1. The Joshua Tree
Nearly perfect record... the only way I'd like it more is if Heartland had made the album in place of Trip Through Your Wires, and that would probably make it my favorite of all time. Has 2 of my top 10 in With Or Without You and Where The Streets Have No Name.
2. The Unforgettable Fire
Should be more like 1A as this is just barely under The Joshua Tree for me. It has three of my top 10 U2 songs on it in Pride, Bad, and The Unforgettable Fire. Add in Love Comes Tumbling and The Three Sunrises and it'd overtake The Joshua Tree.
3. Boy
The best U2 rock album. Most cohesive album they've released in that every single song is great doesn't really let up.
4. Achtung Baby
Obviously I'm lower on this album than most. I think the production is all out of whack all over the place. Sounds like I need to pull a blanket off my speakers most of the time. Also never been a big fan of the music on One. It does have one of my top 15 in Ultraviolet. I think this album has always disappointed me in that a lot of the songs sounded way better live in my opinion (Until The End Of The World, Mysterious Ways, and Love Is Blindness in particular).
5. War
Would be near the top with a better recording of 40 and Endless Deep in place of The Red Light, has 2 of my top 10 U2 songs in New Year's Day and Like A Song.
This is where my list is less clear cut for a few albums.
6. Pop
Can't stand the effects they used on the guitars on some of the songs (If God Will Send His Angels and Please in particular). One of Bono's worse lyrics (Miami). One of the best examples of the single version being way better than the album version (Last Night On Earth). Their second best album ender. Just super uneven album with a lot of great.
7. October
I know this isn't a great record. It doesn't have any song that is even in my top 15, but I think it's solid throughout. And despite popular opinion, I absolutely love Is That All. One my favorite U2 rock tracks from the 80s. Great guitar on the chorus. And Gloria and October of course.
8. Songs Of Innocence
It's hard for me to complain about this record after their previous 15 years or so. My only critiques are a few rushed lyrics here and there, which 35+ year old Bono is prone to doing. He wants to beat his stories into your head instead of being a little vague ("someone else's suicide" is the one that pops into my mind). Solid record with lots of good, but never gets great. Never gets bad either.
9. Zooropa
Unpopular opinion time: album version of Stay is a congested mess, Babyface is a really good song, and The First Time is U2's best ballad of the 90s. Title track is top 15 for me. Lemon is only a little behind it.
10. No Line On The Horizon
Would be higher with NLOTH 2 on the proper album, a longer Fez, Guitar and Bass doing 3rds on Get On Your Boots (give it that Black Dog sound) and extend out the "Let Me In The Sound" part, and no Stand Up Comedy. Crazy Tonight is one of my favorites on the record.
11. Rattle & Hum
Would be higher with a better tracklisting and separate studio and live discs. Heartland and All I Want Is You are both top 10, but Love Rescue Me and When Love Comes To Town are bottom 10 album tracks for me.
12. All That You Can't Leave Behind
Would be higher with Tomb Raider Elevation, acoustic Stuck, The Ground Beneath Her Feet in the middle of the album (instead of tacked onto the end of the non-US release), Stateless, and without Grace or Peace On Earth. Suffers from Bono's worst vocal era. But hey, I actually really like New York and Wild Honey.
13. Passengers
Good atmosphere but Your Blue Room is the only song I usually actively seek out.
14. How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
Might possibly be higher with Native Son background vocals on Vertigo chorus, less cheesy guitar on City Of Blinding Lignts, and with Electrical Storm added, and mostly better lyrics on everything - most of the music was actually pretty good on this record actually - just terrible Bono over almost everything. Love and Peace or Else was good musically, but lyrics and theme are a joke. Yahweh is just awful. Original of the Species was executed poorly. Miracle Drug is ham-fisted. All Because Of You is Bono's voice at its worst ever (squealy and pitchy, how was this a single?). I haven't listened to this album in probably 5-7 years.
Top 20 songs:
1. New Year's Day
2. With Or Without You
3. Pride
4. All I Want Is You
5. Where The Streets Have No Name
6. The Unforgettable Fire
7. Bad
8. Like A Song
9. Heartland
10. Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me
11. Ultraviolet
12. Zooropa
13. Promenade
14. Gloria
15. Acrobat
16. Wake Up Dead Man
17. I Will Follow
18. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
19. Lemon
20. If You Wear That Velvet Dress
Top 5 songs with awful production that could be better if properly mixed/EQ'd/effected:
1. Stay
2. Until The End Of The World
3. Exit
4. The Fly
5. Dirty Day