To BVS:
AHA thank you for pointing that out to me, i don't remember where i confused being innovative and exploring new sounds exactly, but i apologise if i used them interchangeably.
Now that we have that cleared up, i suppose i can agree that he's innovative in terms of using new influences, not sounding the same on every album etc...
I guess i can also agree that it's false to say Edge hasn't made any new sounds at all during the 00's - i can think of a couple, such as the solo for WILATW, or the strings for Cedars possibly.
I see now that i've confused innovation with genuine originality, because you had been pointing out how the Edge has changed his guitar sound so much, and that even if those sounds aren't necessarily new, they are innovative for him personally. To make it more confusing to me, while i miss Edge coming up with entirely new sounds like on Mofo and Lemon, i would also be ok with u2 following genres i like (e.g. dance, electronica) even if the sounds Edge uses aren't entirely new. Therefore, i suppose my preference for complete originality and personal innovation is blurred, and i can't separate the two because in a way i'd like both.
However, i'd still like to re-iterate my preferences: Firstly, although he has made some entirely new sounds lately, they are NOWHERE near as predominant as on the 90's albums, which i miss. I wish they'd release an album with songs filled with crazy new noises, and release singles that don't rely on the 'chime' effect like Magnificent and Crazy tonight, but rather have Edge sounds that make people go "Huh? Is this u2??"
Secondly, whilst i agree using the led-zep riff on SUC and other noises is innovative for u2 if not completely original, it still leaves me personally disappointed, but that's just my double standard, because i'd love to hear them do a dance record, although i suppose i could say a rock band blending with dance music could be more original than a rock band blending with... classic rock (as with Vertigo, SUC etc).
I'll answer your last point by stating i can't think of one, so yeah, i'd have to agree Edge has been innovative in many ways in the 00's... but only in terms of u2. I'd like him to introduce more completely original guitar noises like he had done in the 90's, and i stand by my point that he's stuck to the 'chime' trademark even if many 00's u2 songs don't. That previous statement is purely my opinion, but to me using the chime on beautiful day, COBL, Magnificent and CT (i.e. lots of the lead singles, the stuff that represent the band on the radio and more importantly, the stuff they tend to play live off the album on subsequent tours), is being too reliant on it.
I'll conclude by saying i agree pretty much with what you said about Edge being innovative in terms of changing his own guitar sound (even if the sound isn't new outside u2), and also to say thanks for taking the time to reply to my posts in depth