The Time by The Time

Condensate by The Original 7ven

Pandemonium by The Time

Ice Cream Castles by The Time

It is not that surprising to me that I find their two most successful albums to be their worst. There’s a different between having fun and being silly. Ice Cream Castles was when they sold out big time around the Purple Rain era and was just silly. Pandemonium was when they tried to sell out big time for the Graffiti Bridge era and was just as silly. The other albums happened when a lot of people who jumped on the Purple Rain bandwagon weren’t paying attention to them so they were able to have fun.

Hey Marseilles – Bright Stars Burning
Chromatics – Cherry
Golden Gardens – Transparent Things
Child Actor – If You Loved Me
Hums – Digital Winter
Lightning Love – Deadbeat
Flightside – Dumb Boy
Sallie Ford and The Sound Outside – Party Kicks
Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls – I Still Believe
Van Stee – Color In Paper Planes
Gomez – Airstream Driver
Jim Ruiz Set – Allison
Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds – Jubilee Street
Adam and The Amethysts – Prophecy
Shimmering Stars – Suns Going Down
Lincoln Durham – Ballad of a Prodigal Son

10. Zooropa – I don’t remember much about this album and I haven’t heard it since I bought it when it came out. It makes the list because it rounds out the list to ten.

9.  Achtung Baby - This was the first album with their “new” sound. I wasn’t too happy with it at the time , but it is a lot better than I thought when I listened to it recently. Lots of good singles on it (One and Mysterious Ways quickly come to mind) and if I do this list again in about a year or so, it might even go higher.

8.  Under A Blood Red Sky – This is the first live album that I bought from them and it’s probably one of my favorite live albums. If I get a chance, I want to get the Deluxe Edition which also contains the Live At Red Rocks DVD.

7.  October – Gloria was the most popular song on the album, but I am partial to Stranger In A Strange Land.

6.  Wide Awake In America – This is an EP that contains two of my favorite U2 songs: Bad and A Sort of Homecoming. I like those two songs so much that with all of the times I have heard this record, I don’t recall ever listening to the songs on the other side.

5.  The Unforgettable Fire  - There are great songs all through this album, but Pride (In The Name Of Love) is the big hit and the studio version of A Sort Of Homecoming is the best song.

4.  Boy - The debut album and still one of their best. Odd, but the first song on each side of the album (I Will Follow and Stories For Boys) and the last song on each side of the album (Out Of Control and Shadows & Tall Trees) are my favorites.

3.  Rattle and Hum – This probably won’t be very high on the list of a lot of other people, but it was one of the first CDs that I ever bought, so that gives it extra points in my book. Plus, All I Want Is You is a great song.

2. The Joshua Tree – Not only is this the album that put them on the map with a lot of people, but I think Side One is one of the best Side Ones of all time.

1. War – One of my all time favorite albums. Even after almost 30 years, this album makes me want to rage against The Man and topple the power structure, but then I move around and the arthritis reminds me that I am starting to get close to becoming someone who is almost an old man so I just sit back and enjoy the music.