PowerSurge
New Yorker
Mine is probably some of the poor mixing. Or mastering. The washiness of some of the cymbals.
I think you might benefit from going out an getting the remastered gold CD version and a great pair of headphones.
It doesn't completely cure all of the problems that you mentioned, but it takes a lot of that muddiness away. Its like cleaning up an old painting and seeing the dull colors get brighter. Its not going to change the composition or subject matter of the work, but it'll allow you to appreciate it in a form that is much closer to what the artist intended.
I think poor mixing and mastering has been one of the things that has haunted U2's work for years. I don't understand why because as they have gotten bigger they have the ability and resources out there of more advanced equipment and premier sound crews. I don't get how they just can't put out one clean and crisp sounding album that doesn't sound like complete shit when you turn the volume past level 3.