Official top 50 Van Halen songs thread!! (Countdown has begun!!)

[HOF]

I’ve been re-listening to the DLR albums the last couple weeks, and I have to say, I think Diver Down might be my favorite from him. It’s just a fun album and the production on it is really strong too.

[KevShmev]

I’ve been re-listening to the DLR albums the last couple weeks, and I have to say, I think Diver Down might be my favorite from him. It’s just a fun album and the production on it is really strong too.

Considering you had 11 of the 12 songs from III in your top 50, I can't say I am surprised.

[HOF]

I’ve been re-listening to the DLR albums the last couple weeks, and I have to say, I think Diver Down might be my favorite from him. It’s just a fun album and the production on it is really strong too.

Considering you had 11 of the 12 songs from III in your top 50, I can't say I am surprised.

That’s because it rules all!

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

I’ve been re-listening to the DLR albums the last couple weeks, and I have to say, I think Diver Down might be my favorite from him. It’s just a fun album and the production on it is really strong too.

Considering you had 11 of the 12 songs from III in your top 50, I can't say I am surprised.

That’s because it rules all!

[wolfking]

I’ve been re-listening to the DLR albums the last couple weeks, and I have to say, I think Diver Down might be my favorite from him. It’s just a fun album and the production on it is really strong too.

Considering you had 11 of the 12 songs from III in your top 50, I can't say I am surprised.

Uhhh......wow!

[TAC]

Wow, that is indeed whacked.

That is an awesome gif! 

[wolfking]

I’ve been re-listening to the DLR albums the last couple weeks, and I have to say, I think Diver Down might be my favorite from him. It’s just a fun album and the production on it is really strong too.

Considering you had 11 of the 12 songs from III in your top 50, I can't say I am surprised.

That’s because it rules all!

I'm sorry HOF but I think you're list has been disregarded and not included, Kev just hasn't the heart to tell you.

[Dream Team]

I’ve been re-listening to the DLR albums the last couple weeks, and I have to say, I think Diver Down might be my favorite from him. It’s just a fun album and the production on it is really strong too.

Considering you had 11 of the 12 songs from III in your top 50, I can't say I am surprised.

That’s because it rules all!

I'm sorry HOF but I think you're list has been disregarded and not included, Kev just hasn't the heart to tell you.

Yeah, his opinions are the most outre I’ve ever seen.

[TAC]

Worse than Stadler!

[HOF]

I aim to bring balance to the forum.

[wolfking]

I aim to bring balance to the forum.

Well, to bring more Balance you need to start chopping VH3.

[HOF]

I aim to bring balance to the forum.

Well, to bring more Balance you need to start chopping VH3.

I do have 9 from Balance on my list!

[WardySI]

Humans Being was an instant win on first spin and clearly has remained a fave.  It was so good I anticipated the next record with Sam would be something truly special but sadly it never happened. 

[bl5150]

I liked Humans Being but had it around 60-ish on my list.  After OU812 Ed's lead guitar playing lost quite a bit for my taste (same time he ditched the Frankie and spent more time designing guitars and amps  etc...) and so from F.U.C.K. onwards it's more about me really loving the song as I wasn't so wowed by his playing.  I definitely liked Humans Being though.

I had Little Guitars #31 and agree with

Wait..THIS is the only Diver Down track?? I mean, I know the album kind of sucks, but only one song?

[wolfking]

I liked Humans Being but had it around 60-ish on my list.  After OU812 Ed's lead guitar playing lost quite a bit for my taste (same time he ditched the Frankie and spent more time designing guitars and amps  etc...) and so from F.U.C.K. onwards it's more about me really loving the song as I wasn't so wowed by his playing. I definitely liked Humans Being though.

I had Little Guitars #31 and agree with

Wait..THIS is the only Diver Down track?? I mean, I know the album kind of sucks, but only one song?

I actually really enjoyed his playing the most on FUCK and Balance, bit I think liking the songs and the style more maybe the reason.  But there's some amazing playing on these two.

[WilliamMunny]

I liked Humans Being but had it around 60-ish on my list.  After OU812 Ed's lead guitar playing lost quite a bit for my taste (same time he ditched the Frankie and spent more time designing guitars and amps  etc...) and so from F.U.C.K. onwards it's more about me really loving the song as I wasn't so wowed by his playing. I definitely liked Humans Being though.

I had Little Guitars #31 and agree with

Wait..THIS is the only Diver Down track?? I mean, I know the album kind of sucks, but only one song?

I actually really enjoyed his playing the most on FUCK and Balance, bit I think liking the songs and the style more maybe the reason.  But there's some amazing playing on these two.

I was thinking the same thing!

Where's "Dancing in the Streets" or "Pretty Woman"? 

[KevShmev]

Let's keep this moving...

40 Feelin’
Appeared on 10 of 17  entrees
Top 10 finishes: 1
Highest Ranking: 4 (hefdaddy42)

Love this one.  I had it at 35, which seemed lower than I would have thought, but the ranking engine does not lie.  VH rarely did songs like this, but they did it well. 
 

39 You Really Got Me
Appeared on 10 of 17  entrees
Top 10 finishes: 1
Highest Ranking: 6 (DragonAttack)

I didn't put any of their covers in my top 50, but this is a great one.  And it's on the debut, so it's obviously a keeper.

[HOF]

Feelin’ is awesome. I had it at 16. One of VH’s most epic songs and a tremendous album closer. Incredible vocal performance from Sammy. And of course Eddie is all over it. Great track.

You Really Got me was 45 on my list. A great cover that the band make their own. I always think of the car commercial with Ken and Barbie when I hear it.

[bl5150]

I liked Humans Being but had it around 60-ish on my list.  After OU812 Ed's lead guitar playing lost quite a bit for my taste (same time he ditched the Frankie and spent more time designing guitars and amps  etc...) and so from F.U.C.K. onwards it's more about me really loving the song as I wasn't so wowed by his playing. I definitely liked Humans Being though.

I had Little Guitars #31 and agree with

Wait..THIS is the only Diver Down track?? I mean, I know the album kind of sucks, but only one song?

I actually really enjoyed his playing the most on FUCK and Balance, bit I think liking the songs and the style more maybe the reason.  But there's some amazing playing on these two.

I agree in parts but on the whole his lead playing (part of the attraction of which was his total unpredictability) became very predictable/samey to me after OU812  (lots of recycled licks........even moreso live) and his tone fattened up big time with his new signature guitars.  Over the journey I've probably only come across a couple of people who agree with me and draw a very clear line between OU812 and the rest with his guitar playing but it's clear as day to my ears. 

I really like both of the new songs.  Feelin' is one of the exceptions to what I said above re Ed's playing and therefore was a big favourite off Balance....I had it #47

I had You Really Got Me #17 - one of the first VH songs I heard (and saw on Rage/MTV) so big time influential on me growing up to worship Eddie and the band.  It had the playing , attitude , everything.

[TAC]

You Really Got me was 45 on my list. A great cover that the band make their own. I always think of the car commercial with Ken and Barbie when I hear it.

Can’t say there’s anything that makes me think of Ken and Barbie. 

[Cool Chris]

Didn't participate but my #1 and #2 (not sure of order) are Pretty Woman and You Really Got Me. My favorite local cover band I saw a ton in my 20s did a rocking Pretty Woman in VH's style and I loved it.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

40 Feelin’
Appeared on 10 of 17  entrees
Top 10 finishes: 1
Highest Ranking: 4 (hefdaddy42)

Love this one.  I had it at 35, which seemed lower than I would have thought, but the ranking engine does not lie.  VH rarely did songs like this, but they did it well. 
 

39 You Really Got Me
Appeared on 10 of 17  entrees
Top 10 finishes: 1
Highest Ranking: 6 (DragonAttack)

I didn't put any of their covers in my top 50, but this is a great one.  And it's on the debut, so it's obviously a keeper.

Feelin' - A great song. I had this at #22. This has some great Eddie licks and fantastic vocals from Sammy

You Really Got Me - I do enjoy this song, even though I only had it at #96 on my list. It's definitely better than the original. Although Stadler may disagree

[HOF]

You Really Got me was 45 on my list. A great cover that the band make their own. I always think of the car commercial with Ken and Barbie when I hear it.

Can’t say there’s anything that makes me think of Ken and Barbie. 

More G.I. Joe and Barbie. Surely you’ve seen it before:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=c4HQmuNEZak

[bl5150]

You Really Got me was 45 on my list. A great cover that the band make their own. I always think of the car commercial with Ken and Barbie when I hear it.

Can’t say there’s anything that makes me think of Ken and Barbie. 

More G.I. Joe and Barbie. Surely you’ve seen it before:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=c4HQmuNEZak

Which seems to have been inspired by this weird Barbie video for The Kinks' original version of the song that was dreamt up by some rather well hydrated people at the ABC in Australia (music show called Rage) when I was a kid.  Funny the things you remember 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZejNl2YuEnQ

[HOF]

You Really Got me was 45 on my list. A great cover that the band make their own. I always think of the car commercial with Ken and Barbie when I hear it.

Can’t say there’s anything that makes me think of Ken and Barbie. 

More G.I. Joe and Barbie. Surely you’ve seen it before:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=c4HQmuNEZak

Which seems to have been inspired by this weird Barbie video for The Kinks' original version of the song that was dreamt up by some rather well hydrated people at the ABC in Australia (music show called Rage) when I was a kid.  Funny the things you remember 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZejNl2YuEnQ

Ha, did not know about that one, but it makes sense.

[TAC]

40 Feelin’
Appeared on 10 of 17  entrees
Top 10 finishes: 1
Highest Ranking: 4 (hefdaddy42)


39 You Really Got Me
Appeared on 10 of 17  entrees
Top 10 finishes: 1
Highest Ranking: 6 (DragonAttack)

I had Feelin' at #47. I feel like I liked it a lot more when it came out. They really don't have another song like that in their catalog.  It's cool and all. Just not a favorite.

I had You Really Got Me at #30. I didn't consider any other of their cover songs, but I made an exception here. It's an iconic VH track, cover song or not.

[devieira73]

Besides Pretty Woman, You Really Got Me was the other VH's version to make my list (#35), really remarkable! Feeling is a great closer to the excellent Balance (#49) and one of few (if there's another) VH's songs with an epic feel.

[wolfking]

I liked Humans Being but had it around 60-ish on my list.  After OU812 Ed's lead guitar playing lost quite a bit for my taste (same time he ditched the Frankie and spent more time designing guitars and amps  etc...) and so from F.U.C.K. onwards it's more about me really loving the song as I wasn't so wowed by his playing. I definitely liked Humans Being though.

I had Little Guitars #31 and agree with

Wait..THIS is the only Diver Down track?? I mean, I know the album kind of sucks, but only one song?

I actually really enjoyed his playing the most on FUCK and Balance, bit I think liking the songs and the style more maybe the reason.  But there's some amazing playing on these two.

I agree in parts but on the whole his lead playing (part of the attraction of which was his total unpredictability) became very predictable/samey to me after OU812  (lots of recycled licks........even moreso live) and his tone fattened up big time with his new signature guitars.  Over the journey I've probably only come across a couple of people who agree with me and draw a very clear line between OU812 and the rest with his guitar playing but it's clear as day to my ears. 

I really like both of the new songs.  Feelin' is one of the exceptions to what I said above re Ed's playing and therefore was a big favourite off Balance....I had it #47

I had You Really Got Me #17 - one of the first VH songs I heard (and saw on Rage/MTV) so big time influential on me growing up to worship Eddie and the band.  It had the playing , attitude , everything.

I haven't listened enough to comment but knowing your knowledge, I don't doubt what you're saying.  I'll have to listen a bit more to him in general to sus that out.

I didn't rank YRGM but Feelin' was at number 12 for me.  Again, I loved what Eddie does in the middle and the song has a great atmosphere.

[The Realm]

40 Feelin’
Appeared on 10 of 17  entrees
Top 10 finishes: 1
Highest Ranking: 4 (hefdaddy42)

39 You Really Got Me
Appeared on 10 of 17  entrees
Top 10 finishes: 1
Highest Ranking: 6 (DragonAttack)

Feelin - unranked by me but I do enjoy this one.

You Really Got Me - this is the only cover I ranked in my top 50. I wasn't going to include any covers but then decided I had to have this one and I ranked this at 24.

[bl5150]

I had Feelin' at #47.

Feelin' is one of the exceptions to what I said above re Ed's playing and therefore was a big favourite off Balance....I had it #47

I didn't rank YRGM but Feelin' was at number 12 for me.  Again, I loved what Eddie does in the middle and the song has a great atmosphere.

It is a great song and one of my faves from Sammy.......  In terms of songwriting it should rank way higher than many of the Roth tracks I ranked higher , but I did it more on lifetime influence which automatically weighted things towards Roth songs.

[wolfking]

I had Feelin' at #47.

Feelin' is one of the exceptions to what I said above re Ed's playing and therefore was a big favourite off Balance....I had it #47

I didn't rank YRGM but Feelin' was at number 12 for me.  Again, I loved what Eddie does in the middle and the song has a great atmosphere.

It is a great song and one of my faves from Sammy.......  In terms of songwriting it should rank way higher than many of the Roth tracks I ranked higher , but I did it more on lifetime influence which automatically weighted things towards Roth songs.

As you would.

[KevShmev]

Two very different songs are today's tunes.

37 (t) When It’s Love
Appeared on 9 of 17  entrees
Top 10 finishes: 3
Highest Ranking: 4 (WilliamMunny)

Good song, but one I got tired of quickly by the end of 1988 as MTV played the daylights out of the video.  The chorus is a bit too sappy for me, but the synth intro and outros are both nice.  Unranked for me.


37 (t) Little Dreamer
Appeared on 10 of 17  entrees
Top 10 finishes: 3
Highest Ranking: 2 (Dream Team)

I was a bit dismayed to see this one not do a lot better, but such is life.  It was my number 7.  That intro alone is just  .

[DragonAttack]

....the lower ten...and I figured with the small sampling size, that I'd end up with some of the highest ones ranked, along with favorites that wouldn't make the cut.  Add onto that a strong aversion of the hits of any band by some, which means I won't be surprised at any of the results here.

50 Feel Your Love Tonight (#43)

49 Feels So Good (#11.....highest) Takes me back to the late spring and summer of ’88.  I met and moved in with my future first wife, went on a couple of vacations with her, passed a required state exam to keep my job, had a great time during and after softball games with teammates and our girlfriends/wives.  Life did feel good.

48 Good Enough (#8) almost highest.  Their ‘well, here WE are’ introductory song, and it rocks.

47 Mine All Mine (#21) second of three from OU812?  Damn, ...where’s the spoiler alert? I listed six from the album, as it’s my favorite Van Hagar offering. Then again, this is DTF. As I said earlier, I shouldn't be surprised.     btw, terrific lyrics!

46 Drop Dead Legs (NR) the lyrics

45 Girl Gone Bad (NR) see #46

43 (t) Don’t Tell Me (What Love Can Do) (NR)  I do have it on my best of Van Hagar disc.  I had it at #50, but dropped it for ‘On Fire’.  Some outstanding BVs by Mike, but wasn't that generally the overlooked norm?

43 (t) Ice Cream Man (#20)  Heard this just as much on AOR stations back in the day as the handful of other favorites from this album.  Slight tempo changer before kicking axe.  So many good and clever blues song writers could insert sexual innuendos into a song in a smart way.  A great cover.

42 Humans Being (NR) not a fan of the vocal stylings.  All the turmoil that followed  'Balance' basically turned me off from anything they had to offer afterwards.

41 Little Guitars (NR) yet another spoiler alert missing....

[bl5150]

Two very different songs are today's tunes.

37 (t) When It’s Love
Appeared on 9 of 17  entrees
Top 10 finishes: 3
Highest Ranking: 4 (WilliamMunny)

Good song, but one I got tired of quickly by the end of 1988 as MTV played the daylights out of the video.  The chorus is a bit too sappy for me, but the synth intro and outros are both nice.  Unranked for me.


37 (t) Little Dreamer
Appeared on 10 of 17  entrees
Top 10 finishes: 3
Highest Ranking: 2 (Dream Team)

I was a bit dismayed to see this one not do a lot better, but such is life.  It was my number 7.  That intro alone is just  .

I had both these just outside the top 50 , but enjoy them both.  I think perhaps When It's Love suffered from overexposure but it's a very well written song and I do really like the bluesy solo which was a cool change up for Ed.   Like Feel Your Love Tonight , Little Dreamer is one of my lesser favourites on my DTF Top 50 #1 album of all time.

[TAC]

37 (t) When It’s Love
Appeared on 9 of 17  entrees
Top 10 finishes: 3
Highest Ranking: 4 (WilliamMunny)

37 (t) Little Dreamer
Appeared on 10 of 17  entrees
Top 10 finishes: 3
Highest Ranking: 2 (Dream Team)

I had When It's Love as Not Rated. Awful. Just awful. I was embarrassed for the band when this was released as the single.


I had Little Dreamer at #45. Very enjoyable.