10 Most Influential Hard Rock Albums

Up until the start of the '80s, hard rock and metal were not really known as the friendliest of genres. Even if the riffs sounded gargantuan, stuff like Black Sabbath or even Led Zeppelin could seem a bit daunting for your average listener to fully take in. Just when things started to get a bit too heavy, Van Halen blew the lid off the place and turned hard rock into one huge party.

In one fell swoop, this debut record brought us some of the premier role models for the hard rock genre, with Eddie Van Halen being one of the greatest guitarists ever to touch a fretboard. As the solid groove of Michael Anthony and Alex Van Halen kept everything rooted to the ground, David Lee Roth was just the right party animal to keep the audience engaged, almost becoming an animated cartoon whenever he took to the stage.

Even though most of this record is still rooted in the intensity of the hard rock and metal world, the melodic sensibilities and mountains of charisma put this one notch above being just a good record. Going forward, everyone from the glam rock scene to modern rock bands are still trying to dissect the power of this record, with many guitarists trying to capture Eddie's guitar tone. Being a snapshot of the debauchery that was to come, Van Halen I is the one record that should be mandatory listening for anyone interested in what hard rock should be.