BBC Sessions
by Led Zeppelin

BBC Sessions by Led Zeppelin
(Live album)
Year: 1997
Overall rank: 4,166th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
80/100 (from 212 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1997 (62nd)
Award Top albums of the 1990s (686th)
Award Best albums of all time (4,166th)

Listen on Spotify SPOTIFY

Led Zeppelin bestography

BBC Sessions is ranked 12th best out of 24 albums by Led Zeppelin on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Led Zeppelin is Untitled (Led Zeppelin IV) which is ranked number 12 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 37,971.

Led Zeppelin album bestography « Higher ranked (3,028th)
Coda
This album (4,166th)
BBC Sessions
Lower ranked (4,166th) »
BBC Sessions

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

Upcoming concerts

Mar
27
Fri
The Doors, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin tributes
The Arrow Room, Rancho Cucamonga, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Mar
28
Sat
Zoso The Ultimate Led Zeppelin Experience
Miller Theater - GA, Augusta, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Mar
28
Sat
LED ZEPAGAIN - Tribute To LED ZEPPELIN with Special Guest: ROLLING STONES Tribute START ME UP
Gaslamp Long Beach, Long Beach, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 

Listen to BBC Sessions on YouTube

Loading content from YouTube...

BBC Sessions track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 78 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

Sort Sort by
#
Track
Rating/Comments

BBC Sessions rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 4,166th | 1990s rank: 686th | 1997 rank: 62nd

BBC Sessions collection

BBC Sessions ratings

Average Rating: 
80/100 (from 212 votes)
  Ratings distribution Help Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

Showing latest 5 ratings for this album.  | Show all 212 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
65/100
 
03/14/2026 15:36 cicadelic  Ratings distribution  12,24473/100
 
75/100
 
02/28/2026 15:53 DaveH68  Ratings distribution  1,36376/100
 
100/100
 
02/12/2026 22:51 Devilwoac  Ratings distribution  97897/100
 
95/100
 
12/27/2025 04:47 AbsurdCheesecake  Ratings distribution  33587/100
 
90/100
 
06/12/2025 12:18 spinout  Ratings distribution  3,29781/100

Rating metrics: Help Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)

This album is rated in the top 1% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 80.0/100, a mean average of 78.9/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 80.4/100. The standard deviation for this album is 15.5.

Please log in or register if you want to be able to leave a rating

BBC Sessions comments

Showing all 9 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

Rating:  
100/100
From 07/20/2024 08:16 | #304425
This is the best live Album recorded, because they didn't live when playing an orchestra and them instead living when listening to it.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 06/17/2021 22:13 | #270752
Good album, the best section is from tack 15 to 24. Great version of Thank You.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 02/03/2021 01:00 | #265640
Beautiful Bustling Cool Sessions, always a hit!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 12/30/2019 18:22 | #246153
Some excellent performances when they were good.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 06/19/2015 18:53 | #144211
I suppose that with a compilation like this you'll get some unnecessary tracks, such as sitting through 3 takes of "Communication Breakdown", but you should come to this looking for those brief moments where your ear is surprised. Plenty of them to be found here, plus you get "Traveling Riverside Blues", which somehow never found its way onto any of the original albums.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 02/03/2015 20:47 | #133843
Zeppelin may sometimes lose the heart of their studio works when playing live, but they never cease to entertain. Sometoimes, they're downright bombin'.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 03/01/2013 00:34 | #66504
Honestly, this is my favorite Zeppelin album. It complies much of the best material they recorded prior to 75, and captures them at the peak of their live prowess.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 01/26/2013 21:57 | #62907
Well worth buying just for Travelling Riverside Blues. Cover it may be (although unrecognisable from the original), but one of my favourite Led Zep songs.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 05/20/2011 03:13 | #22011
This makes me wish even more that there was a truly great Led Zeppelin live album. Guess it'll have to do.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a comment

Your feedback for BBC Sessions

Anonymous
Let us know what you think of this album by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!
Log in or register to assign a rating or leave a comment for this album.
Best Albums of 1997
1. OK Computer by Radiohead
2. Homogenic by Björk
3. Either/Or by Elliott Smith
4. The Lonesome Crowded West by Modest Mouse
5. F♯ A♯ ∞ [F-Sharp, A-Sharp, Infinity] by Godspeed You! Black Emperor
6. Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space by Spiritualized®
7. Perfect From Now On by Built To Spill
8. Urban Hymns by The Verve
9. The Colour And The Shape by Foo Fighters
10. The Boatman's Call by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
11. I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One by Yo La Tengo
12. The Fat Of The Land by The Prodigy
13. The Mollusk by Ween
14. Blur by Blur
15. Buena Vista Social Club by Buena Vista Social Club
16. Time Out Of Mind by Bob Dylan
17. Homework by Daft Punk
18. Third Eye Blind by Third Eye Blind
19. Mogwai Young Team by Mogwai
20. Dots And Loops by Stereolab