Top 10 Best Led Zeppelin Albums

The Top Ten
1 Led Zeppelin IV

The best album in the world by the best band in the world at the absolute peak of their abilities. Led Zeppelin I is a blues rock album with some folk and hard rock thrown in. Led Zeppelin II is a hard rock album with some blues and folk rock thrown in. Led Zeppelin III is a folk rock album with some blues and hard rock thrown in. IV manages to be a perfect mix of the three. Only Four Sticks has anything close to a flaw. It's a bit flat, and the vocals are too high. This was corrected when Page and Plant performed it live in the 90s. A perfect album if you take that version instead.

I've always said choosing between I, II, and IV is a near impossible task. Stairway to Heaven appears on this album, but so does When the Levee Breaks, Misty Mountain Hop, Rock and Roll, and Going to California. I also think what puts this album over the top is it put the exclamation point and permanently established Zeppelin's place as rock legends.

2 Led Zeppelin II

This is the only Zeppelin album where I don't feel the need to skip a single track anytime I listen to it. On the debut, I would skip Black Mountain Side. On III, I would skip most of the second side. On IV, I would skip The Battle of Evermore, Stairway to Heaven, and Going to California. On Houses of the Holy, I could do without No Quarter and maybe even The Rain Song. On Physical Graffiti, I could skip a lot of side 3, but there are too many to specify which. On Presence, I wouldn't miss Achilles Last Stand. And on In Through the Out Door, I could take out basically all of side 2 and miss nothing. But on II, everything is worth listening to.

As famous as IV is, it's just not as good. Every song on II is amazing, whereas there are really only 5 great songs on IV: Going to California, Rock and Roll, Stairway to Heaven, Black Dog, and best of all, When The Levee Breaks.

Led Zeppelin II starts off with Whole Lotta Love, the best song on the album. Then goes to What Is And What Should Never Be, the second best on the album. Third is The Lemon Song, which has one of, if not the best bass solo in classic rock. Fourth is Thank You, one of the more mellow and beautiful songs on the album.

It is followed by the energetic and iconic Heartbreaker, containing one of Page's best solos. Living Loving Maid is next, a short and equally energetic and exciting song to the previous track. Then, Ramble On, which has some of the best rhythm section work in all of rock, between Jones and Bonham. After that is Moby Dick, the best drum solo in all of rock. And finally, the album closes with Bring It On Home, which is just as bluesy as it is badass.

3 Houses of the Holy

Number 4 in my Zeppelin ranking. This album is one of my favorites from anyone in history. The Ocean is quite possibly my favorite Page guitar tune. The riff is so good, and again the bass and drum backbone is phenomenal. Page's lyrics are catchy, and his voice is brilliant. In terms of the guitar, this is only second to the great Black Dog riff when talking about Jimmy Page. The Ocean alone is enough to buy this album. It's that good for me and the main reason I rank it 4th in their album catalog, but by no means the only reason.

The acoustic bits in Over the Hills and Far Away are downright beautiful, and the song is so different from anything at that time or even today. It's from one end to the other but so well-rounded. The Song Remains the Same, The Rain Song, The Crunge, D'yer Mak'er are all fine tracks as well. Maybe not as much brilliance as II, IV, and I, but it's a truly great album.

Song Remains the Same. THREE GUITAR SOLOS. One of the most beautiful songs. A happy summertime tune, followed by the beautiful Rain Song and Over the Hills and Far Away. Then it gets diverse. The Crunge brings in funk, Dancing Days sounds just... different, then the reggae stylings of D'yer Mak'er.

No Quarter is one of the most relaxing and at the same time spooky. Then finishing off with The Ocean, a happy song that sounds like it should be on Led Zeppelin II that is complete with an outro section, just like Stairway to Heaven or Out on the Tiles. Absolutely brilliant.

4 Physical Graffiti

6th in my ranking of Led Zeppelin albums. Yes, shockingly, it's a fantastic album, but because of the band's musical growth and sheer boldness, I couldn't put it above III. It's not better than II, IV, or I. And I like more songs off Houses of the Holy, so here it sits. Not that it's a bad thing. 6th in a catalog of Led Zeppelin album rankings is still excellent. It's a solid album, and its depth is amazing.

Kashmir is an amazing song, but this album is packed with so much more than just that. I absolutely love Black Country Woman, Trampled Under Foot, and Custard Pie. Another album easily in the top 100 all-time rock albums. Easily rated a 93 for me, and that's brilliant considering that I rank it 6th at a 93 out of 100 in their entire studio catalog.

The power of Kashmir, the funk and groove of songs like In My Time of Dying and The Wanton Song, Trampled Under Foot. My personal favorite guitar solo of all time in Ten Years Gone. If I could only take one album on a road trip, it would be this one.

5 Led Zeppelin I

A real hard choice to choose this album from the others. To me, it's the most homogeneous of all, full of rough power and perfect riffs. A real first album where they've thrown all they had in their hearts. I love the II and the III, but after all, this one keeps me as high as possible, uncontrollable.

It's the best of all their improvised live shows condensed into an album, so the result is the cream of a distilled elixir... volatile, powerful, intoxicating, and a "can't stop listening to it" feeling.

Just to react about number IV, which is noted number 1. It's not a bad album, but personally, I think it's a shame that many people voted for this one only because of "Stairway to Heaven" and not with the full conscience and the knowledge of the whole Led Zeppelin discography.

This is my choice, but everybody, in a logical way, has a different feeling about every music, depending on how and when they discovered it. Just don't forget about it, and don't blame others because they don't think like you.

6 Led Zeppelin III

This album is the actual 'underrated' Led Zeppelin album, in my opinion. Every song on this album is great, except for Hats Off To Roy Harper. It's often referred to as the 'acoustic' album, but it has some great rock songs on it like Immigrant Song, Celebration Day, and Out On The Tiles. Plus, there's blues (Since I've Been Loving You), and acoustic rock (Gallows Pole, Bron-Y-Aur Stomp) and That's The Way, Friends, and Tangerine. Seriously, this album is WAY better and more diverse than IV.

IV is good, but it's the album everyone knows and plays on the radio. And Physical Graffiti is good too, but a lot of the songs on there did seem like filler. And I'm a HUGE Led Zep fan and like all their songs, but this album is just flawless.

This album was important for Led Zeppelin. It showed that they could play other music, proving that Jimmy Page could play an acoustic just as well as an electric. This album demonstrated to the world that they weren't just some rock band. It showed they were capable of other types of music and highlighted the maturation of Led Zeppelin's music.

7 Presence

8th in my ranking of Zeppelin albums. The band had already done so much at this point but still delivered a lovely album. Maybe it should be above my 7th slot as it's more original than the Coda album, which took tracks over a span of recordings. Achilles Last Stand is solid, as well as Tea for One. I've always enjoyed Royal Orleans and Nobody's Fault But Mine. I've heard people call this album the lazy Zeppelin album, but it's not for me.

Listen, they were the biggest rock band in the world and delivered more than almost anyone with Led Zeppelin I, II, III, IV, Houses of the Holy, and Physical Graffiti. That required so much imagination, creation, and sheer brilliance of talent that it was only a matter of time before an album like Presence was made. No knocking the band nor this album, but it's hard to keep producing music to compare next to those other albums. I admire this album, and for me, they worked hard doing this album.

8 In Through the out Door

So much better than the one-note and lifeless Presence. The production is lacking, especially the mixing of the vocals on Carouselambra, and the guitar work is worse on this album than on any other. The songs, however, are just better than the ones on Presence, and there's a lot more variety. This album is a band finding its footing again. It's a transitional album, sad that it ended up being their last.

Every song is a gem, and Carouselambra and Fool In The Rain are two of my favorite Zeppelin songs. This last album shows that they were at the height of their powers and would have continued to amaze everyone.

Ninth in my ranking. One could say Plant didn't have Led Zeppelin solely on his mind in Presence, but In Through the Out Door, for me, was the album where Led Zeppelin started thinking they had achieved all they could, and their personal and collective goals had been reached. Both Presence and this album were nice records, but both lacked exploration while sticking to each of their roots. I don't care what Plant or Page said. By this time, they had other projects on their minds.

Though the "lack of enthusiasm" some claimed, "All My Love" was a track that made it worth buying for me. Great song.

9 Coda

I rank Coda 7th. I just love the album. More a collection over the years, but still absolutely brilliant. Plus, even though Hey, Hey What Can I Do was the B-side single of Immigrant Song on III, it was never on the original III album, I don't think. Which would probably push III up a place in my ranking. Instead, Coda benefits a space for including that superb and their greatest acoustic tune.

Travelling Riverside Blues was a classic Robert Johnson tune brilliantly done by Page and Plant. I enjoy Poor Tom and White Summer/Black Mountain Slide as well. Nice album.

10 The Song Remains the Same

I voted for this because it's so unsung. It's the best live album ever. It's definitely better than Coda, In Through the Out Door, and Presence combined. It's not my favourite, but it's f in amazing. Shame on those who didn't vote for it. I have to say Physical Graffiti is a little overrated, though it kicks ass. This album rocks. It's the best live album ever, and everybody should watch this before you ascend the stairway to heaven.

I never got Stairway until I saw it visualized in the DVD. Plus, the stars are really trippy. I have got many friends hooked on Zep with this album alone. Apart from this, the winners should be Houses of the Holy, Led Zeppelin I, Led Zeppelin II, and Led Zeppelin IV, though you can't really fault Zep at all.

It's true that it's forgotten, but it is kind of a cheat because it's a compilation.

The Contenders
11 Mothership

It has their best songs because it is a compilation album. It doesn't deserve to be higher.

Why is this so low? This is an album with their best songs.

Wow... I honestly expected this to be in the top 3.

12 BBC Sessions

Listen and hear the same song played numerous ways, a testament to their live versatility.

13 How the West Was Won

Just heard Dazed and Confused... Bloody good!

One of the best live albums of all time. Not the best, but it's up there.

Their best live album by a mile.

14 Celebration Day

Contains the definitive versions of Kashmir and For Your Life.

15 The Dancing Avocado

A lot of people don't know this, but this is an unofficial release of a live concert in 1969 before the release of Led Zeppelin I.

16 Listen to This, Eddie

For those unaware, this is a famous bootleg of theirs, from the LA Forum on June 21st, 1977. An outstanding show recorded in phenomenal quality, especially for an audience recording, done by Mike Millard, a famous bootlegger.

17 Led Zeppelin: The Early Days

A collection of their best songs from their first four albums.

18 The Destroyer