Album · 40 years old this year
5150
5150 is Van Halen's seventh studio album, released on 24 March 1986 by Warner Bros. Records. It was the band's first record with Sammy Hagar on lead vocals, after David Lee Roth's departure, and the first of four albums they made together. The title comes from Eddie Van Halen's home studio, which took its name from the California law enforcement code for a mentally disturbed person.
For a band facing such a big change at the microphone, the result was a decisive one. The album went to number 1 on the Billboard 200, overtaking 1984, which had stalled at number 2 behind Michael Jackson's Thriller, a record Eddie had guested on. It sits at the start of the Hagar years and makes a good place to hear how the group sounded with a new frontman. It was remastered by Donn Landee for The Collection II in October 2023.
5150: tracklist, credits and charts
9 tracks · 43:17Tracklist
- 1Good EnoughAnthony, Hagar, Halen, Halen4:05
- 2Why Can’t This Be LoveAnthony, Hagar, Halen, Halen3:48
- 3Get UpAnthony, Hagar, Halen, Halen4:37
- 4DreamsAnthony, Hagar, Halen, Halen4:54
- 5Summer NightsAnthony, Hagar, Halen, Halen5:06
- 6Best of Both WorldsAnthony, Hagar, Halen, Halen4:49
- 7Love Walks InAnthony, Hagar, Halen, Halen5:11
- 8“5150”Anthony, Hagar, Halen, Halen5:44
- 9InsideAnthony, Hagar, Halen, Halen5:02
- Produced by
- Mick Jones, Donn Landee, Van Halen
- Recorded at
- 5150 (Studio City, California)
- Recorded
- November 1985 – February 1986
- Engineered by
- Ken Deane, Donn Landee
- Labels
- Warner Bros. Records, Warner Bros.
- Length
- 43:17
Line-up
- Sammy Hagar · acoustic guitar, guitar, lead vocals
Singles
- “Why Can't This Be Love” · March 1986
- “Dreams” · May 1986
- “Love Walks In” · 28 July 1986
- “Best of Both Worlds” · October 1986
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 1986 | 1 |
| UK Albums Chart · 1986 | 16 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1986 | 2 |
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) · 1986 | 2 |
| Swedish Albums · 1986 | 2 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1986 | 4 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1986 | 5 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1986 | 5 |
| Croatian International Albums (HDU) · 2026 | 11 |
| German Albums · 1986 | 11 |
All 15 charts
| Austrian Albums · 1986 | 13 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1986 | 13 |
| Swiss Albums · 1986 | 16 |
| Hungarian Physical Albums (MAHASZ) · 2026 | 18 |
| Dutch Albums · 1986 | 30 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Australia · 1996 | 2× Platinum |
| Canada | 3× Platinum |
| Germany | Gold |
| United Kingdom | Silver |
| United States | 6× Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
83.5
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
4.4k
ListenBrainz listeners
236k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
17k
Deezer fans (all editions)
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Full discography →
Van Halen
1978
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1979
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1980
Fair Warning
1981
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1982
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1983
1984
1984
OU812
1988
For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
1991
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1993
Balance
1995
Best Of, Volume I
1996
Van Halen III
1998
The Best of Both Worlds
2004
A Different Kind of Truth
2012
Tokyo Dome Live in Concert
2015
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + wikidata; also seen: 1986-05-25 (musicbrainz)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 25 May 1986 | ignored lone early release dated 1986-03-25 |
| Wikipedia infobox | 24 March 1986 | |
| Wikidata | 24 March 1986 | |
| US release | 25 March 1986 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 1986 | earliest UK or European date |
28 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | XE | Warner Bros. Records | 075992539425 | other |
| — | XE | Warner Records | 075992539425 | other |
| — | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992539425 | other |
| — | CA | Warner Bros. Records | 075992539425 | other |
| — | XE | Warner Bros. Records | 075992539425 | other |
| — | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992539425 | other |
| 1986 | DE | Warner Bros. Records | 075992539425 | other |
| 1986 | US | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 1986 | US | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 1986 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992539425 | other |
| 1986 | DE | Warner Bros. Records | 075992539418 | other |
| 1986 | XE | Warner Bros. Records | 075992539425 | other |
| 1986 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992539418 | other |
| 1986 | AU | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 1986 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992539425 | other |
| 25 March 1986 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992539425 | original |
| 25 May 1986 | JP | Warner–Pioneer Corporation | 4988014300636 | other |
| 20 June 1986 | DE | Warner Bros. Records | 07599253942 | other |
| 10 March 1989 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | 4988014726191 | other |
| 25 March 1997 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | 4943674103928 | other |
| 2004 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992539425 | other |
| 24 August 2005 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | 4943674057801 | other |
| 23 June 2009 | XW | Warner Bros. Records | 603497968374 | other |
| 18 June 2013 | CA | Rhino | 603497920709 | other |
| 6 October 2023 | XW | Rhino | 603497830671 | remaster |
| 27 March 2026 | — | Rhino | remaster | |
| 27 March 2026 | XW | Rhino | 603497805198 | deluxe |
| 27 March 2026 | XW | Warner Records | deluxe |
Cover art sources
deezer · upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1200×1200 | upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25) |
| coverartarchive | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |