Led Zeppelin

Buoyed by the runaway commercial success of Led Zeppelin IV, Jimmy Page used this 1973 follow-up to hone his already impressive production skills, and the result was a collection sporting an impressively expansive sound.

Benefiting - especially on tracks such as "Dancing Days Are Here Again", "The Crunge" and "Over the Hills and Far Away" - was Zeppelin's always underrated rhythm section: thunder-fisted drummer John Bonham and rock-solid bassist John Paul Jones.

John Paul Jones also emerged here as a secret weapon on keyboards with his subtle work on more pensive fare such as "No Quarter" and "The Ocean". And the goofy "D'yer Ma'ker" showed that Zeppelin had more of a sense of humour than most people ever gave them credit for.