The thing about Van Halen is that their formula was to make hard rock FUN! You had Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath and the like that came out of the 70s which was all about the occult, death, mysticism, dark and mysterious bands. Then when Van Halen hit, they took those exploding bass and drums and Eddie's shredding guitar and put them to songs about hot girls, fast cars, and just having a blast in life. They wore bright colors and were always smiling and laughing while completely blowing you away. You put on one of their albums and it made your day.
Or as Dave put it, their sound was meant to spill out off of your turntable and ruin the rest of your records!
