Yes, it's true. We all have our favorite bands, just as we each have our own unique opinions. It's cool if you don't agree with my assessment of Zep, but for the record, I'm not alone in it. Everyone from Rolling Stone to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame name Zeppelin as the greatest rock 'n' roll band of all time. According to Wikipedia, "Led Zeppelin are widely considered one of the most successful, innovative and influential rock groups in history." And no, I'm not talking album sales at all, although there is that. (Zeppelin have sold over 300 million albums worldwide and are the only band in history to have every one of their 9 studio albums reach the US Billboard Top 10, with 6 of them hitting the top spot.) Zeppelin were the pioneers of heavy metal. Rock 'n' roll wouldn't be what it is today without them. Countless groups and musicians cite them as a major influence.
Led Zeppelin were gigantic in their day, and for many of us, they remain so. There's a reason why a reported 20 million people applied to win 18,000 tickets to the band's O2 performance in 2007. There's a reason why they've been offered hundreds of millions of dollars to reunite for one last tour, and why many fans, myself included, wouldn't hesitate a lick to fly across the globe for the chance to be in their presence one last time.
Zeppelin are not everyone's cup of tea, Slipin Lizard, and I don't make a habit of claiming any one band is the best this or that, but in my humble opinion, it's hard to dispute the significant contributions that Led Zeppelin have made to music. I look for the next band to come down the pike who will make such an impact. It would be thrilling to be part of something so immense and exciting in music again.
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Your comment seems to have gone missing, Axeman81, but as for my "hotly criticizing" Kurt Cobain, you must have me confused with some other writer. I have never criticized, nor would I ever criticize, Kurt. I happen to be a huge fan. I even made the pilgrimage to his home in Seattle and carved my name into the bench in Viretta Park. I wrote on Cobain once in an article for GT entitled Four Guitarists Who Changed Music Forever. I purposely named Kurt to this list because, although he didn't play to the level the other three guitarists on the list did, Cobain managed to make an enormous impact on music with a fairly rudimentary knowledge of the guitar. No, I've never knocked Kurt for anything. Au contraire. Besides, it's not my style to criticize. ;)
Thanks to both of you for your comments.
