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Cover of 5150 by Van Halen
Cover: 5150

Song · Van Halen

“Dreams” by Van Halen

From the album 5150 (1986)

“Dreams” by Van Halen appears on 63 radio countdowns from 23 stations between 1990 and 2026. It was first released in 1986 on the album 5150. Its best result is #45 on the 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2025). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #408 classic rock song of all time.

63countdowns
23stations
#45best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1990–2026years charted

Watch

Van Halen - Dreams (Official Music Video) [HD]

Video from YouTube (Van Halen). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Dreams" went out in May 1986 as the second single from 5150, Van Halen's seventh album and a product of the Sammy Hagar years, and it's as wide-eyed and fist-in-the-air as the band ever got. Hagar sings it and plays guitar, he wrote it with Eddie and Alex Van Halen and Michael Anthony, and Mick Jones shares the production credit with Donn Landee and the band.

It reached 22 on the Hot 100 and stayed in the set on most of the Hagar tours, even surviving into the Gary Cherone run behind Van Halen III. Then it found second lives: nine years on it turned up in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, and in 2004 it closed the Democratic National Convention after John Kerry's acceptance speech. Push Hagar, and he'll call it his favorite Van Halen song.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Classic Rock

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1990 757 Z-Rock Z-Rock Top 1001 Songs of All-Time (1990) 1000
1994 678 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1994) 1000
1995 743 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1995) 1000
1996 766 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1996) 1000
1997 272 102.3 WBAB WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997) 1023
1997 152 104.5 KZEP KZEP Memorial Weekend Top 500 (1997) 500
1998 654 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1998) 1000
1999 746 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1999) 998
2002 590 KISW KISW Top 999 of All Time (2002) 999
2004 746 92.3 KGON KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2004) 923
2010 396 97.9 The Loop The Loop USO Rock 'N' Roll 500 (2010) 500
2011 467 97.9 The Loop The Loop Rock N Roll 500 (2011) 500
2011 814 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1100 Countdown (2011) 1100
2012 849 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1200 Countdown (2012) 1200
2012 343 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2012) 500
2013 460 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2013) 500
2013 476 Big 100 BIG 500 Labor Day Countdown (2013) 500
2013 264 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Grand Jam 1000 (2013) 1000
2014 931 Big 100 BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014) 1000
2014 386 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 400 (2014) 400
2014 656 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX 1K Countdown (2014) 1000
2015 500 I-95 I-95 Memorial Day Weekend Top 500 (2015) 500
2015 354 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2015) 499
2015 264 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Classic Rock Countdown (2015) 1007
2016 447 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2016) 500
2016 166 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Countdown for 2016 1007
2017 163 97.9 The Loop 97.9 The Loop Top 540 Countdown (2017) 540
2018 483 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2018) 500
2019 428 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2019) 500
2019 102 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2019) 499
2019 250 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2019) 500
2019 893 102.5 KZOK KZOK Top 1025 of 2019 1025
2019 339 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2019) 500
2020 380 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2020) 500
2020 185 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2020) 1025
2020 226 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2020) 500
2020 456 Q105.7 Q105.7 Memorial Day 500 (2020) 499
2021 337 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2021) 500
2021 320 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2021) 499
2021 240 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2021) 500
2021 57 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2021) 500
2021 259 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2021) 1043
2021 383 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2021) 500
2022 143 97.1 The River River 500 (2022) 500
2022 267 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2022) 500
2022 368 94.1 KRNA KRNA Memorial Day 500 (2022) 500
2022 219 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2022) 500
2022 146 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2022) 500
2022 566 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022) 1043
2022 310 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2022) 1025
2023 368 101.5 WPDH WPDH Top 1015 (2023) 1015
2023 269 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 311 97.1 The Drive 97.1 The Drive Memorial Day Weekend Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 626 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2023) 1043
2024 451 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024) 1043
2024 392 KQRS KQRS KQ 500 (2024) 499
2024 357 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2024) 499
2024 106 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2024) 400
2025 656 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2025) 1043
2025 350 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2025) 500
2025 45 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2025) 400
2025 443 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2025) 500
2026 361 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2026) 500

Also listed as: Dreams..

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