Led Zeppelin's Best Album - Progressive Rock Music Forum

Interesting results so far. Fairly evenly spaced. I would like to hear the justification for the one person who selected In Through The Out Door. Granted, everything is subjective, but the original question was what was the best Zeppelin album, not your favorite. If one were being objective, I'm not sure how you could quantify ITTOD as the best album Zeppelin ever released.

...a vigorous circular motion hitherto unknown to the people of this area, but destined
to take the place of the mud shark in your mythology...

When I haven’t heard it in a while and I go back and listen to it, “Going to California” always hits me squarely in the gut. Something evocative about that song in particular.

Jaketejas wrote:

I’ve actually played quite a bit of their music at one time or another, so I wouldn’t categorize myself in that way. Nevertheless, I’m afraid that I do not share your perspective. For all of the actual musical qualities that I detailed earlier, Zoso is for me their peak. Perhaps you overplayed the album? That’s what it sounds like from your post, and I have admittedly done that with some albums - in some cases, so much so that I never want to hear them again. Let's see what the poll shows.

Oh I overplayed it alright, but I also overplayed ll,lll, Houses and Phys. Somehow now the fourth just sits there as a listener, and one sees how much they matured musically by 1973.

"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." -- John F. Kennedy

Jaketejas wrote:

Although Zoso is the best from my perspective and I honestly can’t see how anyone could choose otherwise (it’s just THAT good!), your choice is equally as valid. How can music be anything but subjective? One might say ... oh, the production was better on one album over another, but does that make the music better? Not always. Sometimes, production improves albums and sometimes good production turns raw energy into sterility. One might say that the chord progressions are better, or that the phrasing is better, or that the call and answer blues works better. I would argue that to be the case with Zoso, but that is all entirely subjective.

ZoSo is their best when you aren't a Zep fanatic, haven't delved deeply enough into their full catalog, or simply think Black Dog or Four Sticks or Misty Mountain Hop are great songs. Though fun, satisfying and well produced, the fourth album is more a statement of theater and attitude than it is a collection of quality compositions. When reduced and broken down, ZoSo reveals itself as a work more of embellishment and illusion than inspired song craft. Nothing wrong with that, but the musical content was far greater on almost all their other releases.

ZoSo is your favorite when you're twenty, tolerable when you're thirty, and old hat by the time you're forty. But Phys is somehow always fresh and ready for further spins, further exploration, their White Album. ZoSo not so much.

Edited by Atavachron - June 01 2020 at 13:48

"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." -- John F. Kennedy

Jaketejas wrote:

Although Zoso is the best from my perspective and I honestly can’t see how anyone could choose otherwise (it’s just THAT good!), your choice is equally as valid. How can music be anything but subjective? One might say ... oh, the production was better on one album over another, but does that make the music better? Not always. Sometimes, production improves albums and sometimes good production turns raw energy into sterility. One might say that the chord progressions are better, or that the phrasing is better, or that the call and answer blues works better. I would argue that to be the case with Zoso, but that is all entirely subjective.

You're right and it is subjective. One thing about Led Zep is their output is remarkably consistent (imo of course) - they didn't produce a duff song until Hots On For Nowhere.

It's a toss-up between II and PG for me. I've gone for II for emotional reasons, being the first real rock album I got into.

Houses of the Holy has the most material I like (also has D’yer Maker 🤮)

Difficult to pick between the first four (so I went for the o,ne with fewer votes)

Love the debut, can't listen to II because I heard it way too much at house parties, and if I love Zoso's A-side (near-perfection), I was never a fan of the flipside.

III is the one I heard least, probably because not often played at house parties, because too acoustic.

HofH has enough good material for one great A-side (if No Quarter makes the jump, but the rest is pure dreck.

Graffiti is just a bottom-of-drawer compilation (three good tracks over 2 lps is way too few), and Presence (what a sh*tty artwork) has three tracks lost between horrid stuff. Outsdoor is nothing woth remembering, IMHO

I am unable to separate my own preferences from an objective set of criteria to evaluate music.

Atavachron wrote:

In my mind Zep had two studio phases-- a largely improvisational 'true blues' approach for the first three, and a more compositional approach for the fourth album on.

As I can only choose one based on objective standards, I'd give it to Phys for consistency of content, fidelity & production, and full collaboration between all four members.

As I mentioned to you before, I absolutely love ZoSo, it is a great and historic album; but you are right, Physical Graffiti is Led Zeppelin's statement album. The staggering amount of excellent material on that double album set is really a testament as to how good Zeppelin was by 1975. There are sprawling epics, there is funk, there is heavy metal, blues, and one of the most lovely acoustic pieces you'll ever hear....

...a vigorous circular motion hitherto unknown to the people of this area, but destined
to take the place of the mud shark in your mythology...

Poll Question: Which do you think is best?
Poll Choice	Votes	Poll Statistics
I	4	[11.43%]
II	4	[11.43%]
III	2	[5.71%]
ZoSo (IV)	7	[20.00%]
Houses of the Holy	5	[14.29%]
Physical Graffiti	10	[28.57%]
Presence	1	[2.86%]
In Through the Out Door	2	[5.71%]
You can not vote in this poll