Where Does U2 Fit in Decade's Best?

Rolling Stone magazine is wrapping up the musical decade in its new issue with several lists that count down the best albums, songs, and U2 features in all of the lists. More than 100 artists, industry insiders, and journalists voted -- but none of U2 did so. Here's a look with links to see the complete lists on RollingStone.com.

Albums of the Decade

U2's highest-ranked album on this list is All That You Can't Leave Behind at number 13. No Line On The Horizon is at number 36, and How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb is 68th. The top 10 overall is a mix of rock, rap, and hip-hop with Radiohead's Kid A at number one. Here's the full list.

Songs of the Decade

"Beautiful Day" is one of the few rock songs in the top 10 -- it's number 9 on the list, and U2's highest-ranked song. "Moment of Surrender" is a surprise at number 36, with RS calling it "the most devastating ballad U2 -- or anyone -- has delivered since "One." Number 64 on the list is "Vertigo," and that rounds out the U2 songs that made the cut. Here's the full list.

RollingStone.com also has a pretty cool gallery showing some of the actual ballots submitted for the poll. Metallica's Lars Ulrich rates "Moment of Surrender" as the best song of the decade, for example. You can see that gallery here.

Readers Poll

"Beautiful Day" is number three on the "Top Singles" list in the RS readers' poll. (see full list) All That You Can't Leave Behind is the readers' 6th-best album, and No Line On The Horizon comes in at number 15. (see full list) And U2 is third in the readers' choice for Top Artists of the Decade. (see full list)

What about the past?

If you're curious, The Joshua Tree was number three and War was number 40 on Rolling Stone's Top 100 Albums of the '80s list. Can't seem to find similar "Top 100" lists for the 1990s, but Achtung Baby did make Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the '90s" list.