10 Most Timeless Classic Rock Albums

Led Zeppelin is a band that basically has the word ‘timeless’ pre-stamped on them. Across every album of this band’s run in the ‘70s, almost every track felt like an absolute behemoth waiting to pummel you once it leapt off the vinyl. Plenty of Zeppelin cuts have that golden shimmer, but the band’s 4th offering is the one record in their catalog packed to the brim with fantastic tracks.

Standing at just 8 songs, this entire album is one classic after another, with acoustic cuts being perfectly balanced with hard rock tunes. As opposed to other albums that have recurring themes, each of these songs feel like a fully-fleshed out musical experiment, from the loose bar band jam of “Rock and Roll” to the colossal masterpiece “Stairway to Heaven,” whose 8 minute runtime packs more drama and story than some feature films can muster.

Though you can still hear the band’s feeble beginnings, the return to their bluesier roots on “When the Levee Breaks” still feels like the sonic equivalent of the apocalypse coming. A lot of other hard rock bands may have used this as their template, but Led Zeppelin IV is the one album whose riffs will probably outlive us all.