Scott Allen
What's a 100% classic album? One where you never want to press the "next track" button, because 100% of the songs are awesome! Greatest hits albums NOT allowed.
With "Won't Get Fooled Again", "Baba O'Riley (aka Teenage Wasteland)", "Behind Blue Eyes", "Bargain", and more, this is practically a greatest hits album on its own.
"Stairway to Heaven" is the headliner, but this whole album is Led Zeppelin at their art rock best, especially the acoustic work on "Battle of Evermore" and "Ramble On". They took the experimentation of LZ III and brought back in the hook-driven hard rock of LZ II and the result is spectacular.
This is where Led Zeppelin found their sound. Their first album showed promise, but to some extent, it was just another bunch of English lads playing American blues. With their 2nd album, they started to explore the rich, layered sound and epic themes for which they became known. Half the songs on this album get regular radio play on classic rock stations, and the other half probably should.
I picked up this album on a lark, and it became one of my all-time favorites. Every song is catchy, danceable, and just beautifully constructed. If you were only going to own one ska album, this is the one.
