10 Hard Rock Albums Critics Were Completely Wrong About

Whenever you think of anything hard rock, there's a good chance you're thinking of some band that ripped off Led Zeppelin. Every group after Zeppelin from Pearl Jam to Aerosmith to Deep Purple all owe their careers to these four English rockers who lit the world on fire. The band's sophomore effort is seen as an essential mix of hard rock music, but the critics had a lot more to say.

Though Rolling Stone initially had some harsh things to say about the band's debut album, it's a musical sin of the highest order once you hear their review of this record. Throughout the entire thing, critic John Mendelsohn proceeds to mock Zeppelin for their lack of talent, sarcastically framing the entire review as if he's a burnout kid talking about his favorite band.

While sarcasm certainly has its place in music journalism, Mendelsohn couldn't have been more off the mark when talking about one of the greatest rock bands in the world. Not only is this album far from bad, but it's partly responsible for rock evolving the way it has, from the riff based writing of Jimmy Page to the relentless sonic assault of John Bonham's drums. Zeppelin's legacy may not have been secure at the time, but once the entire rock tribe started walking in their footsteps, they became one of the genre's most legendary bands.