This has the makings of a great survey question – name someone who is great in concert, not so much in the studio. Or vice versa.
This is the classic Grateful Dead dichotomy. I actually like most of their studio albums, but many deadheads just think they suck compared to live versions.
Geoff, I'm glad you said that. The Dead were the first band that came to my mind as well. Some of their records I like a lot and I think are well performed and recorded (
Workingman's, American Beauty, Terrapin, Blues for Allah) but others are pretty bad (Shakedown St., Mars Hotel, Wake of the Flood, Go to Heaven). And their early studio stuff I tend to lump into a third category of "poorly recorded with great enthusiasm," as they were almost a different band then.