10 Hard Rock Albums That Changed Music History

Many of the greatest rock songs that have ever been put to tape have usually come out of the British Blues Boom of the late '60s. After the British Invasion got into high gear, the clubs across the UK were packed to the gills with blues bands, so much so that the soon to be guitar legend Jimi Hendrix made his first big break overseas before he hit it big in America. The Yardbirds were one of many showstoppers in the scene, but guitarist Jimmy Page had something bigger in mind.

After putting together the basis for what Led Zeppelin would become on their first record, their second self titled release was where things really started to fall into place, taking the blues sounds of old and making for the first riff based rock and roll songs, like the primal urge in Whole Lotta Love and the sinister sound of Heartbreaker. Riffs can only take you so far though, and having John Bonham behind the beat was all you could have asked for, tapping into the caveman aspect of rock and roll and beating the skins until they were pleading for mercy.

Across this record, you get a good taste of both the light and the dark of what Led Zeppelin were all about, whether that means sitting down for a tale of Middle Earth in Ramble On or singing odes to sex on the Lemon Song. There may have been edgier rock and roll before this, but there's an argument to be made that this is the first true hard rock album ever.