Robert Plant Albums Ranked
Robert Anthony Plant CBE (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Led Zeppelin.
Plant enjoyed great success with Led Zeppelin from the late 1960s to the end of the 1970s. He developed a compelling image as the charismatic rock-and-roll front man, similar to contemporaries such as Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones, Roger Daltrey of the Who, Jim Morrison of the Doors, and Freddie Mercury of Queen. With his mane of long blond hair and powerful, bare-chested appearance, Plant helped to create the “god of rock and roll” or “rock god” archetype. Although Led Zeppelin dissolved in 1980, Plant occasionally collaborated with Jimmy Page on various projects through this period, including forming a short-lived all-star group with Page and Jeff Beck in 1984, called the Honeydrippers. They released an album called The Honeydrippers: Volume One, and the band had a No. 3 hit with a remake of Phil Phillips’ tune “Sea of Love”, plus a follow-up hit with a cover of Roy Brown’s “Rockin’ at Midnight”.
A powerful and wide vocal range (particularly evident in his high-registered vocals) has given Plant a successful singing career spanning over 50 years. In 2008, Rolling Stone editors ranked him number 15 on their list of the 100 best singers of all time. In 2011, Rolling Stone readers ranked Plant the greatest of all lead singers. In 2006, Hit Parader magazine named Plant the “Greatest Metal Vocalist of All Time”. In 2009, Plant was voted “the greatest voice in rock” in a poll conducted by Planet Rock. Here are all of Robert Plant’s albums ranked.
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10. Lullaby and… The Ceaseless Roar (2014)
“RP has certainly moved on since his Zep days having made many excellent solo albums. This ranks up amongst his best – if not his best? He covers a range of styles on this set and the quality never falters. Favourites include” Little Maggie” and “Embrace another fall”. His band The Sensational Space Shifters are amazing and I fortunately had the privilege of seeing them live when they toured this album. A great album.”
9. Band of Joy (2010)
“Robert Plant is a lover of American and British roots music. He’s been taking excursions into it all the way from 1965, when he assembled his first psychedelic blues group, Band of Joy, to his heavy metal Led Zeppelin days, to his recent recording and touring with bluegrass great Alison Krauss. But he’s never hewn to a straight or conventional approach, always adapting the music to his uses, playing with melodies, harmonies, instruments, and vocals in an effort to construct a unique sound.”
8. Raising Sand (2007)
“Cut to the chase….even if you ‘think’ you don’t like country, I’ll bet you’ll like this album! There’s something for everybody here….we’ve got songs by the Everly Brothers, Gene Clark, Townes van Zandt, and even one by Robert Plant and friends. Sometimes Alison sings (and plays fiddle), sometimes Robert Plant croons, sometimes they duet. Works WAY better than you can imagine. The songs range from light hearted to absolutely haunting. They’ve got an army of generals for musicians; every one a master. “Tasteful” is the word here…even the guitar solos. “
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7. No Quarter: Jimmy Page (1994)
“It’s very interesting to hear Jimmy Page and Robert Plant back together again after all this time. However I hear a lot of people say this is a Led Zeppelin reunion. Well it’s not, and there never really will be without John Paul Jones and maybe Jason Bonham. That lineup I might consider Zeppelin. This is just a joint venture between half the band. Still hard to describe how awesome it is hearing Robert Plant singing Kashmir, or Nobody’s Fault But Mine again. And the new tracks, with thier Middle Eastern sound, Yallah and City Don’t Cry are amazing as well.”
6. Manic Nirvana (1990)
“It is by far Robert Plant’s most AOR, most Zeppelinesque album. In 1990 I bought a cassette copy I proceeded to wear out I listened to it so much, and then another. If Rate Your Music had existed then I would have given Manic Nirvana five stars. Man did I love it. I loved every song on it. But I find it hasn’t aged so well, and I find I now prefer Robert Plant’s earlier, more experimentational albums. I think the reason is he was being more honest with himself as an artist and musician then, and resisting the urge to try and recapture the glory of what Led Zeppelin once was. Because make no mistake, even though I hate what happened to Zep, and have always wondered, and wished for what their 80s material would have been like, but once Bonzo died the magic was gone and the talisman was irretrievably broken. There was never any going back. And that’s what Manic Nirvana is trying to do.”
5. Mighty ReArranger (2005)
“This music collection that is The Mighty Rearranger by Robert Plant and the Strange Sensation has a blend/mix of hard rock, folk rock, and electronic tunes. I admit that I also like that a song such as Shine It All Around was presented in a folk rock/alternative rock version and then there is the Girls Remix of Shine It All Around has elements of electronic music. Of course there are other mesmerizing songs in this collection such as The Enchanter, All The King’s Horses, Dancing In Heaven and more.”
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4. Pictures at Eleven (1982)
“As close as you will get to Led Zeppelin sound from Robert. Solo debut album and it did not disappoint. The opening track “Burning down one side” reminds you right off the start why Zep was so good and so popular. My favorite song by far is “Slow Dancer”. Too me, a pure Zeppelin sounding track. No doubt at this point in his career Roberts vocals were as strong as ever, still able to hit all the highs. While he will go on to record some very memorable and possibly better tracks in the future (Tall cool one, Heaven knows, Ship of Fools, Hurting Kind, In the Mood, Thru with the two step, Big Log, Little by little, to name a few), it is this album that let all of us Zep fans know while Led Zeppelin might be gone, Robert will still provide us some GREAT music with his GREAT voice for years to come!!”
3. Now and Zen (1988)
“As a lifelong R Plant fan having seen him too many times to count, I vote this as his best solo LP ever; it’s as good as Led Zep & really in high gear as far as hard rocking tunes & w/ superb guitar & band. I lost this or gave it to a friend & had to have it back in my car’s computer! Helen of Troy is my All-Time-Fave Robert Plant song …how I wish he was still producing this type of material! Just get it if you love – or even like – Plant!”
2. Fate of Nations (1993)
“Fate of Nations is a great album and is surprisingly overlooked. Sure, Robert Plant’s voice had seen better days, but that doesn’t really matter. He still sounds very good on this disc. Besides, it has so many great songs, like the distinctly Zeppelin-esque tracks “29 Palms” and “Network News”, as well as some great rockers (“Calling to You”, “Memory Song”, “Promised Land”) and some gorgeous slower stuff (“I Believe”, “The Greatest Gift”, “If I Were a Carpenter”). With such strong highlights and so little filler (if any), you can’t really go wrong with this album.”
1. The Principle of Moments (1983)
“Robert is in unbelievable form here, able to sound so comfortable in different soundscapes and truly delivering amazing performances. Guitarist Robbie Blunt’s superb vision and tasteful playing fill the album with a kind of ‘cold warmth’, don’t know how he gets all those beautiful sounds. Phil Collins simply shows once more what a brilliant drummer he is, making the drums such a delightful listen. His early work with Genesis and Brand X is no short of spectacular. Keyboard player Jezz Woodroffe and bassist Paul Martinez are as inventive and tight as it gets and shouldn’t be taken for granted. This easily is in my opinion Plant’s best solo band.”
