Which of the "3 masterpieces" is the best

[phillyfan26]

The argument I have between the 2 real masterpieces is that the Joshua Tree was slightly better. It had a constant theme. Achtung was great, but a little jumpy. Also (IMO) JT had one bad song (TTYW), while Achtung had 2 (WGRYWH, So Cruel)

 

[XHendrix24]

Joshua Tree owns Achtung Baby.

1. JT
2. Zooropa

 

[Bono's shades]

Just because Rolling Stone says something is a masterpiece doesn't automatically make it so.

Masterpieces:
JT
AB
(I can't really say which one is better, but JT has a special place in my heart)

Near-misses:
The Unforgettable Fire
War

ATYCLB isn't even in the ballpark.

 

[Hornbag]

When will people acknowledge that ATYCLB is not a masterpiece. Theres better albums in U2's catalogue. Zooropa, War and UF to name 3. I hold it as not much more than a springboard for HTDAAB. The next album will have the potential to be their proper "3rd masterpiece" as RS calls it, as it has all the knowledge from two previous albums of similar content to work on, that is if the band keeps to their album trinity theorum. I mean like AB, Zooropa and Pop are Similar, as are JT, UF and R&H and so on.

Just my two cents

 

[t8thgr8]

depends on my mood

 

[t8thgr8]

ATYCLB is not a masterpiece. I hold it as not much more than a springboard for HTDAAB. The next album will have the potential to be their proper "3rd masterpiece" , as it has all the knowledge from two previous albums of similar content to work on, that is if the band keeps to their album trinity theorum. I mean like AB, Zooropa and Pop are Similar, as are JT, UF and R&H and so on.

Just my two cents

You had me goin this way <--- then slapped backwards ~-->

your formula is off. U2 needs 2 preceeding albums of a particular sound, like JT for instance, for it to be a masterpiece... But then theres Achtung Baby... I dont know, champ.

 

[pgv]

In my opinion u2's masterpiece is boy, with possibly htdaab coming in at a close second. I know most people will disagree.. but thats what i think. If i had to choose out of the three said then the joshua tree quite easily.

 

[namkcuR]

Masterpieces:

1.Pop
2.Joshua Tree
3.Achtung Baby

Near-Misses:

[interchangable]
4.Rattle And Hum
5.Zooropa
[/interchangable]
6.The Unforgettable Fire

The Rest:

[interchangable]
7.War
8.October
9.ATYCLB
[/interchangable]
10.Boy
11.Bomb

 

[U2girl]

Are we doing all of the album rankings?

JT, AB

Near miss: War/Bomb

Zooropa/ATYCLB/Pop (interchengeable)

Boy
UF
RaH
October

 

[vaz02]

JT is a masterpiece. Neither AB nor ATYCLB deserve such status.

How can you say that ?

ATYCLB is the album i call " the new frontier " , this album has set the course for u2's future. This album alone has brought in more new fans than probs any other u2 album expect AB and JT.

AB is a masterpeice because its full of hits and sets the course of u2's experimental age.

 

[Peterrrrr]

Acthung Baby is the masterpice, only VERY strong songs.

Joshua Tree is very good, but overrated. Exit and Trip Through Your Wires and Red Hill Mining Town arent the strongest songs they done. Sure Bono sings realy good in RHM, but the song in in overall isnt a very good one.

Also UF don't get that attention it deserve, its a masterpiece,

But Ab is the the best!

Atyclb isnt a masterpiece, The Bomb is much stronger. I think that the Bomb is nearly a masterpice, the time will show if it is.

And Zooropa is the bravest, the most underrated U2 album.

 

[vaz02]

i agree , zooropa is the bravest

 

[the tourist]

The Joshua Tree is easily the best of those three.

 

[RademR]

1. Achtung Baby
2. Joshua Tree

ATYCLB and Unforgettable Fire are extremely great and probably classics, but not masterpieces. There's probably a couple other records they have that are "almost there" but not quite.

 

[susanp6]

Bullet weak!!!! My 2nd fav song on there after Streets!

 

[gareth brown]

Most days I'll say The Joshua Tree, it's amazing beyond and changed my life but then I'll be changing my mind and saying Achtung Baby and Zooropa are their 'masterpieces' simply because of the complete re-invention of who they were as a band. I think 'ATYCLB' is a fantastic album, criminally underrated and gets a 10/10 in my book but it's probably not on as high a level as the three above-mentioned records.

 

[AtomicBono]

Am I allowed to say Pop? I consider it to be the third masterpiece

If not, then Achtung Baby.

imo:

1. Pop
2. Achtung Baby
3. Joshua Tree

I'd say Zooropa, ATYCLB, and Boy are classics but not masterpieces. They're close though.

ATYCLB may have been slightly overrated by the media/critics, but it's vastly underrated here. It's a beautiful album with this comforting warmth and when I listen to it straight through I really can feel that U2 magic. I'd say it's better than HTDAAB, even, though the two are close.

 

[Signy]

1. AB
2. ATYCLB
3. JT

 

[zepher25]

i will not be swayed away from ATYCLB, but achtung baby is very closely second, i dont really like joshua tree though, its just my opinion so yeah.....ATYCLB is so much incredibly better than the crap todays musicisians churn out! in my book it will always be a masterpiece

 

[phanan]

AB and JT are the true universal masterpieces in U2's catalog.

Personally, I place Pop very high as well.

 

[JCOSTER]

IMO: I think that JT is a masterpiece ( but I am old school U2) and also POP.

Even thought I love AB and ATYCLB I don't think the albums as a whole are strong enough. JT blew them out of the water and POP propelled them into the future. If there was no POP I don't think they would be where they are today. They had to go through the POP era.

 

[mads]

The Joshua Tree
Achtung Baby

ATYCLB doesn't even register.

Personally though, I like The Unforgettable Fire better than any of those. Whether it deserves the title of "masterpiece" or not, it's my favorite. JT is a close second. AB and Pop are tied for third place, depending on my mood.

 

[cobl04]

I think U2 has two real masterpieces:

JT
AB

Gotta agree there.

Personally I think it goes:

1. Achtung, Baby!
2. The Joshua Tree
3. All That You Can't Leave Behind

Achtung Baby has not one weak song. The only song below a 4/5 for me is Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the World, which is a 3.5 and very close to. It has two fives - Until the End of the World and Acrobat.

The Joshua Tree has two that are less than 4/5 - Trip Through Your Wires and Mothers of the Disappeared.

All That You Can't Leave Behind has six below 4/5 - Stuck, Elevation, In a Little While, Wild Honey, Peace on Earth and Grace. But the lowest in that group is Grace with 2.5

Not sure that anyone cares but that's my two cents...

 

[cobl04]

PS Great to see some ATYCLB positivity here.

 

[An Cat Gav]

U2 have two albums which are as good as if not better(better in my opinion) than any album recorded by any artist, and they are Achtung Baby and The Joshua Tree. After that they have a few albums which almost border on being masterpieces and I find it hard to choose which is better as they are all so great..
So, for me it goes.
1: Achtung Baby
2: The joshua Tree
and in joint third
Zooropa, ATYCLB, HTDAAB, Pop, Boy and The Unforgettable Fire.

 

[Liesje]

ATYCLB is not a masterpiece for me, but out of all the people I know who are casual fans, or the type of fan that listens to everything including U2 (which is probably 10 times the amount of people I know that are more serious U2 fans), they all LOVE ATYCLB and will sing its praises until their final hour. Of course, most of us here who spend way too much time obsessing over these sorts of things (joke) have the liberty of knowing every U2 song on every album and even how they sound live on every tour performed. So no, I would not rank ATYCLB in MY top three, but the point of the thread was in response to Rolling Stone. Duh, they don't get to decide what are masterpieces and what aren't, but if this is just going to turn into another one of those game/ranking threads, start a new thread for this purpose. The gross majority of Rolling Stone readers are not obesessive-compulsive U2 fans.

"Three Masterpieces"
1. AB
2. JT
3. ATYCLB

My Top Three U2 Albums
1. UF
2. War
3. HTDAAB

AB is not even one of my top three favorite albums, but I have no problem recognizing it as the greatest U2 album to date.

 

[ntalwar]

Duh, they don't get to decide what are masterpieces and what aren't...

That writer used the term "masterpiece" while writing the review for ATYCLB, and that seemed like a consensus back in 2000.

IMO, music writers should not use the term "masterpiece" unless an album has already been out for at least 5 years. For me, great quality of music PLUS time is what equals a masterpiece.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

it's all in the eye...errr... ear of the beholder.

what's a masterpiece to one is rubbish to another.

 

[Liesje]

That writer used the term "masterpiece" while writing the review for ATYCLB, and that seemed like a consensus back in 2000.

IMO, music writers should not use the term "masterpiece" unless an album has already been out for at least 5 years. For me, great quality of music PLUS time is what equals a masterpiece.

I agree, but the point was that the purpose of the thread was ranking the three that Rolling Stone termed "masterpieces", not listing your three personal favorite albums. It's hard to get a handle on where the three stack up compared to each other (which I'm interested to see), when the thread turns into "pick your three or two or five favorites"

 

[Dahlia]

Masterpieces:
1. JT
2. AB

I don't think ATYCLB is a masterpiece. It has only 6 songs I like to hear, I always skip the rest, but that's just my opinion

For me the third masterpiece would be Pop