Last Updated on July 24, 2026 by Christian Adams
The David Lee Roth-era(s) of Van Halen spawned 7 albums and 98 songs, with roughly 25 songs receiving heavy radio airplay. Considering Van Halen’s influence and popularity, it’s hard to say anything they ever did—especially in the DLR era—could be “under-appreciated.” The six classic albums with Roth have sold 50+ million copies (worldwide). It’s safe to say the masses have shown their appreciation.
While these records—Van Halen I, II, Women and Children First, Fair Warning, Diver Down, and 1984, aka The First Six—may contain a bunch of hits and a couple of misses, it’s hard to say we, as an audience, missed anything VH had to offer. This is especially true after DLR left the band, and, sadly, once he returned. However, only a certain level of Van Halen fan will know the hidden gems and sleeper deep cuts on those albums.
We Demand That You Make a Choice
The Van Halen fanbase is among the most polarized in rock music, and the band is mostly to blame. Most of us are either Camp Diamond Dave or Camp Sam Halen. A few outliers claim to appreciate both iterations of the band, but, as Dave said, “I don’t think you have to make to make a choice, but Van Halen [meaning the brothers] demand it. Van Halen is deciding, for some bizarre, retarded reason, for the audience to make a choice. You either love us and hate him or vice versa.”
At this point in life, I don’t begrudge anybody’s appreciation of the Sammy Hagar-era albums. I don’t even care if you happen to love Van Halen III featuring Gary Cherone. Just don’t confuse that music with the true genius of Van Halen and The First Six Albums, which I’ll get to in a minute. I believe—Dave will tell you and Alex Van Halen concurs—that the magic of Van Halen happened during the DLR years. And you can spread as much copium on that as you want, but it doesn’t change things.
Levels of Van Halen Appreciation
In 2015, Rolling Stone ran a piece entitled 20 Insanely Great Van Halen Songs Only Hardcore Fans Know (updated in 2019). It’s not a bad list, but like everything else, I’ve got to take exception to their concept of a “hardcore fan” and the inclusion of Sammy-era stuff.
There are four tiers of Van Halen Appreciation:
Level 1 – Casual Fan
- Familiar with the band’s biggest hits, e.g., “Jump!” and “Panama“
- Can be forgiven for thinking David Lee Roth’s name is actually Van Halen
- Unaware that a cassette copy of Women and Children First is wedged between the wall and the water heater in their parents’ basement
Level 2 – Invested Supporter
- Owns at least one of the six DLR-era records and Sammy-era 5150
- Briefly took guitar lessons specifically to learn the finger-tapped sections of “Eruption” – gave up when left hand started cramping
- Was upset when DLR left the band and ambivalent about Sammy Hagar, but whatever
- Knows that Eddie Van Halen played the solo on Michael Jackson’s “Beat It”
- Can probably hum said “Beat It” solo
- Did a double-take when they replaced Michael Anthony with Wolfgang
- Listened to one track from A Different Kind of Truth and said “no thanks”
Level 3 – Bandwagon Chump
- Owns at least three of the First Six and has most of Van Halen I in current rotation
- Owns at least two Sammy Hagar-era records, most likely 5150 and OU812
- Didn’t flinch when DLR left the band and stayed on board with Sammy
- Probably spit out their Monster energy drink when they heard Gary Cherone – the cat from Extreme, Gary “More Than Words” Cherone? – was the new lead singer of their most beloved and mighty party band from Southern California
- Genuinely enjoys the complete bullshit of Sam Halen foisted on the listening public
- Refers to the band as Van Hagar, depending upon which version is being discussed
- Most likely plays a stringed instrument
- Was disappointed that Alex Van Halen’s memoir doesn’t mention Sammy
Level 4 – Freak
- Owns all of The First Six and has them in current rotation on every listening device
- Owns none of the succeeding albums with the tequila guy, but has several different versions of the Warner Bros. demo tapes recorded with Gene Simmons
- Has heard Van Halen III with Gary Cherone exactly ONE TIME
- Has David Lee Roth’s isolated vocal tracks from “Runnin’ with the Devil” set as ringtone notifications on smartphone devices (courtesy of Soundboard)
- Can rank The First Six by personal preference and provide reasons and examples to support their opinion
- Has seen the classic line-up live at least once
- Read DLR’s autobiography, Crazy From the Heat, and wish it were about 500 pages longer
More Than Familiar with the First Six Albums
Nothing will ever touch Van Halen I, and, remarkably, they managed to put out five more consistently entertaining records, which may have paled in comparison but still touched all the right nerves for the fans.
Meanwhile, there are quite a few songs in the First Six pantheon that most fans are familiar with, but for whatever reason, forget about them when it comes time to make a VH playlist. However, don’t fail to look between the hits of those respective albums. That’s where you’ll find some of the band’s best work.
For example, Fair Warning is the worst-selling of The First Six, but many hardcore fans consider it the best VH record, if you could say that anything tops the debut album—and it doesn’t. Diver Down was completely trashed when it came out. But that shit aged very, very well.
1984 Is the End of the Road
Right here. This is where we stop listening to Van Halen. They never got any better than “Hot for Teacher”. And for chrissakes, that’s enough. If they had never put out another song, they’d still be the best and most entertaining American hard rock act of the 1970s and early ’80s.
20 Van Halen Deep Cuts Only True Fans Know (2026 Update)
EDITOR’S NOTE: Tracks marked with * appear on the Rolling Stone listicle.
20. “Push Comes to Shove” – from Fair Warning
In a Guitar Player interview, Eddie Van Halen told Billy Corgan that “Push Comes To Shove” was ‘Roth’s idea of trying to cash in on the reggae thing,’ but Michael Anthony’s disco bass line gave it more of a funk rock feel. Dave’s opening banter keeps things light and fun (“Is there anything left in that bottle?”), but the guitar solo is the star of this cut, with hints of Allan Holdsworth and jazz fusion.
19. “Girl Gone Bad” – from 1984
It starts off with tenative harmonics and quickly builds to thundering hardcharger led by a world-class performance by Alex on drums.
18. “Atomic Punk” – from Van Halen I
The second-most overlooked song on an almost perfect album, with a guitar intro that scared the hell out of me.
17. “Women in Love” – from Van Halen II
It’s not Dave’s most consistent performance, but the chorus is sunny Southern California.
16. “In a Simple Rhyme” – from Women and Children First
15. “Loss of Control” – from Women and Children First
Mr. Bungle‘s cover gives me goosebumps.
14. “The Full Bug” – from Diver Down
One of the few songs from Diver Down that sounds like it belongs on Van Halen I.
13. “Sinners Swing!” – from Fair Warning
A high-velocity backbeat shuffle that gets increasingly unhinged.
12. “Hang ‘em High” – from Diver Down
A full-speed stomper that gets better with every listen.
11. “Could This Be Magic?” – from Women and Children First
One of two sorta “tender” tracks on the list, it’s one of two songs on which DLR plays acoustic guitar. It also features Nicolette Larson and the only female backing vocal ever recorded for a Van Halen song.
10. “Outta Love Again” – from Van Halen II
This is one of those songs that consistently comes up on random shuffle, and I say, Oh yeah! I forgot about this jam. Anyway, the band is insanely tight on this cut. Give it a listen.
9. “Little Guitars” – from Diver Down
Diver Down is the most maligned and often overlooked record in the VH oeuvre, perhaps for good reason. Critics have called it “possibly the laziest record ever made,” and you can’t argue with facts:
- 5 of 12 tracks are cover songs
- At least one of those covers “Dancing in the Streets” is one of the few shitty things VH/DLR ever did
- The band has repeatedly stated they were pressured into making the record; hence, the rushed quality
8. “Dirty Movies” – from Fair Warning*
I’m just gonna go ahead and print some of the lyrics here. You’ll figure it out.
Now who’s that babe with the fabulous shadow?
It’s only one scene, but to me it don’t matter
Her movies get down like you won’t find in my hometown
They won’t believe it when they see what they’re seein’
Go see baby now!
Pictures on the silver screen
Greatest thing you’ve ever seen
Now her name is up in lights
Everything turns out all right
7. “On Fire” – from Van Halen I
Of all The First Six, the debut album is the most scrutinized and beloved, and the only record that Levels 1 and 2 would play start-to-finish. It’s a toss-up between this jam and “Little Dreamer” in terms of under-appreciation. However, if there was a weak link on Van Halen I – and I’m not saying there is – it would probably be “Little Dreamer”.
Conversely, “On Fire” is just that: On fucking fire! and I challenge any hard rock band – punk and/or otherwise – to show me something that’s as hard-charging as this track.
6. “Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now)” – from Diver Down*
The band was no stranger to hokey Americana before Diver Down (“Ice Cream Man” and “Could This Be Magic?”), but this is the song where they nailed a certain wholesome exuberance. Plus, it’s got that sweet story about the Van Halen brothers’ old man playing clarinet on the cut.
5. “Drop Dead Legs” – from 1984*
The only time I got to see the band was in March 1984 at the Rosemont Horizon. They opened with “Unchained” and absolutely crushed the set. It was glorious. However, I was disappointed they didn’t play this jam, especially cuz they played “House of Pain”, which is a vastly inferior cut.
4. “Light Up the Sky” – from Van Halen II
If I were a Warner Bros. A&R dude in 1978 and the band delivered me Van Halen II, I would have picked “Light Up the Sky” as the first single – and “Beautiful Girls” is one of my Top 5 favorite songs. This track explodes out of the speakers.
3. “Romeo Delight” – from Women and Children First
Some see Women and Children First as the beginning of the end – the start of the band’s creative decline. I say “bullshit.” While it had a couple of radio jams (“…And the Cradle Will Rock” and “Everybody Wants Some!”), the rest of the album got lost in the mush. NOBODY knows this “Romeo Delight” jam. You should put it on a playlist just to have it come up and school the first person who says, “Is this Van Halen? What record is it on? Jesus!“
2. “Secrets” – from Diver Down*
What a beautiful song. Dave is actually doin’ some singin’. I always wondered why you never heard it on the radio.
1. “Top Jimmy” – from 1984
1984 is without question the band’s pinnacle of success and most polished effort. “Top Jimmy” is by far the band’s most underrated song.
First of all, the riffs. It’s chock-a-block full of vintage Eddie: harmonics, pick slides, and whammy bar wiggles. And then, POW! Right into a cocaine-fueled boogie march that keeps ascending toward the ceiling before spiraling back to the carpet.
Top Jimmy & The Rhythm Pigs were an American rock and R&B band that emerged from the L.A. music scene in the late 70s and early-1980s. Led by Top Jimmy (born James Paul Koncek; died May 17, 2001), the Rhythm Pigs gained notoriety with a “Blue Mondays” residency at the Cathay de Grande in Hollywood, California. Roth frequented the Zero Zero club, where Jimmy tended bar, and the pair became fast friends.
Note: This article was originally published in 2019 featuring 10 tracks. It has been fully expanded and updated for 2026 to include 20 deep cuts.
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