Rank The Albums

[Jarvio]

So we do this at the end of every year, right?

Here's mine:
1 Achtung Baby
2 The Joshua Tree
3 All That You Can't Leave Behind
4 How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
5 Songs Of Innocence
6 War
7 The Unforgettable Fire
8 Boy
9 No Line On The Horizon
10 October
11 Pop
12 Rattle And Hum
13 Zooropa

14 Passengers (Do we even list this?)

 

[nbelcik]

Perfect
1. Achtung Baby
2. The Joshua Tree

Great
3. Zooropa
4. Songs of Innocence
5. Pop

Very Good
6. Boy
7. The Unforgettable Fire

Good
8. War
9. Rattle and Hum
10. All That You Can't Leave Behind

Meh
11. How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
12. October
13. No Line on the Horizon

I'll add comments when my computer is finished being repaired.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[prbiker15]

01 - Achtung Baby
02 - The Joshua Tree
03 - Zooropa
04 - Pop
05 - The Unforgettable Fire
06 - All That You Can't Leave Behind
07 - Songs of Innocence
08 - No Line on the Horizon
09 - How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
10 - Rattle and Hum
11 - War
12 - Boy
13 - October

 

[LemonMelon]

Classic:

1. Zooropa
2. Joshua Tree
3. Achtung Baby

Great:

4. Pop
5. Boy
6. Original Soundtracks 1
7. Unforgettable Fire
8. War

Good:

9. NLOTH
10. R&H
11. October

Bleh:

12. ATYCLB
13. HTDAAB
14. SOI

 

[bobsaget77]

Top Tier
01 Zooropa
02 The Joshua Tree
03 Boy
Tier 2: Almost Top Tier
04 Achtung Baby
05 The Unforgettable Fire
Tier 3: Great, but could've been a bit better
06 Pop
07 October
08 War
Tier 4
09 Original Soundtracks 1
10 No Line On The Horizon
11 Songs of Innocence
12 Rattle and Hum
Tier 5
13 All That You Can't Leave Behind
14 Atomic Bomb

Each tier could be different by the day. But since I don't listen to much U2 anymore, this is probably accurate for the long haul.

Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[TinKnight]

1. Achtung Baby
2. The Joshua Tree
3. War
4. Zooropa
5. Pop
6. How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
7. Boy
8. All That You Can’t Leave Behind
9. Songs of Innocence
10. The Unforgettable Fire
11. No Line on the Horizon
12. October
13. Rattle and Hum

1,2,3,12, and 13 are the only ones set in stone. 4-11 all swap very often.

 

[Oregoropa]

I tried coming at this with a logical approach. It gets so muddled after AB and Tree. I must leave logic behind and just feel out what makes me smile on a full listen.

Achtung Baby
Joshua Tree
Zooropa
Songs of Innocence
Rattle and Hum
War
Unforgettable Fire
Pop
ATYCLB
Boy
Atomic Bomb
No Line on the Horizon
October


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[Jarvio]

I seem to be the only one who has Zooropa low on the list

 

[An Cat Gav]

1. Achtung Baby
2. Joshua Tree
3. Unforgettable Fire
4. Zooropa
5. Original Soundtracks 1
6. Boy
7. Pop
8. October
9. Songs Of Innocence
10. War
11. ATYCLB
12.Rattle and Hum
13. NLOTH
14. Bomb

 

[The Panther]

Five stars:
Achtung Baby
The Joshua Tree

Four-and-a-half stars:
The Unforgettable Fire
Rattle & Hum (if studio tracks only)

Four stars:
Boy
War
Live: Under a Blood Red Sky
Zooropa
How to Dismantle a blah, blah, blah
Songs Of Innocence

Three-and-a-half stars:
All That You Can't blah blah blah
Rattle and Hum (actual, complete album)

Three stars:
October
Pop

Two stars:
No Line on the blah, blah, blah


It's amazing to think how great R&H could have been as a studio-only release (maybe tossing in 'Hallelujah Here She Comes' for good measure). The live tracks basically add nothing and hugely drag the album down, not to mention showcasing some of their most embarrassing moments.

It's fairly remarkable (to me) how little fat there is on the U2 albums' bones. Almost every release they're put out is worthy. I may even be under-rating October and Pop, which are still quite good albums, but the former is a little under-cooked and the latter way over-cooked.

I'm sorry to No Line on the Horizon fans, but I can't really say anything good about this album. The usual blood, sweat, and tears is there, so its relative failure isn't for lack of effort, but it just seems entirely inconsequential. You could delete it from the catalogue, and no one would miss it. Hell, it didn't even throw up any hits. It also has a few of the only really cringe-worthy songs they've ever released.

What a great band! I'm glad they're still going. I just wish they weren't so in love with (a) pop hits, and (b) overworking an album to death until it's dead.

 

[Oregoropa]

No Line is quite a mess. MOS is fantastic. Magnificent beautiful. No Line is a great opener. Fez is cool.

Then there is the trilogy of doom at 5-6-7.

Bob pointed out that Breathe is crap. I actually let that sink in and I must agree it's a mess with a generic U2 chorus.

WAS and COL are just ok to blah.

UC is hard to classify as anything other than a mediocre idea ruined by ohhhhs




Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[Salome]

01 - No Line on the Horizon
02 - The Unforgettable Fire
03 - All That You Can't Leave Behind
04 - The Joshua Tree
05 - October
06 - Rattle and Hum
07 - Achtung Baby
08 - Songs of Innocence
09 - Zooropa
10 - War
11 - Boy
12 - How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
13 - POP

 

[U2DMfan]

Achtung
Joshua
Zooropa
TUF

War
R&H
POP

SOI
NLOTH

ATYCLB
Boy

October
Bomb

 

[BANZAI]

Masterpiece: Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby

Very good: Unforgettable Fire, Boy

Good: Zooropa, Rattle and Hum, ATYCLB, NLOTH, War

Above average: October, SOI, POP, HTDAAB

 

[U2Larry54]

01. How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
02. Achtung Baby
03. Joshua Tree
04. Unforgettable Fire
05. All That You Can't Leave Behind
06. Songs Of Innocence
07. WAR
08. Boy
09. No Line On The Horizon
10. Rattle And Hum
11. Zooropa
12. POP
13. October

 

[U2Larry54]

So we do this at the end of every year, right?

Here's mine:
1 Achtung Baby
2 The Joshua Tree
3 All That You Can't Leave Behind
4 How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
5 Songs Of Innocence
6 War
7 The Unforgettable Fire
8 Boy
9 No Line On The Horizon
10 October
11 Pop
12 Rattle And Hum
13 Zooropa

14 Passengers (Do we even list this?)

I like your list. Its actually somewhat similar to mine.

 

[kabigon]

Achtung Baby
Joshua Tree
Pop
Zooropa
OST1
Boy
SOI
ATYCLB
Unforgettable Fire
Rattle and Hum
October
HTDAAB
NLOTH
War

to those who don't even list Passengers

 

[nbelcik]

01. How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb

Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[Oregoropa]

to those who don't even list Passengers

Bono only sings in a few tracks. It's not a U2 album. I'll rank it dead last if I was to include it.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[bobsaget77]

Bono only sings in a few tracks. It's not a U2 album. I'll rank it dead last if I was to include it.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[The Panther]

I've never listened to the Passengers thing either, mainly due to lack of interest (I'm also not an Eno fan).

I mean, I've heard 'Your Blue Room' (not bad), 'Miss Sarajevo' (I don't like it and I hate opera), and 'Elvis Ate America' (garbage). Is anything else essential?

 

[LemonMelon]

The whole thing is essential if you're a U2 fan. If you're a Joshua Tree and War fan, maybe not.

 

[bobsaget77]

I've never listened to the Passengers thing either, mainly due to lack of interest (I'm also not an Eno fan).



I mean, I've heard 'Your Blue Room' (not bad), 'Miss Sarajevo' (I don't like it and I hate opera), and 'Elvis Ate America' (garbage). Is anything else essential?

"Beach Sequence" is the best instrumental track they've ever made.
"Slug", "Your Blue Room" and "Always Forever Now" are phenomenal. Definitely tracks worth listening to.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[The Panther]

"Beach Sequence" is the best instrumental track they've ever made.
"Slug"... and "Always Forever Now" are phenomenal. Definitely tracks worth listening to.

Thanks for the tip. I listened to those just now (well, on YouTube).

I liked "Beach Sequence", but it didn't knock me out or anything. Piano melody was a little repetitive. Bono vocal seemed unnecessary. But basically, it was good.

"Slug" didn't appeal to me at all. Sounded like it was in the same key as "Beach Sequence", but with a slightly slower tempo.

Really didn't like "Always Forever Now". Eno may have gotten off on this, but U2 can write better backing music than this in their sleep, I think. Vocal again seemed unnecessary.


As minimalist tone poems go, I much prefer "Bass Trap", which is actually one of my favorite U2 tracks.

Color me Larry Mullen Juniored.

 

[Jarvio]

Passengers is by far the worst U2 album, if it even counts.

Your Blue Room is decent. But that's it.

Miss Sarajevo is just average, but at least it resembles a U2 song, unlike most of the album.

Plot 180 and Beach Sequence are not bad as instrumentals.

Everything else does absolutely nothing for me.

It is the most different thing U2 have ever done and so I am not surprised that many U2 fans hate Passengers.

 

[LadySpinHead]

OS1 is great. There's a lot of crap on it, but the highs outweigh the lows. Slug, Beach Sequence and Always Forever Now are fantastic.

Keeping on topic, my list hasn't changed since last time:

Achtung Baby
The Joshua Tree
Zooropa
The Unforgettable Fire
Songs of Innocence
Pop
All That You Can't Leave Behind
Original Soundtracks 1
Rattle & Hum
Boy
No Line on the Horizon
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
War
October

What strikes me is how so many of us agree on the greatness of Achtung Baby and Joshua Tree, then in the next breath disagree vehemently on most of the others. It's pretty cool, actually. Something for everyone.

 

[U2Larry54]

View attachment 10540


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

Yep, its their best in my opinion. I love every song. Their all classics to me. I'm not the only one who thinks so as they did win album of the year with this one from the Grammy people(other artist in the music biz, their musical peers).

 

[bobsaget77]

Yep, its their best in my opinion. I love every song. Their all classics to me. I'm not the only one who thinks so as they did win album of the year with this one from the Grammy people(other artist in the music biz, their musical peers).

That was more of a "here you go. Take these Grammy awards for your legacy and then f*ck off."


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

"Slug" didn't appeal to me at all. Sounded like it was in the same key as "Beach Sequence", but with a slightly slower tempo.

what a terrible thing to say

 

[djparky]

Mine looks like this

Top Tier

Achtung Baby
Joshua Tree

Second Tier (in no specific order)

Zooropa
Songs of Innocence
No line on the horizon (minus tracks 5-7)
Unforgettable Fire
Atomic Bomb

Third Tier

Pop- works better live
Rattle & Hum
Boy

Bottom rung- some great tracks, but not as complete albums

All that you can't leave behind- studio versions a bit lifeless, tapers off after Wild Honey, works well live
War- New Years Day, SBS, Two Hearts, 40
October- big fan of Gloria and October but not the rest