Ranking Led Zeppelin's Studio Albums

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The first time I really listened to Led Zeppelin was in my junior year of high school, when my friend John gave me a copy of Led Zeppelin IV for Christmas. It was one of those rare, consistent albums that I could listen to from start to finish without wanting to skip a track. Not too long after that I picked up Houses of the Holy and was surprised to find that I liked that album even more. Sometime after that, I picked up Led Zeppelin II, which I didn't like as much as the other two albums I already had.

After high school, I picked up the boxed set. This was my first exposure to a lot of the tracks from the albums I didn't own. One of the things about the boxed set that I heard people say they didn't like was that the tracks were out of chronological order, and it can be kind of confusing as to which song came from which album. A few years later I picked up the second boxed set which included all of the remaining studio tracks not on the first boxed set (pretty cool of the band to do this).

Starting in 2014, they began releasing the albums again, remastered (again?), and optionally available in deluxe editions with extra content. I'd never been fond of the boxed set audio (and even that was remastered), feeling that it sounded a little flat. But I wasn't sure I wanted to buy these songs again. However, with the digital versions being produced to meet the Apple Digital Master qualification, I gave them a listen, liked the sound, and, over time, bought each of the albums. This is the first time I've owned most of these in their non-boxed set versions, and was surprised by some of the minor differences in the songs between the original albums and the boxed sets. This is also the first time I'm hearing most of these songs in the original album order.

So, after finally being able to listen to the songs as they were originally released, I'm able to rank, in my opinion (yours will vary), the albums.


Coda

9. Coda

Coda is a much better name than Leftovers, which is what this album essentially is. Produced to fulfill a contractual obligation, it's a compilation album with a few live tracks in addition to the studio tracks.

Even though this is widely considered their worst album, it's not a bad album. It's just the least among them. For the deluxe edition, this one got, not one, but two bonus discs, which I think is pretty cool. For some reason, Hey, Hey What Can I Do? and Travelling Riverside Blues were included with the bonus tracks on the deluxe edition, even though Hey, Hey What Can I Do? would've been a better fit as a bonus track on Led Zeppelin III, as it was the B-side to Immigrant Song from that album.

Favorite Tracks: Walter’s Walk and Ozone Baby

Led Zeppelin

8. Led Zeppelin

I know it's a classic, but this is one of my least favorite Zeppelin albums. I just feel that they got better over time, and this was the genesis. Again, I don't dislike it, but I think what came after was better.

Favorite Tracks: Good Times Bad Times, Dazed and Confused, and Your Time Is Gonna Come


Presence

7. Presence

This one's considered one of their weaker albums, but still has some great stuff. I feel like, for the most part, each album was a little better than the previous, though this one seems to break that pattern a bit, in my opinion.

Favorite Tracks: Achilles Last Stand, For Your Life, Royal Orleans, and Hots On for Nowhere


Led Zeppelin II

6. Led Zeppelin II

They're still firmly blues-rock at this point, but getting a little more diverse. It improves on the first album while setting a trajectory for things to come. Ramble On may be my second-most favorite Led Zeppelin track.

Favorite Tracks: What Is and What Should Never Be, Thank You, and Ramble On

And at this point, things got a little difficult

I had a difficult time ranking the albums at this point. During the course of writing this, Led Zeppelin III jumped up one or two spots (and could potentially jump one more). While I can honestly say there's stuff on each of the aforementioned albums that I like, the albums that follow are, in my opinion, stronger overall, and thus harder for me to rank.


Led Zeppelin IV

5. Led Zeppelin IV

A classic album, one of those I can listen to without wanting to skip a track. Four Sticks might be my least favorite here, and even that I don't dislike.

Favorite Tracks: Rock and Roll, Stairway to Heaven, and When the Levee Breaks


Led Zeppelin III

4. Led Zeppelin III

It's a tough call for me between this one and Houses of the Holy. I could easily swap these two in my ranking. Really a tough call. Both are great albums. The band takes a different direction on this album from their first two, going with a more acoustic, folk sound at times, despite the hard-edged opener, Immigrant Song. Also, the sentiment of Friends is appreciated.

Favorite Tracks: Immigrant Song, Friends, Out On the Tiles, Tangerine, That’s the Way, and Bron-Y-Aur Stomp


Houses of the Holy

3. Houses of the Holy

As already mentioned, it was really a tough call between this and Led Zeppelin III for the Number 3 spot. There's something about the mix, and the overall vibe, of this album, that I really love. The album closer, The Ocean, is among my Top 5 Led Zeppelin tracks.

Favorite Tracks: The Song Remains the Same, The Rain Song, and The Ocean


In Through the Out Door

2. In Through the Out Door

Their last true studio album, this one is strong overall, with some of my favorite Zeppelin tunes. Hot Dog is out of left field and totally not the sort of thing I'd normally listen to, yet it works for me. They'd come a long way by this point and their sound had evolved quite a bit, but not in a bad way.

Favorite Tracks: In the Evening, Fool In the Rain, Hot Dog, Carouselambra, and All My Love

Physical Graffiti

1. Physical Graffiti

The fact that this is a double album gives it an advantage -- there's more to like. Kashmir is probably my all-time favorite Led Zeppelin track (and Robert Plant's too). A lot to like here.

Favorite Tracks: The Rover, Houses of the Holy, Trampled Under Foot, Kashmir, In the Light, Ten Years Gone, and The Wanton Song


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