Every U2 album ranked from worst to best

U2 have officially announced the details of their Las Vegas residency during yesterdays Super Bowl game. To celebrate, we thought we'd rank all their albums from worst to best. 

U2 are one of the world's most divisive bands. To some, they’re insufferably-earnest, middle-of-the-road stadium rockers. To others, they’re four music-obsessed Dublin school friends whose spiritual, open-hearted songs resonate with a huge global audience.

When U2 are bad they can be very bad, but when they’re good, they’re truly wonderful: here are their 14 studio albums ranked from worst to best.

14. Songs Of Innocence (2014)

The corporate tie-in which saw Songs of Innocence 'gifted' to everyone owning an Apple product upon its 2014 release may have been the single biggest mis-step of U2's career: you can still find people grumbling about it today. Doubtless those complaints would linger even if Songs of Innocence was U2's defining masterpiece, but, trust us, it most definitely isn't.

 

13. Pop (1997)

Having brilliantly launched U2.0 with the knowing, post-modern Achtung Baby and the less-startling-but-still-rather-smart Zooropa, U2 pushed it too far. Without long-term producers Daniel Lanois/Brian Eno to rein in their wackier ideas and trim excess fat, the quartet became a parody of a parody with Pop.

12. No Line On The Horizon (2009)

If No Line On The Horizon often sounds like hard work, that's because it was. After an unsatisfactory first run at Abbey Road with Rick Rubin yielded nothing worth keeping, the group took a second tilt at following How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois in Morocco.

11. Songs of Experience (2017)

Three years on from the Songs Of Innocence debacle, U2 were still convinced that the thematic ideas of that album were worth mining even further. Songs of Experience was initially conceived as an EP, much like Zooropa was originally envisaged as a succinct accompaniment to Achtung Baby, but, once again, it morphed into a full-length album.

10. How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb (2004)

Winner of the 2006 Grammy for Album of the Year, which is... a bit much, truthfully, How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb might be the most 'U2-sounding' album of U2’s career; all gargantuan, hook-heavy, soft rock, precision-tooled to trigger the synchronised sparking of lighters above head height in the world's largest venues.

9. All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000)

After the dismal Pop, U2 retreated to safe ground for All That You Can’t Leave Behind; out went flashy stage outfits, onstage lemons and arch irony, back in came earnest stadium rock anthems, jeans and t-shirts. It's rather a shame that they felt compelled to throw the baby out with the bathwater, but rather this than it getting any sillier.

8. October (1981)

It’s fair to say that U2 still hadn’t completely found themselves by the time their second album was released. Still, if October is the weakest release of their first decade, mainly due to an over-reliance on blueprints established by post-punk influences like Joy Division and Siouxsie and the Banshees, it still features some great moments.

7. Zooropa (1993)

Originally planned as a stop-gap EP to sate fans' appetites for new music between legs of the mammoth ZooTV world tour, the material on Zooropa fluctuates in quality, but a wealth of superior songs stack up to make this the last very, very good U2 album.

6. Boy (1980)

Opening your debut album with one of your greatest ever songs is a neat trick, one U2 pull off on Boy, with the shimmering, urgent I Will Follow an irresistible introduction to the young Dubliners.

5. Rattle and Hum (1988)

U2-haters really hate Rattle and Hum: former Creation Records boss Alan McGee once said he would never have signed Oasis had he known that Noel Gallagher was a fan. Yes, the 1988 film documenting the quartet's love affair with America and its roots music is a little po-faced, but its companion album is so much better than it is given credit for. 

4. War (1983)

Arguably the first album that truly sounded like the definitive version of U2. War is where everything falls perfectly into place for the Irishmen: the songs are broader, grander and more instantaneous, individual performances more assured, the balance between worthy punk and stadium rock expertly pitched. 

3. The Unforgettable Fire (1984)

The passing of time has only accentuated the brilliance of The Unforgettable Fire, with the re-emergence of shoegaze and post-punk sonics in modern rock making these 10 songs sound more vital than ever.

2. The Joshua Tree (1987)

The record that turned U2 from a very big band into the biggest band on the face of the Earth. The Joshua Tree is a wonderful achievement, birthed by a group of still-hungry musicians giddy at their discovery of blues and Americana. The opening three tracks - Where the Streets Have No Name, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For and the beautifully simple With Or Without You - may well represent the most potent introduction to any album in the rock canon, and neither age nor familiarity can wither their impact.

1. Achtung Baby (1991)

The biggest band on the planet proving exactly why they deserve all the plaudits that come their way, Achtung Baby is simply one of the finest albums you’ll ever hear.

 

This article was first published on loudersound.com