Ranking Led Zeppelin Songs - Request To Participate (1 Viewer)

[Anarchy99]

Especially across genres, and what you liked when you were growing up. That's really important.

I like Stevie. A lot. But I was a classic rock / 80's metal kid growing up, and Stevie/R&B/etc. didn't resonate with me until I was older. So it's harder for me to view his run of albums the same as Zep's, Floyd's, the Stones, etc. But someone who was an R&B fan first as a kid would have an opposite take.  

Zep really has an incredible number of excellent albums and songs. While they are not my favorite band,  I/II/III/IV/Houses/Graffiti is better than any six-album run I can think of. 

I get that a lot of the posters here want to debate, discuss, and many times argue things. As you said, comparing pieces of work across genres is exceedingly difficult and will likely have no conclusive outcome. Maybe we need a thread ranking Beethoven’s symphonies? I might go 3, 7, 5, 9, 6, 4, 8, 2, 1 on that. All that being said, this is a Zeppelin thread. Let’s try to stick more on point and on topic. 

 

[In The Zone]

Zoso

 

[Tau837]

Just one more comment. While I like many different artists and bands across many genres, I don't think there is any other for which this exercise of ranking the top 25 songs would be even close to as difficult, and that is with a studio catalog much smaller than most/all other successful artists and bands due to Bonham's death, at about 80 songs, excluding outtakes.

To me, that indicates the incredible strength and depth of their albums.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Including those that won 3 Grammys for Album Of The Year? While Zep was in their prime and the biggest guitar-based band in the world? 

He won 3 straight in 4 years (he took a year off in '75 to give someone else a chance; the Grammys ####ed it up and gave it to Paul Simon), and should have won for Talking Book & Hotter Than July. And Music Of My Mind was too far out at the time to be appreciated, though it's now recognized as a masterpiece.

I don't think much of the Grammys (& even less of AllMusic's ratings), but if you're bringing industry/fan accolades into the discussion you have to reckon with the TWENTY FIVE statues he's got on his mantle. 

Stevie deserved everything he got. But Grammy voters at the time had no interest in Zep — or in a lot of good stuff — so I don’t think their decisions are much of a barometer of anything. 

 

[simey]

Just one more comment. While I like many different artists and bands across many genres, I don't think there is any other for which this exercise of ranking the top 25 songs would be even close to as difficult, and that is with a studio catalog much smaller than most/all other successful artists and bands due to Bonham's death, at about 80 songs, excluding outtakes.

To me, that indicates the incredible strength and depth of their albums.

It was easy for me to rank my Top 25 Led Zeppelin favorites. It would be way too hard for me to rank my Top 25 favorite Beatles songs. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

I listened to the Zep albums so much when I was a teenager in the 80s that every second of every track is still burned into my brain all these years later. Which is why I submitted a list quickly. The extensive process that some of you have gone through fascinates me.

 

[simey]

I don't think much of the Grammys (& even less of AllMusic's ratings), 

I take AllMusic's ratings with a grain of salt. I especially find Scott Yanow's opinion on jazz albums questionable a lot of times.

 

[jamny]

I listened to the Zep albums so much when I was a teenager in the 80s that every second of every track is still burned into my brain all these years later. Which is why I submitted a list quickly. The extensive process that some of you have gone through fascinates me.

I think a lot of us could have done it quickly from memory but the fun part was taking time with it.

 

[Desert_Power]

You still have time. Will start nudging people starting this weekend. Hope to get all the lists by the following weekend. 

May give it a shot by next weekend if I have a chance to listen through. Used to really listen a lot, but haven't in a couple years. I did name one of my cats Kashmir.

 

[Anarchy99]

May give it a shot by next weekend if I have a chance to listen through. Used to really listen a lot, but haven't in a couple years. I did name one of my cats Kashmir.

See what you can come up with. If I know people will actually be working on a list and will get it to me soon, I can take a few extra days to wait for them. There are 10-12 people in this category. I will check in the end of the week to determine if you are close and will be finishing up or if we should just move forward without these folks.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

See what you can come up with. If I know people will actually be working on a list and will get it to me soon, I can take a few extra days to wait for them. There are 10-12 people in this category. I will check in the end of the week to determine if you are close and will be finishing up or if we should just move forward without these folks.

As others have said previously, the best way to deal with stragglers is a hard deadline.

 

[Anarchy99]

As others have said previously, the best way to deal with stragglers is a hard deadline.

IMO, guys new to the party are not stragglers. I will stay on top of the other guys that have been dragging their feet and will annoy them and give them a deadline. By the time we get that far, there won't be many people left to worry about.

It won't matter anyway, as the first couple of songs in the countdown won't get any other votes anyway, so I can get started regardless.

 

[2Young2BBald]

I listened to the Zep albums so much when I was a teenager in the 80s that every second of every track is still burned into my brain all these years later. Which is why I submitted a list quickly. The extensive process that some of you have gone through fascinates me.

This was me too.  I built my list while listening to the songs on vinyl.  It was like muscle memory where to move the arm to drop the needle.  Corny, but the list built itself pretty quick.  I am enjoying this thread a ton.  Bringing back memories of seeing Robert Plant on The Principle of Moments Tour (had side stage seats where I would see the set list to know what song was next) and Jimmy Paige with The Firm and the 20+ minute solo he did.  AND, I queued up the reunion during Live Aid on YouTube.  

 

[Pip's Invitation]

This was me too.  I built my list while listening to the songs on vinyl.  It was like muscle memory where to move the arm to drop the needle.  Corny, but the list built itself pretty quick.  I am enjoying this thread a ton.  Bringing back memories of seeing Robert Plant on The Principle of Moments Tour (had side stage seats where I would see the set list to know what song was next) and Jimmy Paige with The Firm and the 20+ minute solo he did.  AND, I queued up the reunion during Live Aid on YouTube.  

Everyone associates Live Aid with the Queen and U2 performances these days, but at the time it seemed like the #1 topic coming out of it was the Zep reunion.

 

[Binky The Doormat]

As others have said previously, the best way to deal with stragglers is a hard deadline.

I haven't been straggling ...I have been in the cooler.

 

[Anarchy99]

Everyone associates Live Aid with the Queen and U2 performances these days, but at the time it seemed like the #1 topic coming out of it was the Zep reunion.

I also remember "on the day," a lot of talk was about Phil Collins performing at both venues. The LZ set was more hype than magic, and IIRC, the band didn't want it included on the official Live Aid DVD.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

The LZ set was more hype than magic

Yeah. The reunion at the Atlantic Records anniversary celebration a few years later was much better. 

 

[jamny]

I've mentioned this story before but this is as good a reason as any to mention it again.

In 1980, I was in high school, heading back on the subway psyched to be getting tickets to see Zeppelin for the first time. A friend was picking them up for a show in Philly, so going there from NYC made it even more exciting. As I was telling a friend on the train, this girl we went to school with was giving me weird looks. She finally said, "are you just joking around?" I had no idea what she meant until she told me that Bonham died that day. Of course then I thought she was just joking and wouldn't believe her. I got home as fast as I could, turned on the radio and Moby **** was playing and I knew.

 

[In The Zone]

My Zeppelin story from HS goes like this. I grew up in a southern Baptist church in the midlands of South Carolina. During one of our youth group get togethers a deputy from the Lexington County Sheriff's Department came to speak to us about music and the satanic messages that some songs contained. The only songs that I remember him covering were a couple by the Cult and Stairway to Heaven. He played Stairway backwards and claimed that there was a satanic message in it. Me and my buddies were all high as a kite watching and listening and just trying to hold back as much laughter as possible. 

Has anyone ever heard of any nonsense about this? Everytime I hear Stairway It reminds me of this. 

 

[jamny]

Has anyone ever heard of any nonsense about this? Everytime I hear Stairway It reminds me of this. 

Ha, yeah that was a popular story. I spent an afternoon playing Stairway backwards and recording anything that sounded remotely like English. There was one phrase that sounded a bit like Hail Satan or something close but it was mostly that you heard what you wanted to hear, nothing definitive.

 

[AAABatteries]

It's obviously been overplayed but can't see how it's not in everyone's top 25.

I get wanting to be hip/contrarian but there's just no way any band has 25 songs better than Stairway.

I mentioned how I went about my rankings with rounds.  I had a pretty good idea what most of my top 5-7 would be before listening to anything, so I didn't listen to most of those until Round 2 or 3.  I didn't listen to Stairway until I went to place it in my top-5.  There's just no way it's not top-25.

 

[AAABatteries]

Black Dog and Rock and Roll are bottom 25.  Don't @ me.

Bottom of your top 25 or bottom 25 overall?

 

[FairWarning]

My picks are in, thanks for the great thread.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Funny, I just read back through parts of the thread I'd missed and caught the Carouselabra stuff.  It forced its way in at #25 on my list as a long time guilty pleasure.  

I had it in the running for my last 5 but ultimately axed it.  if i did this again next week, it might be in...

 

[Long Ball Larry]

I listened to the Zep albums so much when I was a teenager in the 80s that every second of every track is still burned into my brain all these years later. Which is why I submitted a list quickly. The extensive process that some of you have gone through fascinates me.

I've listened to a lot of Zep over time, but based on my age, the albums were never really a thing for me.

I started by looking at the whole discography and found 8 that I knew would be in there and about another 8 that I thought were likely.  Then I went through and listened to all of the songs and noted those that I thought were contenders.  That was about 40-45 songs. Then I re-listened to that group and basically whittled down groups from there.  Ended up with this album distribution:

Led Zeppelin - 3

Led Zeppelin II - 6

Led Zeppelin III - 3

Led Zeppelin IV- 4

Houses of the Holy - 4

Physical Graffiti - 5

In Through the Out Door - 2

Presence - 2

Coda - 1

 

[gianmarco]

Not sure if there would be any interest, but for those that have already submitted a list (as it wouldn't be fair if you submit one after this idea), anyone interested in doing a pool to see who had the most songs on their list that make up the consensus top 25? Could be something like $5/person, most songs takes the pot?

 

[AAABatteries]

Not sure if there would be any interest, but for those that have already submitted a list (as it wouldn't be fair if you submit one after this idea), anyone interested in doing a pool to see who had the most songs on their list that make up the consensus top 25? Could be something like $5/person, most songs takes the pot?

How about instead of most songs in the 25, you take how far your picks are from where they landed and lowest total “wins”?

 

[gianmarco]

How about instead of most songs in the 25, you take how far your picks are from where they landed and lowest total “wins”?

That starts to get too complicated. I thought of who had the most in the right position as well.

But ultimately, there will be a top 25 generated from all the lists. I think it would be cool to recognize the person that had the most number of those 25 on their list.

I think something like 15 songs might win it, too. 

 

[AAABatteries]

That starts to get too complicated. I thought of who had the most in the right position as well.

But ultimately, there will be a top 25 generated from all the lists. I think it would be cool to recognize the person that had the most number of those 25 on their list.

I think something like 15 songs might win it, too. 

I’d be in for $5 either way.

 

[gianmarco]

I’d be in for $5 either way.

Not the first time you've said that in your life, amirite?

 

[Tau837]

Not sure if there would be any interest, but for those that have already submitted a list (as it wouldn't be fair if you submit one after this idea), anyone interested in doing a pool to see who had the most songs on their list that make up the consensus top 25? Could be something like $5/person, most songs takes the pot?

I wouldn't join that pool. I feel certain that I will be near the bottom or, at best, middle of the pack for consensus choices. I do think it is an interesting idea for others, though.

 

[jamny]

I wouldn't join that pool. I feel certain that I will be near the bottom or, at best, middle of the pack for consensus choices. I do think it is an interesting idea for others, though.

Yeah, I think my top 5 will be pretty standard but my love for Zep III will skew me away from any consensus overall.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Not sure if there would be any interest, but for those that have already submitted a list (as it wouldn't be fair if you submit one after this idea), anyone interested in doing a pool to see who had the most songs on their list that make up the consensus top 25? Could be something like $5/person, most songs takes the pot?

No, because those of us who have obvious outliers aren't going to do well with something like that.

What might work better is a pool where people try to predict what the consensus top 25 will be, and the most accurate wins. 

 

[Rustoleum]

Hopefully my ranking method doesn’t raise too many hackles. I found a YouTube playlist with their alleged 43 top songs in chronological order and used that to fresh my memory and help with the titles of some of the songs.

There were only a handful that were really or wholly unfamiliar to me, and they were easily eliminated (unless a thunderbolt hit me on listening to those to be sure I maybe knew the sing but not the name, those were easy to cut since it can’t really be one of my favorites if I’ve  never heard it before).

I knew my #1 stone cold going in, and roughly where about half of the rest would fall for me, and from there it wasn’t too bad.

Had much more trouble picking 25 Beatles songs, and I’m glad I didn’t submit for the U2 thread because they are into the top 20 out of over 200 and have only hit a few songs I know. Apparently I am not nearly as familiar with their output than I thought.

Anyway, tldr, but I’m looking forward to seeing how this plays out.

 

[shuke]

Start at the bottom of the list. Write up and links for a song at a time. Probably one a day. Depends what else I have going on. Definitely a slow roll. 

Too much work to show the votes for each song by rank?

 

[shuke]

My Zeppelin story from HS goes like this. I grew up in a southern Baptist church in the midlands of South Carolina. During one of our youth group get togethers a deputy from the Lexington County Sheriff's Department came to speak to us about music and the satanic messages that some songs contained. The only songs that I remember him covering were a couple by the Cult and Stairway to Heaven. He played Stairway backwards and claimed that there was a satanic message in it. Me and my buddies were all high as a kite watching and listening and just trying to hold back as much laughter as possible. 

Has anyone ever heard of any nonsense about this? Everytime I hear Stairway It reminds me of this. 

I distinctly remember my and my buddies playing Stairway and other songs backwards on the record player when we were kids, because we were intrigued by the secret messages.  People have to remember, this was before the internet, so you would hear all kinds of unverifiable rumors or friend of a friend stories.  Get some 12 year olds together with a vivid imagination, and playing anything at various speeds backwards, you can hear just about anything you want.

 

[John Maddens Lunchbox]

I get that a lot of the posters here want to debate, discuss, and many times argue things. As you said, comparing pieces of work across genres is exceedingly difficult and will likely have no conclusive outcome. Maybe we need a thread ranking Beethoven’s symphonies? I might go 3, 7, 5, 9, 6, 4, 8, 2, 1 on that. All that being said, this is a Zeppelin thread. Let’s try to stick more on point and on topic. 

9th should clearly be ranked first

 

[Anarchy99]

Too much work to show the votes for each song by rank?

Yes, there will be balloting / voting totals for each song. 

 

[AAABatteries]

Some comments on my rankings:

- I’m not a “music person” per se.  I have no musical talent.  Can’t play an instrument nor can I sing well at all.  So, for example, Gian’s video about Bonham totally fascinated me but I was kind of lost watching it.

- But, I love music and in particular music from the 60’s - 80’s.  And if I picked a single genre it would be Rock.

- While I like Classical music and other instrumental music, I’m not as big on it with rock groups.  And I think that goes back to not fully appreciating it because of my lack of musical talent.  No instrumentals in my list.

- I can sometimes pigeon hole a band.  LZ, for me, is rock and jamming out.  Their more bluesy tunes and ballads, while good, won’t do as well on my list.  There’s exceptions but in general, I want to turn it up and jam.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

 All that being said, this is a Zeppelin thread. Let’s try to stick more on point and on topic. 

You're the one who escalated it. I just listed some other artists who would be in the running for great LP runs in response to a poster saying LZ's is the best. It's not like there was anything else to talk about, since the rankings hadn't been released yet.

I get it - it's your thread and you can make your tangent arguments, then try to shut everyone else down from doing likewise when you've had your say. Same here as in the SP.

Anyway, great thread idea. I won't be submitting a list, but will follow along with interest.

 

[AAABatteries]

Without giving anything away what two songs were you surprised with your ranking.  High and low.

High - Communication Breakdown

Low - Rock and Roll

 

[Sinn Fein]

 There’s exceptions but in general, I want to turn it up and jam.

Low - Rock and Roll

 

[gdub]

I despise rock n roll.  One of my least favorite zeppelin tunes.  It does jam but has this oldies pop feel to it that doesn’t appeal to me.

I personally lean towards the older Zeppelin songs.  To my untrained musical ears, I think Plant’s vocals are better on the earlier albums.  That being said, there are still some great songs on the later albums like Ten Years Gone which is high in my personal rankings.

 

[jamny]

R&R didn't make the cut for me.

 

[Anarchy99]

I despise rock n roll.  One of my least favorite zeppelin tunes.  It does jam but has this oldies pop feel to it that doesn’t appeal to me.

I personally lean towards the older Zeppelin songs.  To my untrained musical ears, I think Plant’s vocals are better on the earlier albums.  That being said, there are still some great songs on the later albums like Ten Years Gone which is high in my personal rankings.

Can w get you to submit a list?

 

[Todem]

It was easy for me to rank my Top 25 Led Zeppelin favorites. It would be way too hard for me to rank my Top 25 favorite Beatles songs. 

Was pretty easy for me too save for 7-9 tunes that just missed that cut into the top 25.

For me ranking my top 25 Rush songs would be incredibly difficult....just torture. 

 

[Dwayne Hoover]

I found this to be a fairly easy exercise.  One because I know the catalog inside and out and didn't really need any relisten.   

That's not to say that there isn't more than 25 good songs, as there obviously are a lot more, but I would say aside from a few songs that were tougher to cut, I'm pretty steadfast in what I prefer over others at this point.

I guess my top 28 or so was already pretty established.

 

[Anarchy99]

Not sure if there would be any interest, but for those that have already submitted a list (as it wouldn't be fair if you submit one after this idea), anyone interested in doing a pool to see who had the most songs on their list that make up the consensus top 25? Could be something like $5/person, most songs takes the pot?

There have been 42 lists submitted so far. Only 1 list has 4 of the current top 5 songs ranked in the Top 5.

 

[gianmarco]

There have been 42 lists submitted so far. Only 1 list has 4 of the current top 5 songs ranked in the Top 5.

 

[AAABatteries]

Just a general guide and R&R was close to top 25.  Most of my top 25 leans heavily towards upbeat.