1984

This cd is a standard for every metal collection. I was thirteen and this was the first Van Halen album I heard all the way through, so I didn’t have the initial reaction of most long time Van Halen fans. In retrospect, it’s clearly not their best album as I had originally stated, but it’s still an undeniably important part of metal history. Writing some of their biggest hits with tracks like Jump, Panama, and Hot for Teacher, the band began experiencing internal conflicts. So tragically, after making some of the most popular videos and finishing their biggest tour, Dave and Van Halen went their separate ways and metal lost their best frontman and guitarist combination. --Scott