Led Zeppelin albums ranked

This list is based entirely on my personal opinion.

Here, I will not be including [i]Coda[/i] or [i]The Song Remains The Same.[/i] I know a lot of fans like to include them as part of the official Led Zeppelin canon, but one is a compilation and the other is a live album. Neither are studio albums, so they shouldn't count.

[center][b]8. In Through The Out Door[/b][/center]
The band's most infamous record. [i]In Through The Out Door[/i] almost forsakes hard rock completely, with the opening track being the only straightforward rocker on the album. The rest of it is mellower and more keyboard-driven, making it the black sheep of Led Zeppelin's studio releases. Even their third folkier album retained the band's vintage sound to some extent. Much like how [i]Presence[/i] was led by Jimmy Page and John Bonham, [i]In Through The Out Door[/i] has Robert Plant and John Paul Jones taking the lead. This wasn't intentional, however, as Page and Bonham had spiraled into substance abuse, leaving their involvement minimal and Plant and Jones forced to take the reins. The end result was a record that sounds even less like a band effort than [i]Presence.[/i] By this point, it became clear that the group's excess had finally caught up to them and they were now a shell of their former selves; to where they didn't even sound like Led Zeppelin anymore. But to be fair, the band was in a dark place around that time, so it's hard to fault them for not doing their best. I personally don't think it's that bad. No dispute that it's their weakest, but it's still fairly decent. Underrated, even. It's just too bad it had to be their last proper album.

[center][b]7. Presence[/b][/center]
Like how [i]In Through The Out Door[/i] was primarily led by Robert Plant and John Paul Jones, [i]Presence[/i] has Jimmy Page and John Bonham stealing the show. For once, Plant's singing was not at the forefront as he's noticeably lacking in his usual charismatic energy. This was due to him still recovering from a car accident in early 1975 and so he had to record his vocals from the confines of a wheelchair. To seemingly counter this, one can hear a greater amount of instrumentation from Page and Bonham that ends up carrying the whole record. Not that that's a bad thing, but as a consequence, it marks the point where the band began falling into a decline that would ultimately end in their demise. Having said that, [i]Presence[/i] is still enjoyable. It may not be one of their stronger efforts, but it features some of the group's heaviest and most epic tracks. Not to mention some of the finest performances from both Page and Bonham! Sure [i]Presence[/i] is a step down in quality from Led Zeppelin's usual standards, but to overlook it would be a disservice. Especially to Page and Bonham who have some of their career highlights on this album.

[center][b]6. Led Zeppelin II[/b][/center]
I can already hear the other fans screaming "blasphemy!" Now I can respect [i]Led Zeppelin II[/i] for being a pivotal point, not just for the band's career, but for music in general. However, the album just doesn't resonate with me that much. I always found it too one-dimensional and not as interesting as their other early albums. But this isn't to say it's a bad album in any way. Absolutely not, it's a great album! [i]Led Zeppelin II[/i] arguably carries most of their popular tracks and is almost like a greatest hits compilation. It's the album that established Led Zeppelin's signature sound. Where their debut was the band showing off their love for blues music, their follow-up, while still blues influenced, sees them kicking it up a notch and producing the heaviest, raunchiest music of its time, thus paving the way for all heavy rock music that came after it. It's easy to see why so many consider [i]Led Zeppelin II[/i] one of their very best, I only wish I could be more into it myself. But like I said, it's too one-dimensional. Meaning it's awfully lacking in musical diversity compared to their other works. Most of the songs follow the same formula, which makes the album sound rather generic and not nearly as memorable. Their debut mixed it up better than this one! Maybe its songs have just been overplayed to where it's harder for me to appreciate them better. At least I can pay it the respect it's due.

[center][b]5. Houses of the Holy[/b][/center]
The most upbeat record from the band and their first to consist entirely of original material. It's one of their more ambitious albums too as it was released after the phenomenal success of their fourth album. They were at a point where they could have easily made a simplistic run-of-the-mill record and it'd still be a guaranteed success. But they decided to take a risk and flex a bit more of their creativity. [i]Houses of the Holy[/i] has some of Led Zeppelin's most jovial and experimental songs. It provides a mix of their classic hard rock sound with a more uplifting touch while also seeing the band get daring by flirting with funk, reggae, progressive rock and space rock. This is another album that divides many fans with some criticizing it for lacking cohesion and being too derivative from the band's previous albums. I guess I can see their point. One could say it also foreshadows them deviating completely on [i]In Through The Out Door. Houses of the Holy[/i] understandably isn't going to sit well with every fan but this fan says it's differing qualities are what make it one of their more endearing records.

[center][b]4. Led Zeppelin III[/b][/center]
Yet another that splits the group's fanbase right down the middle. [i]Led Zeppelin III[/i] saw a dramatic departure from the first two albums by being more folk-oriented and stands as the band's softest record. I never quite understood other fans decrying this as a disappointment for it being mostly acoustic. Is an acoustic album so out-of-place with Led Zeppelin when they've played acoustic songs since the beginning? When nearly a third of their music is? I personally love it because it sees the band take a more mature perspective on folk music when it was purely a novelty on their previous folk tracks. [i]Led Zeppelin III[/i] features some of the best acoustic ballads of the band's catalogue juxtaposed with a few of their more hard-hitting classics that should satisfy fans more partial to their heavier music. It's a real shame that many still see this record as a folly for the group because it epitomizes their softer, melodic side that would find its way on their masterful fourth album. No, it doesn't bear the same cultural significance as the two records that came before and the one after, but it's an integral piece of Led Zeppelin's musical evolution that gets grossly underappreciated.

[center][b]3. Led Zeppelin (I)[/b][/center]
The band's bluesiest record and the one that started it all. Their self-titled debut really foreshadows almost everything the band would go on to do throughout their career. From being blues-influenced, to exploring different styles of music, to the occasional softer acoustic tune, to explosive proto-metal rockers. It also provided a perfect demonstration of the incredible talent within the band -an ample display of musical prowess from all four members. A lot of hype was riding on the band's debut and the pressure was on to prove themselves as a premiere rock act, with many believing they wouldn't cut it. It's rumored the very name Led Zeppelin was created out of a joke that the band would come crashing down like a lead balloon. Critics still gave the album negative reviews when it was first released, but it has stood the test of time and proven all those critics dead wrong. As remarkable as it is, it unfortunately holds the largest amount of the group's blatant plagiarism that would go on for their next three albums. That they started out by ripping off their idols is about the one negative aspect of this record. That aside, Led Zeppelin's self-titled album is a solid debut for one of the greatest bands of all time. What it lacked in originality, it more than made up for in quality and the group's raw talent.

[center][b]2. Physical Graffiti[/b][/center]
Double albums are usually hit-or-miss affairs, meaning they tend to have an equal share of strong tracks and weak tracks. But with Led Zeppelin's sole double album, they dished out a rare example of a double album that's solid throughout the record. It's hard to name another that's as flawless as [i]Physical Graffiti.[/i] Not even Pink Floyd or The Who managed that with theirs! From start to finish, it's an unrelenting onslaught of brilliant songs, each displaying some of the best qualities the band had to offer. From rip-roaring rock and roll numbers to tracks that draw influences from other genres. It may be lacking in popular hits and known best as the album that has "Kashmir", but even if it didn't have "Kashmir", it would still be one of Led Zeppelin's finest. [i]Physical Graffiti[/i] is a testament to the group's creativity and musical diversity. Its songs deserve a lot more attention than they get from casual fans. But at the same time, them not being so endlessly overplayed makes them all the more appreciable. It stands as the last great effort by the band before they would enter their darker later years. More importantly, it's one of Led Zeppelin's best and perhaps also the best double album ever made.

[center][b]1. Untitled (IV)[/b][/center]
Where else is this going to be? Led Zeppelin's fourth album is the group's undisputed masterpiece. One could make a case that this is the record that carries most of their greatest and most iconic songs. When it comes to sheer musical genius, it's virtually impossible to name a better album the band has done. Even as overplayed as its songs may be, they're so timeless, they're able to remain enjoyable even after hearing them countless times. And If you've been reading through my list, you know that's not something I can say about every popular, overplayed Led Zeppelin track. The band were already riding high to the top with their first three albums, but it was here where they immortalized their legacy as one of the greatest and most influential bands of all time. There's no shortage of spectacular best-of-all-time tier records Led Zeppelin has made and fans may not always agree on which of their records can fill the spots before #1 (except for the maybe their lowest ranking ones), but this is the one album from the band that is universally agreed upon to be nothing short of perfect. And for good reason: it absolutely is.

Feel free to share your thoughts below, be they in agreement or disagreement with this post.

Thanks for reading!