10 '60s Albums Every Rock Fan Should Own

Rock and roll has always had a kindred spirit in the blues. Much like the Delta players in the American South, the dawn of the British Invasion remade rock with tunes that were sorrowful, primal, and dripping with sexuality. Plenty of bands were trying their hand at these bluesy styles, but no one took it to as many places as Led Zeppelin.

Though the band’s sophomore effort holds up as the more complete listen for hard rock fans, Zeppelin’s first offering is still a scorcher, with a practical greatest hits track listing across both sides.

While you have your more straightforward blues tunes like on “I Can’t Quit You Baby” and “You Shook Me,” songs like “Dazed Confused” became the template for how to make a band sound heavy, complete with theremin and Robert Plant’s gutteral howls.

Even the acoustic-flavored cuts on here like “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You” and “Your Time is Gonna Come” sound like the band are trying to tear down the walls through how much emotion and power they can jam into their compositions. Zeppelin had only begun to impress us, but when you throw on something like “How Many More Times,” you’re hearing the first steps of a band destined to become a giant.