Benaroya 2003? Gorge 2006? Orpheum 1994?

Im curious what people think are the elite, most amazing Pearl Jam shows ever recorded.

Going for some long drives this weekend and want to find the best ones to listen to

man, there are so many...ill name a few, ill try to just put two shows per year. Im not a fan of 2008 and 2010, and i dont remember much of 2003...also i wont add years like 99 , 2001, 2015 because they played only a handful of shows.

From 92 to 2018:

Pinkpop 92
Drop In The Park 92
Indio 93
Orpheum 1994
Atlanta 1994
Soldier Field 95
Showbox 1995
Berlin 1996
Seattle 98
Constitution Hall 98
Seattle 2000
Katowice 2000
Tokyo 2003
Benaroya 2003
Buenos Aires 2005
London 2005
Gorge 2006
St Paul 2006
ACL 2009
LA 2009
Alpine Valle 2011
Buenos Aires 2011
Msg 2016
Wrigley 2016
Padua 2018
Seattle 2018

Seattle 8/8/18 was pretty different from Seattle 8/10/18

I don't think anything after 1998 is even in the conversation.

They put forth some amazing performances up through 2005 or so. But I do think that from then onward, “greatest” trends heavily towards setlist selection rather than performance/vibe.

accurate.

I refuse to believe 2006 is not considered. In some ways this might be Eddie's vocal peak. His early 90s stuff is amazing, but in 2006 he had this crystal clear voice with all of the power and the band was TIGHT.

2003 is also very good.

I don't see how these shows can be discounted.

9/16/98

MTV Unplugged

Were you at both?

Yeah. Friday was decidedly better.

Here's a few of my go to boots. Everything after 2006 has been hit or miss, so I really only listen to the shows I've been to after '06. I was not at any of the shows listed below, they're just a few of my favorites.

Zurich '92
Great Woods 2 '98
Milan '00
Mansfield 1 '00
Chicago '00
Boise '00
Tokyo '03
Buffalo '03
Philly '05
Pistoia '06
Hawaii '06

Most of the stuff I listed there is based on the vibe. Hell, Werchter 22 has a really by the numbers setlist but it’s an impecable PJ show, tight, with high energy and urgency.

These are some of the best shows (but strictly performancewise!), just official releases:

1998 Washington, Los Angeles I
2000 Salzburg, Zürich, Berlin, Oslo, Saratoga, Camden I, Columbia, Chicago, Portland, Seattle II
2003 Uniondale, MSG I
2005 Sao Paolo I
2006 Reading, Milan, Torino, Verona, Pistoia, Barcelona, LA I +II, San Francisco III, Portland, Brisbane II, Adelaide I+II, Sydney III
2009 LA III+IV
2010 MSG II
2011 Lima

Once again: these are not always the best shows in terms of setlist quality.

nah

ya know...now that i've had time to think, 2005 was a good run.

Wow what a pushover

sorry, i didn't know we weren't allowed to change our minds here.

I'll do better. i promise.

Wow what a pushover

I'll admit I'm not as familiar with the later setlists as I am 92-98. Maybe there are some bangers out there I've not heard? But even the widely celebrated ones, like the Gorge show, tend to underwhelm.