The albums you should buy depends on the U2 era you like. 80s, 90s, and 2000s U2 are completely different.
The 80s U2
I think someone can buy The Joshua Tree and The Best of 1980-1990 and have the essential U2 stuff of the 80s. The Joshua Tree is almost a "Best of" within itself, but with The Best of 1980-1990, the listener gets the essential songs from other albums as well, such as "Sunday, Bloody Sunday", "Pride", and "Desire".
1990s - Present
While no lesser in quality, the last 2 decades have produced 5 studio albums, compared to 6 in the 80s. I would recommend:
Achtung Baby - includes "One" and "Mysterious Ways"
All That You Can't Leave Behind - "Beautiful Day" and "Elevation"
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb - "Vertigo" and "City of Blinding Lights".
These are, in my opinion, the 5 essential albums. All are good, but you will get the essential U2 with these 5. One notable exception is the Pop album, which people either love or hate.
If you have a little more time/money, I would recommend:
War - Political, and at the same time, not that political. But a fierce album.
The Unforgettable Fire - This album isn't full of your typical songs, but more like soundscapes. "Pride" is the only song that has the typical verse-chorus-verse-chorus structure.
Zooropa - Just an all around weird and great album.
Update: Josh pointed out a major oversight. I forgot about the U218 singles album. If you want just one album that spans U2's career, then get this album. It looks like it has all the essential songs, especially from the 5 albums I mentioned.
So, if you want 1 album, get the U218 singles. If you want to explore them a little more, I recommend the 5 previously mentioned.
6 comments:
What about 18 Singles?
Ahh, how could I forget about that!
Okay, cool. I was looking at your post today, and thought I sounded like an idiot if I had just overlooked it yesterday.
Thanks for the tips! I needed to pick up a few new songs from iTunes.
I agree with you, completely. I first discovered U-2 in 1979 and have been a big fan ever since. But, Chance, you have to be the first U-2 fan I have ever met with your politics! I mean, come on, how can you listen to something like "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" and not feel yourself converting to nonviolence? (Only U-2 could have a single that was simultaneously about the Bloody Sunday in April 1965 when civil rights marchers were beaten in Selma, AL at the Edmund Pettus bridge and also about that Bloody Sunday in Belfast where British police killed 22 nonviolent protesters.)
Well, I don't really consider myself pro-violent.
That is cool that you were a fan since the beginning, not many people can say that. Not to make you feel old, but I was born that year, so I didn't have the chance to listen to them till later.
Not so with my daughter, my friends gave me the U2 lullaby CD.
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