1984

Jump was - and is - great. But the rest sounds very dated. I guess you have to judge it from the perspective of when it was released - but even then these still seem like half songs, half ‘look at me’ guitar solos. Even though it was barely a 30 minute album, I got a bit bored if I’m honest.

It's like if Living Colour fucking sucked.

I'm giving it a 2 because I hate Van Halen and would never listen to a Van Halen on purpose. Was dreading it. But this was better than I thought it would be. They're good at what they do but I'm not interested

To me Van Halen is the same with Hagar or Roth and that is an average rock band and nothing more. Did they have hits? Yes, they did but nothing to get too excited over, at least for me. I know there are plenty of people that love Van Halen and think 1984 is the best album to have ever been recorded but that is far from the truth. Album is one of their better attempts at music and I gave it a 6/10 for 3 stars.

Cheesy, macho, sexist nonsense.

too cheesy and over the top for me

Disappointing in how generic it all sounds. Jump is of course a good nostalgia listen. At least that has energy, but even there the lyrics are pretty awful. I was expecting more.

I really hope there are no more Van Halen albums. He thinks he’s good but he’s not. Music for people who don’t know what music is. Good synth though.

Except for Jump and I’ll wait, this album really felt almost like a step back for the group. I can see why the singer left. There was no vision for change in the music. They found a great thing that works in throwing the song to Eddie. For a guitar riff and they just kept rolling with it. Really sad because I loved their first album, but I can’t give this higher

This crap is horrible

No

Idc what the haters say, I fucks with it. Dumb fun shit.

It was alright

"Jump" is a classic and "Panama" is a song I recognized/is good. Beyond that, nothing really notable. I think it's enough for a 3/5 score.

Not good. Technically proficient but just not good.

I know they named it 1984 because that's the year it dropped, but it also sound very corporate just like the book. Idk, at least the production is good, and I like "Jump" and "Panama", but other than that, it's just fine. This get's a 2

peak David Lee Roth

Anthemic and energetic.

I'm not a van halen fan. I wasn't looking forward to this. But goddamn do I have to give it to em. This album rocks! Great tunes, great playing, and it's just great fun.

Easy listen, but not a great album

So not a Van Halen fan…this album got so much air time you couldn’t help but have to listen to it..so songs like jump and Panama are painful to listen to.

Great

I really wish I'd been asked about one of the earlier Van Halen albums, but doing the best with what I got. Entertaining listen, but nowhere near as potent as their best stuff. Also, the album cover has always been and will remain terrible.

Panama is such an awesome song

Classic Van Halen album, that was my grocery store soundtrack this morning. Had to keep from singing out loud on this one. lol

my last review got chopped in case ANYone sees them in order but oh well i was all in for the interesting intro INTO the woww !! hit song !! JUMP. i am not the kind to know most of the most famous songs ever's name but i really enjoyed this one. the rest of the album tho, not really

Van Halen, another "hasn't aged super well" and "makes me feel like a loser for enjoying it so much" band.

like i know its a classic but i dont love. epic album cover tho

Amazingly, I don't think I ever listened to this album all the way through before. This came out when I was in high school, and the word on the street (at least from people in my musical circles) was that this was Van Halen's "sellout album," largely because there were a number of songs that got significant airplay. But it is not bad at all. Indeed, it might be Van Halen's best album. All the songs are good, but my favorites are I'll Wait and Drop Dead Legs. Should be a 3.5, but I will round up.

De kan spela svåra grejer, men det låter ju inte särskilt bra för det. 2/5 poäng. Lagom längd på albumet och lite guitarhero-nostalgi gör att den kan få räknas som en stark tvåa i alla fall.

Gitarrpornografi. Eddie van Halens gitarrunksleende lyser igenom i varje ton och jag älskar det. Bara riffet och köttandet i hot for teacher är nog för högt betyg

Flera av låtarna skulle ju vara rätt bjäring om det inte var så jävla tight av samtliga, och såklart framförallt Eddie. Som tidigare nämnts - porr! Bonus för att Diamond Dave är så jävla skräck. Älskar att höra historier om när bröderna lackar på honom.

Otroliga hits.

This one's got all their big hits, I like it fine, I've just heard them all a million times. Favorite track: Panama, despite me hearing it a million times

What the hell is up with the production on this album and why does it sound like I'm listening to them through a wall with water stuck in my ears. Also personal preference but I'm really not a fan of most rock guitar solos. No favorite songs for this one.

1984 four sees Van Halen at their commercial peak and for many, essentially their end as this is their last album with David Lee Roth (of any real consequence). Smack dab in the middle of the decade, this album is as 80's rock as 80's rock gets. Eddie finds that he can play the keyboards just as fast as the guitar and puts that discovery to great use in "Jump". "Panama" is probably the best track on the album and is among the best in their catalogue. And just to cement how 80's this project is, "I'll Wait" has a co-writing assist from none other than Michael McDonald. Rounding out the singles from "1984" is "Hot For Teacher". The rest of the album is not quite filler but doesn't stand up to the hits. Regardless, this is an eminently listenable album which, to these ears, is a nice change from the band.

My opinion is the same as the previous Van Halen, it straight up rips. The songwriting is also not very good.

Bangers abound with only a couple misses. During this listen, I discovered that all the songs were written by David, Michael, and Alex. Eddie gets no writing credit. I find that fascinating since the guitar parts are as central to the songs as the melody. And then, "I'll Wait" was cowritten by Michael McDonald! The mind boggles. This album was a big one for me when I was a child and I'm happy to say it stands the test of time.

Goofy fun. More glam than hard metal. Not getting much intelligence here but I can get down.

Cute

Jump, Panama and Hot for Teacher. Say no more!

Kinda iconic but has not aged well in many ways so I don't think I'd listen again.

Considering how often this album and Van Halen have followed my music discovery, i was never compelled enough to give it a spin. Classic 80s rock and some stellar guitar work.

An ok album I don't mind s bit of 80s rock nice guitars and vocals just a bit of fun really nothing spectacular but a fun listen

“Jump,” “Panama,” and “Hot For Teacher” — what more do you want on a Van Halen album? OK, “I’ll Wait.” Just a goddamn classic.

Top Jimmy is hugely underrated. That intro riff with all the harmonics is so cool, and I like the almost rockabilly energy to the song.

This is an album that brings me back to my childhood. My brother and I grew up knowing that our dad loved Van Halen. Our dad played guitar, so I think he more specifically was a big fan of Eddie Van Halen's guitar playing. I think that was one of my brother's inspirations when he started listening to classic rock as a kid, and I remember when he got this album. I would usually start listening to any music that my brother had, so then this was added to my collection. I think I've heard Jump and Panama about 100 times, and the rest of the album less than that but still enough that the songs are familiar. My brother learned to play Jump on the piano when he briefly took lessons and I still remember hearing him play it over and over. I haven't listened to this in over 15 years, and there's a reason for that. It's a typical rock album from the 80s with songs like 'Drop Dead Legs' and 'Hot For Teacher', so it's really not my cup of tea. I can still recognize the musical skill that went into it though. The instrumentalists are killing it. It's really just the lyrics/vocals that make this feel basic and pretty typical of the time. For me it's a three star album, but I'll add a fourth star in honour of my dad. And in honour of my childhood cat and dog, Eddie and Alex, whose names were at least partially inspired by the Van Halen brothers.

Such a solid classic rock album. The more Van Halen I listen to the more I appreciate them. 8.5/10

I feel like one has to reach for the synth or reach away from the core sound of hair metal to help differentiate from all of the other hair metal, it just sounds same same across the genre. The filler songs on here are exactly that, they have nothing to help the listener identify or pick out the songs, so, they fall to the wayside, forgotten, never to be added to your library. Top Jimmy and Drop dead Legs are those songs, just so plain, in one ear out the other. The rest of the songs on here are all pretty recognizable, especially hot for teacher, which is the #1 Van Halen song in my books. Panama and Jump are obviously classics, but suffer from being overly played to shit. Probably some of the best hair metal on the genre id reckon. I dont plan exploring too much more to find out though. Best I can do is a soft 4.

I've heard the song Panama on the radio or whatever, probably since I was a kid, and I never knew what they were saying. Panama? I always heard it as "Had Enough" which is exactly how I feel about this entire album.

You already know, dawg. Literally one of if not the best rock albums of all times. Infectious rock’n’roll energy, stunning riffs, catchy hooks. It’s literally everything you’d want out of a classic rock album. Between the cool aura of DLR, the virtuosic guitar prowess of EVH, and the calculated groove of Alex, this album is entirely captivating in vibe and musicianship. Fav Tracks: Jump, Panama, Drop Dead Legs, Hot For Teacher, Girl Gone Bad Least Fav: House of Pain

Another artist I only really know by his biggest hit. Ironically for a feted guitar player one that is mostly about the lead synth sound. Short 9 track album at just over 30 minutes. Jump is one of the definitive songs of the 1980s what else can be said - 100% certified banger. What is the rest of the album going to bring to my ears... Panama is all lead guitar and as someone who grew up on Guns and Roses I like it. Top Jimmy however is pretty trite, reminds me of Aerosmith and that's not a compliment The rest of the album is pretty much everything I dislike in 1980s rock - it does what it does well but I wouldn't want to listen to it again.

It’s Van Halen, so some great songs (Although who is jumping? Towards what?) But (and hindsight is 20/20), it feels like Eddie was bored and the songs seem formulaic (“okay, let’s get a song about objectification of women + the barber shop quartet on the chorus = Drop Dead Legs. Check”)

Is this a new guilty pleasure? Is it usual to like this music? Low expectations aside from jump and I weirdly liked the instrumentals Two songs made 1001 slap which was very surprising. Would I listen to the whole album again? Probably not, but jump (obviously) and Panama were good shit.

Van Halen is absolutely fine. Four stars…

Look, it's my favourite Van Halen album!

Essential 80's rock. Great album. More a 4.5 than a 4. Loved it.

Hits are peak, the rest is just generic hard rock

Formulaic and trite.

Prefer their debut, still ace guitars but the 80s production makes it sound pretty generic,, love Hot For Teacher

gets a three on Panama alone

Great Guitar solos and other instrumental parts. Some pretty funny lyrics too

I actually liked a couple other songs

Is van halen the greatest band of all time? Yes

I may have underrated Van Halen.

Mere heavy end jeg havde regnet med efter Jump.

Не фанат Ван Хелен, но послушать для разнообразия можно

David Lee Roth is like the uncle that sold you weed at a reasonable rate in high school, but who also tried to flirt with the girls that you brought over. He serves a purpose BUT can be too much. This album is better than I would have anticipated based on my bias against this kind of 80s MTV music. I did not anticipate all the synths, nor did I think that it was possible for Eddie to have sort of subdued yet outstanding guitar solos. But the creepy uncle part brings it down. Roth's groaning, shrieking and in general horniness makes this lose a point from a 4 to a 3.

Has some great hits in Jump, Panama, Hot for Teacher. Some good fun songs in Top Jimmy and Drop Dead Legs. Everything else falls short imo. Still a solid album though.

Has three of the big Van Halen hits (Jump, Panama, and Hot For Teacher) but outside of those, there isn't really much else here that's super noteworthy. None of it is bad, just none of it was that interesting, and of the three big hits I think Jump is just... eh. Panama and Hot For Teacher are a lot of fun, but Jump just feels meh.

People don't like this? Some people hate fun. Yeah it's not highly intellectual music, but it is still full of energy and some great riffs. And those drums on Hot For Teacher are so infectious. I rank it below their debut, but it is still a great album even if it does lean more poppy than what people would expect from Van Halen. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Incredibly cheesy but a lot of fun. Can love it or hate it, depending on how cynical I’m feeling.

It’s so hard to rate albums that involve as much nostalgia as this one does. The feelings I get when I hear “Jump”, “Panama” and Hot for Teacher” start are impossible to describe. This album is best played loud.

Certainly of its time. Catchy guitar, but lyrics are pretty woeful

I think I've just been in a montage.

Appreciate the guitar work, creativity and energy of the performance. The lyrical premise of the songs are simple and mainly focused on hot babes. Probably not gonna revisit much.

Love Jump. I listen to the Glee version all the time.

It's good. "Fair Warning" is a much better album though.

YES.

Tiene muchas canciones clásicas, pero las demas me aturdieron

Beutyfull rock

Stepdad music. Unfortunately Hot For Teacher is by far the best song, and the content is SO offside for 2026.

Jump is class, a lot of fluff otherwise

Why two brands of cigarettes?

Buen disco. Temazo historico jump. El resto cumple muy bien. 8/10

Impressive playing but not really my genre

Я не знаю кто это слушает. Мне кажется, что такая музыка устарела ещё прежде того, как наступил 1984 год. Хотя если вам хочется ненадолго почувствовать, что вы находитесь на школьном матче по бейсболу в Америке 80-х годов, можете послушать песню Jump. Лучшая песня: I`ll Wait

Pop metal record for those who like their metal shiny with no rough edges and their guitar solos inserted at precisely the right time. Look I got the appeal of Van Halen but if I look at it objectively, the Sammy Hagar years were actually better- but only in comparison to original member Van Halen with Dave. By 1984 metal was honestly dead. 1984 may be the greatest year for punk rock and made everyone realize that only AC/DC, Metallica, and perhaps Maiden were going to survive after this point. Sure, radio plays and MTV mattered during this period and Hot For Teacher had a great video. Comedy metal was popular. Jump and Panama were catchy and if you were still a teen or over 40 than Van Halen was catchy, chicks liked it, and you could play it at parties. But is it really a good record? No. It’s not. 10 million people bought this record and got it wrong. Used bins were flooded with copies. Other than the songs I just listed the album is pretty pedestrian and time has not been kind to the production. Metal used to be exciting, aggressive, and a good time. This is not. For all of the hype surrounding Eddie’s playing, on this record it’s pretty conventional. This is Rock Star Van Halen and it was pretty obvious that Dave thought he was the band. I’m sure other reviews will look at this album with nostalgia because of everything they experienced surrounding this record in their lives, but it does overall kinda suck. 2/5

one kinda good song on there (panama) but overall not my vibe

A blast from my 6th grade past!

Strong 4 perhaps weak 5, so many great classic rock songs, but there are a couple weaker songs that stop it from getting a 5

Det är trallvänligt och bra energi. Jump är en klassiker och jävligt skönt låt. I övrigt är det rätt bra.

Peacemaker type music

Eddie Van Halen is a pretty standard guitar god, in that he has clear skill but so rarely uses it in a way i find compelling. For me, at least, they're a band with some OK singles, but largely cheesy even at their best. We'll see how a full album feels. After a perfunctory synth intro, 1984 immediately transitions into some of the most iconic pumps of fake organ in history. “Jump” is big stupid party music. It gets in and tickles the lizard brain. And it really is gloriously stupid. Whaoohhh! Hey you! Who said that? This is immediately an album that tells you you don't need to think. So I attempted to approach it on its terms, as brainless as I could be. (Like “Disarm,” as a kid I often sparked about “i aint the worst that you've seen”. Diamond dave looked like an absolute troglodyte in this video. I have since, indeed, seen worse, but it felt like a pretty presumptuous statement to me at the time) And while the album isn't all big dumb singles (Panama isn't exactly smart writing, and is a bit clunky if we're being honest, but it's all about that gang-vocal chorus), it certainly does have two of EVH and DLRs goofiest. Jump, sure, but also Hot for Teacher, which is more notable for Roth's ad-libbing humor than for anything else, but it's puerile in a way that is nevertheless pretty familiar. Hot for Teacher is grown men translating what it was like to be pubescent. But it also has a fun as hell pull-off riff, iconic intro drumming, and a frenetic pace. It's almost innocently horny. And again, big and dumb. Even if I'd never seen the video, I could picture David and the gang doing that exact dance on “got it bad, got it bad, got it bad”. You really do imagine the guys were having the time of their lives. Outside of that? I can't find fault with the harmonic riffing in Top Jimmy and similar textures in Girl Gone Bad. I'm less convinced that Eddie always knows how to make his solos fit the songs they're in, but one can barely deny his skill. And the album is perfectly paced at 33 minutes. There's only so much of this that you can stand in one sitting, and 33 minutes make this feel like a classic. It's never really bad, often quite enjoyable, and it requires nothing of the listener. It ain't high art, but it's good entertainment, and you don't get much mass market product of that quality these days. I'm gonna want to give it more time to really get a feel for it, but i'm comfortably sticking ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ on it for now.

We’re traveling for fall break this week, and this ended up being a great road trip album. It’s loud, fun, and full of songs I already knew like “Jump,” “Panama,” and “Hot for Teacher.” EVH was just ridiculous on guitar. He could obviously play the flashy stuff, but what gets me is how clean and effortless so much of it sounds. Even when he’s doing something insanely technical, it never feels like he’s just showing off for the sake of it. This is one of those albums where the big songs are big for a reason. It’s not especially deep, but I don’t really need Van Halen to be deep. Give me huge riffs, a good chorus, and something that sounds great blasting down the highway and I’m good. Favorite song: “Hot for Teacher

When I was 16 and this album came out, I saw it as a sell-out. I had all of their earlier albums but I refused to get this one. Maybe it was the use of synths and the flashy video for "Jump." Maybe I was tired of David Lee Roth's shtick. Whatever it was, I missed out on a very good album. It's just a good time and, though the last two songs are pretty forgettable, it's a great album of the 80's. These guys had a formula that they weren't afraid to tweak and it paid off.

Lyrically this is vacuous, misogynistic, straight up dumb. But something about Van Halen works for me on a less cognitive level. Maybe it's Eddie van Halen's shredding or Alex van Halen's drumming or the interplay between them, not sure. Hot for Teacher exemplifies their chemistry perfectly. They get lumped in with hair metal, but they were better than that, theyre not exactly Bon Jovi. The pivot to the 80s with the synths too mostly works for me.

Jump - 5/5 Panama - 4/5 Top Jimmy - 3/5 Drop dead legs - 2/5 Hot for teacher - 3/5 I'll wait - 4/5 Girl gone bad - 3/5 House of fire - 4/5

If you were a fan of early Van Halen and you hate this album, I get it. I do. When I think about hard rock, Van Halen is one of the first band that comes to mind; and yet here they are with this pop rock album full of synths. But I don't care. 1984 is full of all-time classics, even if they're the kinds of classics that end up being overplayed on the radio. "Panama" and "Jump" (especially that one) are the worst offenders. But come on, "Hot for Teacher" has one of the best intro of any song ever.

really like the synth and guitar mix