U2 Album Power Rankings By jagem409  [20 more lists]

Coming off THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE, U2 had stepped back from their stadium-rock sound and collaberated with musical geniuses Brian Eno and Danny Lanois. The U2-Eno-Lanois second project, which was THE JOSHUA TREE is the best album U2 has put out. With soaring anthems like WHERE THE STREETS HAVE NO NAME, I STILL HAVEN'T FOUND WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR, and WITH OR WITHOUT YOU; protest songs: BULLET THE BLUE SKY and MOTHER'S OF THE DISAPPEARED; and drug-addiction: RUNNING TO STAND STILL. The album made U2 international rock heroes and helped make them as big as they are today.

After being criticized for RATTLE AND HUM, U2 was moving in a different direction. As Bono famously said: We are leaving for a while so we can dream it up all over again. That would become the best U2 album next to THE JOSHUA TREE. With huge hits like MYSTERIOUS WAYS, THE FLY, EVEN BETTER THAN THE REAL THING, and the ever beautiful ONE. Other key tracks are ZOO STATION, ULTRA VIOLET (LIGHT MY WAY), UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD, and ACROBAT.

After the disasterous POP in 1997, U2 again left to dream it up all over again; and this time, once again, they hit the bullseye. Changing from the alternative-influenced '90s to a new, cleaner sounding rock. The BIG 4 as I refer to them are the 4 biggest singles and also the first 4 tracks of the album. They are BEAUTIFUL DAY, STUCK IN A MOMENT YOU CAN'T GET OUT OF, ELEVATION, and WALK ON. Other big tracks are KITE, IN A LITTLE WHILE, WILD HONEY, and NEW YORK.

After 1981's OCTOBER didn't flow well with early fans, U2 sent a message of protest to the air. Starting off with the lines: "I can't believe the news today/I can't close my eyes and make it go away!" The technical break-out single for U2 came with NEW YEAR'S DAY and SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY helped that along with TWO HEARTS BEAT AS ONE. Other big tracks are SECONDS, SURRENDER, and 40.

After a long 5-year wait, U2 was back and with a new sound, again. This time sessions with Rick Rubin were mixed with sessions in Fez, Morocco with Eno and Lanois to create NO LINE ON THE HORIZON all together. The first single GET ON YOUR BOOTS was a success mainly in Ireland and Britain and also featured a B-side called NO LINE ON THE HORIZON 2. The album was the lowest selling for U2 for last decade for no apparent reason. This IS a good album and was vastly underrated. Other big songs were MAGNIFICENT, I'LL GO CRAZY IF I DON'T GO CRAZY TONIGHT, MOMENT OF SURRENDER, UNKNOWN CALLER, and BREATHE.