Van Halen’s DLR Albums Ranked

Van Halen With David Lee Roth: Worst to Best

David Lee Roth’s original run with Van Halen produced six studio albums between 1978 and 1984. Ranking them is almost impossible without starting an argument, but here’s a worst-to-best list based on songwriting, performances, production, consistency, and overall impact.

6. Diver Down (1982)

Diver Down is the weakest of the original six, although “weakest Van Halen” is still pretty damn good. The album was rushed together, and nearly a third of it consists of covers. “Where Have All the Good Times Gone” and “Oh, Pretty Woman” are fun, but they don’t showcase the band at its creative peak. The originals, particularly “Little Guitars” and “Secrets,” are excellent, but the album feels more like a stopgap than a fully developed statement.

5. Fair Warning (1981)

This is arguably the most underrated album of the Roth era. Fair Warning is darker, heavier, stranger, and more aggressive than the records surrounding it. “Mean Street,” “Unchained,” and “Sinner’s Swing!” showcase Eddie Van Halen at his most inventive. The problem is that it doesn’t have quite the same collection of instantly accessible songs as the band’s biggest albums. Still, longtime Van Halen fans often rank it much higher.

4. Van Halen II (1979)

Coming immediately after the band’s explosive debut, Van Halen II proved that the first album wasn’t a fluke. “Dance the Night Away,” “Beautiful Girls,” and “Women in Love…” are classic Van Halen, while “Somebody Get Me a Doctor” delivers the band’s trademark swagger. It may lack the shock of the debut, but it’s remarkably consistent and captures the group at full speed.

3. 1984 (1984)

1984 was the beginning of the end for the original lineup, but creatively it was enormous. “Jump,” “Panama,” “Hot for Teacher,” and “I’ll Wait” turned Van Halen into an even bigger mainstream phenomenon. Eddie’s keyboards expanded the band’s sound without eliminating the guitar heroics. Roth’s departure shortly afterward makes the album feel like the final chapter of a golden era.

2. Women and Children First (1980)

This is where Van Halen really started stretching out. The album feels more experimental and less concerned with simply reproducing the formula of the debut. “And the Cradle Will Rock…,” “Everybody Wants Some!!,” “Fools,” and “Romeo Delight” are spectacular showcases for Eddie, Alex, Michael, and Roth. It captures the band sounding dangerous, loose, and completely confident.

1. Van Halen (1978)

The winner is still the debut. Few rock albums have ever arrived with this much energy, personality, and sheer musicianship. “Runnin’ with the Devil,” “Eruption,” “You Really Got Me,” “Ain’t Talkin’ ’Bout Love,” and “Jamie’s Cryin’” established Van Halen almost overnight. Eddie reinvented what a rock guitarist could do, Roth became one of the genre’s defining frontmen, and the rhythm section was phenomenal.

The debut isn’t merely the best DLR-era Van Halen album. It’s one of the greatest hard-rock debuts ever made.