Van Halen Albums Ranked Worst to Best

Unlike most bands that have managed to stick around for decades, there’s no real consensus on the Van Halen catalog. For most fans, how you rank the group’s records has a lot to do with which side you’re on in the David Lee Roth vs. Sammy Hagar debate, and putting together a fair Worst to Best list that takes into account each lineup’s separate strengths is easier said than done.

But “worst” in the context of one of the world’s greatest rock bands doesn’t necessarily mean bad, and our rankings could change tomorrow. But that said, the next time we schedule some time to sit and listen to the complete Van Halen discography back to back, we feel like this is a pretty great running order.

So where do your favorites fall? Do Diamond Dave and Sammy both get their props? And what did we end up doing with the little-loved Van Halen III? You can get the answers to all those questions (and more) above. Toss out all your brown M&Ms – it’s time to rank Van Halen’s albums, worst to best!

After that, you can also take a look at the band’s surprisingly long series of lineup changes, count down the best songs from all four decades of former singer Sammy Hagar’s distinguished career and enjoy Eddie Van Halen’s best guitar solos.