Led Zeppelin: The Essential Album-By-Album Guide

LED ZEPPELIN (1969)
Key Tracks: "Dazed and Confused," "Communication Breakdown"
Quick Take: Road-tested before it was recorded on a Scandinavian tour (as "the New Yardbirds"), the repertoire on Zep's debut album was largely drawn from vintage blues and folk records. The sound of it, though, was something massive and new, driven by Jimmy Page's mindbending, string-bending studio ingenuity.