It’s tough to say something about Led Zeppelin that hasn’t been said before. They invented heavy metal. They popularized folk-rock. They stole shamelessly, and have since been stolen from shamelessly. But love them or hate them, there’s a reason these four musicians ended up on posters in dorm rooms across the world: they were incredible musicians.

Of course, the Internet being what it is, we can’t just enjoy the illustrious and prolific discography of these icons—we have to rank and order them. And to be fair, that’s part of the fun of listening to music—arguing over what works, what doesn’t, disagreeing about what sounds good, what sounds off. And it’s why Zeppelin were and remain so popular; they managed to sound entirely different in every single album, even from song to song. With that in mind, here is my ranking, from worst to best, of every single Led Zeppelin album:

(Note, for the record, I didn’t include the BBC sessions, "The Song Remains the Same" soundtrack, "Celebration Day," or any of their reunion albums—just what was released from 1969-1981. Also note that there is no such thing as a bad Led Zeppelin album; however, naturally, some have to end up at the bottom.)

9. "Coda"

John “Bonzo” Bonham was quite possibly the greatest drummer in rock history, if not recent memory. After his tragic (yet awesome) death in 1980, the band decided they’d rather go out on top than play on without him. "Coda," released in 1981, is just a collection of rough cuts and covers that didn’t make it onto the other albums. It’s not bad, and I doubt anyone is complaining about getting to hear more of the original lineup before they went off on their lucrative solo careers. That said, it’s far from copacetic, and doesn’t rock nearly as hard as the next entries on the list.

8. "Presence"

Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and John Bonham were riding high by 1976 (both literally and figuratively.) But the band member’s personal lives and tour schedules began to take their toll. "Presence" was recorded in three hellish weeks, if the legends are to be believed, and it shows—many of the songs seem beige, and even some of the real heavy fare doesn’t quite live up to the album that preceded it. There are two notable exceptions: the bluesy “Nobody’s Fault but Mine” and the frantic “Achilles's Last Stand.” Everything is OK, but only worth seeking out if you’re a Zep devotee.

7. "In Through the Out Door"

This one gets a lot of sh*t: it’s overly poppy and is extremely lacking in both drums and guitar (both Page and Bonzo were battling drug addiction—only one of them would survive). That said, John Paul Jones and Plant working together is never a bad thing, between the former’s ability to play almost any instrument with ease and the latter’s swooping, multi-octave vocals. And while there are some garbage songs here and there (looking at you, "South Bound Saurez!"), there’s plenty of interesting and entertaining stuff as well—"Carouselumbra," "In the Evening," "Fool in the Rain" and "All of My Love."

6. "Led Zeppelin I"

OK, so hear me out: this is an awesome album. Most bands would kill to make a record this good. It’s peopled by incredible blues covers and raw, angry rockers. But as awesome as “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You” and “Dazed and Confused” are, the band did better. So, even though almost everything here is perfect, Zep I still ends up near the bottom of the heap.

5. "Led Zeppelin III"

This was an unexpected turn. It opens with the heavy metal head-banger “Immigrant Song” then falls back into some menacing and slow acoustic numbers: “Tangerine,” “Gallows Pole,” “Friends” and other folksy ballads, fades into the cheerier "Bron-y-aur Stomp," and then knocks us flat with the spectacular “Since I’ve Been Lovin’ You,” which sounds like Janice Joplin and Jimi Hendrix’s secret collaboration. An understated and powerful tour-de-force from a band constantly pushing the envelope.

4. "Houses of the Holy"

"Led Zeppelin IV" was a tough act to follow: it made the band international superstars and established them as rock and roll legends. But to their credit, the guys didn’t let that get in their way. "House of the Holy" is an interesting mishmash of fast-paced math rock, slower psychedelic numbers and several effective power ballads. It all comes together to form a rather interesting pastiche, a sampling of all that was going on in the early 1970s. But it more than stands on its own right. Some standouts are “The song Remains the Same,” “Over the Hills and Far-away,” the George Harrison inspired “Rain Song,” “The Ocean,” which along with the last albums’ “Four Sticks” helped form the foundation of math rock and the endlessly creepy “No Quarter.”

3. "Led Zeppelin II"

We’re splitting hairs at this point. Led zeppelin’s second established a new type of rock music, a bluesy, metal-based sound half-Rolling Stones, half-Black Sabbath, and with a pinch of something unknown on top. Pretty much every cut on this disc is worth hearing: the swaggering “Heartbreaker,” the trippy “Whole Lotta Love,” the soft and sentimental “Thank You,” the wildly fluctuating “What is and What Should Never Be” and the folksy "Ramble On." My only complaint is that a lot of the songs here get a bit too much radio play, and that one track, "Livin’ Lovin’ Maid," is needlessly misogynistic, to the point where the band members refused to ever play it live. If you’re willing to overlook that, though, this could easily take the No. 1 spot.

2. "Physical Graffiti"

In 1975, Led Zeppelin had accumulated a lot of songs that just didn’t fit on their other albums. So they thought, why not release all of them? The result is a two disc set which stretches past 90 minutes long. A good 60 minutes of that is classic, seismic music. There are too many hits for me to name. What drags it down are the 20 minutes of "pretty damn good” songs and the ten minutes of “eh” songs, which get mixed in there with the perfection. This is a great f—kin album. Just not quite as great as…

1. "Led Zeppelin IV"

Some critics originally criticized Led Zeppelin, and claimed their success was all due to hype. In response, Led Zeppelin released their fourth album unannounced, without giving it a name. the fact it has become a pillar of music, not just rock music, but of our culture, then, stands as a testament to the skill of these four British blues enthusiasts. You can’t turn on a radio without hearing “Stairway to Heaven” or “Black Dog” or attend a sports game without finding “Rock and Roll” or “When the Levee Breaks” getting blared between rounds. And for good reason! Literally every track on this album is copacetic. Not just great, or revolutionary—I’m talking flawless. It jumps from soft, to hard, to industrial to apocalyptic, back to soft again with grace and ease, leaving whole new genres of popular music in its wake. This is why the guitar was invented. If I could only listen to one album ever again, I’d pick "Zeppelin IV" without hesitation.