10 Greatest Hair Metal Albums Of All Time

2. Van Halen - Van Halen

In the minds of most rock fans, hair metal never got its name until the '80s came out in full force. Once the heavy metal day at the US Festival brought people like Quiet Riot to the world, it was time for hair metal to take its spot amongst the legendary sub genres of rock music. If you were the enthusiast though, the foundation of the genre begins in 1978 with the first Van Halen album.

As the style of rock music started to get a lot more bloated, it was shell shocking to hear something like this out in the wild. Coming from the Sunset Strip, every single moment on this record is absolutely immaculate, from the charisma radiating off of David Lee Roth to some of the greatest riffs to come out of the late '70s on tracks like Ain't Talkin Bout Love and Runnin with the Devil.

But come on. Everyone knows the ace in the hole is Edward Van Halen himself, who's furious tapping licks became the hallmark of rock guitar going forward and one of the most recognizable components of the hair metal sound. Whereas most of the bands from the hair metal scene were riding the trend, Van Halen were just doing what came naturally to them and wound up in the history books as one of the defining sounds of their generation.