Given the choice: Everything before Achtung or everything after Achtung?

[Vlaco]

That's really, really tough. Depends on my mood I guess.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

Tough choice, but after because Achtung Baby, Zooropa and Pop make up my top 3 U2 albums of ALL TIME, I tell ya.

 

[trojanchick99]

This is very hard. I'm guessing Greatest Hits don't count right?

So, I'm going to have to before by a hair. I've been listening to Joshua Tree a lot lately and wouldn't survive without Streets.

 

[65980]

I gotta go with 'before' because:
a) I became a fan by listening to Joshua Tree, War, and Unforgettable Fire
b) I don't think any of the post-Achtung albums are stand-alone masterpieces (whereas certainly The Joshua Tree is)
c) I tend to think that rock bands' younger work is always more pure and more vital. Especially when the group formed very young. I consider U2's "vital" period to be Boy through Zooropa, and everything after that is sort of a bonus.

Of course, the more ideal order at the U2 take-out restaurant would be to include the Achtung Baby dish, and then go easy on the October.

 

[BVS]

Tough choice, but after because Achtung Baby, Zooropa and Pop make up my top 3 U2 albums of ALL TIME, I tell ya.

But in this scenario you don't get AB, otherwise I would have agreed with you. But given this scenario...

BAB

Before Achtung Baby

 

[cruzila]

oooh simple... my vote is before

 

[Chill Mike D]

Well, as much as I love Zooropa and Passengers, if I wasn't allowed to include Achtung Baby, I'd have to go with before. Unforgettable Fire and Joshua Tree trump Zooropa and Passengers, albeit not by too much. I don't listen to anything from before The Unforgettable Fire, and I rarely listen to anything after Passengers.

 

[Chill Mike D]

I'd like UF through Pop please.

Oh, I didn't see this. This is what I want.

 

[youarenotimmune]

before

 

[corianderstem]

Wow, this is a harder choice than I thought it would be. I'll cheat and go with that UF through Pop option as well.

But then I'm losing No Line. Gah!

 

[U2isthebest]

This is worse than Sophie's Choice.

I would say personally that as a whole, post-Achutung material has given me more comfort and means more to me. However, ISHFWILF is my all-time fav. song, and other songs pre-Achtung have been lifelines for me. I think it just depends on the day, the hour, or the minute.

 

[God Part III]

Almost impossible.

Insanely difficult.

Only because neither group includes Achtung.

I'd say before.

No, after.

No, before.

 

[U2girl]

Before.

 

[lmixristhebest]

Great question. I'd choose the pre-AB albums. As much as I love the weirdness & experimentalism of Zooropa & Pop, and as much as I can find stuff to love from the 00's, nothing else has the same evocative power and sublime nature of TUF and JT.

 

[Galeongirl]

Wow, this is a harder choice than I thought it would be. I'll cheat and go with that UF through Pop option as well.

But then I'm losing No Line. Gah!

Gack I hadn't thought of that! This is just plain MEAN!

 

[Screwtape2]

Interesting question. I suppose I would approach this assuming that whichever one I choose would be U2's entire career. With that in mind I would have to go with before Achtung Baby. The Post-AB work peaks immediately while the Pre-AB work gets better when listening to both chronologically. Zooropa in my opinion is the best u2 album post-Achtung Baby and Passengers is their second best. Instead of getting better the albums slowly decline in quality until NLOTH. U2 in the 80's was the exact opposite. The albums get better and better. I would prefer an upward progression instead of getting spoiled at the start and never seeing the band reach that again. I would not want to get Zooropa, Lemon, Your Blue Room and Slug so early knowing that they would never reach that level of experimentation again.

 

[Niceman]

Before.

 

[Tyagu_Anaykus]

While I love Achtung Baby, Zooropa (My 2 favourite albums) and NLOTH, I choose: Before because of ATYCLB and HTDAAB.

 

[domo-kun]

After. Just my taste. Add Boy from the "before""Era, and I'm happy.

Losing Boy and One Tree hill is the hardest part. Meh.... ennoying question+1

 

[Salome]

before
I love No Line and All that you can't
but POP and How to dismantle fall under the U2 avarage for me
which swings it in favour of the 80s

 

[HCL]

My top U2 albums:
Achtung
Joshua
NLOTH
Zooropa
R&H
ATYCLB
HTDAAB/Pop
TUF
Boctobar trilogy
Passengers

My top U2 songs:

Levitate / Elevation
HMTMKMKM
Zooropa
So Cruel
Get on Your Boots
In God's Country
Bad
Hawkmoon 269
Elecrical Storm (William Orbit Mix)
Lady With the Spinning Head (Extended Dance Mix)

Explainin' why I chose after, even if I don' get Achtung.

 

[Marien]

Why can't I have both? Deciding not to have UF or AB or JT or Pop or NLOTH, that's impossible for me, any of this would break my heart.
In my opinion U2 is not a band, but a succession of different bands which happen to have the same name and the same members and I love them all.

 

[Katiesheb]

Definitely before without a doubt!!! I love this era!!!

 

[mikal]

before people, imagine life without Lemon....really......

 

[jphelmet]

tough one.

i have my top 50 (of which there are actually 51 songs) u2 songs in a playlist, with 6 songs being from AB. The total comes out to 23 for after AB, and 22 for before.

I am glad i don't have to choose, i really love songs and albums from all stages of their career. If I had to choose, I would pick before, because of JT and UF.

 

[secretly alone]

Before, no contest. Not that I don't love "after" to bits, but...

80s U2 Nothing will ever top that. At least not for me. I've always felt that way, and probably always will. In ranking all of U2's albums, those six place at numbers 1-6 (not in order, though). Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I totally missed it all But the mega-era, if you will, of the 80s will always have an extra special spot in my heart.

That being said...thank GOD this decision would never have to be made in real life!!

 

[the tourist]

before people, imagine life without Lemon....really......

Streets>Lemon

 

[gvox]

I love plenty of 'after' stuff, and I think much of their 2000s output is brilliant

BUT

it's BEFORE for me, always has been and I can't see that changing. This is the music we grew up with :whiteflag: :fucktherevolution: (and all that sheer awesomeness)

 

[U2387]

Before, no contest. Not that I don't love "after" to bits, but...

80s U2 Nothing will ever top that. At least not for me. I've always felt that way, and probably always will. In ranking all of U2's albums, those six place at numbers 1-6 (not in order, though). Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I totally missed it all But the mega-era, if you will, of the 80s will always have an extra special spot in my heart.

That being said...thank GOD this decision would never have to be made in real life!!

This is exactly it

Of course, we would never have to choose and thankfully.

However, you are not topping 80s U2, forget about it.

And this is from a 23 yr old young fan!

Not looking to start a futile discussion, so I will make very clear:

In my humble opinion and my humble opinion only, Boy-October-War is criminally underrated here on interference.

 

[nielsgov]

It's tough. I'd probably choose after. I love TUF and TJT but from after AB I love NLOTH and Pop. The other pre- and post-AB albus aren't as strong but I guess I like the latter more.
It's probably also because I didn't experience the "rise" of U2 in the 80's and that NLOTH was the first U2 album I was looking forward to, that always makes it a special album.