One
U2
1991

Hard to come up with words to justify this one.  I can recognize this song just from the three drumstick clicks by Larry Mullen before a single note is played, and it just stirs up some very deep emotions.  Even now, 30 years later, with probably close to if not more than 1,000 listens, it’s still a very emotional song to listen to.  It just gets you in all the feels.  The line, “We’re one / But we’re not the same / We get to carry each other, carry each other / One” still moves me.  This song just never gets old for me, this song of unity.  It’s hard to think of this song as anything but perfect.

I’ve run into people over the years who’ve told me that they either don’t like U2, or they don’t really get them, or things along those lines.  I don’t get these people.  What do you mean you don’t like U2?  I’m not saying you have to be the biggest U2 fan in the world, but how can you call yourself a music fan if you can’t at least dig a few U2 songs?  I don’t know, maybe that’s unfair, I would definitely call myself a music fan (considering I’ve written about 1.21 gigowatts of words for this thing) and I don’t care much for the likes of Fleetwood Mac or the Eagles (hot take alert!).  But seriously, how can you not enjoy U2, people?!

Only saw U2 live one time.  November 16, 2001.  Just two short months after September 11.  One of the most poignant things I ever saw at a concert (if not the most poignant) was U2 unfurling a massive list of the all of the victims from all of the flights and those in NYC as they played this song (they would later do this to “Walk On” when they performed the halftime show at the Super Bowl).  Very, very moving.

I don’t know what more I can say about this one.  It’s iconic, it’s on a very, very short list for greatest songs of all time, and it was a very easy selection for the Top 10.

Other Songs Considered:
Here are my Top 25 U2 songs.