This was a pioneering rock album by the band everyone aspired to be at the time, and are influenced by now. Unlike many other groundbreakers, this isn't particularly dated and still holds its own in a market that has moved on.
'Stairway to Heaven' deserves to be remembered as one of the all-time great tracks, but the others aren't fillers. More a case of 'Stairway' as the pinnacle of the album. Plant's vocals are forthright, bluesy and angst-ridden. Page's guitar lines are ideal in each situation and provide some great riffs. Bonham's drumming really is incredible rock drumming - hard, heavy, and not always as predicted. Somehow John-Paul Jones and his bass are by comparison, merely perfect.
There's a variety here - rocky numbers like 'Black Dog' and 'Rock n Roll', then slow blues like 'When the Levy Breaks'.
Since this album, the rock guitar has become louder and heavier through Motorhead, AC/DC, Anthrax, Slayer, through to the modern thrash. Despite that, this album still sounds fresh and has an edge of creative genius that many new bands just don't have as much of.
I write this not as someone who was there when it came out and is nostalgic (I'm too young!) but someone who found it after discovering the modern rock and metal world. And it's still, really, that good.