In what year did you buy/get each U2 album?

[DancingBrft]

UF-1984
Boy/October/War-1985
The rest on day of release.

What a ride it’s been.

I was 14 when I heard UF, I saw the Pride video after seeing SBS from Red Rocks a couple times, and I was filled with wonder that music outside of Top 40 radio existed

 

[phanan]

Don't recall this thread from way back...

First album I had was JT, and that was on a Maxell blank tape recorded off of a neighbor's CD - it was all on one side and MOTD got cut off with about 15 seconds to go.

When I got my first CD player, JT was one of the first albums I bought, and it was always weird to hear MOTD in full for a while.

Quickly snapped up the older albums and I was off.

After that, everything was on release day.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Yikes, this is hard.

Everything from Pop on was bought or downloaded or whatever on the day of release or earlier if it happened to have leaked.

Pretty much would say I acquired every album, that had been released to that point, between 1995, when Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill me was released, and the end of my freshman year in college around 99. I think Boy and October were last.

I know I had Achtung Baby and JT burned to cassette before 95, but couldn't tell you the actual date.

But yea I went from "I know the popular albums these guys have done" to "must have all the things" from the age of 14 to 18.

And now I'm about to turn 37 in a month, so this thread has reminded me of how ****ing old I am.

and now i'm 44, and this thread being bumped has reminded me once more of how even ****ing older i am.

 

[YouShouldn'tGetTooGoodAt]

A couple of years ago I gave away my vinyl of WAinA, which I have carried with me on life's journeys since it came out ('85?). I still have War on vinyl ... (Though I haven't had a record player since about that time)... . I have a case full of old (mostly live) U2 bootleg cassettes that I just can't get rid of, (which are barely audible now). Most of my early stuff was given to me, taped copies of tapes. (it's how it was done in those days). I don't recall dates; like a friend gave me a tape of October on one side and The Clash - Combat Rock on the other (had to be about '82 when they were both pretty new). I know I bought UF new when it first came out (Oct. '84), but I needed to purchase it multiple time on tape, in the 80's (for some reason it kept getting stolen, maybe three times...). I remember feeling like 'someone needed to hear this more than I did'.
A date I do remember was Nov 4, 1988 going to see the Rattle and Hum movie in the theater with my friends (opening night in the US). Many of those friends have been, and will be, lifelong.

 

[BEAL]

My dad had purchased every album up to Zooropa.

I bought Pop, and few years later i was on my own and went out to purchase all the albums for myself. So 1997-2000+

 

[bobbvis]

First time seeing this thread pop up in the what's new so..........
1984 UABRS- cassette TUF-cassette
1985 Wide Awake- cassette War-cassette Boy-cassette October-cassette
1986 u2 pac 3 collection of TUF b sides on 45rpm vinyl, bootleg live vinyl Another Time/Another Place
1987 JT -cassette
1988 R&H -Cd
AB>Zooropa>Pop>ATYCLB>HTDAAB at release or xmas Cd
NLOTH-do not own a physical copy
SOI- vinyl xmas
SOE- do not own a physical copy
2025 just bought some back issue vinyl RSD releases. Fire picture disc, HTRAAB, Two Hearts/SBS, 11 o'clock tick tock.

 

[DancingBrft]

First time seeing this thread pop up in the what's new so..........
1984 UABRS- cassette TUF-cassette
1985 Wide Awake- cassette War-cassette Boy-cassette October-cassette
1986 u2 pac 3 collection of TUF b sides on 45rpm vinyl, bootleg live vinyl Another Time/Another Place
1987 JT -cassette
1988 R&H -Cd
AB>Zooropa>Pop>ATYCLB>HTDAAB at release or xmas Cd
NLOTH-do not own a physical copy
SOI- vinyl xmas
SOE- do not own a physical copy
2025 just bought some back issue vinyl RSD releases. Fire picture disc, HTRAAB, Two Hearts/SBS, 11 o'clock tick tock.

I remember finding those U2 PAC 3 sets at the record shop in our local mall, they sold imports behind the counter. I was so pumped at these exotic sets with the awesome sleeves and b sides! I got a similar “six pack” of singles from The Police as well. Great times

 

[PookaMacP]

This is a great thread - although it does make me feel old...

1997 - Pop (my first U2 album), followed by everything up to that album, collected at various points throughout the rest of that year. Achtung Baby was the second album I bought, followed by JT. The moment of first listening to both will be imprinted on my brain forever.

1997-1999 - I spent quite a bit of time traipsing around record shops buying the Pop singles and trying to find old CD singles back to Achtung Baby. I managed to collect most of them, and except HMTMKMKM, Mysterious Ways, and Stay, which I've added in the last few years.

2000 - ATYCLB on day of release.

2004 - HTDAAB on day of release.

2009-onwards - ordered NLOTH, SOI and SOE online and downloaded the leaks as they arrived.

 

[An Cat Gav]

I got into U2 in 1985 after Live Aid when I was 10, although being Irish I already knew a lot about them by that point.
So the first album I bought myself was The Joshua Tree on it's day of release in 87. Same with Rattle and Hum a year later. Then it was a whole 3 years until Achtung Baby and I felt every day of those 3 years, it seemed like forever, little did I know what was ahead of me.
I then got every album on its day of release up until Songs of Experience and I still haven't bought it. I've listened to it plenty of times on Spotify but never liked it enough to buy a physical copy.