Top 20 Van Halen and Solo Songs From the ’90s

The ’90s were a turbulent time for Van Halen.

After soaring through the previous decade as quite possibly the most universally beloved rock band on the planet, the group hit bumpier terrain in the ’90s. Although they released two multi-platinum albums in the first half of the decade, they also endured nasty public feuding, two more lineup changes, the genre-resetting revolution of grunge and their first flat-out commercial failure.

Apart from an extremely brief 1996 reunion that yielded two new songs, a very awkward joint public appearance and a nasty war of words in the press, the band’s former lead singer David Lee Roth spent the entire decade as a solo artist, releasing three solo albums as he watched his declining commercial fortunes fall further and further below that of his former bandmates.

After spending half the decade with Van Halen, Sammy Hagar split from the band – just like Roth, very publicly and acrimoniously – in 1996, and was replaced by Extreme singer Gary Cherone. As his former band mates flopped hard with their first post-Hagar album, the singer confidently relaunched his solo career, releasing two albums in the back half of the ’90s

Altogether Van Halen, Hagar and Roth released eight studio albums in the decade, as well as a handful of new songs from various best-of or soundtrack albums. As voted by the UCR staff, here are the 20 best Van Halen and solo songs from the ’90s:

20. “Without You” (Van Halen)
From: Van Halen III (1998)

Van Halen’s first and only album with third singer Gary Cherone is unfocused and overlong, strongly suggesting that former frontmen David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar played an important role in shaping the arrangements on previous albums. But watching Eddie Van Halen dump a tackle box full of riffs and licks out on this nearly seven-minute song is still worth the price of admission.

 

19. “She’s My Machine” (David Lee Roth)
From: Your Filthy Little Mouth (1994)

Although his post-Van Halen solo career had lost nearly all of its momentum by the time he released his fourth solo album, David Lee Roth wasn’t going down without a fight. He recruited Chic guitarist Nile Rodgers (who had also produced Madonna‘s early records and David Bowie‘s Let’s Dance) to man the boards for the genre-hopping Your Filthy Little Mouth. The results were mixed but the swaggering “She’s My Machine” proved Diamond Dave could still conjure up his unique brand of magic.

 

 Read More: The Most Underrated Track From Each David Lee Roth Album

18. “Fire in the Hole” (Van Halen)
From: Van Halen III (1998)

Van Halen takes a break from overreaching and throws a fastball straight down the middle on the most straight-ahead song from III. Apart from the upgrade provided by Eddie Van Halen’s unique brilliance, “Fire in the Hole” sounds like something Motley Crue or Kiss could have released in the ’80s. That’s a weight class below where the group at their best should typically be fighting, but counts as a win here.

 

17. “Humans Being” (Van Halen)
From: Twister Soundtrack (1996)

Although the fights surrounding its recording led directly to Sammy Hagar’s departure from the group, “Humans Being” at least ends his era on a strong note. The shift towards seriousness in tone and lyrics which began on 1995’s Balance is just about perfected here, with Eddie Van Halen delivering a muscular riff and putting aside his normal flash for an equally impressive one-note guitar solo.

 

16. “High and Dry Again” (Sammy Hagar)
From: Red Voodoo (1999)

Sammy Hagar’s second post-Van Halen solo album marks the beginning of his Jimmy Buffett party-host phase. “Mas Tequila” got much more attention, but the real highlight is the sultry “High and Dry Again.” Atop a haunting organ riff, Hagar delivers one of his most soulful vocal performances – and it’s great to hear him back on guitar again.

 

15. “Going Places…” (David Lee Roth)
From: DLR Band (1998)

The brief and disastrous 1996 reunion with Van Halen seems to have put a chip on David Lee Roth’s shoulder, as he came out swinging hard on 1998’s back-to-basics DLR Band album. It found him working with new guitarist and songwriting partner John 5 on a collection of riff-based rockers such as “Slam Dunk!” and “Wa Wa Zat!!” But it’s the wistful, largely acoustic “Going Places…” that leaves the most lasting impression.

 

14. “High Hopes” (Sammy Hagar)
From: Unboxed (1994)

While still the frontman for Van Halen, Sammy Hagar agreed to contribute two new tracks to a best-of album celebrating his ’80s solo output. This angered his bandmates considerably; in retrospect, Hagar said it was the beginning of the end of his time in the group. But don’t let that stop you from enjoying this upbeat little ditty about staying up late, getting high and coming up with wild ideas that don’t hold up in the morning light.

 

13. “Take Me Back (Deja Vu)” (Van Halen)
From: Balance (1995)

Sammy Hagar admitted that the grunge revolution rattled even the mighty Van Halen. “I think it fucked with everybody’s heads a bit,” the singer told UCR in 2023. 1995’s serious-minded and somewhat spotty Balance bears that out, with very few mentions of poundcake and maybe a tad too much navel-gazing. But there are strong high points, such as this sentimental and impressively textured burst of childhood nostalgia.

 

12. “Drop in the Bucket” (David Lee Roth)
From: A Little Ain’t Enough (1991)

With Steve Vai and Billy Sheehan both out of his solo band, David Lee Roth was forced to start over on his third solo effort. Luckily, he had the good taste to recruit guitarist Jason Becker, who provides excellent solos throughout A Little Ain’t Enough and co-wrote the album’s particularly strong closing track.

 

11. “Right Now” (Van Halen)
From: For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991)

In a big shift from Van Halen’s previous three albums, 1991’s For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge all but completely abandons keyboards, instead delivering their most guitar-focused hard rock album since 1981’s Fair Warning. The one big exception was the upbeat piano-based live-for-today anthem “Right Now,” which became a big hit partly thanks to its innovative music video.

 

10. “Marching to Mars” (Sammy Hagar)
From: Marching to Mars (1997)

Sammy Hagar’s first post-Van Halen solo album finds him moving through the various stages of a breakup, and sending more than a few bursts of anger at his former bandmates. Once he got all that off his chest his normal enthusiasm for life came back to the surface for the hopeful and anthemic title track, which features clattering percussion help from the Grateful Dead’s Mickey Hart.

 

Read More: Sammy Hagar Solo and Band Albums Ranked Worst to Best

9. “Little White Lie” (Sammy Hagar)
From: Marching to Mars (1997)

As previously mentioned above, before Sammy Hagar could arrive at the optimism of Marching to Mars‘ title track he needed to vent a little bit. OK, a lot. The swampy “Little White Lie” finds him attacking dishonesty in all its forms, with guitar help from Slash and harmonica from none other than Huey Lewis.

 

8. “The Seventh Seal” (Van Halen)
From: Balance (1995)

Van Halen kicked off their fourth (and unknowingly, final) Sammy Hagar-era album with the progressive rock-tinged epic “The Seventh Seal.” Chanting monks appear at the song’s start and during its dramatic mid-song breakdown, adding a sense of mysticism that blends perfectly with Eddie Van Halen’s exotic guitar parts.

 

7. “Me Wise Magic” (Van Halen)
From: Best Of – Volume 1 (1996)

The Van Halen David Lee Roth left in 1985 wasn’t the same one he returned to in 1985. By all accounts, it took some work for the two sides to agree on the pair of new songs they recorded for their brief and ultimately doomed reunion. While the six-minute long “Me Wise Magic” overall sounds like more of a late Hagar-era song, the chorus is pure original lineup magic, with Roth counter-punching like a champ underneath Michael Anthony‘s soaring backing vocals.

 

6. “Big Train” (David Lee Roth)
From: Your Filthy Little Mouth (1994)

Your Filthy Little Mouth is far from David Lee Roth’s most consistent album, but he caught lightning in a bottle on the storming, swinging and perfectly titled “Big Train.” Opening the song by ranting slightly off-mike like a deranged carnival barker, Roth quickly shifts to bobbing and weaving over a dazzling guitar riff and stinging leads from Terry Kilgore, then sealing the deal with a big horn-punctuated chorus.

 

5. “Runaround” (Van Halen)
From: For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991)

Sammy Hagar played a large songwriting role during his time in Van Halen. Many of the songs on their third album For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge sound like extremely souped-up cousins to tracks from his 1982 solo album Standing Hampton. “Runaround” is a perfect example, featuring a gargantuan, arena-ready chorus.

 

4. “A Little Ain’t Enough” (David Lee Roth)
From: A Little Ain’t Enough (1991)

Somebody forgot to tell David Lee Roth the ’80s were over. Which is perfectly fine, as it gave him time to get one last blast of unabashedly cheeky, keyboard-boosted hard rock bubblegum in before the arrival of grunge. If “A Little Ain’t Enough” had been on 1988’s Skyscraper it would have been ten times as popular.

 

3. “Don’t Tell Me (What Love Can Do)” (Van Halen)
From: Balance (1995)

Speaking of grunge, Van Halen adapted to its arrival very admirably on the lead single from their first post-Nevermind album. Eddie Van Halen strips all the sunlight but none of the brilliance from his playing as Hagar tackles some heavy topics, including the 1994 suicide of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain.

 

2. “Judgement Day” (Van Halen)
From: For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991)

Taking Metallica out as a supporting act on the Monsters of Rock tour seemingly woke up something new and ornery in Eddie Van Halen, as he delivers an unholy hybrid of thrash and surf rock on this blistering For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge track.

 

1. “Poundcake” (Van Halen)
From: For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991)

Although the squealing power drill opening gets all of the attention, according to Eddie Van Halen “Poundcake” didn’t fully gel until producer Andy Johns suggested that he play the rhythm parts on a 12-string guitar. That other-worldly touch threw everything off-kilter in a perfectly delightful way. Meanwhile, Sammy Hagar sounded more confident and playful than ever, fully inhabiting his role as the singer of one of rock’s most powerful rock bands. Big changes would soon shake everything up for him and his bandmates, but they started the ’90s on a very high note.