U2 fans point to one album from the band which is ‘on another level’ to anything else released

Fans of the Irish rock band U2 are pointing to one album from the group that is “on another level” to anything else they released.

While the band may have released Songs of Surrender in 2023, fans are looking back decades for the last truly great release from U2. A post to the r/U2 subreddit saw fans share their favourites from the group, with the Bono-fronted band praised for both The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby. Fans have since suggested The Joshua Tree is the finest release of all from the group, calling it an album which “came from God.” One fan suggested it was “on another level” to Achtung Baby, which was called one of the best albums ever made by that very same fan.

They wrote: “Achtung Baby is one of the best albums mankind has made. However, The Joshua Tree came from God. It’s on another level.” Another user added: “I surely agree. But the idea that a band can make Achtung Baby, and it’s not even their best album, is quite outrageous. 99% of artists don’t come close to achieving this.”

Other fans have since heaped praise onto The Joshua Tree, suggesting it is the “peak” not just of U2, but of “artistry”. One user wrote: “Peak breakthrough. Peak artistry. Peak album sales. Peak U2 song Streets. The genius of risk-taking on Achtung Baby was only possible because of the mountaintop of The Joshua Tree.” 

Another added: “Joshua Tree is a perfect album. A band on cusp of greatness, the world watching, totally delivers their absolute peak performance. Iconic.”

A third wrote: “The Joshua Tree is my favorite album of all time. I love everything about it. But when it comes to the question of U2’s best, not my favorite, I really struggle to answer. It’s one of these two, though.

“I was fourteen when Achtung Baby came out and it was a huge shock to me. It took me a while to accept it and get into it fully. But thirty years later, as a middle-aged adult and with more knowledge about what they went through to make that album, and my own life experiences, I can support the argument that it’s their best.

“I have so much respect for how they grew and pushed boundaries and expectations in the 1990s. No album they’ve put out since 2000 has captivated me as much as what they created in the decades before then.”

Some were split, too, on whether Achtung Baby stands as a far better album to The Joshua Tree regardless of personal preference. One user wrote: “Achtung Baby. Some of the best lyrics of any U2 album.”

Another added: “Really tough decision!…but lean towards Achtung Baby by a nose!” A third wrote: “Achtung Baby is front-to-back the better album, though side one of The Joshua Tree is unbeatable.”

A third agreed that The Joshua Tree’s A-side is as good as it gets for the band. They wrote: “The first side of The Joshua Tree is as good as it gets. I also like the second side, but on its own, it doesn’t hold up as well. I experienced Achtung Baby initially as a CD, so I don’t think of it in terms of sides.

“Achtung Baby is solid front to back, and it’s a more cohesive piece of work. For U2, Achtung Baby is a more adventurous sound, too, incorporating elements of Berlin’s electronic/industrial scene. Lyrically, it’s Bono’s strongest effort as well.

“Themes of forbidden love and betrayal underpin it all. But my favorite is the perspective of Judas talking to Jesus (Until the End of the World). Achtung Baby isn’t just my favorite U2 album. It’s my favorite album, period. And their best.”