Dark Star

If there is one singular recording that defines the Grateful Dead's musicality and experience, this is it. Opening up the seminal Live Dead album, this track -- clocking in at over 20 minutes -- creates a sense of psychedelic atmosphere that was the band's trademark. Free-form jazz, folk, country, rock, and blues all melt together in one cohesive whole here. Obviously, the core of the melody is defined by Jerry Garcia's electric guitar and Phil Lesh's bass, however, it is the band's ensemble looseness that creates the feeling, and it is both subtle and striking. There are lyrics as well, and Robert Hunter's free-form acid-prose reflects the music perfectly like another instrument. Difficult to describe but certainly easy to listen to, it captures the band's appeal in, believe it or not, one composition. If readers are curious to the band's overall legacy and phenomenon, this song is an absolute must.