Top 10 Ways Pink Floyd are Better Than Led Zeppelin

I love Zeppelin too, but Floyd is much better for me.

1. Pink Floyd Didn't Steal Music

   I agree with the idea of this list and the items originally submitted by the author (I don't know what items will be submitted later). I disagree with zxm - Led Zeppelin didn't have only "partial rip-offs." They had many complete rip-offs, 100% - whole songs with the music, lyrics, and even song titles. These songs were actually uncredited covers: "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You," "I Can't Quit You, Baby," "You Shook Me," "In My Time of Dying," and "Dazed and Confused."

   Songs with 90% plagiarism include "Whole Lotta Love," "The Lemon Song," and "Since I've Been Loving You." There are also many songs with smaller portions of rip-offs.

   Ha ha, I knew it'd be on top. It's the best thing of theirs (Floyd). Led Zep did worse in this case. They had partial rip-offs in their songs, maybe 5 or 10%, but they blew their whole reputation for this. They simply couldn't go on without any plagiarism.

   Kashmir, Achilles Last Stand, The Rain Song, Tangerine, etc. They had creativity, but they couldn't use it properly. What if they hadn't plagiarized Babe I'm Gonna Leave You? The riff in that song was awesome. They had originally created it, but with the lyrics, they blew it all.

2. David Gilmour Is a Better Guitarist Than Jimmy Page

   

   Technically, he is better than Jimmy Page because playing progressive rock is harder than hard rock and blues rock. In some cases, playing prog rock is even harder than certain metal genres. There are a lot of complex chords to play.

   I agree with this, too. Jimmy is good, but always seeing him ranked as the #1 best guitarist of all time is just laughable. Jimmy Page is the most overrated guitarist of all time.

   I do agree with this one. David has always been a solid, melodic player, while some of Page's solos are really sloppy. I still like Jimmy, but I think David is better.

3. Pink Floyd Has Better Lyrics

   I do think Zeppelin had some great writing, but Roger Waters absolutely nailed it with the songwriting to such a degree that I don't think any band could top Pink Floyd in this regard.

   Roger Waters could out-lyric Bob Dylan if he had to.

4. Pink Floyd Has Better Live Shows

   You're talking about Roger Waters' current shows. They did not promote hate. Their music just had a political angle to it.

   Pink Floyd doesn't put on shows. They give you an experience that borders on the spiritual.

5. Pink Floyd Is More Original and Diverse

   Goes without saying. Led Zeppelin's massive plagiarism doesn't speak "original." Led Zeppelin's level of originality is this: the best cover band of all time.

6. Pink Floyd Has Fewer Songs About Sex

   I agree with this point, even though I love Led Zeppelin, and they're still one of my favorite bands. When I think of Pink Floyd, I think of the very powerful music they made throughout their career as a band. I don't really associate them with love or sex songs.

   On the other hand, a lot of Led Zeppelin's songs are definitely about love and sex.

   Yes, Pink Floyd's music is about the entire human experience.

7. Pink Floyd Has More Consistent Album Releases

8. Pink Floyd Continued After Losing a Band Member

   Yes, but it wasn't the original reason why Jimmy disbanded the band. It was one of the reasons. Jimmy disbanded it because he was strongly addicted to drugs. He had lost a lot of weight and could barely play guitar. This was the main reason. So, he had an issue that led to the band breaking up.

   However, Robert Plant wasn't interested in the band anymore. He had lost his passion for writing songs with Led Zeppelin. Out of all four members, John Paul Jones was the only one who was still in good shape. Jimmy, John, and Robert were all dealing with personal issues.

   So yes, in this case, Pink Floyd wins. When Roger departed, David took on his role in the band. He even played bass guitar.

9. Pink Floyd Has Better Songs

   I prefer High Hopes over all of these songs.

   I hope not. Otherwise, people would be pegging them as Floyd wannabes.

10. Pink Floyd Popularized Prog Rock

    Pink Floyd is to Progressive Rock what Robert Miles was to Trance: the birthgiver of the genre.

The Newcomers
11. ?

    Pink Floyd's Album Covers are Better

12. ?

    Pink Floyd Has Better Music Videos

The Contenders

13. Pink Floyd Has Better Sound Mixing

    I think most of Led Zeppelin's albums had great sound mixing. Listen to the layered guitars on Ten Years Gone and Black Dog, or the wild panning effects on Whole Lotta Love, When the Levee Breaks, or What Is and What Should Never Be, where the instruments move from side to side.

    There's a lot more detail to a Led Zeppelin mix than you might think.

    You forgot to add it. In my opinion, every prog rock band has better sound mixing than most other rock genres. By sound mixing, I meant music arrangements - like all the unique, strange music playing in the background.

14. Pink Floyd Has Better Albums

15. Pink Floyd Has More Emotional Music

    Definitely the real No. 1 here. In my opinion, this reason includes the "David is better than Jimmy" argument, since I think David was better because he was more emotional.

16. Pink Floyd Has More Meaningful Songs

    All My Love is very dark and meaningful, but Pink Floyd also had meaningful songs as well.

    Time, the whole Wall album... nothing else compares.

17. Pink Floyd Has More Powerful Music

    This is subjective. There are quite a lot of Zeppelin songs that I think are powerful in terms of sound and emotion (The Rain Song, Ten Years Gone, That's the Way, etc.).

18. Pink Floyd Has a Wider Variety in Sound

    Yes, Pink Floyd was not afraid to experiment and boldly write very lengthy songs. Each band member, including Syd in the early years, brought something completely different. While Waters did most of the writing (before he left in '87), early on it was a more balanced contribution.

19. Everyone in Pink Floyd Was a Good Vocalist

    Nick Mason only sang lead vocals on two unreleased tunes ("Scream Thy Last Scream" and "The Merry Xmas Song"). His voice actually sounded pretty good - very similar to Syd's - so I guess it does count.

    The only thing is that he never used his voice otherwise. Maybe he never considered himself a proper singer?

20. Richard Wright Was a Better Keyboardist Than John Paul Jones

    

    Both of them were underrated, but when it comes to keyboards, Richard beats John.

21. Pink Floyd Has a Richer Sound

22. Pink Floyd Lasted Longer

23. Pink Floyd Has Better Singing

    It's true that Plant has a good-sounding voice, but he screams, and it gets on my nerves after a while.

    With Pink Floyd, they don't scream, and even when Plant isn't screaming, I still think Pink Floyd has better voices than he does.

    Roger's voice is a little abrasive at times, but nowhere near Plant's level.

24. Pink Floyd Was Less Obsessed With Drugs

    Syd Barrett messed himself up with drugs. All the Pink Floyd members did drugs, but it didn't hamper their musical ability as much as it did for Jimmy Page.

    Jimmy Page kept taking drugs, which made him even worse.

25. Roger Waters Was a Better Bassist Than John Paul Jones