1) In Through the Out Door

2) Physical Graffiti

3) Houses of the Holy

4) III

5) II

6) IV

7) Presence

8) Led Zeppelin

2: Physical Graffiti

3: IV

4: II

5: III

6: Presence

7: In Through the Out Door

8: Led Zeppelin

2. IV

3. Led Zeppelin

4. II

5. III

6. Physical Graffiti

7. Presence

8. In Through the Out Door

Although Houses of the Holy is clearly leading at the moment, how will we know which album's winning after several more rounds of voting, or am I taking this poll way too seriously?

 

 

 

1st album - 24 points

2nd album - 16 points

3rd album - 12 points

4th album - 8 points

5th album - 6 points

6th album - 4 points

7th album - 3 points

8th album - 2 points

2. II

3. Physical Graffiti

4. ZOSO (IV) 

5. LED Zeppelin I

6. III

7. In Through the Out Door

8. Presence

Physical Graffiti & I - IV are all pretty close for me. They could change order at any given time. 

Zoso

Led Zeppelin II

Houses Of the Holy

Physical Graffiti

Led Zeppelin III

Led Zeppelin

Presence

1) II

2) Physical Graffiti

3) IV

4) III

5) Houses of the Holy

6) Led Zeppelin

7) Presence

8) In Through the Out Door

yikes difficult without allowing ties

1- I, II, III, Zoso (60 to 80% good tracks)

5- House (50% good tracks)

6- Graffitti, Presence (only 3 good tracks)

8 - Out Door (better ignored)

1. Led Zeppelin

2. II

3. III

4. Physical Graffiti

5. IV

6. Presence

7. --

8. --

I still think, and the time and place verifies it all, that the first and second albums are the best and most important, and let me tell you ... there were at least 100 bootlegs that had the energy of their shows on them, and it was far out and explosive.

I think that later, things mellowed out a bit too much ... and were not as "forward" and "strong" as the early material when it came out ... there was nothing like it and they just stormed everyone ... compared to their last year doing concerts, they were already not as good ... even though we love a lot of their material.

Greatest opening ever ... "nice to be back ... " ... kaboom kaboom ... non stop for 2 hours plus!

IV

II

Houses of the Holy

Physical Graffiti

III

In Through the Out Door

Presence

Coda

IV

II

III

I

Houses of the Holy

Presence

In Through the Out Door

2) IV

3) II

4) III

5)Houses

6)Grafitti

7)Presence

8)Out Door

2

4

House of the holy

In through the out door

3

1

Presence

Coda

This could change in the future.

Only if you put In Through the Out Door as #1 because you think Hot Dog is their best song!

 

No worries there. In Through the Out Door barely even makes an entry into my Top 8 Led Zeppelin albums.

How am I mocking you? I just disagree with some things you say that's all. 

Go ahead, make your list. 

Should I be surprised or even be shocked by your ranking, I might disagree, but it does not mean I am mocking. A term like "mocking" has a negative connotation and it's not the case here. 

Actually, I'd have a hard time ranking Led Zeppelin's albums in any kind of order as they're all 4-star albums for me, apart from In Through the Out Door, obviously.  

eheee, you found a second excuse 

2- III

3- II

4- Houses of the Holy

5- I 

6- Physical Graffity 

7- Presence

8- In Through the Out Door 

1. Physical Graffiti

2. IV

3. III

4. II

5. I

6. Presence

7. Houses of the Holy

8. In Through the Out Door

I will gladly defend my choice of In Through the Out Door as the best Led Zeppelin album. While Physical Graffiti is very close with the awe-inspiring "Kashmir" and "In the Light", In Through the Out Door has "Carouselambra", "I'm Gonna Crawl", "Fool in the Rain", and "All my Love", all among the best songs the band ever did. I'm somewhat biased in that this album was my first LZ album (back when it was new), but it's the one I still most enjoy listening to all the way through. Even "Hot Dog" is very amusing, although I really wish "Ozone Baby" (which later appeared on the Coda album) would have filled that slot.

In Through the Out Door is similar to ELP's Black Moon album, in that both bands finally decided it was time to be grown-ups, and left behind a lot of their earlier silliness / "bad boy" antics.

IV

II

Physical Graffiti

III

Presence

In Through the Outdoor

Led Zeppelin

ll

Phys

TSRtS

Presence

debut

lll

ITtOD

Coda

HotH

lV

II

III

IV

Houses

Physical

Presence

Coda

Outhouse

Hi,

I was just listening to the albums in order, and all I could think about was a bunch of bootlegs I had in the early days (the best of which for me was "live on blueberry hill") ... and how the energy in those albums was insane ... and I was sure, after hearing it that it would have to implode sooner or later, for burning the candle to the end, so to speak. 

The later albums, are better recorded and really nifty and artsy in a lot of ways but they lack the strength and powow of the early material ... and yeah, we could say that the band were not teenagers any more and had grown up ... and the energy changes into something else ... and guess what "became" the biggest theme and idea in rock music since? ... just that energy ... not even if the band was good or not, and most of them were not even worth the discussion. 

But the media made them look good and great ... and what did most of us do? ... geee ... I must have missed the boat!

HOGWASH! ... (and yes, The Groundhogs were great!  )

Biggest misconception about this band, that they were subpar skill-wise.   All four members loved American blues and were committed to recreating the ragged roughness of the early recordings they grew up on.   In fact they were masters of their craft, so much that their records and performances were often considered "sloppy".   That was the point.   If they'd wanted to do clean, perfectly executed music, they would not have been the same band (and thank goodness).  

Zeppelin were among the finest, most seasoned musicians in Britain at that time.   Oh, and the Groundhogs?   Do you mean the Yardbirds?

Who ever said that? I've seen Page criticised here for being "sloppy" but Plant, Jones and Bonham are generally regarded as masters of their craft.

1. Presence... couple of tracks need a tune to hold them together but quite unique. Invents 80s metal with Achilles and not a power chord in sight.

2. Graffiti. Variety. IMTOD could've been shorter and like Presence they kept plagiarism down Two tracks rather than I on the first.

3. IV. The odd dodgy lyric (GTC and MMH) but splendid stuff over all.

4. III. Great everything. And Hey Hey What Can I Do was left off in favour of Roy Harper. Probably because they usually finished an album with a blues and that element was not prevalent on III.

5. In Through The Out Door. Fantastic 3 part number Carouselambra as John Paul Jones uses the same harmonic trick that Jeff Wayne used to open War Of The Worlds. Needed to be a 2 LP set. Multi trick pony Zeppelin wrong foot everyone who stereotypes them as a metal band.

6. I. Great side 1 and interesting side 2. One of the best debuts. One of the most unique by using other people's material. HMMT sums up the album as a quick jam to fill up side 2. ICQYB was done better live and is easily their worst version. Quite funny really especially after the devastating Shook Me which was also stunning live. The Yardbirds would also release Dazed and Confused but credit Jake Holmes.

7. HoTH. Over The Hills is exemplary as is The Ocean. Rain Song and Song Remans worked even better in concert. No Quarter is way too short and sounds a bit stilted. Worked better in other versions and live. Outstanding track though. The rest are either complex and confusing (Crunge), silly D'Yer Mak'er saved by fantastic drumming or simple and overly bright ... Dancing Days. And they left the excellent title cut off.

8. II. The album that set the template for 70s rock albums. Guitar, drum and bass solos, Organ solo, power ballad prototype. And one of the most plagiarised albums of music. I think Bukka White's version (it was on utube) of You Need Love uses the WLL riff. Not sure if that was before or after the Zeppelin thing. Plants 2 songs What Is and Ramble On make up for the beneath the scenes dodginess. The drum solo was done with hands and is different for that.

I've seen Bonham knocked numerous times on this very site, and Jones rarely gets much credit for his bass or keyboard playing.   Not to mention his arranging skills.   The rest of the time Page & Plant are accused of being thieves, which of course they were, but so was everyone else doing blues-based rock.

While I won't go as far as you and say ITTOD is my favorite I do think it's their most underrated. I like it a lot and think it's easily their most eclectic album which is another reason I like it a lot. If you took away "hot dog" and "fool in the rain" I think more people would appreciate it more and rate it higher. I still like those tracks though. Also, "I'm gonna crawl" might be the most underrated LZ song along with "the rover" from PG.

^ It's a magnificent album--  'Fool in the Rain' is a great track and 'Hotdog' is fun, it shows off their working-musician background and mastery of studiocraft.

8. Presence

That's a fairly snap judgement of an album every high school kid secretly listens to when ZoSo is over and everyone's gone home.   And for lifelong fans it is a breath of fresh air after years of Heartbreaker, Going to California, and Kashmir.

I can see it becoming someone's Number 1 ... eventually.

Not a fan of Up the Down Escalator, never was. A few decent songs. That's it. Most of it is forgettable. I usually listen to Physical Graffiti or Presence these days. I'm not as ancient as old fart Steve since I graduated in 1978, but I believe I know what's what when it comes to Zeppelin, and their last album is not up to snuff.

Maybe someday you guys will see the big picture when it comes to Zep.   Maybe not.

I know far more about the "big picture" regarding that album than you do. Bonham was battling booze, Page was strung out on heroin, Plant was still mourning the death of his child, and that left JP Jones to piece together the album (meaning the keyboard sections override just about everything on some tracks). ITtOD lacks the energy and drive of previous albums. It's Zeppelin without balls. If I never hear it again, I shall not miss it.

Regardless of what was going on in the band members' personal lives, they managed to put together a forward-focused, energetic, life-affirming album that has stood the test of time (unlike, say, their first four albums). 

"Fool in the Rain" , "Carouselambra" "lacking energy and drive"???

"In the Evening" "without balls"?????

The awe-inspiring guitar solo in "I'm Gonna Crawl" "without balls"???????

If I never hear the first album ever again, I shall not miss it. 

No justifying.  I know it's a great album.  The band knows it's a great album.  That's all I need.

The best quote I've ever heard is that the album should be considered "Lite Zeppelin".  

I had to do a double take when you said ITTOD "stood the test of time", while LZ's first four albums did not. Whether you are talking to Led Zeppelin fans in general, reading critical reviews or comparing aggregate lists on the internet, the first four albums (and throw in HoH and Physical Graffiti) are routinely listed as LZ's best in one order or another, and not only that they are considered among the greatest rock albums of all time.

You know, things like RateYourMusic, 1001 albums You Must Hear Before You Die, as well as the greatest lists from Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Mojo, Classic Rock, NME, Guitar World, etc. One would think that In Through The Out Door, if it did indeed "stands the test of time", would at least get on a list somewhere....anywhere; alas, not one asterisk, not one note, not one list. It is generally considered Zeppelin's worst.

I'm glad you love the album. Really, I am. However, let's not confuse your personal likes for objective reality.

Perfectly put. I don't have a problem with Outdoor being someone's favourite Led Zep album, it's a good album, but to say it's stood the test of time when the first four haven't is clearly wrong. 

Yeah I don't think so.   I've been a diehard fan for thirty-five years, own countless bootlegs, and used to track the band's touring schedule just for fun.   But let's not show our penis size.   Sure they were strung-out, Plant had been wounded in all kinds of ways, and it was up to Jones to make this session happen... and he did an amazing job.

I would add that the album, thanks to Page's stellar production and Jones' inspired arrangements, is probably their best sounding release.

Meh. I prefer the sound of Physical Graffiti, and the remaster on the 2015 Deluxe Edition is even better. Never cared for the keyboards being brought to the front on ITTOD, particularly when Jones seemed to get too enamored with his brand new Yamaha synth. The flitty sound in spots sounds like he's playing a Casio. Totally jarring and detracts from otherwise solid songs.

Why is Coda not counted? It is a studio release. It's nature is dynamic which makes it unique. It's was once 30 mins, now is an hour and a half long. Even features Led Zeppelin without Led Zeppelin, no easy task.

Just to add fuel to the ITTOD Fire (an ITTOD outtake that big picture readers should know) how about those tracks that were omitted due to vinyl limitations? Wearing and Tearing's powerhouse energy, Darlene's zip and wit, the near non-song Ozone Baby classed up by a lyrically challenged but outstanding vocal tune from you know who. ITTOD ran the gamut of styles while other bands strived for one.

It didn't play to pop culture dictates and was resented for it. Outstanding in that regard as well.

Dyer Maker and Thank You?

I didn't include Coda among the "original 8" simply because it is technically a compilation album of outtakes from a variety of album sessions. Yes, that charge could also be levied against Physical Graffiti, but that album also features a lot of newly recorded material. 

Thanks also for your thoughts on ITTOD. I wouldn't have minded if "Ozone Baby" had replaced "Hot Dog".

You're welcome. If it were me I'd have included Coda. It features, now more than ever a large quantity of Zeppelin material. The nature of it's origins is regrettable but it is still there. Much like the Beatles magical Mystery Tour (an accidental classic album.)

With the inclusion of the Bombay Orchestra material it shows how forward thinking JP and Co were. An equivalent might be the Floyd's Mudmen on Obscured By Clouds (same year, 1972) foreshadowing the appropriation, er, I mean the influence of non-western music in rock. Not bad for a bunch of blues guys...

Oh and how JP and Co returned to this very situation as the basis for No Quarter Unledded. Conceptual continuity and all that... The ironic bit was the material they used with the Bombay Squad was only very occasionally done live and then ... over done live in the 1990s...

Maybe this could be a Zeppelin album as well or are we bound by the rules of personnel which hardly applies to say, Yes. Don't worry just me stirring the pot. Don't want to provoke any eruptions...

Cheers

P.S.

ITTOD is still fantastic, an extension of Kashmir, In The Light and the use of guitar synthesizers, Purdie jazz shuffles and the elegiac I'm Gonna Crawl. Oh, and nothing was nicked either...

1 IV

2 Houses of the Holy

3 II

4 Physical Graffiti

5 I (first album)

6 III

7 Presence

8 In Through the Out Door

2. House Of The Holy

3. Led Zeppelin I

4. Physical Graffiti

5. In Through The Out Door

6. Led Zeppelin III

7. Prescence

8. Led Zeppelin IV

I know i may get some heat for rating IV last, but in my view it's way too overplayed and i think it has gotten boring.

Last I heard it's still the same album as was originally released. The music has not changed.

It has gotten boring, and includes some mediocre material like 'Misty Mountain Hop'.

Zeppelin IV

Zeppelin II

Houses of the Holy

Zeppelin I

Physical Graffity

Up to this point they're all very good

Presence

In Through the Out Door

Coda (If it counts)

II

I

III

Houses

Physical

Presence

In through

2. Physical Graffiti

3. Led Zeppelin II

4. Houses Of The Holy

5. Led Zeppelin I

6. Led Zeppelin III

7. Presence

8. In Through the Out Door

1.  II

2. Houses of the Holy

after that,. hmm they all have stuff I like and just as much stuff I don't, so it's a 6 way tie for 3rd place!

ps reread some of the earlier posts and I do think "In through the Out Door" has some fine songs.

Just meandering through this thread before I posted I thought I would be the first one to place III at the top but you beat me to it. Anyway:

III

Physical Graffiti

II

ZoSo

In Through the Out Door

Presence

All these discussions about In Through the Out Door and Coda - I guess I need to relisten to them first. They've been largely unplayed ever since I got I-IV for Christmas and puchased the rest of their CD's myself in ninth grade. Of course I've listened to Carouselambra and I'm Gonna Crawl since (love both) and all in all the former album is probably worthy of 2,5 stars...

Thank you for your post: I consider both "Carouselambra" and "I'm Gonna Crawl" to be among the 20 best songs the band ever did.

And you're right: Coda is mostly cold leftovers with the exceptions of "Poor Tom" (which should have been on III) and "Ozone Baby", which should have been on In Through the Out Door instead of "Hot Dog".

The three-CD rerelease has done wonders for Coda - to me, it was by far the best of the latest round of Zep rererererereleases.  The Bombay Orchestra stuff; the classic A/B sides, Traveling Riverside and Hey Hey; the primal Zep '68 track; the late 60s live tracks......the deluxe Coda suddenly becomes a key component in the cataloge.  

2. Led Zep II

3. Physical Grafitti

4. Led Zep IV

5. Houses of the Holy

6. Led Zep III

7. Led Zep I

8. That one I haven't listened to in over a decade

1. Houses of the Holy

2. IV

3. II

Led Zeppelin have produced three masterpieces:

1) Led Zeppelin

2) Led Zeppelin IV

3) Physical Graffiti.

The debut album is a real masterpiece, it's wonderful. It's their gift to the music. The other two are not so revolutionary but they are beautiful.

Then, 

4) II is a very good album

5) Houses of the holy is a good album

6) III is a good album

the other three are not good albums.

I think Graffiti has some mediocre tracks and some filler and would have liked to see Achilles last Stand and Nobodys Fault from Presence on it rather than several of the other tracks on side 2.

In Through The Out Door is by far my least favorite of the studio lps......not sure what they were doing with that one but it lacked balls.

If I could only keep one it would be either the debut or #4......tough choice for me.

1. Physical Graffiti

2. Led Zeppelin III

3. Led Zeppelin IV

4. Houses of the Holy

5. Led Zeppelin II

6. Led Zeppelin

7. In Through the Out Door

8. Presence

1. Physical Graffiti

2. Led Zeppelin III

3. Presence

4. Led Zeppelin IV

5. Led Zeppelin II

6. Led Zeppelin

7. Houses of the Holy

-

IV (perfection)

I

Houses of the Holy (it's got a few of my favorite songs of all time, but The Crunge ain't one of them)

III

II

Physical Grafitti

In Through the Out Door 

Presence

2. Led Zeppelin III

3. Led Zeppelin IV

4. Led Zeppelin II

5. Led Zeppelin 

6. Houses Of The Holy

7. Presence

I'm pretty much with you there - my playlist of Physical Graffiti discards all the leftover filler, apart from the two decent tracks left off Houses of the Holy, thus:

Custard Pie / The Rover / In My Time of Dying / Houses of the Holy / Trampled Underfoot / Kashmir / In the Light / Ten Years Gone / The Wanton Song / Sick Again

which at a running time of 63 minutes I find to be a much more palatable listening experience.