I think I can count on one finger the number of people who don't regard The Joshua Tree as their masterpiece; while I wouldn't disgree that it is a fantastic album, to me Achtung Baby was thier finest hour.
Auchtung Baby tops my list as well. Of course, I didn't really start listening to popular music til I was like 11 and that was 1993. So I identified with the New U2 first.
"Unforgettable Fire" used to be my favorite. "Atomic Bomb" blows it away (no pun intended) by a mile. Bono's writing has improved, as has Edge's guitar playing.
Achtung for me as well. That album & Joshua Tree are amazing. My first 2 CD's ever were U2 - War & Skid Row. Skid freaking Row...
I've never liker U2 or R.E.M. The only reason I group these two bands together is because anyone I ever knew who loved U2 also loved R.E.M. Neither band was all that great, IMO.
I love U2 - I kinda like REM. Anyway, REM seems to have kinda crashed & burned, while U2 is still making great, IMO, albums.
Joshua Tree for me. On Saturday I heard a band with a mandolin player do a pretty interesting version of With Or Without You.
The Unforgettable Fire. Man, I can't believe it only got one vote (mine). I still listen to it all the time. I think this is when Bono hit his peak vocally. The 'outro' to Bad, when he starts singing I'm wide awaaaaaaaaake, is Bono at his finest. Bad is probably my all time favorite U2 song. I also think it's their most musical album to date. Best album of the 80's. Seriously.
i cant believe you left war off there. never-the-less, joshua tree is mine. thats a top 5 or 10 all time album for me actually. that was the first record of theirs that i heard. i really dont like the 3 "hits" that lead off the record (played out), but the rest of it is superb (tripped thru your wire, one tree hill and in gods country are 3 of my favorite u2 songs). unforgettable fire and war are definately up there too. i actually had an unforgettable fire listen at work today. that song "wire" is probably my favorite u2 song ever. the edge is my favorite guitar player and the one whose sound i try to emulate the most with my own set-up (probably not as many amps though). short of john bonham, he has probably had more influence on my own playing than anyone else. i love U2 and REM, but only the 80's versions. U2 was pretty hideous in the mid-90's (discoteque was embarrasing). glad that they have somewhat gone back to their roots w/ the last 2 records. REM are just hideous now. they should have broke up when bill berry quit the band. I love 80's REM, but they really lost me after green. life's rich pagent is my favorite record of theirs.
I accidentally voted for Rattle and Hum. My favorite is actually Joshua Tree. When it comes to my favorite groups of all time, they are definitely in the top 5 - maybe top 3.
It is criminal that you left off "War" - easily the best U2 album ever and one of the '80s best albums ever.
I loved Pop (and especially Discotheque ) -- its probably my second favorite U2 disc after Achtung Baby ...but I loved that middle era U2 (Joshua to Pop). Their last two albums have been decent but I can't get down with War . Sounds a bit too New Wave at times for me.
