10 Perfect 90s Albums That Changed Rock And Roll Music

10. Achtung Baby - U2

The bombastic sounds of U2 didn't really have a prayer once Nirvana kickstarted the alternative movement. Along with all of the glitter rock bands that were tearing up the scene around the same time, the overblown side of U2 was starting to seem extremely passe, leaving the next generation to usher in a more authentic side of rock. Just when they started to fade from relevance though, U2 got a second chance by leaning into their star power even more.

Doing an almost mock version of what a rock star was supposed to be, Achtung Baby acts as a transition for U2, making sounds that were more influenced by dance textures as well as industrial sounds on songs like Zoo Station. Moving to Berlin to strip down their sound, what turns up on this record is a lot more human form of the band, as Bono starts to dissect the layers of what it means to be a celebrity, like the over the top sounds of a song like The Fly or the wish fulfillment on Even Better Than the Real Thing.

Fame can also be misleading though, and a majority of this album deals with them being lost in a world they no longer understand, like never finding a someone to relate to on Love is Blindness before finding a way to make some kind of connection on One. The age of the big rock stars might not have gone anywhere, but these Irish souls let us know that it's actually a lot more jaded at the top than you might think.