U2

Is U2 the biggest band in the universe? A quick look at this list, and the great songs that fill it top to bottom, confirms it. Their major hits are nothing less than top-of-the-rock classics, soaring anthems that define the Dublin rockers, attest to their passionate approach, and represent their ability to write enduring melodies.

Over the course of their career, U2 has traversed a startling array of rock-based styles, from sweeping arena grooves to post-modern electro-pop. But through it all, sturdy early discs like Boy and War still resonate with Bono's vocal intensity, the Edge's supersonic textures, and Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton's driving rhythms.

For more than two decades, U2 has churned out consistently stellar material — richly rendered albums that listen beautifully from start to finish. But their catalogue goes beyond those albums into much deeper territory, with many rare, remixed, and unreleased cuts . . . like their acoustic cover of "Everlasting Love".

Few, if any, bands have made as big an impact on the rock 'n' roll of this generation as U2. The group's innovation, passion, and ability to communicate through songs of social and spiritual weight are unrivalled. All of which says nothing about their transcendent live show, where they take their material to another level entirely. Many feel that U2 is the last legitimate superstar band on today's rock 'n' roll planet. Frankly, we'd have to agree.