Essential Led Zeppelin: Their 40 greatest songs, ranked
In celebration of Robert Plant's 75th birthday, we revisit the tracks that capture the might and imagination of the most influential rock band of the '70s
Music Lists Led Zeppelin
At the height of Led Zeppelin’s fame in 1975, Robert Plant called himself a “golden god,” a phrase he delivered with his tongue firmly in cheek. In the nearly 50 years since he uttered those words, Plant has refused to stand still. Even as he turns 75 on August 20, Plant continues to avoid resting on his laurels: this year finds him on tour promoting Raise The Roof, the acclaimed 2021 sequel to Raising Sand, his Grammy-winning 2007 album with Alison Krauss.
Plant’s desire to continually innovate throughout his distinguished and adventurous solo career can be traced to his time with Led Zeppelin, a band whose might and imagination were inexhaustible right up to their disbandment in 1980. Plant’s celebration day is the perfect time to revisit the best tracks from his time with John Bonham, John Paul Jones, and Jimmy Page, whose music made Led Zeppelin the most potent band of the 1970s and retains a powerful pull on the public imagination today.
110 Comments
Not bad. But the top 2 need reversing and Immigrant Song is way too low. I’d also have Battle of Evermore higher.
This gut gets it!
My top 3 are In the Light, Rain Song, In the Evening. Not going to argue the list, all great songs. In my stoned teen years I thought these guys were gods.
That sounds like the top 3 of a stoned teenager. That’s an observation, not a criticism.
I’ve been on a Zep kick lately. “When the Levee Breaks”, “Kashmir”, and “Immigrant Song” would be my top 3 right now.
No qualms with this list. A great Zep deep cut – funky as hell – is “Hots on for Nowhere.” Here it is used to great effect in, of all things, a skateboard documentary.
I honestly don’t know how you could pull off a ranked list of Zep songs. Put these in just about any order and I couldn’t complain all that much.That said, the cover of Anne Bredon’s “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You” from the first album is a pretty glaring omission for me. And just based on personal preference, I’d swap “Traveling Riverside Blues”, “Over the Hills and Far Away”, “Achilles Last Stand” and “Tangerine” into the top 10 without having a clear idea of which songs I’d bump out.
Also, shoutout to Zepparella for this pretty kickass version of “When the Levee Breaks”.
A serviceable, if safe, cover.Much prefer Karen O + Rezner + Ross’s version of “Immigrant Song” which tries to do something a bit different while maintaining the pace and ferocity of the track.
Sorry, #1 Zep tribute band will always be Dread Zeppelin
Not to age myself, but in high school we dubbed the cassette of the first Dread Zeppelin album and left the copy in a Teddy Ruxpin at the toy store.
I agree about the ranking LZ songs – impossible task. For me, I like the Physical Graffiti representation, although Ten Years Gone and The Wanton Song need to be in the top 40. Also, Achilles is far, far too low. In my mind, it’s #1, followed by The Rover.
I think “Good Times Bad Times” is way too low as well. I mean, that’s one of the greatest opening statements in the history of popular music.
Also, “Celebration Day” needs to be included here.
Achilles is far and away my favourite too, but I get why it’s not in the higher reaches of everyone’s list. Should be at least top ten though. I’d swap its position with Black Dog, a track I like but never really loved in the same way.
AI wrote this. The only LZ song that even comes close to being questionable is Carouselumbra. As you were saying, all pretty much interchangeable.
Pretty solid. Can’t argue with a lot of it, but I think Thank You deserves to be way up there (as opposed to entirely omitted), and my clear No. 1 is Over the Hills and Far Away.
Boomer rock.
considering rock doesn’t even really exist anymore, you might as well just call it “Rock.”
Sociocultural era and musical genre identified correctly. Thanks so much.
No, I was sharing the name of my local classic rock station, Boomer Rock, WBMR Fort Lauderdale.Incidentally, they play almost nothing but Zeppelin.
Fuck you.
Fuck you.
Drown yourself.
You’d know right, since being a Nazi means you must hang a lot with boomers
Where is the slideshow for Tolkien references in Rock songs?
It’s pretty much the same as the list above.
Nah. I think Rush and Iron Maiden both dabbled in Tolkien as well. Of course Iron Maiden also wrote an entire song about Frank Herbert’s Dune. They may be the nerdiest heavy metal band
Oh, they get way nerdier (Dragonforce, Hammerfall, virtually any prog rock band), but I’ll give you probably no one with mainstream name recognition.
OK , so I was slightly exaggerating.
More like “Shit Zeppelin”. I agree with everything Helper says to Brock Samson about this over-rated, second rate blues rock band.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion. In mine, you are an idiot.
And yet you’re in the grays, champ. Let me ask you: what’s your favorite song lyrics: the ones about underage sex and lemons, or the ones with terrible imagery of Hobbits?
:O
“And yet you’re in the grays, champ.” I think that may be the saddest thing I’ve ever read.
I dunno, I feel like you have a divorce agreement that is equally sad.
Yep, lyrics solely about hating another band (which they probably really don’t; it was just the punk thing to say, see Johnny Rotten and Pink Floyd) are infinitely superior.
And yet check the ratio, champ.
Mine is the one about starting an adventure on an April morning.Look: You don’t like Zeppelin, that’s fine. Musical tastes vary from person to person. I don’t particularly like pop and R&B, but I can recognize that Michael Jackson was a brilliant musical artist.But to call Zeppelin a second-rate blues rock band is just being contrarian for its own sake.
No, it’s kinda accurate. Plant is a hack, Page was a great session guitarist but a heavy blues cliche, Bonzo is an overpounding wannabe prog rock drummer relagated to playing “heavy blues” and JPJ….well, he’s actually immensely talented.
The hubris here is certainly impressive. I get not liking Plant’s voice, but calling him a hack is to admit to a complete absence of singing experience/knowledge. I could be wrong, though! Why not post a link to you doing something (anything) as well as Robert Plant sings?
You want me to post me taking a dump, which I do about as well as Plant sings? I mean, it’s the equivalent.
Yes, I’m sure future generations will pay for and be inspired by your bowel movements. What a perfect comparison!But seriously, post something you do that’s as good as Plant’s singing or Bonham’s drumming. You know, something that your peers consider inspiring and of the highest caliber.Alternatively, you could just admit that they’re not your cup of tea, which is human and normal and not at all a stupid, baseless assertion.
Oh, you mean like my work? If you want to be bored by my IVR design (which I’ve won awards for) I’ll gladly show you. Zep sucks. Face it. Plant is a shitty lyricist and his live “off the cuff” is as cringe worthy as Paul Stanley “Are you ready to rock!” nonsense. Bonzo is great, if you’ve never heard any other drummer in the world.
I’m sure your IVR design is excellent, and who knows, it might even be an inspiration for future generations of designers, all of whom will likely be unaware of your weirdly prideful musical ignorance. All the best!
Bonham was actually the best jazz-rock fusion drummer of all time, right up until John Wright became the greatest drummer of any style ever.
Wait, how the fuck is Plant a hack? Dude’s a legendary rock vocalist.
His live “improv” alone says he’s a hack. Me, I don’t remember laughter personally though.
Wow. And you not being in the grays is what validates your life?
The Hobbits of course!Listen just because you weren’t cool enough to listen to Zep on vinyl while smoking weed after a rocking D&D sessions doesn’t means it’s not the best damn band ever and 15 year old me is still 100% correct on that opinion!
I play guitar and it’s a Gibson Les Paul and Zep was great…when I was 13 🙂 I also thought Def Leppard circa High N Dry was the best band in the world.
13 year old you rocked! In all seriousness I do enjoy Led Zeppelin occasionally but not like I did when I was a teen. I would never call them bad.
Just the over playing of them, the “Get the Led Out” and being in a billion bands where they always want to play “Rock N Roll”, “Heartbreaker” and a bunch of other garbage. I just can’t listen to them anymore. In all seriousness I do think JPJ is a genius. But I just don’t like their “Heavy Blues” I guess.
Contrarian bs can be fun.
And yet you could have just ignored this article. You should go find an article about Star Wars and let them know why it also sucks.
whoa buddy, watch that edge you’re gonna hurt yourself
I used to follow this song up with Led Zeppelin at DJ nights. It would create an appropriate level of confusion.
I’m going to have a heart attack because “Dancing Days” and “Trampled Underfoot” are not in the Top 10 so please excuse me.
On the flip side, I was pleased to see Wearing and Tearing included at all. Major Coda deep cut and in my personal Zep top 3.
It’s a fool’s errand to try to rank Led Zep, but “How Many More Times” should be on this list and high up on it.
I Honestly think my top 5 has never waned. (OLI – Outside looking in)Stairway, Kashmir, Whole Lotta, Misty Mountain, No QuarterWhen the Levee BreaksImmigrant SongBattle of EvermoreDazed and ConfusedBlack Dog.
Yeah this would be my top list as well.
I was just saying the other day, however well Taika Waititi meant, “The Immigrant Song” has gotten exponentially more annoying in recent years.Plant’s yelping has always been the limiting factor in my enjoyment of this band, as much there as anywhere.
The version of “The Immigrant Song” by Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page at the R&R Hall of Fame is stunning. Best of all: No Robert Plant yelping lol.
D’yer Mak’er, and Bron-Y-Aur Stomp should be top 40, no?
No and yes.
D’yer think so?
D’yer mama should be top 40
Oh oh oh oh oh, you don’t have to go…there…
You don’t have to go.
Bunch a’ thieves.
yeah, the whole “that’s the way black music was handed down” ignores the fact that it is also the way white music was handed down. White musicians just got into copyrighting a generation earlier. I don’t have a problem with them doing songs in the public domain. Taking lyrics from Willie Dixon songs that had been recorded 5 years earlier is plain wrong, though. It was a real bad look to fight him in court. They thought he would fold because he was a poor black man. At least they finally settled.
Aside from court cases, Plant has occasionally copped to their thievery in interviews but that they wouldn’t in the recent case with Taurus/Randy California when it’s completely fucking blatant, particularly offends my sensibilities.
When you are British it’s not called stealing when it’s from brown people. It’s just musical colonization
I think we used to call it “free trade”.
I’m sorry….but 2 songs from “In Through the Out Door” in the top 10?
Insane.
I appreciate it. Better than putting Stairway at #1 like a novice. They’re at least giving a point of view.
I have a love/hate relationship with Zeppelin. One way to look at them is as rock’s greatest cover band. Cagey, cynical music scene veteran Jimmy Paige gleefully ripping off hooks, riffs and whole songs from a legion of unappreciated and unpaid predecessors and peers along with fellow pro John Paul Jones and exuberant bumpkins Plant and Bonham. They still sound great and breaking their performances down by song does not do them justice. They might be the greatest AOR band and the most Led Zeppelinest Led Zeppelin album is Houses of the Holy with Physical Graffiti in second. Whichever way you see it, Stairway to Heaven is not their best song. Apologies to poor Randy California.
One way to look at them is as rock’s greatest cover band.Some of the biggest British Invasion acts from the late 60s and early 70s got their start that way. The Beatles first album, half the songs were covers. Rolling Stones first album? Almost all songs were covers.Plus, there’s no way you can listen to Physical Graffiti and think those were covers.
Hence the love/hate thing. They built their sound on the backs of a lot of other guys.
“Boogie with Stu” and “In My Time of Dying” are both covers.
When you opened your comment with having a “love/hate relationship” with Zeppelin, I thought you were headed in the direction of loving their music but hating the fact that in retrospect, their tours are notorious for the band and crew being dedicated pedophiles and regularly committing statutory rape.
Calling one of the greatest, most creative, most dynamic drummers of his era a “bumpkin” is kind of wild.But I can see it lol
Great way to get the comments going. Pick a well known topic and let ‘er rip.I would have maxed out the slideshow to all 108 songs, in order.
I think “In The Evening” is super underrated. If the whole album sounded like that, I would’ve been more on board.
No time to read all the comments, but … no mention of Little Roger and the Goosebumps?Best Led Zeppelin song ever.
Kashmir is a really, really boring song. I definitely would not rank it anywheres near the top 10.“Over the Hills and Far Away” is underrated. That chunky acoustic guitar is just perfect.
Agreed. I gave it a lot of chances and for a while thought maybe my bias came from that stupid Puff Daddy song off the Godzilla soundtrack. It just kinda sucks unfortunately. I do really appreciate JPJ’s Mellotron work on it though.
Yup, it really is just perfect.
If “When the Levee Breaks” isn’t at #1, I’m going to call this list worthless, but I don’t really feel like checking to see if it is or isn’t, either. The A.V. Club might as well have used this space to publish a list of the top life-sustaining breathable gasses.
No. 4 blew my mind!
Music critics don’t want you to know about these Led Zeppelin songs!
D&C at 35??? Oh I don’t know about all this!That and I feel like I lean to Kashmir at #1 by a hair just because of how overplayed Stairway has been
While Physical Graffiti is well represented, one track sorely overlooked from that album is In My Time Of Dying. IMO, it has the best drum work that John Bonham ever played on a Zeppelin studio LP.
If I were making this list I’d be the insufferable contrarian who puts Screaming Lord Sutch’s “Flashing Lights” at number one. Which may be why I’m not making this list.
‘Communication Breakdown’ is waaaayyyy too high on the list. Also, no D’yer Mak’er?
Rock and Roll is a hideous song, a ghastly turgid wheezer not unlike Freebird in its overblown absurdity. You can feel yourself age as you listen to it.
Wow, what an incredible journey through Led Zeppelin’s legendary discography! This ranking of their 40 greatest songs is both nostalgic and exciting for any fan. It’s fascinating to see how their music has stood the test of time, continuing to captivate new generations.Personal preferences aside, it’s tough to dispute the timeless appeal of classics like “Stairway to Heaven” and “Whole Lotta Love.” These tracks not only showcase the band’s incredible musical prowess but also their ability to create immersive, evocative experiences through their lyrics and instrumentation.However, it’s also refreshing to see some deeper cuts and underrated gems making their way into the list. Led Zeppelin’s versatility shines through with tracks like “The Rain Song” and “Ten Years Gone,” demonstrating their ability to shift seamlessly between hard-hitting rock anthems and more introspective, melodic pieces.The impact of Led Zeppelin on rock and music as a whole is undeniable, and this ranking serves as a great reminder of their influence. It’s bound to spark conversations among fans about their personal favorites and the songs that have left a lasting mark on their lives. Whether you’re a die-hard fan or just starting to explore their catalog, this list is a fantastic guide to the musical journey that is Led Zeppelin. https://myheavenmodels.com/
I’m of the (rare?) opinion that Stairway is *not* the best song. But there’s so much good in this list it’s hard to even approach how to change the list. FFS, what a task.
Stairway – denied!
Mine was a rushed, clumsy post, but I greatly appreciate your response.
Their best song, Wish You Were Here, is not even on the list.
Sorry I’m literally just commenting to sign back in. This list is perfectly fine. I would have taken Stairway out of 1 and replaced it with Achilles Last Stand.
I just came across an old AV Club video on YouTube where they would bring in bands and have them perform covers from a list and remembered, oh yeah, the AV Club used to do things like this instead of slideshows.
Problem with a long list like this is that it’s more of an indictment of the songs the author doesn’t include. I mean, with all due respect, how can I trust someone who doesn’t think “In My Time Of Dying” or “Since I’ve Been Loving You” are among Led Zeppelin’s forty most essential songs?
No mention of “Since I’ve Been Loving You”? That song epitomizes blues rock and Zeppelin’s sound. III is full of great tunes, and that is easily the masterpiece. I place it above Stairway, any day.