10 Most Influential Hard Rock Albums

Hard rock was never something that just came into existence. From the start of the British Invasion, you had bands like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones showing their fangs a bit early, with songs that were progenitors of what would become the heavier side of rock and roll. Then again, if you need to find the traces of hard rock in a nutshell, you can't really do much better than Led Zeppelin.

Across the board, this group has everything you could ask for from a heavy rock band, from Robert Plant's bluesy howl to the practical thunder that comes whenever John Bonham hits his drumkit. The real wizard of the madness in this scenario is Jimmy Page, whose single-note lines perfected what we now know today as the guitar riff. From one song to the next, there's another amazing lick to go around, be it Whole Lotta Love, Heartbreaker, or Ramble On.

Whereas the crux of this music was still rooted in the blues tradition that Zeppelin were known for, this is the moment where those lowdown and dirty songs expanded to become something much greater than just heartache. Seeing how every band that proceeded them has been trying to ape their style, it's safe to say that Led Zeppelin II has become a cultural milestone in the world of heavy music.