Studio vs Live vs Compilation

[Doom_Dude]

Here is another poll! Do you guys prefer studio albums or live? Or maybe just prefer to get all the hits on some compilation disc?

I prefer studio albums myself but live albums are great of course and unplugged stuff is always interesting. Sometimes you get a live album and it's awesome and other times it's just... not all that exciting. I usually avoid any compilations... you know greatest hits and whatnot.

[sLydE]

I prefer studio albums for most bands. The main exception is Led Zeppelin. While I do love their studio albums, their live stuff is mind blowing, and I just love to hear them mess around with their instruments and create new sounds.

27 min. version of Dazed and Confused, ftw.

[FATAL]

I like live if it's an actual video and the band in question resembles the thing I had in mind judging by the studio material.

But generally I'm all for studio stuff. I don't like compilations because the guy in a suit picking the songs probably doesn't appreciate the same things as I do in music.

[Monkey]

If a band is worth listening to, they're worth hearing in every form. I prefer studio albums, meticulous construction of music, using unnatural and sometimes insane means is a art form to itself, but any band worth its weight needs to be able to deliver an equally rewarding show. There's always a trade off. Live music can deliver a different energy from a multi-track recording, but as far as how 'good' it sounds, usually live recordings are technically inferior and less articulate, ultimately they contain less musical detail and colorings that you can only achive by 'cheating'.
Some bands don't really have a lot to gain / lose from either medium, usually older bands before complicated recording techniques were developed.

The two major albums that are commonly acknowledged as turning 'recording a song' into an art form unto itself is Sgt. Pepper's and Beach Boy's Pet Sounds.

[blood imp]

Really depends on the band. While for most studio albums are my favorites, for some the other types work best.
I mostly get compilations for artists who aren't entirely my style, but have a collection of songs that are worth owning. In my case, this would be someone like Bob Marley (and the Wailers) or Cypress Hill.
With live albums I usually get unplugged albums, and tend to avoid bands that sound nearly exactly the same in studio as live (Rage Against The Machine, who I had the fortune to see live, sounds almost exactly like in studio, albeit louder with the crowd singing along). Then some bands (Nine Inch Nails comes to mind (whom I also saw)), sound very different live than in studio, and these (assuming that the live is actually good, and not just different), are also worth getting.
Studio albums for other bands that have a good solid album.

So, I mostly buy studio albums, then compilations (although not from artists whom I already have in my library), then live/unplugged.