Gotta be Led Zep! Too many classics to ignore!

The Who.

Why is it a multiple choice poll?

Anyway, while both bands are great, I would have to say The Who.

Songwriting: The Who 4/5, Zep 3/5
Townshend is one of the greatest songwriters ever, how many other hard rock bands had that?
Singing: The Who 3/5, Zep 2.5/5
Roger Daltrey is laughably better than Plant...4 at least.
Instruments: The Who 3.5/5 Zep 5/5
Both bands were virtuoso musicians, the Who need at least a 4.5.
Live: The Who 5/5 Zep 4/5
Yep.
Influence: The Who 3/5 Zep 3/5
Errm, who is this measured against?

The Who are one of my favorite bands ever. Led Zep, on the other hand, is a band I genuinely can't stand.

Hey I still voted The Who. I tried as hard as I could to give better ratings towards Zep so it would not look biased. I agree with most except some people might really like Plant over Daltrey and also some might think that Page>Townshend so Zep kills them.

Ehhhh

I don't see how Page being a better guitarist justifies giving the Who 3/5 chops wise. Technically Daltrey is in another world than Plant, whether people prefer Plant's voice more is irrevelant.

Alright fine. I was trying to show it to a Zeppelin fan with ratings that wouldn't enrage them.

Ok, ok, I get it. It's just sort of ridiculous for a Who fan.

And Entwhistle is better than JPJ, but Bonham being better than Moon kinda evens it out. But do we have to split hairs? They're both truly ensemble bands.

Using Double X's criteria, this is how I see it.

Songwriting: The Who 5/5, Zep 4/5.

The Who have pretty much been great songwriters for the bulk of their career. It took Zeppelin 2 albums before they could do without stealing lyrics and doing uncredited covers of other peoples songs. But when did they did get to that point they were great. HOTH and PG has some damn good songwriting.

Singing: The Who 5/5, Zep 5/5.

Equal for me. Daltry had the chops, Plant had the energy.

Instruments: The Who 5/5, Zep 5/5.

Skill wise it's very equal. Daltry>Plant, Townshend<Page, Entwhistle>JPJ, Moon<Bonham. Nobody lags behind.

Live: The Who 5/5, Zep 3/5.

Zeppelin were hit and miss live, at times they were godawful, and other times they were goddamn amazing. The Who were way more consistant, when you went to see them you knew for a fact you were getting your moneys worth.

Influence: The Who 5/5, ZEP 5/5.

Though I'd give who a slight advantage, their influence is a little broader.

So by this criteria The Who are better, but if I were to use my own criteria based on my personal biases, Zep would come out on top because I prefer them. ;)