1984 Songs Ranked

1984 (stylized as MCMLXXXIV) is the sixth studio album by American rock band Van Halen, released on January 9, 1984. It was the last Van Halen studio album until A Different Kind of Truth (2012) to feature lead singer David Lee Roth, who left the band in 1985 following creative differences. This is the final full-length album to feature all four original members (Van Halen brothers, Roth, and Michael Anthony), although they reunited briefly in 2000 to start work on what would much later become 2012’s A Different Kind of Truth. Roth returned in 2007, but Eddie’s son Wolfgang replaced Anthony in 2006. 1984 and Van Halen’s debut are Van Halen’s bestselling albums, each having sold more than 10 million copies. Here are all of 1984 songs ranked. Here are all of 1984 songs ranked.

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9. 1984

“This is a back-to-front party rock album that is well-paced with how the slower tracks are spaced with the slower songs. Admittedly things don’t start super hot; 1984 is fine instrumental opener, with the band showing off some very early-80’s synths.”

8. Top Jimmy

“Top Jimmy is another fast track, with Roth singing super quickly on the verses. Again the guitar work is great, and being within a sub-3 minute track means that Eddie doesn’t fall into the 80’s endless masturbatory guitar trap.”

7. House of Pain

“The album closes on House of Pain, the closest on 1984 than Van Halen comes to heavy metal. The riffs chug quite a bit here (though not to sludge levels) and the lyrics have the sliiightest BDSM twist to them so the heavy metal influence is undeniable.”

See more: Van Halen Albums Ranked

6. Drop Dead Legs

“Drop Dead Legs is a slower, more salacious track. Its slow, blues-inspired vibe combined with early 80’s synthesizers reminds me a bit of what ZZ Top was doing at the time on their Eliminator album (in a good way).”

5. Girl Gone Bad

“Girl Gone Bad is a straight barn-burner, easily the fastest and most technically impressive song on the whole album. The vocals on the hook sound fantastic (“Giiiiiiiiirl gone bad”) and Eddie shows off the most pyrotechnic guitar work on the whole album. From the lyrics about a girl getting down and dirty to the ridiculous guitar playing this is the MOST hair metal song on the album, and you can see a direct connection between this song and the direction that groups that Whitesnake starting taking in wake of this album’s release.”

See more: Van Halen Songs Ranked

4. I’ll Wait

“I’ll Wait is a mid-tempo ballad that incorporates synths muuuch better than Jump did. The tom-tom solos on the verses and the chorus-verse transition are simple but sound great and keep things interesting.”

3. Panama

“From here though it’s all uphill. Panama is great straightforward hard rocker. The group vocals on the hook sound nice, and the guitar solo sounds great without prattling on too long.”

2. Hot for Teacher

“The B side kicks things off with Hot for Teacher, the highlight of the album for me. The track starts with a drum solo featuring double kick drums. When I first heard the track as a kid I had no idea that those sounds were being made by the drummer; I thought that it was a recording of a real motorcycle starting up! Lyrically the song is about a student having the hots on for his teacher and being invited for an “after-school session”. Of course this is all played up as a schoolboy fantasy and not reality (at least I hope; viewing it from a modern perspective if this is literal then Roth is basiiiiically singing about statutory rape so I really hope that’s not the case).”

1. Jump

“Van Halen’s best selling album! The band decided to keep experimenting, this time with synthesizers. ‘Jump’ was the bands first #1 hit song, and became an instant classic. This is the last album to feature all four original members.”