Probably either the 11/17 "Ghost" or the 11/19 "Wolfman's." I really can't think of many jams from any era I like better than those two.

There were many highlights in '97 for me but I'll focus on 2 from The Gorge.

Harry Hood 8/2/97
This encore was killer. An uplifting and mind blowing 18 minute Hood. Trey asked Chris to kill the lights about 7 minutes in and at that point the band loaded the crowd onto their magic carpet and took us all for a ride. Amazing.

Foam 8/3/97
They opened the show with Bathtub Gin and segued into Foam. When we all went "falling into a deep well" I felt completely engulfed by the sound. Page's work on the keyboard and Mike's bass were spot on. In that moment the music was seemingly tangible. The recordings of this song don't really do it justice, but it's still worth a listen.

11-22-97 Haley's comet. Very Zappa like. One of the best shows I ever saw. BEK rocked as well. I'm sure everyone has heard this show and might be cliche now but I loved the entire 2 nights.....

12/6/97 set II. all of it minus Rocky Top

I've been wanting to run this opinion by fans for awhile; it's gonna stir up some controversy, but, hell, here it is:

I think the 11/23 Gin is one of the most overrated Phish jams of all time. I just don't get what's such a big deal about it. It doesn't thrill me. Keep in mind I really like 1997 (especially fall) and I typically go apeshit over the huge jams.

Anyone agree? Or, better yet, anyone want to convince me I'm crazy? :-)

Julius. Any Julius at all. Trey was killing the ending every third night. Mikes Groove. Philly 1

DWD-> Mikes 7/22
David Bowie-> Possum-> Tube 12/29

Speaking of '97 shows, "benslashjames" posted his favorite sources for the fall '97 tour on etree. Looks pretty good and it's a good way to download the entire fall tour in one shot. I assume most people know how to download FLACs and convert them to WAV files. It's not that hard at all. If you need a quick tutorial, just let me know I can give you a run-down on how to do it.

http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=534906

I need help with what to do with Flac's I have tons of shows in flac and don't really know the best way to deal with them. IE. getting into itunes and converting to WAV - please advise

Two things:

1) Rhino, I use traderslittlehelper to manage/convert FLAC's. http://tlh.easytree.org/

2) Anyone who thinks that 11-23-97 is "overrated" needs to have their head examined. Seriously. It's not like 8-14-09 where everyone is pooing their pants over it...hell, people rarely mention it. If you can't get into the first set, I don't know what to tell you, but you might want to think about finding another band to listen to, or at least get into your favorite state of mind and give it another chance. The BEK absolutely scorches the version from 11-22, the Theme is one of my favorite versions ever, the Twist gets REALLY psychedelic, Stash -> CRAZY SHIT -> NICU, the only Fluffhead of the Fall tour (not including 12-29) with appropriate Fall '97 energy during the end jam. I agree that the Gin is polarizing...it's not for everyone...I like the 11-22 Halley's and 11-21 AC/DC Bag more...but the last section of the jam once everything calms down with Trey playing that spacey theme akin to the Twist and Stash from the first set is beyond fantastic. I still feel like the 11-23 Gin is really similar to the 6-19-04 Piper. It was the perfect culmination to what could be considered the greatest 3 days of Phish, ever.

@pistilstamen, on the subject of 11/23/97:

I do LOVE the first set. Theme, BEK, Twist, and Stash are all off the hook. I only singled out the Gin as being overrated. And, yes, I'm sticking with "overrated," as in I do believe that show gets a lot of talk--it seems to me that 11/23/97 is as much talked on as the Hampton shows these days (http://blog.phish.net/post/274110811/best-pre-breakup-shows-ever), and people usually talk of the Gin as its centerpiece. I guess I'm just not in the group that likes that Gin, and there's not much else in the second set to redeem it for my ears.

Funny you compare it to the SPAC '04 Piper, which I love. Love almost all the big fall '97 jams, love 11/23/97 I, love most every funk-era Gin I've ever heard... except this one. Maybe in time....

The 12-06 Tweezer rocks. too many to list.

Another great '97 Gin (and I do love the Went version)... Virginia Beach 7/21/97! Now that show's how you kick off a tour!

The 7-31-97 show @ Shoreline was a mind blowing show & yet it always seems to get overlooked. The first set alone clocked in at about 100 minutes. The second set was approximately 86-89 minutes or so. The Runaway Jim that kicked off the second set was outrageous. It was the type of jam that takes you to another planet and back, especially if you were rolling Laughing Sam's Dice!!! The Circus comes to town following this jam was a well needed break from that madness!!! A mind-boggling Vultures and McGrupp follow. This is capped off by a killer Mike's> H20> Weekapaug and a Cinnamon girl encore. Being that this show was on the eve of Jerry Garcia's birthday and played in his home "backyard" venue, the vibes at this show (like all Shoreline shows) were truly remarkable. The 1st set alone was intense. (Ghost> Yamar> Dogs Stole Things, Limb X Limb, Dirt, Maze, Glide, I Saw IT Again, Y.E.M.) It is well worth listening to this show if you have the means. I feel that it is either highly overlooked or underrated along with a few other shows during 97.

Errr, brainfart...above is my favorite jam OF ALL TIME, not just 1997. For 1997, I'm going to have to go with the Went Bathtub Gin for its timeless emotional appeal. Just legendary.