Led Zeppelin, Part I

These are the proper Led Zeppelin studio albums. And "Coda".

Led Zeppelin (1969)

The first album is a mix of blues, folk and rock 'n' roll, and features the best guitar solo ever on 'Dazed and Confused'. Fact. Remarkably, thia album was also recorded and mixed in just 36 hours. Strangely, this album got terrible reviews when it was first released. Shows what critics know (i.e. nothing).

Best Song: Dazed And Confused

Rating: 4.5/5

Led Zeppelin II (1969)

Heavier and more focused on big guitar riffs than the first album, this relies less on the folk influences and more on blues and heavy rock. This is a true classic rock album, and perhaps the most fun Zeppelin album to listen to, though not necessarily the best.

Best Song: Whole Lotta Love

Rating: 5/5

Led Zeppelin III (1970)

This is really an album of two halves: half folk/acoustic and half rock. Both work well, but the rock songs are better.

Best Song: Immigrant Song

Rating: 4.5/5

Led Zeppelin IV (1971)

Keeping some of the folk sounds from "III", but expanding the rock sounds and riffs to massive new heights, this is Zep's best album, and perhaps the greatest album ever made. Features several of the best (and mosty beloved) rock songs ever, including 'Black Dog', 'Rock and Roll', 'Stairway to Heaven' and 'When the Levee Breaks', everyone in the world should really own this album. There's no excuse not to. 

Best Song: Rock And Roll

Rating: 5/5

Houses of the Holy (1973)

Including some new sounds (Zeppelin go reggae on 'D'Yer Mak'er'!) and some familiar big riffs, this album is most notable for containing 'The Song Remains The Same' perhaps the crowning achievement of Jimmy Page's guitar work; essentially a series of intertwining guitar solos, with occasional singing from Robert Plant, this is probably as good as music will ever get.

Best Song: The Song Remains the Same

Rating: 4.5/5

Physical Graffiti (1975)

AKA: The epic double album. Zep's first album on their own label, Swan Song, was a mix of new songs and previously unreleased/unfinished works. Despite this, it sounds remarkably coherent and is considered by many (but not me) to be their best album. Despite its length (over 80 minutes), it never drags or grates; if only all double albums were this consistent.

Best Song: Kashmir

Rating: 5/5

Presence (1976)

Led Zeppelin's heaviest album is guilty of tailing off in quality towards the end, but is still pretty good. The slightly slower, but heavier sound would go on to be a big influence on bands like Metallica, but they would never do it as good as this, of course.

Best Song: Achilles Last Stand

Rating: 3.5/5

In Through the Out Door (1979)

This is the Led Zeppelin album that doesn't really sound like Led Zeppelin, and the last one the band recorded. Incorporating some South American sounds and rhythms, among other non-Zep sounds, and less reliant on Jimmy Page's guitars, all the more strange considering the previous album is the heaviest album they'd done, this almost works. The first half of the album is good, but it fades in the second half.

Best Song: In the Evening

Rating: 3/5

Coda (1982)

The final Led Zeppelin "studio" album, released two years after the death of drummer John Bonham (and the break-up of the band), is a collection of out-takes and unreleased songs. It's pretty good, but nothing special.

Best Song: We're Gonna Groove

Rating: 3/5