10 Best Sammy Hagar Songs Across His Entire Career

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When news broke in 2025 about a new Sammy Hagar live album celebrating his time with Van Halen, we thought it might be fun to pick 10 songs from across his career that we think are true standouts. We have done many Sammy Hagar lists on this site, usually focusing on individual parts of his career, like the top 10 Sammy Hagar Van Halen songs, the top 10 Sammy Hagar solo songs, or the Montrose years.

But we had never done an overall top 10, and we thought it was time. It was a challenge because he has recorded so much great stuff. This list is designed for people who don’t know much about Sammy Hagar, like the younger generation who may be hearing his voice for the first time and wondering, “Who is this dude?”

Here are 10 essential Sammy Hagar songs from different projects, bands, and groups, all with one thing in common: Sammy Hagar on vocals.

# 10 – Red – Solo

I can listen to this song every day and never get sick of it. It’s not just because it brings me back to being 16 again, when I first saw Sammy Hagar open for Boston. This was the first Sammy Hagar song I ever heard, because he opened the show with it.

In the end, this is just a killer classic rock song with a cinematic opening that sets you up to celebrate the art of classic rock, Sammy Hagar style. This one was the opening track from his second solo album simply called Sammy Hagar.

# 9 – Oh Yeah! – with Chickenfoot

This may very well be his most underrated band. I loved Chickenfoot. This band rocked hard, with a funk groove Hagar fans weren’t used to hearing from the Red Rocker.

And of course, that was because of Chad Smith on drums. With his musical soulmate, Michael Anthony, on bass by his side, and the legendary Joe Satriani ripping it up on guitar, I really wish this band had released more than two studio albums. It was tough to pick just one from this group, but this song has always been a favorite from their debut album.

# 8 – Give To Live – solo with Eddie Van Halen

When Sammy Hagar joined Van Halen, he still had a contract with Geffen Records to release one more solo album. Eddie Van Halen played bass across the entire album, while Sammy handled the principal guitar parts. Eddie also added a brief, uncredited guitar passage to “Eagles Fly.”

This is a really good Sammy Hagar solo album, and it was the last he released before leaving Van Halen. With a distinctive classic rock sound shaped by ’80s production technology, this is a standout track from the record, and one we felt should be included, especially because of the collaboration with Eddie Van Halen on bass.

# 7 – I Can’t Drive 55 – Solo

You can’t leave this one off just because of this song’s sheer popularity. It’s not easy to write a rock anthem that stands the test of time. This one surely does. Released on the VOA album, this one became one of Sammy Hagar’s biggest solo hits. The cheesy video adds even more fun.

# 6 – Dreams – with Van Halen

“Dreams” stands as the first of three Van Halen-related recordings on this list. I love the four studio albums that Sammy Hagar recorded with Van Halen. Nonetheless, I think the first one was their best.

This song showed what happens in rock and roll when the greatest guitar player in the business meets one of the greatest singers. It was pure rock and roll sonic heaven. Just listen to the notes that Sammy Hagar hits in this song.

# 5 – Bad Motor Scooter – with Montrose

Sammy Hagar was unknown when he stepped into the role of lead singer for the band Montrose. The group was mainly centered on the guitar hero work of the sensational Ronnie Montrose. Nonetheless, you couldn’t ignore Sammy’s powerful vocals up front. Sammy recorded only two albums with the band, but those two records include a couple of tracks that became rock classics.

This is a great one. Don’t miss this great video below from The Midnight Special. Look how young Sammy is here. Every single musician in this group was killer.

# 4 – Heavy Metal – Solo

Sammy Hagar’s track “Heavy Metal” was first released on the soundtrack to the stunning art film Heavy Metal. It just fit perfectly in the scene that it was placed in.

The soundtrack featured so many legendary bands, including Sabbath, Journey, Cheap Trick, Blue Öyster Cult, Grand Funk Railroad, and Stevie Nicks, to name a few. Yet the soundtrack’s opening song was Sammy. Now that’s what I call respect!

# 3 – There’s Only One Way To Rock – Solo and Live with Van Halen

Sammy Hagar’s solo tune “There’s Only One Way To Rock” took on new life when he started performing it live with his new band. Yeah, you know who I am talking about. Eddie Van Halen’s guitar work on this one was almost too much to bear. Just simply fantastic stuff.

I can’t tell you how much fun it was to see Van Halen during those days in the 80s and listen to them play old Sammy Hagar songs. Just watch the video below and you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about.

For all those people who say they didn’t like the Sammy Hagar years with Van Halen, just watch this video and try to make that same argument. I mean, give me a freaking break, look at these guys rock.

# 2 – Rock Candy – with Montrose

The second of two songs with Montrose on this list also happens to be one of the biggest classic rock songs of all time. Whenever we’ve done a Sammy Hagar songs list and published it across social media, every single reader always calls for this song.

# 1 – Right Now – with Van Halen

When we started putting this list together, we wondered which song to put in the number one spot, since Sammy Hagar has recorded so many classic songs. This one, though, was special.

For all the great recordings Sammy Hagar released, he never reached as many people as he did as the lead singer of Van Halen. This song might have been the band’s artistic peak with Sammy in it.