Five stars:
Achtung Baby
The Joshua Tree
Four-and-a-half stars:
The Unforgettable Fire
Rattle & Hum (if studio tracks only)
Four stars:
Boy
War
Live: Under a Blood Red Sky
Zooropa
How to Dismantle a blah, blah, blah
Songs Of Innocence
Three-and-a-half stars:
All That You Can't blah blah blah
Rattle and Hum (actual, complete album)
Three stars:
October
Pop
Two stars:
No Line on the blah, blah, blah
It's amazing to think how great R&H could have been as a studio-only release (maybe tossing in 'Hallelujah Here She Comes' for good measure). The live tracks basically add nothing and hugely drag the album down, not to mention showcasing some of their most embarrassing moments.
It's fairly remarkable (to me) how little fat there is on the U2 albums' bones. Almost every release they're put out is worthy. I may even be under-rating October and Pop, which are still quite good albums, but the former is a little under-cooked and the latter way over-cooked.
I'm sorry to No Line on the Horizon fans, but I can't really say anything good about this album. The usual blood, sweat, and tears is there, so its relative failure isn't for lack of effort, but it just seems entirely inconsequential. You could delete it from the catalogue, and no one would miss it. Hell, it didn't even throw up any hits. It also has a few of the only really cringe-worthy songs they've ever released.
What a great band! I'm glad they're still going. I just wish they weren't so in love with (a) pop hits, and (b) overworking an album to death until it's dead.