Led Zeppelin released its excellent album Physical Graffiti 40 years ago today, an album that climbed to no. 1 for six weeks, which would be the band's fourth no. 1 on the Billboard 200. The band would end up going on to release a total of seven Billboard no. 1 albums throughout its career. Music Times knows that albums could spend a lot longer atop the Billboard 200 back in those days (believe it or not), so we decided to check what Zeppelin albums lasted the longest at the top of the charts.
Spoiler alert: Led Zeppelin IV, despite being the band's bestselling album to date, actually never got to no. 1 on the charts. The reason? Potentially because the album art didn't feature the band's name anywhere.
07) How The West Was Won (one week)
It would be nearly 25 years between no. 1 albums for Led Zeppelin between its sixth and final entries to this list were dropped. Although the group's final album, Coda, would never get to the top during 1982, but during 2003 the group managed to top the chart one last time (barring a future release) when the live album How The West Was Won dropped. It was the only non-studio album from Zeppelin's discography to go to no. 1.
06) Houses of The Holy (two weeks)
Led Zeppelin was apparently not one to learn from the sales repercussions of not featuring its name on the album cover from its fourth record. It finally decided to name its fifth record something aside from a numeral, but Houses of The Holy still didn't feature the name of the band anywhere. Nontheless, fans still came in relative droves to buy the album and keep it on top for two weeks. It's tough to find exact reasoning why this record, which dropped during the band's most popular period, was on top for "only" two weeks compared to Graffiti. All we can figure is that Houses didn't have the same hit-power, although fans love classics such as "D'yer Mak'er" and "The Ocean."
05) Presence (two weeks)
This one is a tad easier to explain for its (extremely) relative short time at the top of the Billboard 200. Although Houses of The Holy would go on to be considered a classic among fans, Presence hasn't stood up to critics as well in the long run. Admittedly, hopes weren't high to begin with on this one. Robert Plant had taken a long time to recover from injuries suffered in a car accident. Among the more notable singles on this album were "Achilles Last Stand" and "Nobody's Fault But Mine."
04) Led Zeppelin III (four weeks)
Led Zeppelin IV might not have topped the Billboard 200 but its previous release had a successful run, topping the albums chart for nearly a month straight upon its release. It's surprising to consider that this result was almost considered disappointing at the time for the group, who had one of its largest commercial successes less than a year before with its second album. Critics weren't as kind for Led Zeppelin III—although they've long since changed their collective mind—despite the album featuring songs now considered classic, including "Immigrant Song," "Since I've Been Loving You" and "Gallows Pole."
03) Physical Graffiti (six weeks)
Most performers in the modern era would kill for six weeks on top of the Billboard 200. Many would adore just one week at the peak. Led Zeppelin, at no fault of its own, came from an era where the number of competitors in the music scene was much less, and therefore had three albums that spent at least six weeks at no. 1. One thing about the two era's was exactly the same however: Performers tend to know when they've got the top spot locked down. We think it's impressive when Taylor Swift can go platinum within one week nowadays, but Physical Graffiti was platinum before it even came out, becoming the first album ever to have more than one million advance orders.
02) In Through The Out Door (seven weeks)
There is actually a tie at the top of this list, so we're opting to run the less popular of the two albums at no. 2. In Through The Out Door is no one's favorite Led Zeppelin album and even the band will admit that. According to guitarist Jimmy Page, he and drummer John Bonham had planned to go back to a more straightforward rock 'n' roll album following the more experimental Out Door. Who knows what kind of sales juggernaut that would have been? Unfortunately Bonham would die during 1980, ending the band as it seemed to approach a new sales peak.
01) Led Zeppelin II (seven weeks)
One comparison to make between Led Zeppelin II and Swift's 1989 is that both had serious staying power. Both managed to return to the top spot after being dethroned for short periods. In fact, II is the only album on this list that spent nonconsecutive weeks at no. 1. The challenger was nothing to blink at: Led Zeppelin took the top spot during the last sales period of 1969, ending an eight-week run by Abbey Road. It would only spend one week in the spot before The Beatles bounced back for two more weeks. Zeppelin would get its second week at no. 1, lose one more to Abbey Road and then finally shake the group for an uninterrupted five weeks at no. 1.
