\u201cGet On Your Boots\u201d (2009)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"(L-R)](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/U2-2009.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Tim Mosenfelder\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tAs we\u2019ll see over and over on this list, the quality of the leadoff single from a U2 album doesn\u2019t always match the quality of the album. In many cases, it doesn\u2019t even come close. That\u2019s certainly true with 2009\u2019s No Line on the Horizon<\/em>, which marked the return of the Joshua Tree<\/em> and Achtung Baby<\/em> dream team of Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. The album may not have been connected with the culture like their prior two albums, but songs like \u201cMoment of Surrender,\u201d \u201cNo Line on the Horizon,\u201d \u201cMagnificent,\u201d and \u201cBreathe\u201d rank among U2\u2019s best work of the Nineties. But they erred big time by dropping \u201cGet On Your Boots\u201d as the first single. The riffy song is a cousin of \u201cElevation\u201d and \u201cVertigo,\u201d but not nearly as memorable. This was a bold, experimental album. There was no good reason to mask that. It would have been smarter to release \u201cMoment of Surrender\u201d first, and save \u201cGet On Your Boots\u201d for a B-side \u2014 or even the cutting room floor.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\n\u201cThe Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)\u201d (2014)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"BEVERLY](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-rollingstone-2022\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
![\"BEVERLY](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/U2-2014.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Christopher Polk\/NBC\/NBCUniversal\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tThe brouhaha over the release of Songs of Innocence<\/em>, downloaded to everyone\u2019s iPhone across the planet, which ranked high on our list of the worst decisions in music history,<\/a> received so much attention that the actual songs were rarely discussed. And even though Songs of Innocence<\/em> is\u00a0far from a masterpiece, there\u2019s really no such thing as a terrible U2 record. \u201cThe Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)\u201d is a moving tribute to Bono\u2019s original teenage hero when he was \u201cyoung, not dumb,\u201d and the leadoff song to the album. If you haven\u2019t heard it in a long time, give it a second listen. It\u2019s probably still somewhere on your phone.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\n\u201cFire\u201d (1981)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"NETHERLANDS](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/U2-1981.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Rob Verhorst\/Redferns\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tAccording to U2 lore, their second album was a nightmare to create since Bono lost his lyric notebook shortly before recording started, and the band wasn\u2019t sure they even wanted to continue after everyone but Adam Clayton joined the Shalom Fellowship Christian group. But they still managed to turn October <\/em>into a pretty strong release, even if it didn\u2019t match the highs of Boy<\/em>. The album kicks off with \u201cGloria,\u201d and there\u2019s almost no question that should have been the leadoff single. Instead, partially because it was all they had at the moment, they went with the uninspired and insipid \u201cFire.\u201d The band figured this out pretty quickly since they haven\u2019t played it live even a single time since February 1983. \u201c\u2018Fire\u2019 was not a very good song,\u201d Bono said in 2006. \u201cI always had this faith that we could make it up as we went along, but sometimes we couldn\u2019t, and that was a case in point.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\n\u201cA Day Without Me\u201d (1980)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"(NETHERLANDS](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/U2-1980.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Lex van Rossen\/MAI\/Redferns\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tTo many U2 fans, having any song from Boy<\/em> this low on a list will seem sacrilegious. Before you freak out, we have a question for you: Is \u201cA Day Without Me\u201d a better song than \u201cI Will Follow,\u201d \u201cThe Electric Co,\u201d \u201cTwilight,\u201d \u201cThe Ocean,\u201d or \u201cA Cat Dubh?\u201d (We aren\u2019t listing \u201cOut of Control\u201d since it was released as a single from their 1979 EP Three<\/em>.) By any objective measurement, the song is a throwaway. \u201cI Will Follow\u201d was the obvious first single. It remains in their live set to this day. They haven\u2019t gone near \u201cA Day Without Me\u201d since 1985. Only true hardcore fans even know it was the first Boy<\/em> single.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\n\u201cYou\u2019re the Best Thing About Me\u201d (2017)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"LONDON,](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/U2-2017.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Dave J Hogan\/Dave J Hogan\/Getty Images\/MTV\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tIn September 2017, U2 worked \u201cYou\u2019re the Best Thing About Me\u201d into the setlist of their Joshua Tree<\/em> 30th anniversary tour, placing the beautiful love ballad between \u201cVertigo\u201d and \u201cUltraviolet (Light My Way).\u201d That same month, it was released as the leadoff single from Songs of Experience<\/em>. There was little public appetite for a new U2 album by 2017 and it received little attention. It\u2019s a shame because \u201cYou\u2019re the Best Thing About Me\u201d is a genuinely great song that deserves to be heard.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\n\u201cVertigo\u201d (2004)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"NETHERLANDS](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/U2-2005.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Rob Verhorst\/Redferns\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tMTV, rock radio, and the major record labels were hanging on by a thin thread when U2 were cutting their 2004 LP How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb<\/em>. That\u2019s why they dropped their opposition to placing their music in commercials, and allowed Apple to feature leadoff single \u201cVertigo\u201d in an iPod ad. It was a great way to expose the song to a mass audience, and it turned \u201cVertigo\u201d into a hit, even if \u201cunos, dos, tres, catorce!\u201d translates to \u201c1, 2, 3, 14!\u201d Bono late admitted he enjoyed a few cocktails before cutting that part.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\n\u201cNumb\u201d (1993)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"U2](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/U2-1993.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Western Mail Archive\/Mirrorpix\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tU2 were so cocky in 1993 following the massive success of Achtung Baby <\/em>and the early legs of the Zoo TV tour that the first single from the quickie followup LP, Zooropa <\/em>(originally envisioned as an EP), featured The Edge doing something that could reasonably called \u201crapping.\u201d If that wasn\u2019t weird enough, the video is a close-up of him lip-syncing the song while two women rub their feet on his face. But we love every single aspect of \u201cNumb,\u201d the song and the video. The only bummer is they haven\u2019t let Edge perform it live since 1993. Come on guys. It\u2019s time we all got \u201cNumb\u201d again.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\n\u201cDesire\u201d (1988)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"Irish](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/U2-1988.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Vinnie Zuffante\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tU2\u2019s 1988 tour documentary Rattle and Hum<\/em> is widely seen today as a pretentious misstep. And yes, the film itself could have been much, much better considering the majesty of the Joshua Tree<\/em> tour, and all the footage they captured by director Phil Joanou. But the soundtrack has several killer songs, including leadoff single \u201cDesire.\u201d The Bo Diddley-inspired tune has been part of their live show ever since. (Someone really needs to give Rattle and Hum<\/em> the Get Back<\/em> treatment and turn the raw footage into a new movie.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\n\u201cMiss Sarajevo\u201d (1995)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"Children](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/u2-1995-new-pic.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Brian Rasic\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tOriginal Soundtracks 1<\/em> isn\u2019t technically a U2 album even though it features all four members of the band, plus their longtime producer Brian Eno. The 1995 LP was a chance for the band to continue with the experimentations of Zooropa<\/em> without the pressure of creating another proper U2 album.\u00a0 It was also a way to bring Eno further into their creative process than ever before by making him a full partner in the band. The result is a stellar album, and \u201cMiss Sarajevo,\u201d featuring a guest appearance by Luciano Pavarotti, is one of the best tracks. And since U2 have played it live at many of their concerts, and it appears on U2 compilation albums, we\u2019re counting this as a U2 single from a U2 album. Good people can disagree with us.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\n\u201cDiscoth\u00e8que\u201d (1997)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"(MANDATORY](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/U2-19976.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Ebet Roberts\/Redferns\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tU2 could have taken the safe path and released \u201cStaring at the Sun\u201d as the leadoff single from Pop<\/em>. It\u2019s a radio-friendly ballad that could have possibly found a spot on Top 40 radio and maybe even MTV. They instead decided to be honest about the electronica-flavored sound of Pop<\/em> by dropping \u201cDiscoth\u00e8que\u201d first. And had such a song hit earlier in the decade, maybe it could have worked. And maybe, just maybe<\/em>, had they released a video where they didn\u2019t dress up like the Village People, people would have taken the song more seriously. But \u201cDiscoth\u00e8que\u201d stiffed, the PopMart stadium tour struggled in many U.S. markets, and it created the narrative that U2 were in decline. But Pop<\/em> and \u201cDiscoth\u00e8que\u201d have both aged very well. Our dream of a Pop<\/em> 30 box set may not be realized next year, but maybe by 2037 there will be enough support for a Pop<\/em> 40 box. We can dream, right?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\n\u201cBeautiful Day\u201d (2000)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"U2](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/U2-2000.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Kevin Mazur\/WireImage\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tAfter the PopMart tour wrapped in early 1998, U2 gave themselves a soft reboot by releasing The Best of 1980\u20131990<\/em> compilation album, and releasing the Joshua Tree<\/em> era B-side \u201cThe Sweetest Thing\u201d as a single. It became a surprise mini-hit, proving there was still demand for the old-school U2 sound. To satisfy that demand, they reunited with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois for the back-to-basics album All That You Can\u2019t Leave Behind<\/em>. First single \u201cBeautiful Day,\u201d a soaring anthem, became a worldwide hit that made everyone forget the whole \u201cFlopMart\u201d era. U2 were again the biggest band on the planet, at least for a little while.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\n\u201cNew Year\u2019s Day\u201d (1983)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"Irish](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/U2-1983.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Paul Natkin\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tAfter the relative disappointment of October,<\/em> U2 knew they had to deliver on their third album. They did this by crafting a politically-charged collection of anthemic songs that were destined to be heard in arenas and stadiums all across the world. About six weeks before it came out, they previewed the album by releasing \u201cNew Year\u2019s Day.\u201d It\u2019s a song partially about the Polish Solidarity movement, but few listeners picked up on that. They instead heard a cry for a fresh start that felt universal. And early MTV, desperate for content, put the video into heavy rotation. It was the start of a whole new era for the band.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\n\u201cPride (In the Name of Love)\u201d (1985)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"Irish](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/U2-1985.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Paul Natkin\/Getty Image\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tIn the early days of the hair-metal movement, there weren\u2019t a lot of mainstream rock bands singing about the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. But U2, drawing inspiration from the MLK biography Let The Trumpets Sing<\/em>, given to them by former Rolling Stone<\/em> editor James Henke, somehow turned his message of love into a pop classic that climbed the charts alongside the latest offerings by Wham!, Survivor, and Billy Ocean. (The original version of the song errs by saying that King was assassinated in the \u201cearly morning\u201d of April 4, 1968, when the shooting took place after 6:00 p.m. When singing it live, Bono often changes the lyrics to \u201cearly evening.\u201d)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\n\u201cWith or Without You\u201d (1987)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"(NETHERLANDS](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/U2-1987.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Lex van Rossen\/MAI\/Redferns\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tThe public first got a preview of U2\u2019s followup to The Unforgettable Fire <\/em>on Jan. 30, 1986, when they went on the Irish show TV Gaga<\/em> and played a tune called \u201cWomanfish\u201d <\/a>that\u2019s easily one of the single worst songs they\u2019ve ever written. \u201cWe agreed to do that in a moment of dementia,\u201d The Edge said years later. \u201cWe hadn\u2019t shot ourselves in the foot for a while, so with two songs half written we decided it was the perfect time to go to the nation to showcase our \u2018new direction.\u2019 It was dreadful.\u201d Thankfully, \u201cWomanfish\u201d was thrown back into the ocean, forever, and the next time the world heard a new U2 song it was \u201cWith or Without You.\u201d The song is so beautiful that even people who claim to dislike U2 begrudgingly admit it\u2019s a masterpiece. It was also a global smash and helped move U2 into stadiums. Oddly, many young people know it largely today because it appears on the season two Friends<\/em> episode The One With the List<\/em>.\u00a0 (Check out the live version of \u201cWith or Without You\u201d from Rattle and Hum<\/em>.<\/a> It\u2019s better than the studio version, and it has the beloved \u201cshine like stars\u201d bonus verse that hardcore fans love.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n- \n
\n\u201cThe Fly\u201d (1991)<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t![\"Singer](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/U2-1991.jpg?w=300\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Larry Busacca\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\n\tIf this were simply a list of U2\u2019s best singles, \u201cThe Fly\u201d wouldn\u2019t rank above \u201cWith or Without You.\u201d But in terms of leadoff singles, \u201cThe Fly\u201d edges it out because it was a bold, wild change from The Joshua Tree <\/em>and Rattle and Hum<\/em> that almost nobody people saw coming. When it hit in October 1991, a month prior to Achtung Baby<\/em>, fans were stunned. It would have been safer to lead off with \u201cOne\u201d or even \u201cMysterious Ways,\u201d but they decided to hold those back. \u201cThe Fly,\u201d in essence, became a trailer for the entire album. It was U2\u2019s first step into the Nineties, and it set the course for everything that followed. Every time a band opts for the weird song as the first single, keeping the safer options in reserve, they\u2019re taking a page from U2\u2019s playbook.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n
\t<\/p>\n
\n\tAs we\u2019ll see over and over on this list, the quality of the leadoff single from a U2 album doesn\u2019t always match the quality of the album. In many cases, it doesn\u2019t even come close. That\u2019s certainly true with 2009\u2019s No Line on the Horizon<\/em>, which marked the return of the Joshua Tree<\/em> and Achtung Baby<\/em> dream team of Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. The album may not have been connected with the culture like their prior two albums, but songs like \u201cMoment of Surrender,\u201d \u201cNo Line on the Horizon,\u201d \u201cMagnificent,\u201d and \u201cBreathe\u201d rank among U2\u2019s best work of the Nineties. But they erred big time by dropping \u201cGet On Your Boots\u201d as the first single. The riffy song is a cousin of \u201cElevation\u201d and \u201cVertigo,\u201d but not nearly as memorable. This was a bold, experimental album. There was no good reason to mask that. It would have been smarter to release \u201cMoment of Surrender\u201d first, and save \u201cGet On Your Boots\u201d for a B-side \u2014 or even the cutting room floor.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tThe brouhaha over the release of Songs of Innocence<\/em>, downloaded to everyone\u2019s iPhone across the planet, which ranked high on our list of the worst decisions in music history,<\/a> received so much attention that the actual songs were rarely discussed. And even though Songs of Innocence<\/em> is\u00a0far from a masterpiece, there\u2019s really no such thing as a terrible U2 record. \u201cThe Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)\u201d is a moving tribute to Bono\u2019s original teenage hero when he was \u201cyoung, not dumb,\u201d and the leadoff song to the album. If you haven\u2019t heard it in a long time, give it a second listen. It\u2019s probably still somewhere on your phone.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tAccording to U2 lore, their second album was a nightmare to create since Bono lost his lyric notebook shortly before recording started, and the band wasn\u2019t sure they even wanted to continue after everyone but Adam Clayton joined the Shalom Fellowship Christian group. But they still managed to turn October <\/em>into a pretty strong release, even if it didn\u2019t match the highs of Boy<\/em>. The album kicks off with \u201cGloria,\u201d and there\u2019s almost no question that should have been the leadoff single. Instead, partially because it was all they had at the moment, they went with the uninspired and insipid \u201cFire.\u201d The band figured this out pretty quickly since they haven\u2019t played it live even a single time since February 1983. \u201c\u2018Fire\u2019 was not a very good song,\u201d Bono said in 2006. \u201cI always had this faith that we could make it up as we went along, but sometimes we couldn\u2019t, and that was a case in point.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tTo many U2 fans, having any song from Boy<\/em> this low on a list will seem sacrilegious. Before you freak out, we have a question for you: Is \u201cA Day Without Me\u201d a better song than \u201cI Will Follow,\u201d \u201cThe Electric Co,\u201d \u201cTwilight,\u201d \u201cThe Ocean,\u201d or \u201cA Cat Dubh?\u201d (We aren\u2019t listing \u201cOut of Control\u201d since it was released as a single from their 1979 EP Three<\/em>.) By any objective measurement, the song is a throwaway. \u201cI Will Follow\u201d was the obvious first single. It remains in their live set to this day. They haven\u2019t gone near \u201cA Day Without Me\u201d since 1985. Only true hardcore fans even know it was the first Boy<\/em> single.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tIn September 2017, U2 worked \u201cYou\u2019re the Best Thing About Me\u201d into the setlist of their Joshua Tree<\/em> 30th anniversary tour, placing the beautiful love ballad between \u201cVertigo\u201d and \u201cUltraviolet (Light My Way).\u201d That same month, it was released as the leadoff single from Songs of Experience<\/em>. There was little public appetite for a new U2 album by 2017 and it received little attention. It\u2019s a shame because \u201cYou\u2019re the Best Thing About Me\u201d is a genuinely great song that deserves to be heard.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tMTV, rock radio, and the major record labels were hanging on by a thin thread when U2 were cutting their 2004 LP How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb<\/em>. That\u2019s why they dropped their opposition to placing their music in commercials, and allowed Apple to feature leadoff single \u201cVertigo\u201d in an iPod ad. It was a great way to expose the song to a mass audience, and it turned \u201cVertigo\u201d into a hit, even if \u201cunos, dos, tres, catorce!\u201d translates to \u201c1, 2, 3, 14!\u201d Bono late admitted he enjoyed a few cocktails before cutting that part.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tU2 were so cocky in 1993 following the massive success of Achtung Baby <\/em>and the early legs of the Zoo TV tour that the first single from the quickie followup LP, Zooropa <\/em>(originally envisioned as an EP), featured The Edge doing something that could reasonably called \u201crapping.\u201d If that wasn\u2019t weird enough, the video is a close-up of him lip-syncing the song while two women rub their feet on his face. But we love every single aspect of \u201cNumb,\u201d the song and the video. The only bummer is they haven\u2019t let Edge perform it live since 1993. Come on guys. It\u2019s time we all got \u201cNumb\u201d again.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tU2\u2019s 1988 tour documentary Rattle and Hum<\/em> is widely seen today as a pretentious misstep. And yes, the film itself could have been much, much better considering the majesty of the Joshua Tree<\/em> tour, and all the footage they captured by director Phil Joanou. But the soundtrack has several killer songs, including leadoff single \u201cDesire.\u201d The Bo Diddley-inspired tune has been part of their live show ever since. (Someone really needs to give Rattle and Hum<\/em> the Get Back<\/em> treatment and turn the raw footage into a new movie.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tOriginal Soundtracks 1<\/em> isn\u2019t technically a U2 album even though it features all four members of the band, plus their longtime producer Brian Eno. The 1995 LP was a chance for the band to continue with the experimentations of Zooropa<\/em> without the pressure of creating another proper U2 album.\u00a0 It was also a way to bring Eno further into their creative process than ever before by making him a full partner in the band. The result is a stellar album, and \u201cMiss Sarajevo,\u201d featuring a guest appearance by Luciano Pavarotti, is one of the best tracks. And since U2 have played it live at many of their concerts, and it appears on U2 compilation albums, we\u2019re counting this as a U2 single from a U2 album. Good people can disagree with us.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tU2 could have taken the safe path and released \u201cStaring at the Sun\u201d as the leadoff single from Pop<\/em>. It\u2019s a radio-friendly ballad that could have possibly found a spot on Top 40 radio and maybe even MTV. They instead decided to be honest about the electronica-flavored sound of Pop<\/em> by dropping \u201cDiscoth\u00e8que\u201d first. And had such a song hit earlier in the decade, maybe it could have worked. And maybe, just maybe<\/em>, had they released a video where they didn\u2019t dress up like the Village People, people would have taken the song more seriously. But \u201cDiscoth\u00e8que\u201d stiffed, the PopMart stadium tour struggled in many U.S. markets, and it created the narrative that U2 were in decline. But Pop<\/em> and \u201cDiscoth\u00e8que\u201d have both aged very well. Our dream of a Pop<\/em> 30 box set may not be realized next year, but maybe by 2037 there will be enough support for a Pop<\/em> 40 box. We can dream, right?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tAfter the PopMart tour wrapped in early 1998, U2 gave themselves a soft reboot by releasing The Best of 1980\u20131990<\/em> compilation album, and releasing the Joshua Tree<\/em> era B-side \u201cThe Sweetest Thing\u201d as a single. It became a surprise mini-hit, proving there was still demand for the old-school U2 sound. To satisfy that demand, they reunited with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois for the back-to-basics album All That You Can\u2019t Leave Behind<\/em>. First single \u201cBeautiful Day,\u201d a soaring anthem, became a worldwide hit that made everyone forget the whole \u201cFlopMart\u201d era. U2 were again the biggest band on the planet, at least for a little while.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tAfter the relative disappointment of October,<\/em> U2 knew they had to deliver on their third album. They did this by crafting a politically-charged collection of anthemic songs that were destined to be heard in arenas and stadiums all across the world. About six weeks before it came out, they previewed the album by releasing \u201cNew Year\u2019s Day.\u201d It\u2019s a song partially about the Polish Solidarity movement, but few listeners picked up on that. They instead heard a cry for a fresh start that felt universal. And early MTV, desperate for content, put the video into heavy rotation. It was the start of a whole new era for the band.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tIn the early days of the hair-metal movement, there weren\u2019t a lot of mainstream rock bands singing about the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. But U2, drawing inspiration from the MLK biography Let The Trumpets Sing<\/em>, given to them by former Rolling Stone<\/em> editor James Henke, somehow turned his message of love into a pop classic that climbed the charts alongside the latest offerings by Wham!, Survivor, and Billy Ocean. (The original version of the song errs by saying that King was assassinated in the \u201cearly morning\u201d of April 4, 1968, when the shooting took place after 6:00 p.m. When singing it live, Bono often changes the lyrics to \u201cearly evening.\u201d)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tThe public first got a preview of U2\u2019s followup to The Unforgettable Fire <\/em>on Jan. 30, 1986, when they went on the Irish show TV Gaga<\/em> and played a tune called \u201cWomanfish\u201d <\/a>that\u2019s easily one of the single worst songs they\u2019ve ever written. \u201cWe agreed to do that in a moment of dementia,\u201d The Edge said years later. \u201cWe hadn\u2019t shot ourselves in the foot for a while, so with two songs half written we decided it was the perfect time to go to the nation to showcase our \u2018new direction.\u2019 It was dreadful.\u201d Thankfully, \u201cWomanfish\u201d was thrown back into the ocean, forever, and the next time the world heard a new U2 song it was \u201cWith or Without You.\u201d The song is so beautiful that even people who claim to dislike U2 begrudgingly admit it\u2019s a masterpiece. It was also a global smash and helped move U2 into stadiums. Oddly, many young people know it largely today because it appears on the season two Friends<\/em> episode The One With the List<\/em>.\u00a0 (Check out the live version of \u201cWith or Without You\u201d from Rattle and Hum<\/em>.<\/a> It\u2019s better than the studio version, and it has the beloved \u201cshine like stars\u201d bonus verse that hardcore fans love.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n \t<\/p>\n \n\tIf this were simply a list of U2\u2019s best singles, \u201cThe Fly\u201d wouldn\u2019t rank above \u201cWith or Without You.\u201d But in terms of leadoff singles, \u201cThe Fly\u201d edges it out because it was a bold, wild change from The Joshua Tree <\/em>and Rattle and Hum<\/em> that almost nobody people saw coming. When it hit in October 1991, a month prior to Achtung Baby<\/em>, fans were stunned. It would have been safer to lead off with \u201cOne\u201d or even \u201cMysterious Ways,\u201d but they decided to hold those back. \u201cThe Fly,\u201d in essence, became a trailer for the entire album. It was U2\u2019s first step into the Nineties, and it set the course for everything that followed. Every time a band opts for the weird song as the first single, keeping the safer options in reserve, they\u2019re taking a page from U2\u2019s playbook.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\u201cThe Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)\u201d (2014)<\/h2>\n
\u201cFire\u201d (1981)<\/h2>\n
\u201cA Day Without Me\u201d (1980)<\/h2>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re the Best Thing About Me\u201d (2017)<\/h2>\n
\u201cVertigo\u201d (2004)<\/h2>\n
\u201cNumb\u201d (1993)<\/h2>\n
\u201cDesire\u201d (1988)<\/h2>\n
\u201cMiss Sarajevo\u201d (1995)<\/h2>\n
\u201cDiscoth\u00e8que\u201d (1997)<\/h2>\n
\u201cBeautiful Day\u201d (2000)<\/h2>\n
\u201cNew Year\u2019s Day\u201d (1983)<\/h2>\n
\u201cPride (In the Name of Love)\u201d (1985)<\/h2>\n
\u201cWith or Without You\u201d (1987)<\/h2>\n
\u201cThe Fly\u201d (1991)<\/h2>\n