Liking a band and noting their influence are two very different tthings. Influence can be gauged by how many other people cite them as an influence on their music. With a band like Zeppelin that number is massive.

They are two different things. I both dislike Led Zeppelin and believe they are overrated.

Heh, trouble in paradise, right? Here comes the guy who dislikes Led Zeppelin! Get 'em boys!

Hey, dislike them all you want. But don''t try to justify your dislike with a bunch of utter BS.

So if people rate someone very highly they aren't influenced by them?

ftr I don't think influence is as cut and dry as a lot of people make it out to be.

ie comparing bands' influences, which tends to get pretty muddled. Who's more influential, Led Zeppelin or Can or Nick Drake or Terry Riley or Alice Coltrane? You can make solid arguments for any of them, really.

I don't think saying "Led Zeppelin isn't as influential as theyre made out to be" is that ridiculous a sentiment, especially when comparing them to other artists of the era. They are no doubt the most famous of the above list.

And even if they are influential, did they (directly) influence artists that I care about? Eh. Probably some. But others of the same time period have much more.

I love Zeppelin but I don't think I care for that many bands influenced by Zeppelin. Zeppelin may be an overall better band than Sabbath but I challenge people to point out to me the great bands heavily influenced by Zeppelin.

I welcome the chance to stand corrected.

(good article that kinda sums it up)

Legacy, Influence, and Cultural Significance

Led Zeppelin was inducted into the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and has won countless awards including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995. Every single member of the band is considered one of if not the greatest in the field and it is debatable that Led Zeppelin is one of the greatest bands ever put together. They have sold over 200 million albums worldwide and are in an elite category with the Beatles and Garth Brooks as statistically the greatest artists ever. Led Zeppelin defined rock music and the rock lifestyle and they are not only adored by fans but also respected by famous musicians. There have been numerous tribute albums by bands such as Stone Temple Pilots, Tina Turner, Duran Duran, and even the London Philharmonic Orchestra to name a few. The band is the epitomy of branding and they changed the way music was created for the radio and even for how managers operated.

Led Zeppelin has left an overwhelming legacy and even Jimmy Page is proud of the fact that their music inspired some of today’s greatest musicians to pursue their dreams. Aerosmith, Guns ‘n Roses, and Van Halen borrowed the sound from the song “Whole Lotta Love” for their basic feel. It would take a long time to even list the diverse bands that admitted to being influenced by Led Zeppelin but they include Metallica, Madonna, Red Hot ChiliPeppers, Audioslave, Alice Cooper, and Beastie Boys to name a few. Essentially Led Zeppelin had some sort of influence on a large majority of popular musicians and groups. Brian May of Queen even said that Led Zeppelin created the overall blueprint of a rock band.

It is always difficult to truly put your finger on the cultural significance of a band but Led Zeppelin certainly is the leader of the shift from the psychedelic era of the 1960′s to the sexually driven rock music that was based on masculinity and a more centralized movement. This shift has led to the rock ‘n roll feel we have today. They were many things but everything they did was artistic. This shift occurred along with the change in United States history. The counterculture movement had peaked and change was coming. During Led Zeppelin’s peak, the troops were withdrawn from Vietnam, the Cold War warmed up as the US and Russia slowed down weapons development, and Watergate, Stagflation, and the oil crisis occurred. The music of Led Zeppelin represented a time period of change and activity. The protesting and complaining was done and people wanted action…and hard rock.

Led Zeppelin also had a major impact on fashion and the definition of “Cool”. The band oozed sexuality and macho-ism and everyone wanted to give off that vibe. Musicians such as jack White copy their style and even to this day Led Zeppelin t-shirts are worn by celebrities. They even started the big hair craze of the 1980′s.

As far as appearance, I agree, Zep is the prototypical rock band.

Good article that definitely addresses my question. I like GNR, Queen, very early Metallica, Alice Cooper- but they're all actually bands that boil down to a couple songs for me. Van Halen and the Beastie Boys are the only bands mentioned that I really love. That doesn't diminish LZ's sphere on influence. It's actually weird to me that I could love a band so much but remain so relatively ambivalent about what grew out of them especially when compared to Black Sabbath.