Editing Led Zeppelin IV (section)

==Critical reception==
{{Album reviews
| MC = 100/100<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/led-zeppelin-iv-remastered/led-zeppelin |title=Led Zeppelin IV [Remastered] by Led Zeppelin Reviews and Tracks |website=[[Metacritic]] |access-date=25 September 2021}}</ref>
| subtitle = Retrospective professional ratings
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="Erlewine">{{cite web |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/led-zeppelin-iv-r1956818 |title=AllMusic Review |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=17 August 2011 |archive-date=6 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110906031448/http://allmusic.com/album/led-zeppelin-iv-r1956818 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]]''
| rev2Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=2232|title=Led Zeppelin IV|work=Blender|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050926191528/http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=2232 |archive-date=26 September 2005 }}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|Christgau's Record Guide]]''
| rev3Score = {{Rating-Christgau|A}}<ref name="Christgau81"/>
| rev4 = ''[[The Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]''
| rev4Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin|title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music|year=2007|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|edition=4th|isbn=978-0195313734|title-link=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music}}</ref>
| rev5 = ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''
| rev5Score = A+<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Sinclair|first=Tom|date=20 June 2003|url=https://ew.com/article/2003/06/20/recordsled-zeppelin/|title=On the Records&nbsp;... Led Zeppelin|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|location=New York|access-date=7 February 2014|archive-date=5 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205135710/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,458337,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
| rev6 = ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]''
| rev6score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Mat |last=Snow |author-link=Mat Snow |title=More muscle in your bustle: Led Zeppelin ''Led Zeppelin IV'' |magazine=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]] |date=November 2014 |page=106}}</ref>
|rev7 = ''[[MusicHound|MusicHound Rock]]''
|rev7score = 5/5<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Graff|editor-first1=Gary|editor-last2=Durchholz|editor-first2=Daniel|title=MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide|publisher=Visible Ink Press|location=Farmington Hills, MI|year=1999|isbn=1-57859-061-2|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781578590612/page/662 662]|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781578590612/page/662}}</ref>
|rev8 = ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''
|rev8score = 9.1/10<ref>{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/19834-led-zeppelin-ivhouses-of-the-holyphysical-graffiti/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20150227053925/http://m.pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/19834-led-zeppelin-ivhouses-of-the-holyphysical-graffiti/ |url-status=live |archive-date=27 February 2015 |last=Richardson |first=Mark |title=Led Zeppelin: Led Zeppelin IV/Houses of the Holy/Physical Graffiti |work=[[Pitchfork Media]] |date=24 February 2015 |access-date=10 October 2015 }}</ref>
| rev9 = ''[[Q magazine|Q]]''
| rev9Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="Qmag">{{cite journal|title=Review: Led Zeppelin IV|journal=[[Q magazine|Q]]|location=London|page=141|date=October 1994}}</ref>
| rev10 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
| rev10Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite book|author=Kot, Greg|author-link=Greg Kot|editor1-first=Nathan|editor1-last=Brackett|editor1-link=Nathan Brackett|editor2-first=Christian|editor2-last=Hoard|title=[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide|The New Rolling Stone Album Guide]]|publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]]|edition=4th|year=2004|isbn=0-7432-0169-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/479 479]|display-authors=etal}}</ref>
}}

''Led Zeppelin IV'' received overwhelming praise from critics.<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|year=2006|title=[[The Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|volume=5|page=140|isbn=0-19-531373-9|edition=4th|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref> In a contemporary review for ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', [[Lenny Kaye]] called it the band's "most consistently good" album yet and praised the diversity of the songs: "out of eight cuts, there isn't one that steps on another's toes, that tries to do too much all at once."<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/led-zeppelin-iv-19711223 |title=Rolling Stone Review |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=23 December 1971 |access-date=20 May 2011 |archive-date=9 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609085415/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/led-zeppelin-iv-19711223 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' magazine called it a "powerhouse album" that has the commercial potential of the band's previous three albums.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5Q8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA70|access-date=31 January 2014|page=70|title=Album Reviews|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=20 November 1971|archive-date=27 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627073218/http://books.google.com/books?id=5Q8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA70|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Robert Christgau]] originally gave ''Led Zeppelin IV'' a lukewarm review in ''[[The Village Voice]]'',<ref>{{cite news|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|title=Consumer Guide (22)|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cg22.php|newspaper=[[The Village Voice]]|date=30 December 1971|access-date=10 October 2024|via=robertchristgau.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130815194640/http://robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cg22.php|archive-date=15 August 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> but later called it a masterpiece of "heavy rock".<ref>{{cite news|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cg24.php|title=Consumer Guide (24)|newspaper=[[The Village Voice]]|location=New York|date=3 March 1972|access-date=19 June 2012|archive-date=26 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026050702/http://robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cg24.php|url-status=live}}</ref> While still finding the band's medieval ideas limiting, he believed the album showed them at the pinnacle of their songwriting,<ref>{{cite news|last=Christgau|first=Robert|date=4 October 1976|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cgv10-76.php|title=Christgau's Consumer Guide|newspaper=The Village Voice|location=New York|access-date=18 November 2013|archive-date=23 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130923072038/http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cgv10-76.php|url-status=live}}</ref> and regarded it as "the definitive Led Zeppelin and hence heavy metal album".<ref name="Christgau81">{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|date=13 October 1981|title=[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]|publisher=[[Ticknor & Fields]]|isbn=0-89919-025-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/christgausrecord00robe_1/page/222 222]|chapter=Led Zeppelin IV|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=2013|access-date=5 September 2018|via=robertchristgau.com|archive-date=6 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180906014226/https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

In a retrospective review for [[AllMusic]], [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] credited the album for "defining not only Led Zeppelin but the sound and style of '70s hard rock", while "encompassing heavy metal, folk, pure rock & roll, and blues".<ref name="Erlewine"/> In his album guide to heavy metal, ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'' magazine's Joe Gross cited ''Led Zeppelin IV'' as a "monolithic cornerstone" of the genre.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Gross|first=Joe|date=February 2005|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LvowiBHKWgsC&pg=PA89|title=Heavy Metal|journal=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]|publisher=Vibe/Spin Ventures|page=89|volume=21|issue=2|access-date=19 June 2012|archive-date=27 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627073230/http://books.google.com/books?id=LvowiBHKWgsC&pg=PA89|url-status=live}}</ref> [[BBC Music]]'s Daryl Easlea said that the album made the band a global success and effectively combined their third album's folk ideas with their second album's hard rock style,<ref>{{cite web|last=Easlea|first=Daryl|year=2007|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/zpzf|title=Review of Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin IV|publisher=[[BBC Music]]|access-date=1 February 2014|archive-date=12 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150112083945/http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/zpzf|url-status=live}}</ref> while Katherine Flynn and Julian Ring of ''[[Consequence of Sound]]'' felt it featured their debut's [[blues rock]], along with the other styles from their second and third albums.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://consequenceofsound.net/2014/06/dusting-em-off-led-zeppelin-iv/|title=Dusting 'Em Off: Led Zeppelin IV|date=7 June 2014|access-date=31 October 2014|archive-date=22 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022003906/http://consequenceofsound.net/2014/06/dusting-em-off-led-zeppelin-iv/|url-status=live}}</ref> Led Zeppelin's [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] biography described the album as "a fully realized hybrid of the folk and hard-rock directions".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/led-zeppelin|title=Led Zeppelin|publisher=[[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame|The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum]]|access-date=17 July 2018|archive-date=18 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718055044/https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/led-zeppelin|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[PopMatters]]'' journalist AJ Ramirez regarded it as one of the greatest heavy metal albums ever,<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Ramirez|first=AJ|date=5 December 2011|url=https://www.popmatters.com/152071-all-that-glitters-led-zeppelin-when-the-levee-breaks-2495910438.html|title=All That Glitters: Led Zeppelin – 'When the Levee Breaks'|magazine=[[PopMatters]]|access-date=9 August 2018|archive-date=9 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180809184055/https://www.popmatters.com/152071-all-that-glitters-led-zeppelin-when-the-levee-breaks-2495910438.html|url-status=live}}</ref> while [[Chuck Eddy]] named it the number one metal album of all time in his 1991 book ''Stairway to Hell: The 500 Best Heavy Metal Albums in the Universe''.<ref>{{cite news|last=Herrmann|first=Brenda|date=18 June 1991|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1991/06/18/ranking-rock-enraging-fans/|title=Ranking Rock, Enraging Fans|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|access-date=7 February 2014|archive-date=22 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222003400/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1991-06-18/features/9102230953_1_guns-n-roses-molly-hatchet-heavy-metal|url-status=live}}</ref> According to rock scholar [[Mablen Jones]], ''Led Zeppelin IV'' and particularly "Stairway to Heaven" reflected heavy metal's presence in [[Counterculture of the 1960s|countercultural]] trends of the early 1970s, as the album "blended post-hippie mysticism, mythological preoccupations, and hard rock".<ref>{{cite book|last=Jones|first=Mablen|year=1987|title=Getting It On: The Clothing of Rock'n'Roll|publisher=Abbeville Press|isbn=0896596869|page=[https://archive.org/details/gettingitoncloth0000jone/page/115 115]|url=https://archive.org/details/gettingitoncloth0000jone/page/115}}</ref>

[[Steven Hyden]] observed in 2018 that the album's popularity had given rise to a reflexive bias against it from both fans and critics. "There are two unwritten laws" about the album, he wrote. The first was that a listener must claim a track from side two, the "deep cuts with credibility" side, was his or her favourite, and the second was that one should never say it was their favourite among the band's albums. He blamed this later tendency for why "rock critics who try too hard always make a case for ''[[In Through the Out Door]]'' being Zeppelin's best." The band members themselves, he noted, also seemed to prefer performing the songs from side two in their solo shows.<ref name="Steven Hyden">{{cite book|last=Hyden|first=Steven|author-link=Steven Hyden|title=Twilight of the Gods: A Journey to the End of Classic Rock|date=2018|publisher=Dey Street|isbn=9780062657121|pages=21–22|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zJElDwAAQBAJ|access-date=19 November 2018|archive-date=10 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410004509/https://books.google.com/books?id=zJElDwAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2022, Jenna Scaramanga of ''Guitar World'' asserted that "Led Zeppelin IV is not just the greatest guitar album of the 70s, but the benchmark for every guitar band ever since."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Scaramangapublished |first=Jenna |date=19 August 2022 |title=The greatest guitar albums of the '70s: Getting the Led out with Sabbath, the Who, Pink Floyd and more |url=https://www.guitarworld.com/features/greatest-guitar-albums-of-the-70s |access-date=17 March 2025 |website=guitarworld |language=en}}</ref>

===Accolades===
In 2000, ''Led Zeppelin IV'' was named the 26th-greatest British album in a list by ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]'' magazine.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Q|location=London|page=76|date=June 2000|title=100 Greatest British Albums}}</ref> In 2002, ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'' magazine's [[Chuck Klosterman]] named it the second-greatest metal album of all time and said that it was "the most famous hard-rock album ever recorded" as well as an album that unintentionally created metal—"the origin of ''everything'' that sounds, feels, or even tastes vaguely metallic".<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Klosterman|first=Chuck|author-link=Chuck Klosterman|date=September 2002|page=81|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xfEjLof28w8C&pg=PA81|title=40 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time|magazine=Spin|access-date=5 February 2014|archive-date=27 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627143935/http://books.google.com/books?id=xfEjLof28w8C&pg=PA81|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2000 it was voted number 42 in [[Colin Larkin]]'s ''[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]''.<ref>{{cite book|title=[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]|author=Colin Larkin|author-link=Colin Larkin|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=2000|edition=3rd|isbn=0-7535-0493-6|page=54}}</ref> In 2003, the album was ranked number 66 on ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine's list of "[[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time]]", then re-ranked number 69 in a 2012 revised list,<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-156826/billy-joel-the-stranger-2-161561/| year=2012| title=500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time| publisher=[[Rolling Stone]]| access-date=23 September 2019| archive-date=7 August 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190807093525/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-156826/billy-joel-the-stranger-2-161561/| url-status=live}}</ref> and re-ranked 58 in a 2020 revised list.<ref name="Rolling Stone">{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/led-zeppelin-led-zeppelin-iv-2-1063175/|title=Led Zeppelin IV ranked 58th greatest album by Rolling Stone magazine|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=28 September 2020|archive-date=20 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020090033/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/led-zeppelin-led-zeppelin-iv-2-1063175/|url-status=live}}</ref> It was also named the seventh-best album of the 1970s in a list by ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''.<ref name="Pitchfork70s">{{cite web|author=Pitchfork Staff|date=23 June 2004|url=http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/5932-top-100-albums-of-the-1970s/10/|title=Top 100 Albums of the 1970s|website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|page=10|access-date=6 February 2014|archive-date=15 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130415064956/http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/5932-top-100-albums-of-the-1970s/10/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2016, Classic Rock magazine ranked ''Led Zeppelin IV'' as the greatest of all Zeppelin albums.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/every-led-zeppelin-album-ranked-from-worst-to-best|title=Led Zeppelin Albums Ranked From Worst To Best – The Ultimate Guide|work=loudersound|access-date=30 April 2018|language=en|archive-date=1 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180501093044/https://www.loudersound.com/features/every-led-zeppelin-album-ranked-from-worst-to-best|url-status=live}}</ref>

{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Accolades for the fourth Led Zeppelin album
|-
! scope="col"| Accolade
! scope="col"| Publication
! scope="col"| Country
! scope="col"| Year
! scope="col"| Rank
|-
! scope="row" | "The 100 Greatest Albums Ever Made"<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/mojo_p3.htm#albums| title=The 100 Greatest Albums Ever Made&nbsp;— January 1996| access-date=10 February 2009| work=Mojo| archive-date=16 May 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130516020830/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/mojo_p3.htm#albums| url-status=usurped}}</ref>
| ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]''
| UK
| 1996
| 24
|-
! scope="row" | [[Grammy Hall of Fame Award]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grammy.org/recording-academy/awards/hall-of-fame#l |title=The Grammy Hall of Fame Award |access-date=18 August 2007 |publisher=National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110122042616/http://www.grammy.org/recording-academy/awards/hall-of-fame |archive-date=22 January 2011 }}</ref>
| [[Grammy Award]]s
| US
| 1999
| *
|-
! scope="row" | "Album of the Millennium"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/50.html#guitaralbum|title=Album of the Millennium&nbsp;— December 1999|access-date=10 February 2009|work=The Guitar|archive-date=18 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718181914/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/50.html#guitaralbum|url-status=usurped}}</ref>
| ''The Guitar''
| US
| 1999
| 2
|-
! scope="row" | "100 Greatest Rock Albums Ever"<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/steveparker/classicrock.htm | title=Classic Rock&nbsp;– 100 Greatest Rock Albums Ever December 2001 | access-date=10 February 2009 | work=Classic Rock | archive-date=10 October 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010061724/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/steveparker/classicrock.htm | url-status=usurped }}</ref>
| ''[[Classic Rock (magazine)|Classic Rock]]''
| UK
| 2001
| 1
|-
! scope="row" | "500 Greatest Albums Ever"<ref name="Rolling Stone" />
| ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
| US
| 2020
| 58
|-
! scope="row" | "Top 100 Albums of the 1970s"<ref name="Pitchfork70s" />
| ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''
| US
| 2004
| 7
|-
! scope="row" | ''[[1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die]]''<ref>{{cite book|last=Dimery|first=Robert|title=1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die|page=856|publisher=Hachette UK|year=2011|isbn=978-1-844-03714-8}}</ref>
| Robert Dimery
| US
| 2005
| *
|-
! scope="row" | "100 Best Albums Ever"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/qlistspage2.html#Best%20Albums%20Ever%202006|title=100 Greatest Albums Ever{{snd}}February 2006|access-date=10 February 2009|work=Q|archive-date=19 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181019101341/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/qlistspage2.html#Best%20Albums%20Ever%202006|url-status=usurped}}</ref>
| ''Q''
| UK
| 2006
| 21
|-
! scope="row" | "100 Greatest British Rock Albums Ever"<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/steveparker/classicrock2.htm | title=Classic Rock&nbsp;– 100 Greatest British Rock Albums Ever&nbsp;— April 2006 | access-date=10 February 2009 | work=Classic Rock | archive-date=15 May 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515072650/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/steveparker/classicrock2.htm | url-status=usurped }}</ref>
| ''Classic Rock''
| UK
| 2006
| 1
|-
! scope="row" | "The Definitive 200: Top 200 Albums of All-Time"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rockhall.com/pressroom/definitive-200 |title=The Definitive 200: Top 200 Albums of All-Time |access-date=10 February 2009 |work=Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (United States) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122041304/http://rockhall.com/pressroom/definitive-200 |archive-date=22 January 2009 }}</ref>
| [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]]
| US
| 2007
| 4
|-
! scope="row" | [[NME's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|''NME'''s The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/nme_500_greatest_albums_2013.htm|title=Rocklist.net....NME: The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time : October 2013|website=www.rocklistmusic.co.uk|access-date=19 January 2017|archive-date=4 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170104003059/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/nme_500_greatest_albums_2013.htm|url-status=usurped}}</ref>
| ''[[NME]]''
| UK
| 2013
| 106
|}

{{small|{{asterisk}} designates unordered lists.}}