The master list Top 15 shows Next best 15 Best of the rest All the rest The venues Dorseyland

I used to go to a lot of concerts back in the '70s and '80s
and was lucky enough to catch many great ones,
some of which I actually remember.
(See the Parental Advisory link below, and thank God I wrote everything down.)

Click on the artist's photo to open their official website or Wikipedia profile in a separate window.
For sheer convenience, my favourite concert by any one artist
has to stand for the rest of that artist's shows I've seen.
Otherwise, for example, at least four Springsteen shows would be in the top 10.
All the venues are/were in Toronto, Canada, unless stated otherwise.

HISTORY'S 15 GREATEST CONCERTS

ARTIST / EVENT DATE VENUE PRICE HOW ABOUT IT?
Nov 8 1974 Massey Hall $4 Gabriel and the lads at the very top of their form. See the review for more on this and other Genesis shows I've seen.
#1 Genesis
Dec 21 1975 Seneca College $7.50 Everything I'd read had prepared me for a high-above-average show, and it still hit me like a ton of bricks. See the review for more on this and other E Street Band shows I've seen.
#2 Bruce Springsteen
Oct 18 1974 Massey Hall $6.50 The "Rock'n'Roll Animal" tour, with history's best back-up band. See the review for more on this and other Lou Reed shows I attended.
#3 Lou Reed
July 15 1972 Maple Leaf Gardens $5 See the review for more on this and other Stones shows.
#4 Rolling Stones
Aug 5 1981 Montego Bay, Jamaica $35 Stevie Wonder, the Mighty Diamonds, Third World, Rita Marley, Steel Pulse, Black Uhuru and many more. See the review.
#5 "Reggae Sunsplash"

PARENTAL ADVISORY

If you're a young person, don't let your parents catch you reading the reviews, because there are occasional references to the illicit use of cannabis, LSD, PCP, quaaludes, meth, cocaine and/or vast quantities of alcohol. The other warning is this:
If you consume these things, you will forget
a great deal of the fun you had, and that's no fun.

Oct 1 1978 Maple Leaf Gardens $9 The "Rust Never Sleeps" tour. See the review for more on this and other Neil Young shows I saw.
#6 Neil Young
June 16 1974 O'Keefe Centre $8.80 The "Diamond Dogs" tour. See the review for more on this and other Bowie shows I went to.
#7 David Bowie
Oct 18 1975 Massey Hall $7.50 I reckon this is the shock entry in my Top 10. See the review for more on this and other Tubes shows in my memory bank.
#8 The Tubes
Mar 11 1973 Maple Leaf Gardens $5.50 Umma Gumma! See the review for more on this and other Floyd shows I've seen.
#9 Pink Floyd
May 5 1976 Convocation Hall $7.50 The magic of the Wailers and the Duppy Conqueror. See the review.
#10 Bob Marley
Aug 23 1980 Mosport Raceway, Bowmanville, Ontario $20 Elvis Costello, Talking Heads, the B-52s, the Pretenders and more. See the review.
#11 "Heatwave"
Dec 1 1975 Maple Leaf Gardens $8.80 Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Roger McGuinn, Mick Ronson, Gordon Lightfoot and more. See the review.
#12 "Rolling Thunder Revue"
July 28 1973 Watkins Glen, New York $10 The Grateful Dead, the Band, possibly the Allmans, who knows? There were 600,000 people there! See the review.
#13 "Summer Jam"
Dec 11 1975 Maple Leaf Gardens $10 Toots & the Maytals handling the warm-up. See the review for more on this and other Who shows I've attended.
#14 The Who
Sept 2 1974 Varsity Stadium $9 The "reunion" tour. See the review.
#15 CSN&Y

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