The Joshua Tree (studio album)
by U2

The Joshua Tree by U2
Year: 1987
Overall rank: 52nd   Overall chart historyOverall chart history
Average Rating: 
83/100 (from 2,455 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution   Average rating historyAverage rating history
Accolades:
Award Best album of 1987 (1st)
Award Top 10 albums of the 1980s (6th)
Award Top 100 albums of all time (52nd)

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U2 bestography

The Joshua Tree is ranked as the best album by U2.

U2 album bestography « Higher ranked
-
This album (52nd)
The Joshua Tree
Lower ranked (110th) »
Achtung Baby

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

Upcoming concerts

Dec
27
Sat
19:30
A Very MAYSA Christmas
Birchmere, Alexandria, United States. United States
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Jan
09
Fri
21:30
Lee Ritenour
New Orleans Jazz Market, New Orleans, United States. United States
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Jan
23
Fri
19:30
Devotion - An Earth Wind And Fire Experience
Birchmere, Alexandria, United States. United States
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The Joshua Tree track list

  Track ratingsTrack ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 83 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Track pick Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

The Joshua Tree rankings

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Latest 20 charts that this album appears in:

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YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2025culwinTop 50 Music Albums of 19873/505
2025haholTop 100 Greatest Music Albums26/10070
2025 slatsheitTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s39/10012
2025MoondanceTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s24/10015
2025 TakaTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s15/10017
2025 RomanelliTop 53 Music Albums of 19871/535
2025alert23Top 100 Greatest Music Albums91/10010
2025LittleM1971Top 93 Music Albums of 19878/935
2025MasterOfPuppetsTop 500 Albums: 101-20092/100 -
2025timosbuechereiTop 80 Music Albums of the 1980s29/8013
2025JohnnyoGrammys: All of the albums of the year29/66 -
2025 imacgillTop 100 Greatest Music Albums5/10095
2025 MauceTop 100 Greatest Music Albums46/10052
2025 TheDarkOrbTop 83 Music Albums of the 1980s26/8314
2025 DavyTop 50 Greatest Music Albums12/5072
2025cicadelicBest (FR) 1987 Le choix des critiques6/10 -
2025Juneof44Top 100 Greatest Music Albums13/10085
2025bonnequestionBest Albums From Countries other than the UK, USA or Canada82/100 -
2025sunnydhammTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s84/1003
2025 ERadioTop 100 Greatest Music Albums92/1009
Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 1,859
Total Rank Score: The total rank score. 18,338

You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

The Joshua Tree collection

The Joshua Tree ratings

Average Rating: 
83/100 (from 2,455 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 2,455 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
90/100
 Report rating
3 days ago TimBroad04  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 20369/100
 
85/100
 Report rating
11/17/2025 01:20 Trooper44  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 7879/100
 
85/100
 Report rating
11/12/2025 23:01 NYAndreas  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 1,43243/100
 
75/100
 Report rating
11/11/2025 15:54 Exist-en-ciel  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 1,13468/100
 
85/100
 Report rating
11/08/2025 02:57 MachineGunPhilly  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 594/100

Rating metrics: Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)

This album is rated in the top 1% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 82.7/100, a mean average of 81.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 82.7/100. The standard deviation for this album is 17.9.

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The Joshua Tree comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 228 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Maximum Rated First | Longest Comments First
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Rating:  
100/100
From 04/09/2025 08:48
Album of the year at the Grammys in 1988
#308425 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 11/01/2024 01:46
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
#305839 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -3 votes (0 helpful | 3 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 11/23/2023 16:29
Opens with three absolute all-time bangers -- and follows with a fourth often-underplayed gem.
#300113 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 05/14/2023 22:40
This has one of the greatest beginnings of all time to any record with 3 absolute classics in a row that start off the release in style. The height they reach at the start isn't reached again throughout the rest of the release but none of the remaining songs are poor and there are quite a few that fly under the radar a little as well. One example of this for me is Trip Through Your Wires which seems to get stuck in my head every time I listen to this album. The chorus on this song just stands out and I think Bono gives a brilliant vocal performance on here as well. Bono is also extremely consistent throughout the whole record with this being his strongest display in my opinion. The instrumentation is probably at its best as well or is at least at its most infectious with some of the guitar work being of a significant quality and it is also extremely memorable. The Edge is fantastic throughout and the partnership he has with Bono is something truly special with them making this an exceptionally cohesive listen. Despite this, I do find the ending to drag out a bit especially the final two tracks which feel like they could be cut as they are pretty average. Overall, this is the groups best work as it has their greatest songs as well as their best performances making it an essential part of musical history.
#296960 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 04/14/2023 05:24
The best first three songs of an album ever.

The rest of the album is pretty mediocre.
#296065 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -2 votes (1 helpful | 3 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 02/28/2023 12:34
Well done, but frontloaded and quite boring for me, I prefer their earlier stuff. First four tracks are amazing but then it becomes more and more dull.
#294544 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 08/31/2022 03:25
Good album
#289082 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 08/26/2022 18:52
My favourite U2 Album. Side one is as good as it gets and side 2 isn’t too bad either. This Album took U2 to another level and they were never to match it again. Favourite songs Where The Streets Have No Name, Bullet The Blue Sky and Red Hill Mining Town.
#288945 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 04/13/2022 17:33
There is a reason this album and the songs on it blew up. It is much much more than the first few tracks, this track shows a band at the absolute peak of their powers.
#284201 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 04/01/2022 01:57
It was the record that turned U2 into the global behemoth that they still are to this day, and it's without question one of the most iconic and original sounding records of the 1980s
#283668 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

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Best Albums of 1987
1. The Joshua Tree by U2
2. Appetite For Destruction by Guns N' Roses
3. Sign "O" The Times by Prince
4. Strangeways, Here We Come by The Smiths
5. You're Living All Over Me by Dinosaur
6. Document by R.E.M.
7. Bad by Michael Jackson
8. Music For The Masses by Depeche Mode
9. Sister by Sonic Youth
10. Hysteria by Def Leppard
11. Substance by New Order
12. Kick by INXS
13. Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me by The Cure
14. Louder Than Bombs by The Smiths
15. Darklands by The Jesus And Mary Chain
16. Come On Pilgrim by Pixies
17. Diesel And Dust by Midnight Oil
18. Paid In Full by Eric B. & Rakim
19. Tango In The Night by Fleetwood Mac
20. Tunnel Of Love by Bruce Springsteen
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