’re on your way to becoming a rabid collector. As a result this section is much longer than the others since pretty much anything is on the table. These are the shows/releases that I personally find essential for each year (that haven’t already been mentioned in Parts 1-3 above).[Be sure to scroll horizontally on 1971, 1972, 1973, 1977, and the Compilations & Box Sets section to see all the respective recommendations.]

Note: Some of the selections below are limited edition releases. As such they may not be available in all formats, and what copies are available may have prices higher than their original retail price.