Heart

Last week, the metal and acoustic rock band Heart was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This was a long time coming, as Heart is very good at what it does. You can read more about the band here:
Heart (not the organ this time)

Wikipedia lists 36 people who have been involved with Heart on stage over the years, but Ann and Nancy Wilson have formed the core of the band since they joined in the early 1970s. On the western shore of Green Lake, not far from my current apartment, the Wilson sisters saw a live performance of Led Zeppelin around the time people from Earth first walked on the Moon, and within a few years they set out to build the greatest tribute band to Led Zeppelin the world has ever seen. Need convincing? This song is a good starting point:

The studio processing helps with the psychedelic tone of much of Heart's work, but it's easier to appreciate Nancy's talent with the guitar in their live performances. Wilson's improvising is so effortless and charming it's clear she's a virtuoso who belongs with the likes of Page, Gilmour, and Richards among the greats of the classic rock canon:

Over the years Heart's lineup has changed quite a bit, and their style has wandered between hard rock, acoustic, and album-oriented rock. Truth be told I enjoy their early work most out of the band's discography. That said, the Wilson sisters have done some wonderful things relatively recently. Proof by selected example:

Clearly Heart is a close second only to Led Zeppelin at making wonderful music with Led Zeppelin's intellectual property.