Led Zeppelin IV

Led Zeppelin IV [conventional title] by Led Zeppelin (1971) In 1982, eleven years after this album’s release, a 17-year-old ‘big man on campus’ named Benny walked into his private-school math class singing: “Hey, hey, mama, said the way you move Gonna make you sweat, gonna make you groove”. His stern, no-nonsense Intermediate Algebra teacher (me) turned from writing the day’s assignment on the blackboard to shoot Benny a disapproving glare. Benny sheepishly clammed up. But as I turned back to the blackboard to finish, I sang softly: “Ah, ah, child, way you shake that thing Gonna make you burn, gonna make you sting” As I put down the chalk and turned again toward the class, smile met smile as Benny and I shared a trans-generational moment of awareness of the power of Led Zeppelin IV. Benny ended the semester with a surprisingly good ‘A-‘ in math. It would have been a ‘B+’, but his anachronistic love for Led Zeppelin tilted the scales in a positive direction, and I don’t regret it one bit. There was a time when I considered Led Zeppelin IV to be the greatest album ever, and I’m not sure that that time is past. Young people today should do themselves a favor and develop such a strong a familiarity with this record that they will be able to recognize each track from its opening strains, like Beethoven’s Symphony #5 or Bach’s Toccata and Fugue. It’s that good. Few albums have ever had both the variety and cohesiveness of Led Zeppelin IV. Each listen is an immersive experience, striding through an aural gallery of head-banging rock, moan-inducing blues, culture-resonating folk, and a time-transcending mysticism that carries perennial fascination. And tying all these disparate features together is a musical synthesis of sounds of today (the ‘now’) and images of the misty past (the ‘then’—see below). As musicians, each of the six performers (including Sandy Denny, ethereal backing vocal on “The Battle of Evermore” and Ian Stewart, piano on “Rock and Roll”) executes at peak virtuosity. The four members of Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page [guitar], Robert Plant [lead vocals], John Bonham [drums], and John Paul Jones [bass & keyboards]) are each individually on lists of the ‘greatest of all time’ in their respective categories of performance. Yet no rock group (other than The Beatles) ever played better together. From the electro-windup intro on the opening track “Black Dog”, the listener knows he/she is in for a thrill and a treat, in that order. Robert Plant’s inimitably powerful yet soulful a cappella lead vocal storms onto the scene, grabbing the ears. Then, struggling to discern the meter, the listener immediately discovers the groove, even though it seems that John Bonham’s ingenious rhythmic composition is performing a different song altogether, ignoring the standard gum-chewing backbeat of early rock. But everything is in miraculous sync, as Page and Jones muscle on, all pausing to let Plant do his thing before kicking back in with pure power rock. We teenagers listening to this in 1971 had never heard anything like this before, because there never was anything like this before. Then, without letting up, we hear the smashing rock & roll of “Rock & Roll”, where Bonham reminds us that the backbeat still lives, and Page cooks like never before with wild guitar solo work. Page later said the track was written and recorded in fifteen minutes. I would have paid serious money to sit in a room with Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, and Chuck Berry to watch them hear this track for the first time. And by the way, the most convincing cover of this song was done by Heart (the closing track of Greatest Hits/Live [1980]). And just when we think the album is going to mash out hard rock from beginning to end, we are jolted into a little fantasy medievalism with the next two tracks, “The Battle of Evermore” (check out the Tolkien, Lord of the Rings references) and “Stairway to Heaven”, where Page’s first-time (!) experience with mandolin and iconic solo electric guitar passages wrap around Plant’s mystical lyrics (Plant was only 22 years old at the time). “Stairway to Heaven” is in the rock ballad canon because of its dramatically drawn out development and increased intensity over a steady chord structure. It’s one of the greatest songs ever, not because of profound lyrics, but because of its incomparable instrumentation and vocal performance. Yes, it has been overplayed and over analyzed, but it still moves. The amazing guitar solo (at 5:55) and the wailing lead vocal on the closing bridge (at 6:45) still bring shivers after a thousand listens. Side two begins with “Misty Mountain Hop” providing an explanation of the contrast on side one between the ‘now’ of the first two tracks and the ‘then’ of tracks three and four. After a tale of a druggie’s awkward encounter with a cop in the mundane ‘now’, the artist concludes with a flight to ‘then’: “So I'm packing my bags for the Misty Mountains Where the spirits go now Over the hills where the spirits fly, ooh” And the listener, clutching a copy of Tolkien, The Hobbit, is glad to go along for the ride. The ‘now/then’ duality is beautifully pictured in the cover art, where the front side shows the weathered ruins of an interior wall adorned with an old painting of a seemingly even older man, contrasting with a modern but dull and overcast cityscape where buildings battle with trees on the back side. And between concern for “when the river runs dry” (in “Four Sticks”, featuring Bonham’s superlative drumming with four drumsticks in 5/8 alternating with 6/8) to the droning blues dread of what will happen “When the Levee Breaks” we hear of a search for the perfect woman as the acoustic guitar (Page) and mandolin (Jones) accompany the softly melodic tune “Going to California”: “To find a queen without a king They say she plays guitar and cries and sings... La la la la Ride a white mare in the footsteps of dawn Tryin' to find a woman who's never, never, never been born.” When in fact she has been born, and her name is Joni Mitchell, and Robert Plant knows it. But he can dream, and so can we. I will listen to this album till the day I die. 5/5

Hard to argue this should be anything but a 5. I won't waste my time justifying. Go live your life

Oh we heard you like classic rock, lord of the rings, and poetry. Here is an album you might enjoy. Mastapiece

Unimpeachable. Nearly every song on this album is a classic.

Black Dog, Stairway, AND Levee?! You gotta be kidding me

I don't even know what to say about this one. This album is part of the fabric of my life. I remember being ten years old, listening to it as loud as possible with my friends' parents. Songs on this album underscored crushes on boys in Zeppelin t-shirts. I've listened to it on many car rides to cottages in the summer, from my first time having the car for a weekend in high school through to the last summer pre-pandemic. It's impossible to be objective, it's one of the greatest albums of my life.

I seem to be mostly alone with this opinion, but here goes: I find Led Zeppelin overrated. That said, this is still a really good album. I like it much better than the other two LZ albums we've had. And Stairway To Heaven and When The Levee Breaks are great songs. But I really can't see this as a masterpiece and tracks 5-7 were pretty weak.

1001 Albums To Never Hear Again Before You Die Chapter 1 - Led Zeppelin IV (Zoso, if you’re nasty) Dear Reader, In this first installment, I’ll ask you some baseline questions in order to gauge your eligibility for opting out of this album permanently: 1. Do you often find yourself in relationships (romantic or otherwise) with people you know are no good for you? If you answered no, do you enjoy feeding stray dogs? (Black Dog) 2. Are you partial to American made luxury cars?(Rock and Roll) 3. Do you like songs about hobbits and get amped up by J.R.R Tolkien and/or weed references? (Battle of Evermore, Misty Mountain Hop) 4. Would you like to reminisce about the time you got a chubby while slow dancing with your crush at your 8th grade dinner dance? (Stairway to Heaven) 5. Do you have a predilection for drum circles and a high tolerance for the phrase “oh, baby”? (Four Sticks) 6. Have you ever wondered what a Joni Mitchell song about wanting to sleep with Joni Mitchell would sound like? (Going to California - Give Zep some credit here, they were doing meta in 1971…truly innovative.) 7. Have you ever taken Quaaludes and tried to write a blues song? (When The Levee Breaks) Now, you’re probably asking yourself “how are these questions going to determine if I never have to listen to Led Zeppelin IV ever again?” The short answer is…they’re not. The truth is, you probably don’t ever need to hear this album again. You’ve probably already heard more than half of it on the radio/commercials/films/tv shows, or you’ve heard it in full hanging out at your weed guy’s apartment, or from an older relative who thinks it’s the pinnacle of mankind’s achievements in recorded music. But, if you find yourself enthralled by the prospect finding out the answers to the questions posed earlier, by all means, revisit this record. It’s actually pretty good.

One of the GOAT rock albums and a truely influential album. Zeppelin is like an all-star cast of musicians for this genre. When The Levee Breaks still has one of the most amazing intros of all time. A masterclass. Favourite Tracks: All of them, but special shout out to Misty Mountain Hop, Battle of Evermore, and When The Levee Breaks

This album is a fuckin' masterpiece. IMO stairway is the best song ever written (that I've heard) and totally deserves all the praise it gets. Black dog is surprisingly hard to play on guitar. Really jazzy feel but it's a rock song. Rock n Roll is such a simple tune but Plant's singing just sends it into the stratosphere. Even the more, uh, "adventurous" tunes are still interesting and hypnotic. The Battle of Evermore is basically a vocal solo. Interesting drumming, Jimmy fuckin' Page's leads... there's more or less nothing I can criticise about this album. It even goes for the perfect ~40min. And they were in their early 20s when they wrote it. It defies belief. 6/5 if I could.

This truly is one of the best albums ever released. 8 tracks, 6 huge hits. It's kinda unbelievable, even for Led Zeppelin.

Compelling range, and several great songs - Black Dog, Stairway to Heaven, Going to California, When the Levee Breaks. They avoid the trap that they seem to fall into on other albums, of just rocking out in a way that sounds cool but doesn't go very deep. Their best album?

I feel as if this album should be prescribed--at least every 10 years put on headphones, lie down, and listen to this album a little more loudly than you might typically (to 11, duh). Feel your brain be cleansed as incredibly tight, expertly played pure rock swaggers through your skull. Enjoy the vocals for the sound and whatever you do, don't think too much about the lyrics.

Arguably the best album -by possibly the best rock band to ever grace the planet.

There are days when you are disappointed with the albums, others when you're surprised or pleased. Today is a very special day. It is akin to Charlie finding the golden ticket. Such a brilliant album from the first second to the last. It really makes my Monday feel a bit closer to a Friday.

The fiviest of five stars. Theory: though Robert Plant was necessary, as every hard rock band had to have a wailer, this is all about the other three. Case in point: Bonham's drumming on When The Levee Breaks. Case two: Stairway to Heaven is the best example of can hardly hear it/quiet/soft/nice/loud/very loud dynamics ever recorded. Who cares about the lady who knows? Not me Clive.

You already KNOW this is getting 5 stars! What an incredible showing, from groovin rock songs to intimate, delicate acoustic arrangements, IV may be the peak of Zeppelin's performance. It's more polished than 1, but more raw than later work. Seriously dig it.

When they say "they don't make them like they used to", this is what they have in mind. In my humble opinion, Led Zeppelin IV is the second best album of all time. Apart of containing groundbreaking music (which, later, provided some "rejects" to Physical Graffiti) , with songs like Stairway to Heaven, there are plenty of spectacular individual performances here: John Paul Jones on mandolin in Going to California, John Bonham's solo at the start of Rock and Roll, and (of course) his so creatively recorded performance in When the Levee Breaks. Created by four individuals at the top of their craft, this is a masterpiece from start to finish.

I know this is usually the LZ album that appears on 'greatest albums' lists, but I didn't realise just how many classics they crammed on here. It's also a good touchpoint for a lot of their different styles: rocky, folky, bluesy, Stairway to Heaven-y. It's not perfect but it's still worth 5 stars.

Probably my favorite album of theirs, has quite a bit of range and they are quite far along with their style that this is a great vertical slice of Zeppelin. Unfortunately it's almost become too ubiquitous that I have a hard time separating it from a lot of people that taints the impression. However, it's not my favorite style of rock and I don't always wanna listen to Zeppelin in general. I actually prefer the slower songs like The Battle of Evermore and Stairway to Heaven (as much as it was overplayed). I quite enjoyed Four Sticks with the addition of synths and the percussion is a lot of fun. Culturally and of the genre a 5 but in terms of listening pleasure it's a 4.

Man, the hits here are absolute bangers. But the tracks that aren't hits are major misses. Miles off the mark. It's insane to me that the same album that contains "Black Dog," "When the Levee Breaks," and "Stairway to Heaven" also contains "The Battle of Evermore" and "Four Sticks" which are ... well, there's a reason you probably haven't heard them. They're not bad enough to tank the album but they do pull the rating down a star.

Wait, this is supposed to be one of the greatest Rock albums of the early 70s? THIS?!? Granted, Stairway to Heaven is a powerful and classic (albeit severely overplayed) track, but outside of that, I hear a lot of generic white-men-playing-the-blues rambling and songs without too much variation or ideas. The Battle of Evermore is pointlessley meandering without going anywhere. The same could be said about Four sticks. Going to California is a welcome change of pace, but is too generic to be really good and sounds the same throughout. When the Levee Breaks left me shrugging. Led Zeppelin are supposed to be one of the best bands of the 60s/70s, but I've been suspecting for some time now that they are simply overrated. This is another case in point. 2/5

Led Zep are abysmal. Not even listening.

Really dont like led zeppelin

A bona fide goddamn rock 'n' roll masterpiece! It's way nerdier than you'd think, but it's fucking glorious. Imagine buying this album in 1971? You get it home, you put it on thinking "sweet, new Zep" and then they relentlessly assault you with so much motherfucking badassery for 42 minutes and 35 seconds you don't even think your brain can process one more shit hot guitar lick? What a time to be alive. Wish that's how I heard it for the first time.

Almost totally non-experimental, with the narrow exception of some parts of Four Sticks. Still an immaculate straight rock album: Inescapable, cohesive, with many corners which have been partially duplicated since. Even Battle, the low point of the tracklist, manages to make moving upper notes on a guitar sound moving, plaintive, not done-a-million times. The followup fails the latter criterion through no fault of its own.

I'm back and forth a lot over which Led Zeppelin album I think is their best. But honestly, I think, song for song, IV really delivers everything that Zeppelin is about as a band. If you listen to classic rock at all, you probably know most if not all of these songs. They are stone cold classics, all of them. I cannot stress enough how rare that is in an album. Yeah, a few have been overplayed somewhat in the past 50(!) years. But this is an album that holds up ridiculously well to repeat listening. From the mega energy “Rock and Roll,” to the grandiose, epic “Stairway to Heaven,” to the delicate acoustic “Going to California,” to the slow burning blues of “When the Levee Breaks,” every flavor of Zeppelin is present here. “Black Dog,” my word. That is possibly the best intro to any album that I have heard. It's perfection. Fave Songs (All songs, in order from most to least favorite, adding that I love them all): When the Levee Breaks, Going to California, Rock and Roll, Black Dog, Stairway to Heaven, Misty Mountain Hop, Four Sticks, The Battle of Evermore

Led Zeppelin provides crucial evidence in the age old debate about what would happen if the greatest cock rock band of all time was made up of a bunch of Tolkien nerds. Turns out it's pretty cool. This album is excellent the whole way through, and it finishes even stronger than it starts. Stairway to Heaven gets a lot of the attention for this album, but When the Levee Breaks is my nomination for the best Zeppelin song of all time. 5/5

ashamed this is the first time i'm listening to led zeppelin... liked this album to listen to again. misty mountain hop is dooooope i love the discordance and atonality!!

Probably their best I've heard so far, which isn't really saying much. Stairway to Heaven is cool (if over played), the rest is pretty bland and typical. I'll be nice and give a 3 I guess. I don't hate it, but I definitely don't love it either.

I'm supposed to love this but I just don't

girl this sucks

A classic for a reason. Great music, great memories.

Obviously.

Feels a little silly writing a review of this, so all I'll say is that in case you weren't aware, "When the Levee Breaks" is one of the most sampled beats of all time, for example on fellow 1001 album lister Beastie Boys' Licensed to Ill (Rhymin' and Stealin'). It's one of the hugest, heaviest grooves you'll ever hear, mainly because John Bonham is has a devastating sense of time that makes him one of the funkiest drummers ever and people will continue to borrow his beats for many years to come. Go listen to it again right now if you can, focusing on the drums. Magnificent. Listen to Black Dog, for example. The guitar and bass are playing these ridiculously complicated riffs and Bonham cuts through it all like Alexander The Great slicing through the Gordian knot, with an incredibly simple beat that takes great maturity and musical instinct to conceive, and immaculate sense of time to execute so effectively, and provides a powerful contrast to the busy strings. People tend to get distracted with the fiery guitar and Lord of the Rings references and blues thievery but for me at least, Bonham is the most interesting and probably most influential musician in this band and this album is a tremendous showcase for his talents.

That was so good 😊

"When you get down to making out, whenever possible, put on the first side of Led Zeppelin IV" - Mike Damone

Well, come on now…. Could there be a more influential rock album? Rock song? There’s an argument to be made, but probably a waste of breath. It’s not my all-time, but deserves the accolades of a top ten. So 5, despite the plagiarism.

Another classic, even if Stairway is the most overplayed song in history.

Starts well, ends well, goes on a bit in the middle. Honestly, like, Zeppelin are good, they're just not as good as their fans or, more important, they themselves think they are.

That's a guy with sticks on his back

A classic of course - can't really review it neutrally as I have the vinyl and have listened to it repeatedly, though not for a while. Not sure my 52 year old self likes it quite as much as my 17 year old self did, but it is still pretty good.

Yes! Finally an album that I'm quite familiar with. Immersed my self in all the 60's classic bands when I was just a young pup coming of age to the realization of what music means. What an album. Hell, what a band! Full blown classic Zep' immediately on display in Led Zeppelin IV from the opening riff of Black Dog to the unmistakable hard drumming of Bonham in When the Levee Breaks. Been a long time since America simply rock and rolled and no one did it better than LZ. The fantasy interlude of The Battle of Evermore slows down the album and not one of my favorites but an enjoyable tune non the less. Admittedly, I switch the station if Stairway to Heaven comes on but still fully appreciate the impact and value of Stairway and the lyrics. And if I do listen to it, can still bring on the goose bumps...does anybody remember laughter (added in one of their live versions). Right back into the head banging, body thumpin' with Misty Mountain hop. Why don't you take a good look at yourself and describe what you see and Baby, Baby, Baby do you like it? Always thought the lyrics were drowned out in Four Sticks. Going to California is one of my favorites, not of just Led Zeppelin's. Could listen to it over and over. Meet you up there where the path runs straight and high...Tellin' myself it's not as hard, hard, hard as it seems...it's hard (it's hard included in a live version). And one last full blown hard rock song with Plant's unique singing exhibited: Don't it make you feel bad When you're tryin' to find your way home You don't know which way to go? If you're goin' down south They got no work to do If you're going down to Chicago. A-ah, a-ah, a-ah...

Not much care here. III for me. But yeah, should be on this here list.

Misty Mountain Hop and Going to California are forever favorites. It's really hard not to love this album and really hard not to skip Stairway to Heaven.

There is a lot of plagiarism on this album, it’s so brazen, like one of those hiding in plain sight situations (Jimmy Saville). I get that stairway is a boomer anthem but it made me feel nothing. It’s a decent album overall but it’s like they colonised black music and copywrited it.

The fourth rock album from Led Zeppelin was a critical and commercial success, as well as the band's best selling album. The album is certified 24x platinum which makes it diamond certified too. The band's most popular song "Stairway to Heaven" also comes from this album. This album is regarded as a cornerstone of the 1970's hard rock music, because it had a great diversity of songs and was so popular. I thoroughly liked this album and will listen to more Led Zeppelin songs I haven't heard yet.

Messieurs Boombastic (Not quite telephontastic) The good here is very very good. The not so good is just that.

it’s like a country album but with rock. i don’t like it, i only like one song. 4/10

My friend Twelve Pint Simon loves this record. He used to travel to Belgium every weekend and play it LOUD so all Belgians could hear and kiss him on his mouth. I said "Nobody likes phlegmish kisses" and he said "did you just say phlegmish or flemish?" Then I pointed out that they are homonyns and I was making a pun. Simon laughed, went outside and ate crisps in the carpark.

ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..... i'm bored LMAO

Nothing I can add to the stellar reviews. Just listen to an indisputable 5 star album.

Great album if you are a zeppelin fan. 4.5

ICONIC.

Led Zeppelin IV is an all time rock classic with brilliant musical performances in every imaginable way which creates an incredibly enjoyable, and varied, listen. The opening track “Black dog” by introduces some of the great things you will experience on the record including catchy lyrics, brilliant guitar work from Jimmy Page & great vocals. This track has a great energy. “Rock and roll” comes through with much of the same greatness. Brilliant solos on both tracks. The almost surreal “The battle of evermore” changes the pace of the album rather than adding another rock and roll track. And this is appreciated on the album. The iconic and profound “Stairway to heaven” is the centrepiece of the album and for good reason. It’s obviously one of the best rock songs ever written with one of the best solos ever, brilliant vocals & lyrics. Side 2 opens with the fun & groovy “misty mountain hop” before going into the mesmerising “four sticks” which features brilliant drumming and vocals in what is a really unique track on the album. “Going to California” is a fantastic acoustic track with a nice relaxing feel. The album ends on the slow burning blues rock banger that is “When the levee breaks”. I feel I can’t speak too much on this album without repeating over and over how brilliant every single performance is. From guitar, vocals, lyrics, bass, drums and even mandolin and harmonica. This is an all time rock masterpiece. And it doesn’t even stick to just one strict genre. All killer, no filler defined. An absolute must listen and one of the albums which defines rock & roll. 5/5.

Misty Mountain Hop is an overlooked gem.

Some of the best music ever made.

I wore this cassette out in the summer of 86. The first note brought back so many memories.

Greatest album ever recorded by a band not named the beatles

That's more like it ... a real classic.

Before this relisten I would have probably said that 4 was overrated and Stairway sucks but, definitely not. Goes so hard and even Stairway rocks.

Thanks Dad. I miss you.

So great.

The type of album that rewires your brain in the best way possible

ABSURDO algumas músicas são grandes demais, mas no geral, o álbum é insano!

I have an embarrassing confession. I didn’t hear this album until almost 10 years after its release. I was only familiar with Stairway. Roadtripping to Albion for my first ever cross country meet. My ultra cool classmate, a migrant from Portland, OR, world-wise and profoundly less naive, popped this cassette into his portable boombox and cranked it in the van. Out came the bombast of Black Dog. I did not know what to think. The production quality was lower than stuff I was playing at the time. And it was raw. Unlike any of the highly produced pop rock from REO, Journey, Foreigner, Styx, among others that had been dancing in my ears at that time. But I reveled in it. It was like I was taking my first secret sip of alcohol or first puff of a joint. So wrong, but you couldn’t help that it somehow felt right. It was decadent. Yet, for some unknown reason, I still didn’t delve into their catalog even though I can clearly remember the first time I heard this album. The full Zeppelin came later, beginning in college. After fully embracing Zeppelin, while I enjoy this album, it is not my favorite. A sacrilegious view among rock fans. Even more sacrilegious, Stairway to Heaven probably doesn’t even break into my top 10 Zep songs. The rawness and straightforward rock of Black Dog is still my fave off this album. Even though it is not my favorite, I probably consider this album to be their first truly complete effort. Instead of feeling somewhat disjointed, this is an outstanding piece of work that flows well from beginning to end.

Probably my favorite LZ. Not much I can say that hasn’t been said before… mostly would like to echo that it’s the most fully realized of their self-titled series - feel the most like “Led Zeppelin” out of all of them while still being incredibly tight. There’s not a single inessential song or even moment on this album. In my opinion, it’s the epitome of “1001 albums to listen to before you die”. 8 perfect songs for 43 minutes of perfect music. Even if Stairway to Heaven is slightly overrated. :) I remember listening to these albums for the first time in high school and being absolutely blown away that music from the late 60s - early 70s could sound THIS good. Even with more experience listening to music from this era, I still can’t get over how timeless the production and musical style of this album feels. Probably more of a testament to LZ’s influence on hard rock and metal generally, but all still the same.

Yeah this albums amazing. I was expecting it to be overrated but it definitely wasn’t. 5 stars

stairway to heaven is probably the first English song that made me learn it's lyrics.

Nicht so gut wie III, aber trotzdem geilooo

Foundational rock guitar album. Easily one of the best albums of all time. The guitar work is top quality. Stand out tracks include stairway to heaven and black dog!

100 stars, no notes, straight up masterpiece. One of my fave albums ever.

Several classics, with Black Dog, Stairway to Heaven, and When the Levee Breaks, but there's something to like in just about every song, and there are several genres represented throughout the album (albeit with a rock tinged Led Zeppelin sound) The whole album is good, but Stairway to Heaven is on a whole other level, and almost makes the rest of the songs sound slightly worse in comparison.

One of the best all-around albums ever made. The thing that stands out the most to me about this album is how musically diverse and rich it is. Blues rock, rock n roll, sweeping epics, sweet interludes, and even some pseudo-hip hop driving beat? The rare album that is honestly as good as everyone says it is

One of my fave albums.

Perfection isn't it? I mean for me it isn't Houses of the Holy, but it is bloody great.

Doesn't get much better than this. Going to California is probably the biggest highlight in this album followed by how Black Dog and Rock and Roll flow into each other and then Stairway to Heaven.

No notes. All the jams.

A classic. Reminds me of the Chicago station that would “let the Led out” and just play Zeppelin like an hour a day.

Dit wordt eigenlijk een hele kromme rating. Ik vind lang niet elk nummer op dit album even fijn om te luisteren en ik ervaar bijvoorbeeld zo'n Four Sticks als veel te druk, maar het album waar Stairway to Heaven op staat krijgt in de context van deze lijst eigenlijk automatisch een 5. Een gevalletje 'je maakt maar zin!' dus.

A desert island album for me, personally.

Goddamnit. I'm so, so sick of the '70s rock on this list, and I have no background or interest in Zep, but this still wowed me. Maybe it's because I've already heard so many of these songs before, so I'm warmed up to them? Or because this wasn't as long or self-indulgent as I had expected? Sigh. Whatever, it's clearly a masterpiece and I'm mad about it!

The only sorta weak song on this one is Four Sticks but Going to California EASILY makes up for that

Oh come on, who doesn’t love this album?! It’s a classic for a reason.

This is THE Led Zeppelin album. Classic.

The BEST

Led Zeppelin's best album, hands down. The pastoral cover artwork with no album title or band name gives the record a mystical feeling, almost like a found relic from some sort of ancient druid society. And of course, the songs are great, too. Every single one of the eight songs on here is among the band's greatest work. A very well-balanced mix of Hard Rock, Folk, Blues, and early Heavy Metal. Even after being overplayed to death, it still resonates. Key tracks: Black Dog Rock and Roll The Battle of Evermore Stairway to Heaven When the Levee Breaks

Classic greatness

Yes

Get the LED out!!!!

One of the all-time greatest rock albums 🤘

Obvious 5. I was interested to recently learn that Sandy Denny is the backup vocalist on Battle of Evermore. So cool.

“No Stairway!? Denied!” “Stairway to Heaven” is overly ubiquitous, but the Wayne’s World gag and real life banning of the riff in guitar stores is overwrought. Despite that, “IV” is still a V, with “Battle of Evermore” and “When the Levee Breaks” as my standout favorites.

With two absolute bangers starting this album off, closing with the amazing When the Levee Breaks and with the iconic Stairway to Heaven sandwiched in between, how could this album be anything less than five stars. Zeppelin defines rock ‘n’ roll and this album defines Zeppelin.

Is Stairway to Heaven too long? Yes, but the second half of Stairway would be a top 10 LZ song in its own right. Led Zeppelin II might be my favorite album but When the Levee Breaks is the song I can't get out of my head.

This is one of Led Zeppelin’s strongest albums with LZ II and Houses Of The Holy. Seven of the Eight tracks are strong (Four Sticks being the lone exception) while there are several amazing songs. Black Dog’s call and response between vocals and instruments is great. And I love the passages where the drums and guitars are out of sync timing wise. Happy little accidents or maybe not accidents at all. Stairway To Heaven is over and under appreciated at the same time. Too many people try to go against the grain and downplay its brilliance because it’s too popular. Bollocks! The swinging groove to Misty Mountain Hop is so much fun. And the cover of When The Levee Breaks is awesome.

Led Zep's magnus opus. This album goes hard immediately from the opening chords of Black Dog and doesn't slow down until the third track. The band continues to show their range by going from rock and roll to folk to prog to blues. Since I first listened to this entire album 20 years ago, my favorite song has been Black Dog.

Great record, one of the most emblematic Led Zeppelin albums, memorable songs, incredible sound and lyrics. One of the all time greats for multiple reasons.

Tremendous.

This one was ubiquitous to the point that guitar shops had to post signs banning anyone from playing “Stairway” under penalty of being kicked out of the store. 40 years of listening, and I still love this band to death. I don’t think there is any other band where I can say that every single second of every single record they ever did is still exciting to me. I know I’m old, but it’s amazing to me that many people have never heard this album.