Today I completed the Zeppathon, which means I’ve listened to all 9 Led Zeppelin albums in a row. And now that I’ve heard them all again, can I decide on which one is the best?

Their debut album ‘I’ (1969) is super strong. It was like a bomb hitting the music industry: BAM, here’s Led Zeppelin! Killer songs, each and every one of them. It may be the most coherent album. Ends with one of my all time favorites: ‘How Many More Times’.

But then ‘II’ (1969) opens with ‘A Whole Lotta Love’. That song just hits you like a slap in the face, as if they were making a statement: “You thought we couldn’t keep this up?” I’m also crazy about ‘The Lemon Song’! And this album ends with another one of my favorites: ‘Bring It On Home’.

Boom! Still thought they couldn’t keep it up? ‘Immigrant Song’ is the opener of the third record ‘III’ (1970). But most of all, it has ‘Since I’ve Been Loving You’ on there, the most beautiful heartbreak song ever composed. That guitar solo still slays me. Other than that, I’ll admit that this album contains less big hits, but still solid.

They’ve done it again… ‘IV’ (1971) opens with ‘Black Dog’. I mean, these guys just don’t know how to stop! They’ve turned it up a notch again and throw some bangers at you, like ‘Rock and Roll’, ‘When The Levee Breaks’ and the song that beamed them up into immortality: ‘Stairway to Heaven’. Hats off to you, legends. But this album also contains the one song I don’t like and never listen to, the only one for which they invited an extra singer (Sandy Denny): ‘The Battle of Evermore’. But for the Zeppathon, I persevered.

A slight change of scenery, for the fifth album actually has a proper title: ‘Houses of the Holy’ (1973). ‘The Rain Song’ is like a beautiful walk in the woods, ‘The Crunge’ is hella funky, ‘No Quarter’ absolutely shows what craftsmen they were, ‘The Ocean’ is hard rock, and then there’s ‘D’yer Mak’er’. Hate it or love it, it’s very different from anything they’ve done before. Sometimes it’s even hard to believe this is a Zeppelin original! I know my dad doesn’t like it, but I do.

By now people just couldn’t get enough, so fans were rewarded with the band’s first and only double album. Led Zeppelin put some previously unreleased tracks on ‘Physical Graffiti’ (1975), but it doesn’t show in any way. Each song is just top notch. Not that we needed more proof that this may just be the most talented band ever, but then they unleashed ‘Kashmir’ upon the world! I also believe ‘In My Time Of Dying’ actually has the power to kill someone, not to mention the big guns like ‘Houses of the Holy’, ‘Custard Pie’, ‘The Rover’, ‘Trampled Under Foot’ – okay I could go on and on. The entire album rules!

Even though their 7th album opens with another one of their great masterpieces, ‘Achilles Last Stand’, we must admit cracks were slightly starting to show. Personally I love ‘For Your Life’, ‘Nobody’s Fault But Mine’ and ‘Tea For One’, though ‘Presence’ (1976) is nothing like its predecessors. This is when Robert Plant had his car accident and was to record most of the songs sitting down in a wheelchair. I guess the feel was off. Still it was my favorite album for quite a while.

Okay, now we’re going downhill. None of the members were happy in the band anymore, with Bonzo being homesick and drinking, Robert mourning the loss of his son and Jimmy Page battling heroin. This reflects in the overall quality of their 8th and final official studio album ‘In Through the Out Door’ (1979), where it was mostly John Paul Jones and Plant pulling the strings. ‘In the Evening’ is not bad for an opener, not bad at all! And I do like ‘All My Love’, ‘I’m Gonna Crawl’ and that JPJ got to go all out on his ‘Carouselambra’, but they seem to have lost the power that made their music blast through your ears and leave you wanting more.

The death of John Bonham was the official ending of a band whose fire was already dying out. Two years after he passed away, Jimmy put together an album containing unreleased work from throughout their career. ‘Coda’ (1982) is definitely one for the fans, with no memorable tracks but Bonzo showing why he was the best drummer in the world AND the best live version of ‘I Can’t Quit You Baby’. This recording from a concert at the Royal Albert Hall in 1970 really shows these guys in their prime, so actually it would have been a perfect closing track for the final album.

So, which one is the best? I can clearly see which ones are stronger than others, but to pinpoint one album remains simply impossible for this fan. Their debut was pretty impressive, and maybe ‘Physical Graffiti’ was their greatest achievement… Let’s just keep on loving it all, the good and the bad, because no one will ever come close. Only my humble opinion.