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 Zep I is a blues rock album with some folk and hard rock thrown in. Led Zep II is a hard rock album with some blues and folk rock thrown in. Led Zep 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 did 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 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 it put the exclamation point and permanently established Zeppelin's place as rock legends.

I may prefer some songs better on other albums, but the whole way through, this album stays strong. For example, "Houses of the Holy'' is a great album, but it doesn't stay strong the whole way through. Did they have to put "The Crunge'' on there? Same for "Presence.'' "Achilles Last Stand'' is in my top 3 Zeppelin tracks, but the rest of the album doesn't hold up to it. However, on "Led Zeppelin 4'', the whole album is amazing- and since it includes "Stairway to Heaven'' this has got to be on top.

Literally EVERY song in this album would be a standout song if placed in any other album. To have sheer level of awesomeness, combined with each song characteristically supporting one another LED ZEPPELIN IV remains my favourite album of all time.

2 Led Zeppelin II

This is the only Zeppelin album where I don't feel the need to skip a single track on it any time 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, 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 ...more

Oh no! It couldn't really happened! IV as the first? On fourth album are only Stairway, Black Dog, When the Levee and Rock and Roll, the rest of it is just songs, nothing special. Second album is real winner because of a number of great songs. For 9 songs 6 are really genius and the rest are on good level. You've got here: Whole Lotta Love, What is and What Should Never Be, Heartbreaker, Ramble On, Moby Dick, Bring It On Home. If I had to choose from this list my four favourite one, I couldn't do it. But on IV album that would be easy... Because there are no other good songs but Stairway, Black Dog, Levee and Rock'n'Roll. That's why I think Led Zeppelin II album is their greatest!

Is there any song on Led Zeppelin II that is not absolutely amazing? All of them together create a dynamic but overall well balanced album, which is just a pleasure to listen to every single time. I also like IV but I think their second album is their real masterpiece if one thinks of Led Zeppelin as the ultimate classic rockband. The best thing are all the great guitar riffs, that are perfectly supported by Jones' melodic basslines and Bonham's agressive drumming, not to forget Plant's bluesy vocals on top of it. Every young guitarist who hears these riffs for the first time, instantly wants to learn them. I am sure that this album will be popular over the next centuries and not be forgotten in thousand years if there will always be people that are playing the electric guitar. It is in my opinion the magnum opus of four of the most genius minds in music history.
John Bonham, John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant:Thank you very much for creating this truely timeless ...more

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 2nd to the great Black Dog riff when talking 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 right down 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 ll, IV and l, 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.

This is the most accessible of Zeppelin's Albums. Their Fourth Album and Physical Graffiti may have more appeal to some people due to their many hits. But Houses of The Holy has the most widespread usage of many genres such as funk, phychedelic, reggae, and even pre-cursors to grunge. The album flows very smoothly despite some miniscule rough patches. Basically Led Zeppelin at their finest.

Zeppelin at their most creative. The only reason I put this above Zeppelin II is because of the diversity. Each song sounds like they're from different genres, but they all have that undeniable Zeppelin sound. Hard to choose favorites on this album, but my top 6 would be: 1. ) Over The Hills & Far Away,2. ) The Ocean, 3. ) D'yer Maker, 4. ) No Quarter, 5. ) The Song Remains The Same, 6. ) The Rain Song.

4 Physical Graffiti

This one stands out of all zeppelin albums , it's so diverse and have not a bad song , houses of the holy it's the one I think is overrated, have some fillers , there , but still have , great songs.

6th in my ranking of Led Zep albums. Yes, shockingly.. it's a fantastic album but because of the bands musical growth and sheer balls about them I couldn't put it above lll. It's not better than ll, IV, or l. 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 it's 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 they I rank it 6th at a 93 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 underfoot. My personal favourite 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.

Four is the MOST OVER RATED album, and I'm sorry to say that I always skip stairway to heaven. This album, One, Houses of the Holy, Two, Three are the best in order, well, at least I thing so.

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 a best off all their improvised live shows condensed in 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 logic way, have a different feeling on 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 ...more

I picked Zep-I because I put it on in my truck the other day for the first time in a couple if years and was immediately stunned & reminded of the absolutely unique magical Zeppelin chemistry. All these years later and this album still buries almost everything that passes for great music these days. Go listen to it if you doubt me and you will be struck by the fact that Zep's music only improves with time.

From this album, Zeppelin's first, all the way through their 6th album Physical Graffiti, you cannot go wrong. Zep's first six albums remain the most dazzling streak of consecutive rock brilliance ever released. I chose Zep-I today because every time that I put it on I am struck by the atmosphere of supreme confidence, the staggering musical prowess in all four membersand pure raw unprecedented power at

Just imagine placing the record in the record player without knowing what you're gonna get into. All you hear from the very first track is a very strong E5 chord and already you're blown away. The explosiveness of that album is unparalleled; Zeppelin 1 is raw, sexy and their greatest album.

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 the 'acoustic' album but it has some great rock songs a on it like Immigrant Song, Celebration Day, and Out On The Tiles. Plus there's blues (Since I've Been Loving You), and accoustic rock (Gallow's Pole, Bron-Y-Aur-Stomp) and That's The Way, Friends, and Tangerine. Seriously this album is WAAY 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 to 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, this album showed that they could play other music. That Jimmy Page played an acoustic just as good as an electric. This album showed the world that they weren't just some rock band, it showed that they were capable of other types of music. It shows the maturation of Led Zeppelin's music.

That's the one of their albums that is the most "sunny" and so natural, on the other hand being so powerful and mind-blowing... I love their every album with all my heart, but to this one I can listen the most often.

This album is one of my favorites. I also think it is one of the most underrated albums. If you asked for my favorites, I would have to say Since I've been loving you, Out On The Tiles, Tangerine, That's The Way, and Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp. Simply amazing.

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 its 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 l, ll, lll, 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.

Remember buying it when it first came out. Never heard anything like it before or since. The sheer power, precision, dynamics and speed of the four musicians as never been matched.

This is one of the greatest rock albums in history. "Achilles Last Stand", "For your Life", "Nobody's Fault But Mine" and "Tea for One" are amazing songs.

My favourite as well. Play it now and you will have to agree it has lasted better than some of the more acclaimed albums?

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 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 it's 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 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.

My favorite album of ALL time. Fool In The Rain, Carouselambra and All Of My Love are Led Zeppelin at their best. Even has Zepp's most underrated song, I'm Gonna Crawl...

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 lll it was never on the original lll album I don't think. Which would probably push lll 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 thins because it's so unsung. It's the best live album ever. Its definitely better than coda in through the out door and presence combined. Its not my favourite but its f in amazing shame on those who didn't vote for it. I have to say graffiti is a little over rated 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 to I saw it visualised in the dvd plus the starts really triply. I have got many friends hooked on zep with this album alone. Apart from this the winners should be houses 1 2 and 4 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

If it's a good song, it's on mothership!

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 Live.

The best of the best

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 1.

What the hell is the dancing avocado?

16 Led Zeppelin: The Early Days

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

17 The Destroyer
18 Listen to This, Eddie

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