10 Best British Classic Rock Bands Of All Time
2. Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin's music was a wake up call for an entire generation of rock musicians. After years of being slogged down in the blues tradition, this band showed what really could be done outside the confines of the 12-bar songwriting method.
With all of their accolades, Zeppelin still seem to be a touch underrated for pioneering what we now know today as the rock guitar riff. Though there had been many guitar-led hooks in the past, Jimmy Page was the real riff master who seemed to come out with brilliant musical phrases out of thin air. While every great rock song is based around a riff, it's only as good as those who accentuate it.
On the other sides of the stage, John Bonham was a modern marvel behind the drumkit, as he tore up each song as if he played in lock step with the guitar riff. Robert Plant's astonishing vocal range gave the band an added dimension of sound, almost as if a blues belter like Janis Joplin had been combined with an otherworldly musical spirit. Though many hard rock bands have come and gone throughout the years, their ability to become legendary is defined by where they fell trying to reach Led Zeppelin's level of rock expertise.