Happy heavenly birthday to one Edward Lodewijk Van Halen!
The prodigious guitar god was born on this day 71 years ago, and although he is no longer with us, he left behind an absolute treasure trove of music that still stands the test of time to this day.
On a day like today, I thought what better way to honor one of my heroes than by ranking my 10 favorite Van Halen tunes.
Full disclosure for those who don’t know, Van Halen is my favorite band of all time, so this was a Herculean task trying to pick my ten favorites.
It kind of felt like ranking my favorite children, but I was able to get it done nonetheless.
This list will be dominated by songs from the David Lee Roth era of the band, but there will be a few Van Hagar tunes that grace the countdown as well.
With all that said, let’s honor Eddie with some face-melting Van Halen tracks!
10. “Mine All Mine” – OU812 (1988)
We start this one off with a bit of a deep cut-off of the OU812 album, the band’s sophomore effort with new singer Sammy Hagar.
The sound of the keyboards layered over the guitars in the verse riff sound phenomenal, albeit a little dated, but I love the vibe nonetheless.
The vocal harmonies in the two bridges of the song deserve special mention, as Eddie and bassist Michael Anthony’s background vocals provided Van Halen with an extra boost dating all the way back to their first album.
Finally, the solo is one of Eddie’s finest hours, being a solid mix of melodic sensibilities and all out shredding.
9. “Romeo Delight” – Women And Children First (1980)
A concert opening staple during the Roth era of the band, “Romeo Delight” kicks things off with an absolutely brilliant tapped harmonics riff before breaking into a super heavy, proto-metal flurry of chugging notes before finally giving way to the masterful volume swells of the verse.
David Lee Roth shines on this one with his machismo on full display, and the chorus is an absolute joy, with lines like “I’m taking whiskey to the party tonight, and I’m lookin’ for somebody to squeeze” letting everyone know Van Halen brought the party everywhere they went in the early 80s.
“Romeo Delight” is a standout track on a standout album and it more than earns its keep in this top ten.
8. “Ain’t Talkin’ Bout Love” – Van Halen (1978)
There’s a good chance this song was a lot of peoples’ first introduction to Van Halen, and what an introduction it is!
The opening riff to this bad boy is one of the most iconic guitar parts in hard rock and heavy metal history, but it almost didn’t make it onto the album.
Eddie reportedly wrote the riff – a relatively simple one by his standards – as a critique on the simplicity of punk rock, which was popular at the time.
He was so embarrassed about it that he refused to show it to the band.
Luckily, cooler heads finally prevailed and “Ain’t Talkin’ Bout Love” remains one of Van Halen’s most recognizable songs in their loaded catalog.
As a bonus fun fact, the solo is played with an electric sitar layered over the top of Eddie’s guitar, giving it that almost “middle eastern” sound.
7. “Judgment Day” – For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991)
By 1991, Van Halen had a pair of really polished, synth-heavy albums under their belt with Sammy Hagar with both 5150 and OU812 producing massive pop hits like “Why Can’t This Be Love” and “When It’s Love,” respectively.
Fans of the bands earlier, heavier work started to bristle at the idea of Van Halen becoming a full-blown synth-pop band, so the quartet scaled things back and ditched the synths on their 1991 album, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge.
The result was one of the heaviest albums that band had recorded, up there with Fair Warning a decade earlier, and “Judgment Day” perfectly encapsulates this shift back to their hard rock roots.
The riff is heavy and mean but still hooky enough to draw fans in, and Hagar is at his absolute best vocally.
The man is in his mid 40s on this record, but his voice sounds as good as it did 15 years earlier in his career.
Truly an ageless wonder!
6. “Push Comes To Shove” – Fair Warning (1981)
The best way I can describe this song is “Van Halen moonlighting as a lounge act,” and as bizarre as that sounds, “Push Comes To Shove” works and works well.
Fans often refer to Fair Warning as “the guitar player’s Bible” or “Eddie’s finest hour,” but bassist Michael Anthony shines throughout the whole record, particularly on this track with his slinky, walking bass riff to open things and set the tone.
Roth works his magic once again lyrically and vocally, giving the whole song a kind of smokey vibe that sticks to you long after it’s over.
A special shout-out to Eddie’s solo on this one.
I have pretty decent-sized hands, but I still can’t pull off the stretch across the frets that the diminutive guitar god lays down here.
5. “5150” – 5150 (1986)
When people think of this album – and Van Hagar in general, for that matter – they probably think of sappy ballads like “Love Walks In” or the aforementioned “Why Can’t This Be Love.”
Those are great songs in their own right, but fans of the original Van Halen can still find plenty of fun on Sammy’s first album with the band, particularly with the title track, which I think is the band’s magnum opus with their second lead singer.
The opening riff alone is one that I would put up there with the likes of “Ain’t Talkin’ Bout Love” and “Panama” as one of Eddie’s best, and the solo is also an all-timer.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Hagar’s vocals on this track, as he delivers another powerhouse performance that few in the industry could replicate.
I love Diamond Dave, but there’s no chance he could pull some of the things Sammy does on this song.
4. D.O.A. – Van Halen II (1979)
A lot of fans think of Van Halen’s sophomore effort as just a continuation of their eponymous debut, and while I think they are onto something, it would be doing Van Halen II a disservice by just lumping it in with its direct predecessor.
The songwriting feels a little more varied and some of the deep cuts are a little bit heavier, especially “D.O.A.”
Roth sings with attitude throughout this whole tune, and the main riff to this track is heavy and groovy while still being infectious enough to capture the attention of pop fans, and the guitar solo is beautifully frantic in the best way possible.
Bonus points for the instrumental opener that comes right before this song on the album, “Spanish Fly.”
It is basically the acoustic answer to Eddie’s iconic “Eruption” from Van Halen, and, in my opinion, is even more impressive, so I highly recommend listening to it and “D.O.A.” back-to-back.
3. “Mean Street” – Fair Warning (1981)
They don’t make ‘em much groovier and catchier than the main riff to “Mean Street,” and although Eddie flashes all over this song and this record in general, the whole band shines on Fair Warning‘s opening track.
Eddie flexes his guitar god muscles with a frantic opening riff that bedroom players and seasoned pros alike are still trying to replicate to this day.
Anthony and drummer Alex Van Halen bring the thunder in the rhythm section underneath, giving Eddie all the space he needs to go wild.
And, of course, Roth swaggers all over from start to finish, giving “Mean Street” the teeth and toughness it needs to really tie it all together.
This is one of the group’s finest hours on, what I believe, is their best album.
2. “Girl Gone Bad” – 1984 (1984)
By the time Van Halen released 1984, the group had become radio and arena mainstays.
The singles from this record – “Hot For Teacher,” “Panama,” and “Jump” – were all in heavy rotation on MTV, and it could have been argued that Van Halen was the biggest band in the world in the mid 80s.
While many fans are only familiar with the three radio staples I listed above, the deep cuts on 1984 are where the band really shines, and it’s “Girl Gone Bad” that rises above the rest.
The opening features a haunting harmonic intro by Eddie, followed by a mini-shred salvo that leads straight into the deceptively heavy main riff.
Vocally, this is one of Roth’s finest hours, as Diamond Dave delivers time and time again with his patented screams and bravado.
This was the last album to feature the four original members of Roth, Anthony, and the Van Halen brothers, and “Girl Gone Bad” represents the perfect swan song to one of the best hard rock bands to ever do it.
1. “Hear About It Later” – Fair Warning (1981)
If an alien were to touchdown on Earth and ask what Van Halen sounds like, this is what I would play for them and pray they liked it enough to not probe me.
This song has it all: the cool, arpeggiated chords played over an effects pedal, a nasty main riff, a blistering guitar solo, a swaggering frontman, and a brilliantly understated rhythm section.
Eddie’s guitar sounds almost other-worldly throughout, as Roth struts up and down lyrically.
Fair Warning is my favorite Van Halen album, and “Hear About It Later” has the band firing on all cylinders.
If you ever wanted to see a band at its absolute peak, look no further than this masterclass of a hard rock song.
I’m sure I missed a couple of your favorite Van Halen songs, so email me at austin.perry@outkick.com and let me know what your favorite songs are.
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