The first record with Hagar is unexpected insubstantial FUN above all else, without the showy tension that marked the DLR albums. This would quickly wear thin, but right here right now not only did the band and the fans love it, but the album went straight to #1.

Following the darkest, most serious album in VH's career to date, the release of a cover version of "(Oh) Pretty Woman" as a single in early 1982 prompted the band to throw together Diver Down in the space of two weeks, which became the least substantial record in the band's career, yet much like the single rocketed up the charts. This was the original Attack of the Killer B's, so eat your heart out, Anthrax…except that everyone in Van Halen - minus Dave - thought it was D-level material. But the band was on such a roll that their D-league material was still really entertaining. By no means is it substantial, but it is short run-time wise (a stark 31 minutes), and a real grab bag of cheap tricks, no pun intended.

The VH fan's fan go-to record. It sounds a bit like the preceding efforts, but much darker in mood, and very much dominated by Eddie's mercurial artistic whims. Plus, it's rather brief! But definitely impactful, even though commercially it was buried next to the surrounding albums.

The supreme irony of this wonderfully packaged retelling of the old American Football League's existence throughout the 1960's is just how of much of a debt current day professional football - and even the filmmakers themselves - owe to the grizzled subject matter on-screen. A mesmerizing five-hour odyssey.

The last album in the original run of STP. The band had matured (relatively) by now, so there is some real depth and life experience behind this material. That is what makes "Days of the Week" work amazingly well - the music has a lightweight feel which is balanced out by Weiland's dark lyrics about trying to navigate his day-to-day while high - and he never seems to get past Thursday. But then again, it's a struggle to get much of anything else out of the 'Pilots, other than how much of a drag their lives are, and how depressingly lovely it sounds on the average. Or, how crazy lovely, and so on, and so forth. It's a case of the more things change - or develop - the more they stay the same. As it relates to this version of Shangri-La, not bad, not great, not horrible, just fairly nice-sounding overall - in a grit-your-teeth kind of way. And always - one classic single for you to hum around the next few months or years.