Yay! Rankings!
I have an incredibly long drive to and from work these days, so I've listened to SoI perhaps more than U2 themselves.
While I obviously don't have the "live" aspect to consider, I feel I can confidently rank the album now with U2's catalog.
1)
Unforgettable Fire - this is the album that turned me from "I like U2" to "I love U2"! I had a cassette and wore it out (got the CD later). Still love it to this day (obviously).
2)
Achtung Baby - after the UF/JT/R&H era, there were a few things I didn't like about this album - mainly the lack of Bono's soaring vocals. But AB more than makes up for it is SO many ways. Still sounds fresh today. This album saved U2 in so many ways and for great reason. I often find a track that I can listen to over and over now, over 23 years after its release.
3)
Boy - speaking of sounding fresh, this album ranks, IMO, as one of the best debut albums ever. I can easily see a new alt band releasing this album in 2014, even though U2 began recording it 35 years prior.
4)
ATYCLB - this is probably the highest this album has ranked for me. Over the last 14 years, while I still hear some flaws, there's a certain comfort in the album. It's like a warm blanket, with your favorite snuggle food (chicken soup?) on a cold, blustery day. It warms the soul.
5)
War - Bono's vocals are probably what keep this album from ranking higher. Had he put in some effort, I think this album would compete with Boy. That said, the lyrics and musicianship are brilliant.
6)
SoI - this album may move up or down over time. It's tough for me to rank it too much higher yet, but all those repeated listenings have proven to me that at least 6 tracks are simply outstanding. There are some songs I do not like. What I find interesting is that those same songs are often listed among people here and even with critics as highlights of the album. So my views may change. Live performances may also push this album higher.
7)
Zooropa - this album is a bit like SoI in that it took me a while to really get into. SoI was not to my taste at all upon the first listen and neither was Zooropa. With the exception of one or two tracks, I have come to really enjoy this album significantly and love the experimentation.
8)
Rattle & Hum - Yep, it's above JT (I'll explain why below). I'm not going to consider the live tracks because if I do, then I should rank other live albums. But the 9 new tracks are dark and amongst my favorites. Bono's vocals are brilliant - perhaps his best ever.
9)
NLOTH - This album has some real clunkers (Crazy Tonight), but it also contains perhaps U2's best song ever in MOS. It's this mixture of great with poor that pushes the album down. When I first bought NLOTH, I noticed a similarity to TUF and even listened to the two albums together in a random manner. They did blend well. But in some ways, this hurts NLOTH a bit as it is a bit too reminiscent of U2's past.
10)
JT - it's a classic, for sure. But every time I listen to it, the songs just blend right into each other. It's as if Edge has one type of guitar sound and varied it just slightly from song to song. If people only know JT, I can see why some have said that all U2 songs sound the same. This folksy sound is great and this album is still great compared to other artists, I do not think it's amongst U2's best.
11)
HTDAAB - I loved this album initially. Sadly, over time I've grown less fond of it. This contrasts ATYCLB which I've enjoyed more over time. It sounds like U2 pushing too hard to be popular. This is why I like SoI more - it has elements of U2 trying for that hit (nothing wrong with that), but it's still very much U2.
12)
October - this penultimate album in my list clearly shows the sophomore slump. But I still enjoy songs like Gloria and don't mind the experiment with more religious themes. However, it pales compared to Boy and War.
13)
Pop - Like HTDAAB, I enjoyed this upon release. But it hasn't stuck with me at all over time. In fact, I almost never choose a Pop song when I want to hear U2.
