I started Led Zeppelin January of 2020 and finished them about a month later.
Led Zeppelin I (1969): B
Led Zeppelin II (1969): B
Led Zeppelin III (1970): A-
Led Zeppelin IV (1971): A
Houses of the Holy (1973): B
Physical Graffiti (1975): A-
Presence (1976): B-
The Song Remain the Same (1976): C+
In Through the Out Door (1979): B
Coda (1982): B-
How the West Was Won (2003): B
Led Zeppelin I (1969):
Since I first listened to this debut, I've gained a general disinterest in this early "metal" stuff which hurts my enjoyment of it these days but, for what it's worth, it's consistent. B
Led Zeppelin II (1969):
"Whole Lotta Love" is the band's first exceptional track, "Heartbreaker" is another great original, and the semi-acoustic songs "Ramble On" and "Thank You" show this band starting to gain some real taste. However, this album has the same problem with plagiarism that their debut does and most everything else is lifted in part from somewhere else. Fortunately, I'm less a fan of that stuff anyway. B
Led Zeppelin III (1970):
Not only has the plagiarism problems essentially evaporated by this point, but the band proves their musicianship by changing genres to folk rock. A freak vocalist over a freak electric guitar was a great stylistic choice, but a freak vocalist over a humble acoustic guitar? Now that's innovation. A-
Led Zeppelin IV (1971):
Blah blah blah, yeah it’s basically as good as many say. A
Houses of the Holy (1973):
I'm not a big fan of the vocals on "The Song Remain the Same"--should've remained an instrumental if you ask me--"The Crunge" is perhaps the worst Zeppelin song up to this point, and "D'yer Mak'er" is just okay. However, "The Ocean," "No Quarter," and “The Rain Song” continue the good form of IV and help save this from being a somewhat mediocre performance. B
Physical Graffiti (1975):
For a double album, this has very little filler, which is a big plus and "Kashmir," "Ten Years Gone," and "Down by the Seaside" are all excellent. A-
Presence (1976):
"Achilles Last Stand" is one of Page's greatest achievements. Other than that, nothing very noteworthy, although fans will certainly enjoy most of this. B-
The Song Remain the Same (1976):
For all that Led Zeppelin was hyped up to be live, this does them little justice. And while most of these songs are enjoyable, they all fall to the live performances on How the West Was Won, which is what you need to check out. C+
Coda (1982):
Physical Graffiti already gobbled up most of the good outtakes. B-
