Year-end "Rank the U2 albums" after SOI honeymoon

[thavidesco]

Volcano is an excellent song, with great meaning behind the lyrics, great guitar riff and mindblowing chorus. I don´t know where you put your ears into when you are listening to it, guys

 

[Galeongirl]

yeah, if I had to compare it to something I would probably say Elevation, a simple, meaningless but fun tune.

Yup it reminds me of Elevation and Vertigo. I hope they're going to play it live, it'll be fun to wail along to.

I'm hoping you hear these songs live and they change your mind. If not....well, on to Songs of Experience for you!


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

I hope so too. And I hope SoE speaks to me more as well. Still wondering what happened to Invisible and North Star. Both those songs I loved. Heard NS live from Munich on my ipod the other day. Such a brilliant soft song, hard to imagine they already ruined it a year later by only playing chords rather than the notes. Ah well, at least they have an enormous back catalogue for me to enjoy.

 

[dward1]

1. Achtung Baby
2. All That You Can't Leave Behind
3. Joshua Tree
4. Zooropa
5. The Unforgettable Fire
6. Songs of Innocence
7. Pop
8. How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
9. October
10. War
11. NLOTH
12. Boy
13. Rattle and Hum

 

[U2loverforever]

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

I agree with this rank. Totally on target.


Sent from my iPad using U2 Interference

 

[zoopop]

Classic
1. AB
2. UF
3. Pop (holds a special place for me)
4. Zooropa
5. JT

Very Good
6. SOI
7. ATYCLB
8. NLOTH
9. Boy
10. War

Good
11. HTDAAB
12. Rattle & Hum
13. October

 

[crazyu2]

Achtung Baby
Joshua Tree
Songs of Innocence
The Unforgettable Fire
All That You Can't Leave Behind
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
Zooropa
NLOTH
Rattle and Hum
War
Pop
Boy
October

 

[CosmoKramer]

Achtung Baby
Joshua Tree
Songs of Innocence
The Unforgettable Fire
All That You Can't Leave Behind
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
Zooropa
NLOTH
Rattle and Hum
War
Pop
Boy
October

I like this list a lot, clearly a millennial U2 fan, which I'm all for!!


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[RaisedByWolves]

I like this list a lot, clearly a millennial U2 fan, which I'm all for!!


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[crazyu2]

I like this list a lot, clearly a millennial U2 fan, which I'm all for!!

Yes, I discovered U2 in 2001, when I was 14.

The top 5 albums are constant, is the bottom half which keeps changing. However, it's hard to differentiate between them, there is something special about all of them. They are very far away from the proverbial crap album.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

Yes, I discovered U2 in 2001, when I was 14.

The top 5 albums are constant, is the bottom half which keeps changing. However, it's hard to differentiate between them, there is something special about all of them. They are very far away from the proverbial crap album.

No crap here! That's cool that new fans have come on board.

 

[mobonofo]

I agree with this rank. Totally on target.


Sent from my iPad using U2 Interference

Thanks, my likeminded friend!?

 

[bobsaget77]

1 Zooropa
2 The Unforgettable Fire
3 Joshua Tree
4 Boy
5 Achtung Baby
6 Original Soundtracks 1
7 Pop
8 Songs Of Innocence
9 October
10 War
11 Rattle and Hum
12 All That You Can't Leave Behind
13 Atomic Bomb
14 NLOTH


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[Nick66]

No one has gotten the ranking of U2 records quite right yet.

Motivator: First one that gets it right I'll tell them the release date and method for SOE.

Go.

 

[LemonMelon]

1 Zooropa
2 The Unforgettable Fire
3 Joshua Tree
4 Boy
5 Achtung Baby
6 Original Soundtracks 1
7 Pop
8 Songs Of Innocence
9 October
10 War
11 Rattle and Hum
12 All That You Can't Leave Behind
13 Atomic Bomb
14 NLOTH


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

Great list, just swap SOI and NLOTH.

 

[Blue Room]

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

I don't consider Passengers a U2 album. If I did it would be 14th. I do not care for the studio versions of U2's first three albums for the most part. Those songs live on Under A Blood Red Sky I would probably rank about 6th if we included solely live albums also.

 

[youarenotimmune]

13. How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb 5.5/10
Masterpieces: City Of Blinding Lights

12. October 6/10
Masterpieces: Gloria

11.All That You Can't Leave Behind 6.5/10
Masterpieces: Kite, Beautiful Day

10. Rattle and Hum 7/10
Masterpieces: All I Want Is You

09. No Line On The Horizon 7/10
Masterpieces: Moment of Surrender

08. War 7.5/10
Masterpieces: New Year's Day

07. Pop 8/10
Masterpieces: Velvet Dress, Gone, Please

06. Boy 8.5/10
Masterpieces: The Electric Co.

05. Songs Of Innocence 8.5/10
Masterpieces: California, Reach Me, Invisible

04. Zooropa 9/10
Masterpieces: Lemon, Stay, Zooropa

03. The Joshua Tree 9.5/10
Masterpieces: Running To Stand Still, With Or Without You, Streets

02. Achtung Baby 10/10
Masterpieces: Zoo Station, Until The End Of The World, The Fly, Ultraviolet

01. The Unforgettable Fire This one goes to 11
Masterpieces: Indian Summer Sky, Promenade, Elvis Presley and America, A Sort Of Homecoming, Bad

 

[dan_smee]

I've made this list after buying all but Zooropa, Pop, and ATYCLB on vinyl and listening through to each properly.

1 - Achtung Baby - My 1 spot swaps between this, TJT and TUF. At this moment though, I feel this is their most consistent, and contains some of the highest peaks of their career.

2 - The Joshua Tree - The best start to a U2 album - the A side is perfect. The B side has some misses, or at least some weaker spots (Trip Through Your Wires).

3 - The Unforgettable Fire - As the years go by, this plays more and more to me like a continuous piece of music. The songs I didn't enjoy as much when I was younger are now my favourite moments on this record.

4 - Boy - Always a favourite. Raw emotion, naivety, power. Not a single song to skip, though not a song that reaches the high peaks of the untouchable top three.

5 - Pop - I appreciate this more as I get older too. The adventurous spirit that the recent albums started with, only for them to get cold feet and semi-abandon.

6 - Songs of Innocence - I think if this album had come out how and when NLOTH did, U2 would be in a different position now. I'm not saying it would have done as well as HTDAAB, but the songs are strong, interesting, and EBW

7 - Zooropa - The best opening to a U2 album (Streets is my favourite song as a song, Zooropa favourite opening for the mood it creates. Still, there are some clunkers that if they were better could have this album in the top 3.

8 - October - Who knows what this album would have been if Bono hadn't lost his briefcase? Would it have been better? Would it possibly have been worse? The energy is clear, though how much can be attributed to the urgency they felt at not having all the material down whilst recording? Either way, I love the feeling, and there are some U2 classics here.

9 - HTDAAB - Much maligned, not an album, but a collection of songs. Still, those songs are at times brilliant. One Step Closer is criminally underrated.

10 - NLOTH - Oh what could have been?! Had they not chickened out of the middle-eastern themed semi-concept album, and neutered the songs into what they perceived as mass-appeal, which in reality killed the essence of the album. The quality of certain songs shines through this, but WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN!?

11 - ATYCLB - The most unbalanced album. Cracking start, 1-5. The rest contains precious little worthy of many other U2 albums. When I Look at the World saves the second half.

12 - War - Some great, some downright awful. Red Light? WTF?

13 - Rattle & Hum - I hear more and more of the pomp and ego in this album as I get older. Country Bono, snippets of songs like Freedom for My People - what purpose do they serve? If this had been an 9 track album with Desire, Hawkmoon, Love Rescue Me, Angel of Harlem, WLCTT, VDL, Heartland, God Pt 2, All I Want Is You it would have been much higher.

 

[gweeps]

A strange combo of the ones I listen to the most and overall quality:

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

 

[kabigon]

Achtung baby
Pop
The joshua tree
Zooropa
(original soundtracks 1)
Songs of innocence
Boy
The unforgettable fire
All that you can't leave behind
No line on the horizon
How to dismantle an atomic bomb
October
Rattle and hum
War

 

[Zoomerang96]

Achtung Baby
Zooropa
Joshua Tree
Pop
Original Soundtracks
Rattle and Hum
Boy
No line on the horizon
Unforgettable Fire
All that you can't leave behind
War
October
How to dismantle...
Songs of Innocence

 

[Jimmy Jazz]

Achtung Baby
Zooropa
The Joshua Tree
All That You Can't Leave Behind
Pop
Songs Of Innocence
Boy
The Unforgettable Fire
Rattle & Hum
War
October
No Line On The Horizon
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb

 

[LemonMelon]

Achtung Baby
Zooropa
Joshua Tree
Pop
Original Soundtracks
Rattle and Hum
Boy
No line on the horizon
Unforgettable Fire
All that you can't leave behind
War
October
How to dismantle...
Songs of Innocence

This is almost exactly what my list looks like. Swap War and R&H and you've basically got it.

 

[chadd787]

I am not big on naming favorites or the best, due to the fact it changes for various reasons. Plus, the variety makes things more interesting. None of us would want 14 albums sounding the same. That being said, I'll make my list in this moment... it's just a moment.. I hate putting any albums at the bottom.

Joshua Tree/Rattle and Hum (U2 made their mark with this album. Just classic.)
Achtung Baby/Zooropa (Love this side of U2, also a classic.)
Pop
Unforgettable Fire
All That You Can't Leave Behind (This was my first U2 album. I became a fan at 14. Thanks Tomb Raider & Angelina Jolie! Elevation was the first song/music video I heard due to the movie. It was over from that point. Loyal fan then on.
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb first album to buy at midnight on release day and my first U2 show/tour. My experience gives the high rating I think. good memories.
No Line On The Horizon very excited for this album. Loved Magnificent, MOS, Breathe, Fez
Songs of Innocence still early, but SFS, Iris, SLABT are big favorites. Love EBW and California too. Want to hear them live like the other songs to get the full picture.
War NYD, SBS I really love. Since I became a fan at a young age, I didn't get these until later and just didn't get played as much. I've been listening to them here recently at work. Same story for October, Boy and for sure Original Soundtracks.
October
Boy
Original Soundtracks

 

[dward1]

Songs of Innocence
Masterpieces: Song for Someone, Every Breaking Wave
Near masterpiece: Iris
Great repeat listens: The Troubles

No Line on the Horizon
Masterpieces: Moment of Surrender
Near masterpiece: Breathe
Great repeat listens: Cedars of Lebanon


How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
Masterpieces: City of Blinding Lights, One Step Closer
Near masterpiece: Sometimes You Can’t Make It on Your Own
Great repeat listens: Vertigo, Miracle Drug

All That You Can’t Leave Behind
Masterpieces: Beautiful Day, Walk On, Kite
Near masterpiece: When I Look at the World, Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of
Great repeat listens: Elevation

Pop
Masterpieces: Please
Near Masterpieces:
Great repeat listens: Mofo, Wake Up Dead Man, If God Will Send His Angels

Zooropa
Masterpieces: Zooropa, The Wanderer, Stay (Faraway, So Close!), The First Time
Near Masterpieces: Lemon, Numb
Great repeat listens: Dirty Day

Achtung Baby
Masterpieces: The Fly, Acrobat, Ultraviolet (Light My Way), One
Near Masterpieces: Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses, Love is Blindness
Great repeat listens: Until the End of the World, Even Better Than the Real Thing, Zoo Station, Mysterious Ways

Rattle and Hum
Masterpieces: All I Want Is You
Near Masterpieces:
Great repeat listens: Hawkmoon 269, Angel of Harlem, Heartland, Desire, Van Diemen’s Land

The Joshua Tree
Masterpieces: Where the Streets Have No Name, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, With or Without You, Running to Stand Still, Red Hill Mining Town
Near Masterpieces: One Tree Hill, Exit
Great repeat listens: Mothers of the Disappeared

The Unforgettable Fire
Masterpieces: Bad, Promenade
Near Masterpieces: A Sort of Homecoming, The Unforgettable Fire
Great repeat listens: Pride (In the Name of Love), MLK

War
Masterpieces: Sunday Bloody Sunday, New Years Day
Near Masterpieces:
Great repeat listens: Drowning Man, 40

October
Masterpieces: Tomorrow
Near Masterpieces: October
Great repeat listens:

Boy
Masterpieces: I Will Follow, Into the Heart
Near Masterpieces:
Great repeat listens: The Electric Co, Out of Control


Tier 1-will always be in my discussion for greatest albums of all time
Joshua Tree/Achtung Baby

Tier 2-epic albums I return to over and over (ATYCLB really 6 epic tracks but the quality of those high enough to bring it up here)
Zooropa
All That You Can’t Leave Behind
The Unforgettable Fire

Tier 3-albums good enough to listen through semi-regularly
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb/Songs of Innocence
Boy

Tier 4-only sample songs from these albums, too many duds to listen through
War/No Line on the Horizon/Pop/October/Rattle and Hum

 

[bobsaget77]

1 Zooropa
2 The Unforgettable Fire
3 The Joshua Tree
4 October
5 Achtung Baby
6 Boy
7 Pop
8 Songs of Innocence (inc. Invisible)
9 Original Soundtracks 1
10 War
11 Rattle and Hum
12 All That You Can't Leave Behind
13 How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
14 No Line On The Horizon


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[prbiker15]

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

Ranking remains the same - SoI still in the middle of the pack.