I was a huge fan of Led Zeppelin. Not so much Van Halen, but I listened to them occasionally as well.
But that was back when I was a classicrock***. Now I'm an indehhiphawppostrawksludgemetawlscream0mathrawk***.
As for "Eruption" vs. "Stairway To Heaven," definitely the latter. I guess "Eruption" was technically innovative to the mainstream audience at the time or sum ****, but I don't like it. It's like Eddie Van Halen played it just to show off his skillz0rz or something. Besides, when it comes to tapping, I prefer it being used for riffs and ****. (For example, Minus the Bear does this extensively.)
I'm not quite a fanatic, but I do enjoy their music. I guess I like Led Zeppelin more, but yeah, Van Halen's stuff is great. Good to see someone else out there knows good music when they hear it.
Never had much contact with Van Halen except the occasional "Jump" song in the radio.
However I love Led Zeppelin. Their music is so characteristic and yet varied. Some songs I had to listen to a few times to fully appreciate them, and some were great from the beginning. And of course, Stairway To Heaven is an immortal classic...