Rank the Album Among Others

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
Achtung Baby
Joshua Tree
Boy
War
The Unforgettable Fire
Pop
Songs Of Innocence
ATYCLB
HTDATB
Rattle And Hum
Zooropa
October
NLOTH
 
My top three remain the same:
Achtung Baby
Joshua Tree
Pop
Songs of Innocence
Zooropa
All That You Can't Leave Behind
The Unforgettable Fire
No Line on the Horizon
War
Boy
Rattle and Hum
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
October
 
bobsaget77 said:
Yup. Anything on Boy, October and War is excusable. Anything last 4 albums are not.
Click to expand...

There is more crap on that steaming dung-pile, NLOTH , than on Boy, October and War put together AND they have no excuse such as being teenagers or early twentysomethings for the ugly trainwreck that is NLOTH. Do I make myself clear? Good.
 
I wouldn't go as far as to say 95% of the fan community has UF/JT/AB as their top three. I don't even think JT or AB would clear being in 90% of fan's top three U2 albums. But that is the most common grouping and they are the three most well received albums. #4 would be a close race between Zooropa (easily #4 on this site) and War (considered a classic by many casuals and those that aren't obsessed with 90's U2).

All That You Can't Leave Behind probably floats around #6. Pretty divisive nowadays with regard for it having dropped immensely since about 2001, but there's still too many supporters that absolutely love it. SOI would probably be #6 on this site.

Next grouping in general for fans would be Boy, Rattle & Hum, Pop & SOI - all with their share of ardent supporters. Coming in dead last would then be the last two albums and October (although, No Line has more supporters around here than elsewhere).

So, to recap, among U2 fans in general (not just Interference), the ranking is likely:

1. Achtung Baby
2. Joshua Tree
3. The Unforgettable Fire
4. Zooropa
5. War
6. All That You Can't Leave Behind
7. Songs of Innocence (as of right now)
8. Pop
9. Boy
10. Rattle & Hum (I give Boy the edge since it has fewer detractors in general)
11. No Line On The Horizon
12. How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
13. October

I rank October last because of general indifference and I'm doing this ranking based more on an album's supporters than anything else (so having a certain subset list an album highly in rankings helps greatly even if the majority list it rather low on the whole). While I love the October album and think it's nearly on par with the masterpieces that came right after, it's mostly always met with a general shrug. Obviously, if we were looking at this from the perspective of where the albums average out in fan ratings by themselves (say, out of five stars), then October would clearly knock down Atomic Bomb at the very least.
 
BigMacPhisto said:
I wouldn't go as far as to say 95% of the fan community has UF/JT/AB as their top three. I don't even think JT or AB would clear being in 90% of fan's top three U2 albums. But that is the most common grouping and they are the three most well received albums. #4 would be a close race between Zooropa (easily #4 on this site) and War (considered a classic by many casuals and those that aren't obsessed with 90's U2).

All That You Can't Leave Behind probably floats around #6. Pretty divisive nowadays with regard for it having dropped immensely since about 2001, but there's still too many supporters that absolutely love it. SOI would probably be #6 on this site.

Next grouping in general for fans would be Boy, Rattle & Hum, Pop & SOI - all with their share of ardent supporters. Coming in dead last would then be the last two albums and October (although, No Line has more supporters around here than elsewhere).

So, to recap, among U2 fans in general (not just Interference), the ranking is likely:

1. Achtung Baby
2. Joshua Tree
3. The Unforgettable Fire
4. Zooropa
5. War
6. All That You Can't Leave Behind
7. Songs of Innocence (as of right now)
8. Pop
9. Boy
10. Rattle & Hum (I give Boy the edge since it has fewer detractors in general)
11. No Line On The Horizon
12. How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
13. October

I rank October last because of general indifference and I'm doing this ranking based more on an album's supporters than anything else (so having a certain subset list an album highly in rankings helps greatly even if the majority list it rather low on the whole). While I love the October album and think it's nearly on par with the masterpieces that came right after, it's mostly always met with a general shrug. Obviously, if we were looking at this from the perspective of where the albums average out in fan ratings by themselves (say, out of five stars), then October would clearly knock down Atomic Bomb at the very least.
Click to expand...


Right now I'd say October is in my top 5 U2 albums.
1. JT
2. AB
3. The Unforgettable Fire
4. October
5. Zooropa
6. Boy
7. Rattle and Hum
8. Songs Of Innocence
9. Pop
10. War
11. ATYCLB
12. Atomic Bomb
13. No Line
 
It always irks me how poorly parts of War are received by a great chunk of the U2 community. I had never even seen Taxi Driver years ago yet immediately got that the band was going for that mood with "Red Light" and "Surrender" (and was not surprised at all to later find the band reveal the same) while "The Refugee" has a killer groove to it as well. It's really a consistently great album from beginning to end. Their most powerful album and immaculately produced (I have a vinyl I bought for $4 a few years back and the sound is absolutely tremendous, blows away the original CD and comes close to the remaster).
 
BigMacPhisto said:
I wouldn't go as far as to say 95% of the fan community has UF/JT/AB as their top three. I don't even think JT or AB would clear being in 90% of fan's top three U2 albums. But that is the most common grouping and they are the three most well received albums. #4 would be a close race between Zooropa (easily #4 on this site) and War (considered a classic by many casuals and those that aren't obsessed with 90's U2).

All That You Can't Leave Behind probably floats around #6. Pretty divisive nowadays with regard for it having dropped immensely since about 2001, but there's still too many supporters that absolutely love it. SOI would probably be #6 on this site.

Next grouping in general for fans would be Boy, Rattle & Hum, Pop & SOI - all with their share of ardent supporters. Coming in dead last would then be the last two albums and October (although, No Line has more supporters around here than elsewhere).

So, to recap, among U2 fans in general (not just Interference), the ranking is likely:

1. Achtung Baby
2. Joshua Tree
3. The Unforgettable Fire
4. Zooropa
5. War
6. All That You Can't Leave Behind
7. Songs of Innocence (as of right now)
8. Pop
9. Boy
10. Rattle & Hum (I give Boy the edge since it has fewer detractors in general)
11. No Line On The Horizon
12. How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
13. October

I rank October last because of general indifference and I'm doing this ranking based more on an album's supporters than anything else (so having a certain subset list an album highly in rankings helps greatly even if the majority list it rather low on the whole). While I love the October album and think it's nearly on par with the masterpieces that came right after, it's mostly always met with a general shrug. Obviously, if we were looking at this from the perspective of where the albums average out in fan ratings by themselves (say, out of five stars), then October would clearly knock down Atomic Bomb at the very least.
Click to expand...


I wasn't saying those two were 95% of people's top three, but considered the 'holy trinity' - the three most seminal and important.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference
 
No change.

Achtung Baby
The Joshua Tree
The Unforgettable Fire
Zooropa
Songs of Innocence
Pop
War
Boy
All That You Can't Leave Behind
No Line On the Horizon
Rattle and Hum
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
October
 
BigMacPhisto said:
It always irks me how poorly parts of War are received by a great chunk of the U2 community. I had never even seen Taxi Driver years ago yet immediately got that the band was going for that mood with "Red Light" and "Surrender" (and was not surprised at all to later find the band reveal the same) while "The Refugee" has a killer groove to it as well. It's really a consistently great album from beginning to end. Their most powerful album and immaculately produced (I have a vinyl I bought for $4 a few years back and the sound is absolutely tremendous, blows away the original CD and comes close to the remaster).
Click to expand...

You mean one of my all time favorite films influenced one of my all time favorite albums? I never even made the connection. Makes me appreciate the masterpiece that is War even more.
 
RobertWiscy said:
There is more crap on that steaming dung-pile, NLOTH , than on Boy, October and War put together AND they have no excuse such as being teenagers or early twentysomethings for the ugly trainwreck that is NLOTH. Do I make myself clear? Good.
Click to expand...


I've been surpised to see how much hostility there is here towards NLOTH. It obviously was met with disinterest by casual fans, but I felt like most on interference find it to be very strong - with the exception of the general dislike for "the middle 3".

I'd still probably say that it's their best since Pop. For a while there they were just making good music and not obsessing over being the biggest band in rock and roll.
 
drt4 said:
I've been surpised to see how much hostility there is here towards NLOTH. It obviously was met with disinterest by casual fans, but I felt like most on interference find it to be very strong - with the exception of the general dislike for "the middle 3".

I'd still probably say that it's their best since Pop. For a while there they were just making good music and not obsessing over being the biggest band in rock and roll.
Click to expand...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVRNqKWgdY4

Bob Dylan/The Beatles/James Joyce/REM :heart:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVN9ROEZIkE
 
drt4 said:
I've been surpised to see how much hostility there is here towards NLOTH. It obviously was met with disinterest by casual fans, but I felt like most on interference find it to be very strong - with the exception of the general dislike for "the middle 3".

I'd still probably say that it's their best since Pop. For a while there they were just making good music and not obsessing over being the biggest band in rock and roll.
Click to expand...

I hadn't listened to it in years and did so the other night after ranking it #13. I was infuriated. It is even worse than I remembered. Other than a few decent early moments it's just awful!
 
NLOTH is easily their best since Pop. It's the only album of the four that has any sense of adventure, despite being weakened by the kind of pop crap they think will keep them relevant.
 
RobertWiscy said:
There is more crap on that steaming dung-pile, NLOTH , than on Boy, October and War put together AND they have no excuse such as being teenagers or early twentysomethings for the ugly trainwreck that is NLOTH. Do I make myself clear? Good.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure you made yourself clear, so I'll try to help you out.

I think instead of "NLOTH" you meant to type HTDAAB.

Because that's the album you just described.
 
By the time No Line came out, people were trashing Bomb even though Bomb's initial reaction was mostly positive. I feel like a lot of the No Line hate is coming out now because people seem to like this new record better...

What's surprising is that No Line actually had a lot of users calling it a masterpiece right away and was much more well received initially than the new record by Interferencers/fans...yet this new album with a not as nearly enthusiastic response is being ranked far higher in general than No Line...which can only mean NLOTH's stock has absolutely plummeted over the last few years.
 
BigMacPhisto said:
What's surprising is that No Line actually had a lot of users calling it a masterpiece right away and was much more well received initially than the new record by Interferencers/fans...yet this new album with a not as nearly enthusiastic response is being ranked far higher in general than No Line...which can only mean NLOTH's stock has absolutely plummeted over the last few years.
Click to expand...

For U2 fans they are exhausted by the album because it's the most recent one. The new one also feels more energetic (especially Bono).
 
I think the live thing kind of hurt that album. Once the general audience was clearly bored with all of those tunes (with the exception of the remix and MoS), it felt like people had to be defensive about it...I liked the album a lot and find it a better record than Bomb, but it completely lacks a single song that really stands out among the rest of U2's discography. Bomb gave us Sometimes and Vertigo and COBL, but it also gave us effective live numbers such as Love and Peace or Else, All Because of You and Miracle Drug...

No Line on the other hand was just too weird (Fez, Cedars, White As Snow) or too shitty (SUC, Boots) to really have much to offer 80,000 people in a stadium - at least half of which aren't familiar with that material. I knew it wouldn't go down well and once the band started losing faith in the record and reintroducing tracks like Elevation into the setlist (and later, chucking out most of the album in place of most of Achtung Baby), it became clear that it just wasn't that memorable a record, even if it's mostly good and features some very surprising detours for the band.

Songs of Innocence will likely face the same problem. Few here have gone to bat yet and made a case for any of these songs stacking up with the band's finest. But I think the rockers are tolerable enough and that songs like Every Breaking Wave and California really will energize the crowd. Will anything really become a live staple or a U2 classic? Probably not.

But who knows...the band has one more new album (at least) before this tour that could provide most of the live numbers/new classics that people are craving. At the very least, we won't see them try and go full tilt with this new music and then chicken out. I don't expect them to play more than four songs from SOI on opening night, mostly because they have a massive catalog that people are going to want to hear hits from along with a second or even third new album that will compete for song slots.

It does beg the question though...with a discography full of classics (I'd say about 50-60 truly phenomenal songs), do people here even want to hear the new material in concert? I mean, it's kind of the same reason I don't want to attend a modern Pearl Jam show - I'd have to hear about a third of a set of music I don't really enjoy that could instead be replaced by better, older tracks.
 
LemonMelon said:
NLOTH is easily their best since Pop. It's the only album of the four that has any sense of adventure, despite being weakened by the kind of pop crap they think will keep them relevant.
Click to expand...

Agreed 100% that NLOTH was the best since Pop when it came out. But I think SOI has surpassed NLOTH now. Not entirely sure though. It's early days yet.

U2DMfan said:
I'm not sure you made yourself clear, so I'll try to help you out.

I think instead of "NLOTH" you meant to type HTDAAB.

Because that's the album you just described.
Click to expand...

Indeed! :up::up:
 
Yahweh takes the cake for u2-on-autopilot. For me. COBL at least tries to do something, however familiar it may seem.
 
And NLOTH is NOT better than ATYCLB. BOMB, sure. But not ATYCLB. Why?
1) ATYCLB has a concrete identity. NLOTH is confused.
2) ATYCLB has better pop songs. NLOTH has no good pop songs. Magnificent comes close.
3) ATYCLB flows better. NLOTH has the dreaded trilogy.
4) ATYCLB hits harder with its themes. NLOTH wants to branch out but doesn't know how.

That said, NLOTH has a few interesting, good songs. But when bad songs outnumber the good ones, it's a problem.
 
1. Joshua Tree
2. Achtung Baby
3. All That you Can't Leave Behind
4. Rattle and Hum
5. War

6. Songs of Innocence
7. Boy
8. War
9. Pop
10. October

11. Zooropa
12. No Line On The Horizon
13. How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
 
All I know is...

1) Achtung Baby
2) POP
3) NLOTH/HTDAAB
5) The Joshua Tree

and SOI ain't tackling that
but also, is not near the worst
 
I haven't listened to No Line on the Horizon in a long time, but my dislike of the record came from the way Bono sang some of the songs. I would enjoy the intro into a song and then he'd start singing screeching the words. It was a huge turn off. I need to give the record another chance, I suppose, maybe he didn't sound as bad I was thinking? I'm not a fan of any "yelling" or straining to sing from anyone so it was a huge turn off for me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Hollow Island
Vulture: All 234 U2 Songs, Ranked From Worst to Best
2
Replies
39
Views
3K
phommel
P
bono_212
B&C's 2020 Albums of the Year Thread
8 9 10
Replies
295
Views
11K
lazarus
lazarus
D
SOE ranking in U2’s catalogue
2 3 4
Replies
111
Views
11K
vibe
V
Sickly Vulpine
Gang Of Four's Andy Gill passes away
Replies
0
Views
478
Sickly Vulpine
Sickly Vulpine
LemonMelon
Desert Island XI - QUARANTINE ISLAND - Group 2 Listening Thread
4 5 6
Replies
175
Views
6K
namkcuR
N

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom