What's your favorite Led Zeppelin album??

This question was a main topic on a site I follow on Facebook, the grand question of which Zep album is my favorite.. Good question.. Is there a favorite??   There is.. and the best way for me to chose is by using the old box set choice. 

The complete studio recordings.. The best way to settle the argument, which album is my favorite, go with the box.. This was one of the very first box sets in compact disc format.. I had (have) all the albums in vinyl format, but if I had to chose which single album I liked most it would be... ???

IV  or 4 or four or ruins or the symbols album... All of the above.. It wasn't the first album I got by them but it was quite close to it.. Either this one or..:

The live movie soundtrack The Song Remains The Same.. The story behind this was my brother asked me if I wanted to see this movie way back when it was at the local theater.. I said yes and was impressed with the visuals.. However the length of some of the songs just blew me away.. Dazed and Confused was the entirety of side two.. that was a surprise back then.. Since then I have gotten the expanded reissue of this album on compact disc.. I wasn't ever going to get this on compact disc because of how much the band put it down.. But when they reissued it on disc I decided to go ahead and get it.. It still has sentimental value for me and I am glad I got the reissue version..

How the west was won showed the band in full force..  This is a set that was put together using several bootlegs that got touch ups in the studio by Jimmy Page..

Ultimately the DVD would be the album to get.. Video is a really good way to get into the band.. It gets rid of the guessing of they play all that??   They do play all that.. No extra musicians here, they in fact play all that..

So when they reissued the studio music again was I wanting it??  Sort of, but I developed a feeling that once you have the music all there is different to get is the goodies.. The extras, and there are a lot of extras on these sets.. As you can vaguely see the discs look more like the albums did, the label part.. When they get creative in this way it does become more interesting and more collective but what it comes right down to is the music.. I have it already..

Mother ship.. Another reissue of the music.. This one shows in record (vinyl) form.. The original box set I wanted was a four disc set back in the day and instead was given the box I was given.. I saw the set I originally wanted a few years later and was glad I got what I did.. For one thing it was a birthday gift which made extra special.. But more than likely I would have had to get the set I got to have everything they had released.. To get it yet again wasn't an option.. There were goodies available on this set but, I have all sorts of books and rock encyclopedias and everything about the band..

The beeb  BBC sessions was originally a three disc set with many repeats on it.. Quite a few sessions live shows there at the studio.. The original was a three disc set and I always wondered why it wasn't released to the general public as a three disc set.. Turns out there were just a limited number released that way.. And I wondered as well if the third disc was very good.. Well a few months ago I came across a copy with all three discs in it (bootleg) and was able to get it.. A fairly prized possession no doubt.. The sound of the third disc is equal to the rest.. Truth is that third disc is on the DVD that was released a few years later.. on disc one it's the extras part of the DVD..

The original studio masters box set with everything exposed.. The booklet sized to a compact disc.. Interesting essays on each album written by Jimmy Page..

So what is the answer to the question "What's your favorite Led Zeppelin album?"  the answer is.. Don't ask, I can't answer.. So take that..

BH