Live At Reading
by Nirvana

Live At Reading by Nirvana
(Live album)
Year: 2009
Release date: 2009-11-03
Overall rank: 4,484th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
81/100 (from 239 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 2009 (76th)
Award Top albums of the 2000s (767th)
Award Best albums of all time (4,484th)

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Nirvana bestography

Live At Reading is ranked 6th best out of 17 albums by Nirvana on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Nirvana is Nevermind which is ranked number 14 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 27,452.

Nirvana album bestography « Higher ranked (1,658th)
Incesticide
This album (4,484th)
Live At Reading
Lower ranked (6,634th) »
From The Muddy Banks Of The Wishkah

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

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Live At Reading track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 81 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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#
Track
Rating/Comments
8.
Track pick (850 - 31 votes)
Average Rating: 85 (31 votes)Comments: View 1
9.
Track pick (850 - 29 votes)
Average Rating: 85 (29 votes)Comments: View 0

Track pick (1000 - 100 votes) Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Live At Reading rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 4,484th | 2000s rank: 767th | 2009 rank: 76th
Filter Filter
Sort Sort by
YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026 swedTop 64 Music Albums of the 2000s50/64 -
2026 DeusExMackiaTop 100 Greatest Music Albums27/10074
2026 AAL2014Top 38 Music Albums of 200927/382
2026OlliTop 22 Music Albums of 200914/222
2026cicadelicTop 87 Music Albums of 200918/874
2026 PurplepashTop 48 Music Albums of 20093/485
2026 PurplepashTop 100 Music Albums of the 2000s21/100 -
2025mostlymorTop 100 Music Albums of the 2000s66/100 -
2025cicadelicDelusions Of Adequacy Best Albums Of 200945/49 -
2025juanr1096Top 100 Music Albums of 20096/1005
2025JohnnyoTop 76 Music Albums of 20095/765
2025JohnnyoTop live albums of all time26/64 -
2025 Patman360Top 100 Music Albums of 200932/1003
2025mostlymorWe've Got A Live One Here - BEA's Favourite Live Albums87/100 -
2025 Graeme2Live5/100 -
2025cicadelicRobert Christgau: Dean's List 200916/83 -
2025JohnnyoTop 100 Music Albums of the 2000s31/100 -
2024 CharlieBarleyTop 57 Music Albums of 200931/572
2024JohnnyoTop albums of all time (201 - 300)8/100 -
2024 EyeKanFlyAM Bubbling Under 2000s 0478/100 -
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 69
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 209
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

Live At Reading collection

Live At Reading ratings

Average Rating: 
81/100 (from 239 votes)
  Ratings distribution Help Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

Showing latest 5 ratings for this album.  | Show all 239 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
85/100
 
04/21/2026 06:18 DrTchock97  Ratings distribution  72676/100
 
80/100
 
10/27/2025 03:21 BurndenAce  Ratings distribution  1,19476/100
 
85/100
 
08/23/2025 04:42 PapaShiz86  Ratings distribution  11,29579/100
 
100/100
 
08/22/2025 12:01 SomethingSpecial  Ratings distribution  1,75182/100
 
85/100
 
09/26/2024 09:04 LedZep  Ratings distribution  5,00979/100

Rating metrics: Help Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)

This album is rated in the top 1% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 80.7/100, a mean average of 79.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 81.1/100. The standard deviation for this album is 18.2.

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Live At Reading comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 17 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

Rating:  
85/100
From 01/17/2020 19:49 | #246928
Tremendo registro en vivo de Nirvana!! A lo largo de los 77 minutos no podrás de dejar de mover los pies, incluso te contagiaran las ganas de saltar. Un track tras otro son un impulso de adrenalina y velocidad!! Existe una versión que trae el DVD y el CD, magnífico registro tanto visual como de manera auditiva !!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 01/27/2018 14:23 | #206638
77 minutes of speaker-breaking pure adrenaline that makes you wonder why they even bothered with studio recordings in the first place.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 01/20/2018 10:21 | #206034
Fantastic live album. I had this taped live off bbc radio 1 at the time that I used to play a bit. A must have for fans. BUT. Why put fake crowd noise on after each track? Why do people do this to live records? It adds no atmosphere. Is it to make sure we know there are lots there? It is just plain annoying. Also is it not a bit of an insult to old kurt? Can't imagine he would be impressed with a move like that. It kind of goes against everything he was about. Whoever is responsible, you are a wanker. I hope the band weren't involved.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 05/18/2015 12:28 | #141736
An interesting live record from Nirvana's iconic night at the Reading festival
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 03/25/2015 12:11 | #137805
Not a huge fan of live albums bet hey as I was there thought I'd better pick this one up. I guess this has gone down as one of those legendary performances which is nice. In reality I was wet through from our tent being flooded the night before, cold, hungry and ready to go home.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 05/07/2014 00:33 | #111036
I've noticed a lot more Nirvana shirts on the streets lately.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 03/10/2013 07:54 | #67677
@ Magenta: That's Awesome!
@ an_outlaw: makes no sense... worst things ever to put on shuffle are live albums, imo.

I haven't heard this recording, but saw the dvd, and loved it.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 06/03/2012 01:23 | #43636
As long as it says Nirvana on the cover, I'm sure I'll be satisfied with the contents.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 01/11/2012 18:25 | #35005
Best show ever
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
From 10/15/2011 04:06 | #28463
I was there - and it was one of the best concerts I have ever been to. This album is great and really does the vibe and atmosphere justice!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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