13 Bands That Sound Like Led Zeppelin (With Music Videos)

Led Zeppelin is one of the biggest bands ever.

They changed the face of music and influenced countless musicians across multiple generations.

There is no band that sounds exactly like Led Zeppelin, but there are some that come close.

Most bands like Led Zeppelin hail from the same time period, but there are also some modern groups resurrecting their classic sound.

Unfortunately, most of these are not good enough to include here, with one obvious exception.

Keep reading for that band, plus all the other best groups that sound like Led Zeppelin.

 

Bands That Sound Like Led Zeppelin

Greta Van Fleet

Mentioning Greta Van Fleet on a list like this one is obligatory. They are one of the top modern bands that sound like Led Zeppelin and pretty much everyone can recognize the obvious similarities between the two.

This young band has a bright future ahead of them. Although they certainly have elements that are very similar to Led Zeppelin, they still have awesome songs in their own right.

This simple four-piece keeps the traditional rock music and traditional rock band formation alive. And that’s something to be proud of, isn’t it? After all, there are not many new bands that sound like Led Zeppelin.

At this point, they have two EPs and two full-length studio albums behind them. In particular, Highway Tune is their biggest hit. However, there’s a lot of other great material within their discography that you should check out.

 

The Who

The Who is an obvious choice here as they started around the same time as Led Zeppelin. Well, it was a bit earlier and they already had three albums out. However, we’re talking about the same era: the 1960s.

Later on, this legendary band went on to evolve their very recognizable style. Nonetheless, you could still notice the similarities with Led Zeppelin. After all, the bands formed during the 1960s all share some common blues-oriented elements.

Pete Townshend’s guitar playing style and tone are somewhat similar to that of Jimmy Page. At the same time, the band combined some traditional blues and jazz elements with rock ‘n’ roll music. The Who are one of the safest bets to check out if you want other bands like Led Zeppelin.

 

Cream

Another old band from the 1960s, Cream changed rock music forever. Well, not just rock music but modern music in general.

After all, this legendary band featured Eric Clapton on guitar, Jack Bruce on the bass, and Ginger Baker on the drums. Of course, all three members shared vocal duties.

This was a pretty short-running band. Originally, they only worked from 1966 to 1968. During this time, they recorded four albums, with the final one being released in 1969, not long after their official disbandment.

No matter the genres you’re into, Cream is a band that everyone should listen to. They’re one of the groups that set the standards for generations of musicians.

 

Pink Floyd

Of course, Pink Floyd is a story of its own. Bearing their legendary status, they’ve not only explored different musical styles and elements but have also helped define modern rock music. Every single one of their albums, even those that had less commercial success, bears significant importance.

Alongside Led Zeppelin, they’re also very popular for their psychedelic elements. Although Led Zeppelin’s material is usually heavier, gravitating towards hard rock and early metal, we can notice similarities.

Now, it’s obvious that they both have their unique styles. However, it’s hard not to compare them. After all, fanbases of these two bands quite often overlap. If you like one band, it’s highly likely that you’ll like the other.

 

The Rolling Stones

If we’re mentioning Pink Floyd and The Who, then we also have to add The Rolling Stones to this list, don’t we? At this point, they’re the longest-running band if we don’t count in the lineup changes. Formed in 1962, they now have a total of 30 studio albums and 33 live records.

There’s not much to say about The Rolling Stones except to note the incredible success they had and the impact that they made on modern music. Once again, we have a band that every educated music fan should at least be informed about.

 

Bad Company

Bad Company, on the other hand, is one of those underrated bands from the 1970s. Well, they have regrouped a few times over the past and they’re officially still active today. Of course, they’re mostly known for their incredible and unique singer Paul Rodgers.

The band has a total of 12 albums in their catalog. The last one, however, was released in 1996. But the most popular stuff, and arguably their best stuff, was released during the 1970s. If you want to get into Bad Company, check out any of the band’s first three albums.

 

The Firm

While we’re at it, it would be good to mention The Firm, a band featuring Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page. Alongside him, we also had Paul Rogers on vocals, Chris Slade on the drums, and bassist Tony Franklin.

This supergroup formed in 1984 but they didn’t last for long. During the few years of being active, they released two albums.

Interestingly enough, The Firm’s song titled Midnight Moonlight is actually a previously written, yet unreleased, Led Zeppelin piece called Swan Song. It comes from the band’s self-titled debut album and is probably the easiest way to get into them.

But we’re sure that you’ll like their stuff. It’s probably what Led Zeppelin would sound like if they continued on into the 1980s.

 

Fleetwood Mac

Now, it’s probably weird to see Fleetwood Mac on this list. After all, Led Zeppelin is often defined as “proto-metal” while Fleetwood Mac are more of a pop band.

However, Fleetwood Mac’s early material was pretty much blues rock and hard rock. We’re talking about the Peter Green era.

For instance, a song like “Oh Well” bears a lot of resemblance to all of the hard rock bands that started working in the late 1960s. So it would be easy to get into their first three albums, all of which feature Peter Green on the guitar.

Nonetheless, even their later albums feature some classic rock elements. And if you’re generally into Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac should be really easy to get into, no matter the era.

 

Deep Purple

Along with Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple is considered one of the three earliest metal bands. This means that we just have to mention all of them here.

Deep Purple, however, gravitates more towards progressive rock, especially with Ritchie Blackmore’s and Jon Lord’s exploration of classical music.

The band has released a lot of material over the years, spanning through several different eras. But at the same time, you could always notice that this is Deep Purple.

Technically, only Ian Paice remains as the original member. However, the lineup today also features Ian Gillan and Roger Glover.

For fans of Led Zeppelin, we’d recommend any of their first ten albums. This also includes the long-forgotten and underrated original lineup, featuring singer Rod Evans and bassist Nick Simper.

 

Black Sabbath

And then we also have Black Sabbath, a band that’s often credited for the invention of heavy metal. Well, at least Tony Iommi is.

Their debut album featured a lot of blues elements and can easily be compared to Zeppelin’s debut as well. However, Sabbath’s music is most often riff-driven and somewhat doomy, eventually inspiring new generations of metal musicians.

But their discography is so vast and spans many different eras. Within it, we can find more classic rock-oriented stuff, and even something psychedelic that also resembles Led Zeppelin’s stuff.

For instance, the Sabbath Bloody Sabbath album has some pretty interesting pieces on it, although it’s largely overlooked by general rock fans.

 

Kingdom Come

A German band, Kingdom Come is one of those overlooked rock groups that should get more attention. Starting in 1987, they’ve released a total of 13 albums. Their style can be described as hard rock and they’ve often been compared to Led Zeppelin.

In particular, it’s their self-titled debut that has this blues rock kind of vibe that’s really close to what Led Zeppelin did on their early material. You’ll definitely love what you hear.

After all, we can’t blame them for the Zeppelin similarities as the music industry had this empty space since Led Zeppelin’s disbandment.

 

Rush

While we could talk about all of the 1970s and the 1960s bands here, Rush were brave enough to explore territories no one dared to explore back then.

Instead of succumbing to the radio-friendly commercial rock that was gaining more attention, this power trio set the standards for the coming generations of progressive rock musicians.

Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart changed rock music forever with their unique style. But at the same time, we can compare them to Led Zeppelin, at least their material from the 1970s.

If you’re a Zeppelin fan but are looking for something more experimental, then Rush is a musical journey on which you must embark.

 

Heart

Finally, we’d also like to mention Heart as one of the most important bands on this list. It’s one of the most interesting bands as well, because it features no original members at this point.

Actually, things were always so turbulent that the band already had no remaining original members by the early 1980s.

Nonetheless, they’re still mostly known for sisters Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson. If you’re into rock music with female vocals, then check out any of their 15 full-length studio albums. They’re really easy to get into.

 

Bands Like Led Zeppelin: Final Thoughts

As expected, this list of bands that sound like Led Zeppelin is full of classic rock groups. It only makes sense that bands from the same era are more likely to have a similar style and sound.

But Greta Van Fleet is the one exception. They are a modern band that sounds like Led Zeppelin and there are very few of those around. Even fewer good ones.

If you disagree with any part of our list, or you feel we missed some bands, please feel free to leave a comment below. We always love new suggestions.

And as a Zeppelin fan, you may enjoy this analysis of the Stairway to Heaven lyrics.

 

Photo Credit: Title photo by Jim Summaria, CC BY-SA 3.0, found at Wikimedia Commons