Well I just got my U2 album CDs out, and had a bash at rank ordering all 12 of them. Here's what I came up with:
1 - The Joshua Tree
Consistent album and surely the main classic. The only song I don't really care for is MOTD. Can listen to the album all the way through and always get a great feeling from it.
2 - Achtung Baby
Another timeless classic. Couple here I don't like, but literally just a couple (ZS, TTTYAATW). All the rest are great.
3 - All That You Can't Leave Behind
Songs like Grace and New York let this album down a bit (so does Elevation), but it has two of my favourites ever on it (Walk On and Kite) and on a whole is pretty consistent really.
4 - War
New Year's Day is my favourite U2 song maybe, so War naturally had to rank high. Also love 40, SBS, and LAS. Few stinkers on here though such as Red Light and The Refugee.
5 - How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
Very accessible and very similar to ATYCLB in terms of ranking for me. Miracle Drug and SYCMIOYO are huge favourites for me. As I said, pretty similar to ATYCLB, but slightly less consistent.
6 - No Line On The Horizon
So it looks like the latest U2 album made my top half. On a whole I think it's a good album. There's really nothing wrong with it, and it's rather consistent. However, it's one of those albums for me where I cannot find an obvious favourite. Magnificent might be my favourite. But really, it's not up there with my favourites from most of the other albums. So yeah, a consistent album, most songs are pretty good, but that's as far as it goes for me.
7 - Pop
Pop is not the strongest album. But it does have some songs I really like, such as IGWSHA, DYFL, and Gone. SATS is ok. I love the single version of Please, but found the album version to be naff.
8 - The Unforgettable Fire
Like Pop, I found TUF to be rather inconsistent. Other than this though, the title track itself is one of my favourite U2 songs ever. Wire is pretty cool. And ASOH is a nice opener.
9 - Boy
As it's the first album it's gonna have it's flaws. For me there is not a song on this album that I love. However, at the same time I don't hate any of them either, and can listen to it all, which is not a bad sign.
10 - Rattle And Hum
I really like AIWIY and Heartland. But that's it. AOH is ok. But the whole half studio/half live thing put me right off, and I don't think it works as an album. But it does spawn a couple of good songs.
11 - October
This for me is the same as Boy but even worse. Every song on this album I find average and forgettable. But none of these songs are terrible... just forgettable.
12 - Zooropa
There's hardly anything I like about this album. Stay was ok. That's it.
So in conclusion, the new album NLOTH has a comfortable spot in my top half.
