phillyfan26 said:
I'm young. I've never seen them live (I still regret this). Started with The Joshua Tree, worked on from there. Self-taught U2 fan. No relatives like them.
I should explain myself in more detail, I was in a rush when I wrote that.
My parents weren't big music fans, both of them were casual in general, and they owned one U2 compilation, The Best of 1980-1990. I liked a couple songs on it (I think it was Pride first, then SBS, then NYD). At the time I was more of a Springsteen fan, but anyway, I decided in 2002 to ask for the other compilation for Christmas, 90-00, and got it, and liked it less than I did the other one (by this time, I liked the first three, Streets, I Will Follow, and WOWY - I only liked Beautiful Day and Electrical Storm from 90-00). For a while that was all I had. In mid-2004, a friend of my Dad's who is a crazy rock fan told me that he loved U2's album The Joshua Tree. I learned that Streets, WOWY, and Still Haven't Found from the compilation I owned were all on that album, so I decided to buy it. I loved the album. BTBS immediately struck me as odd considering I'd never heard Bono sing like that in the hits that I liked, but I loved its rock tone. RHMT was a beautiful song, One Tree Hill was great, and I enjoyed Exit.
My next album was HTDAAB, which came out later that year. I enjoyed Vertigo, LAPOE, and COBL immediately, and liked Miracle Drug, Sometimes, and OOTS (after the commercials for it) as well soon enough. I was impressed enough with the first two albums that I decided I wanted to get the next great two albums, Achtung Baby and The Unforgettable Fire. Achtung Baby impressed me a lot, and TUF was alright. For a while after that, they too were all I had. I got War as a Christmas gift last year and ATYCLB in January as a birthday gift. I bought Rattle and Hum and Boy in the spring this year, and Pop and Zooropa in the summer. I got the Vertigo: Chicago DVD for Xmas last year as well, Rattle and Hum with Pop and Zooropa in the summer, and ZooTV within the week it came out in September. (Yes, I am missing October still).