10 Perfect Rock Songs From 1971

It's pretty much unavoidable to make a reference to the realm of '70s rock and not include Led Zeppelin in here somewhere. Though many forget that the band got their start in the late '60s, it wasn't until 1969 ended that Zeppelin found their groove and started their world conquering period. After messing around with some acoustic ditties on their third outing, the first few seconds of Zeppelin IV became the soundtrack for what the '70s were going to be.

Which is strange considering that the classic riff of Black Dog wasn't even written by Jimmy Page. Originally conceived by John Paul Jones, this is just the right kind of off time riff that made the early '70s so interesting, even bordering on prog for how tricky it is to play. Leaving room for Plant's wail, this was the beginning of pure riff rock, where the guitar player quickly became the most important person in the band.

That's not to say that the guitar is the only perfect part of this song, with John Bonham taking every other drummer to school on how to ride a groove like this. What makes a song like this perfect though is just how accidental all of its parts can seem at times. The whole thing feels like its on the verge of falling apart at any moment, and yet Zeppelin always found a way to come back to Earth every time.