I'd like to summarize the objections other people have to this compilation, while adding one of my own that (amazingly) no one else has mentioned yet. First of all, I have no problem with U2 cutting off this compilation at 1990 like others do; post-Achtung Baby U2 is a remarkably different band, and those songs would've sounded jarring here. Furthermore, there simply wouldn't have been enough room to include hits from Achtung Baby, Zooropa, and Pop along with the early stuff - the later period work deserves a compilation of its own.

What I completely object to is the foolishness of the track selection here and the length of the CD. Of the four songs from Rattle And Hum, only two ("Desire," "All I Want Is You") should have been here (although tastes will differ), while their early career is grossly neglected. One song from Boy, possibly their best album? No songs from October except a hidden track? (Have they disowned this album?) Only two from their big breakthrough War? Meanwhile, let me repeat: FOUR from Rattle And Hum? Among the MIA tracks (all of which are important milestones, not merely personal favorites) are "Out Of Control," "11 O'Clock Tick Tock," "Gloria," "Two Hearts Beat As One," (an ENORMOUS hit single, no less) and "A Sort Of Homecoming."

Unlike everyone else here, I don't mind the "edits" on this disc; they were the single edits, and that's why they're on this CD. What truly makes this an obscene ripoff is the fact that it's only 60 MINUTES LONG! Yes! They could've put up to 20 more minutes worth here, but simply decided not to. Why? All those songs I mentioned above? They WOULD HAVE FIT! There is absolutely no excuse whatsoever, in this age of 80 minute CD running times, for not filling this disc out completely. It's simply infuriating, and it almost makes me wonder if the record company is bilking us intentionally to make sure we still buy the individual albums.

What's more, the sequencing is problematic; if they're going to mix up songs and eras for dramatic effect, fine - I actually prefer that approach to most "greatest hits" discs because I like the idea of a compilation that's sequenced for flow - but if that was the idea, then why are all the Rattle And Hum tracks bunched together at the end?

In the end, this just wasn't thought out well, which is supremely disappointing, as it could have been a truly definitive compilation. As it is, the music is (mostly) marvelous, but you'll be left feeling strangely incomplete if you know what was left unsaid.

The songs on this cd are some of the best you'll ever hear (except for track 12 which has no place on this cd, since it's not all- U2 and because it simply sucks). These are U2's hits from the 80s. New fans will love this cd. Longtime fans might have some problems though.

I'll go over the few probs with this cd. First of all, every one U2's album's songs flow smoothly together. Here, the songs are just kinda hangin out in wierd places.

Second, all the albums have somewhat of a theme to them: Boy is children and growing up. October has a religious theme. War has the theme of war and politics. Unforgettable Fire is recovering from tragedy. Joshua Tree is hope and searching. Rattle and Hum is rock n roll. Achtung Baby is love and betrayal. Zooropa is Technology and a ever changing world, and Pop is corruption in the world. After listening to an entire album you're left with certain thoughts and feelings. After this you're left kinda confused because of all the ideas going through your head.

Third, some old favorites are missing such as Gloria, Two Hearts Beat As One, and 40. Mabey they didn't throw those on because of thier, dare I say, incompleteness. Let's face it. U2 didn't really know what they were doing when they first started. They knew how to express themselves through thier music (which is what makes them good) but they didn't know how to best present it like they now do (which is what makes them great). Think of how ten years later with a few changes they changed The Sweetest Thing from an allright b-side to an instant hit. After I listened to the live acoustic version of The Ground Beneath Her Feet, I thought "If this is U2's new sound then they're in big trouble". Then I listened to the full album version and I loved it so much that I listened to it about twenty times. Now I have need to worry about U2. Thier next album is due out this summer and it will be totally awesome. Anyway, if they can turn a song I couldn't stand to listen to into something I can't stop listening to, then imagine what could do to with Gloria and Two Hearts- we'd have some great songs.

Fourth, some of the songs have been edited. New Years Day has about two minutes cut out. A full verse has been removed and the end fades out with "I will be with you again" instead of "On New Years Day. Bad has a few seconds cut off the end which doesn't change it too much. Where The Streets Have No Name has about a minute cut out (about half a minute from the beginning and another half from the end). These edits don't bother me too much but it is nice to hear how songs originally sounded every now and again.

Fifth, which is the biggest problem of all, is track 12, When Love Comes To Town- It's terrible(no offense to B.B. King). Mabey this song could belong on B.B. King's Best Of album but not U2's.

You're probubly wondering why I gave this cd five stars if it has so many problems. Well I gave it five stars because of the excellent songs. These are fourteen of U2's best (and I'm not counting track 12 when I say fourteen. I'm also counting October, the hidden song. All in all this is a very good cd.

For the casual fan, this is a fairly good collection of U2 singles from the 1980s. If you would like to explore this era further, I recommend the following records (in order of priority): (1) 'The Joshua Tree' (1987); (2) 'Under a Blood Red Sky' (1983); (3) 'Rattle & Hum' (1988); (4) 'War' (1983); and (5) 'The Unforgettable Fire' (1984).

For the diehard fans, it should be noted that there are a few glaring omissions here (see "*" below), including no singles from 'October' (1981) (only the hidden track at the very end - "October"). Second, with this running order, the songs don't seem to fit together. That said, I would have included the following (in roughly chronological order, which sounds suprisingly coherent):
*1. "11 'O Clock Tick Tock" (4:30)
2. "I Will Follow" (3:31)
*3. "Gloria" (4:13)
4. "New Year's Day" (5:38)
*5. "Two Hearts Beat As One" (4:03)
6. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (4:38)
7. "Pride (in the Name of Love)" (3:51)
8. "The Unforgettable Fire" (4:56)
9. "Bad" (5:50)
10. "With or Without You" (4:56)
11. "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (4:37)
12. "Where the Streets Have No Name" (5:36)
*13. "In God's Country" (2:57)
14. "Desire" (2:58)
15. "Angel of Harlem" (3:31)
16. "When Love Comes to Town" (4:17)
17. "All I Want Is You" [Single Edit] (4:40)
18. "Sweetest Thing" [Single Mix] (3:03)

All of these songs would have fit on a single CD (clocking in at less than 78 minutes) and would have represented a more comprehensive and coherent compilation of the 1980s. Those tracks added would be gems like the pre-LP 1980 single "11 'O Clock Tick Tock" (which was included in the live set throughout the 1980s), "Gloria" (the best single from the 'October'), "Two Hearts Beat As One" (one of their best early pop songs from 'War'), and 'In God's Country' (a successful single from 'The Joshua Tree' and a nice segway into 'Rattle & Hum' material, which was so acutely inspired by American music).

The best songs are edited, presumably so that you'll go out and by the original CD's. They sound like something the publishers would put on Kazaa to discourage pirating. Ridiculous!

It's really not fair to put out edited versions without saying so on the cover.

This record has the essentials for the non-hardcore fan of U2 in the 1980s. The only singles that are truly missed are "Gloria" from 'October', "Two Hearts Beat As One" from 'War', and "In God's Country" from 'The Joshua Tree'; but for the sake of fitting everything on one CD, the choices of tunes in this collection are well-calculated. Also, a fan merely looking for a best of collection will probably not be phased by the fact that some of the songs appear here in an edited version ("New Years' Day" and "Where the Streets Have No Name") or that a superior live version of a track has been overlooked (compare the version of "Bad" on here with the version on 'Wide Awake in America').

For those who want to expand their 80s-era U2 collections beyond the "Best of", I recommend (in order of quality): (1) 'The Joshua Tree'; (2) 'War'; (3) 'Rattle & Hum'; and (4) 'The Unforgettable Fire'.