10 Classic Rock Albums That Changed Music Forever

As the 60's reached its end, rock had gone from being a fun recreational genre of music to one of the greatest voices in the music world. While many bands decided to create more lush album statements, the other side of the spectrum saw rock getting nastier, with distortion and furious solos overtaking the mainstream. Many bands thrived in this scene, but Led Zeppelin were the ones who turned hard rock into a movement.

Zeppelin were definitely on the right track with their debut album, but its sound seemed to have one foot still rooted in the blues tradition, with much of the album being dominated by covers of blues standards and folk rock. The band's second offering was the arrival of them as some of rock's best songwriters, with Jimmy Page coming up with some of the greatest licks to have come from a guitar. Page may not have invented the riff, but he sure as hell perfected it on songs like "Whole Lotta Love" and "Heartbreaker."

From the blues wails on "The Lemon Song" to the more downbeat tracks like "Ramble On," the entire album is a tour de force on just how strong this band was at their craft. Since then, Led Zeppelin II has become the album that numerous rockstars cite as the reason they pick up an instrument.