U2 has released 15 studio albums in its illustrious career. You won’t find too many clunkers in that distinguished list of LPs. But which of their albums comes out on top as best ever by the Irish legends?
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It wasn’t easy, but we narrowed the top contenders down to three: The Joshua Tree (1987), Achtung Baby (1991), and All That You Can’t Behind (2000). We make the case for each below, before rendering our humble verdict.
The Case for ‘The Joshua Tree’
Many fans of the band love the muted colors and subtle experimentalism of The Unforgettable Fire. But U2 themselves felt that the 1984 album pulled them too far away from the mainstream. The Joshua Tree found them focusing on the songwriting aspect of music-making in ways that they’d never done before, and you can hear the results. U2 also began working with producers Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno on this record, a collaboration that coincided with the most fruitful part of their career. Has there ever been a better one-two-three punch to start off a rock album than “Where The Streets Have No Name”, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”, and “With Or Without You”? With those three up front, everything else is gravy.
The Case for ‘Achtung Baby’
Perhaps realizing that there was a portion of the rock world that viewed them as unbearably earnest, U2 set out to undercut that image on Achtung Baby. Interestingly, they would overcorrect on Zooropa and Pop, going too far down an ironic rabbit hole on their next two albums. But Achtung Baby finds them in a sweet spot. There’s a reckless, buzzing energy to the record that distinguishes itself from the purer strains of previous records. That dynamism carries over to Bono’s lyrics, which are sly and insinuating without committing too far in any direction. The album rocks as hard in places as any of their other works, while also getting as tender as they ever have on songs like “One” and “Love Is Blindness”.
The Case for ‘All That You Can’t Leave Behind’
Again, give credit to U2 for knowing when it was time to change things up. After losing themselves in inscrutability and claustrophobic soundscapes on their previous two albums, All That You Can’t Leave Behind returned them to the straightforward pleasures of The Joshua Tree. Only now they were coming at the songs a few years wiser, taking the opportunity to pass on some of that sagacity on tracks like “Stuck In A Moment That You Can’t Get Out Of” and “Walk On”. “Beautiful Day” proved that they could take some of the electronic frippery of the prior albums and use it to embellish a gorgeous pop melody. And lest you think the album is too solemn, “Elevation” comes out swinging with brash rock swagger.
The Verdict
Tough call, right? When you break it down, it all comes down to consistency of song quality throughout. And we have to say that the second sides of both The Joshua Tree and All That You Can’t Leave Behind peter out a bit after brilliant starts. Songs like “Exit” from the former and “New York” from the latter come dangerously close to filler.
Achtung Baby, even though it’s the longest of the three albums, never falls into that trap. Each new song seems to take a surprising, thrilling turn from what preceded it, and yet it still all coheres. That’s why we’re choosing it as U2’s all-time greatest album.
Photo by Larry Marano/Getty Images
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