Rank the albums based solely on lyrical quality

Here's how I think the albums would rank lyrically:

AB, JT, UF, SOI/SOE, Zooropa, Rattle And Hum, Pop, ATYCLB, HTDAAB, War, Boy, NLOTH, October

Does this look about right? I think that even though HTDAAB was a middle of the road bore-fest it still had some of Bono's best lyrical work (in places) when compared to the other post-Pop albums.

My take:

- Pop and Zooropa deserve much higher rankings on that list imho. Those are some of Bono's absolute finest lyrics. They are important (as in meaning-of-life issues) and crafted in layers, and logical/cohesive/sensical, etc.

- Again, my comments are just imho, but I don't rank TUF that highly. Not that I don't like the lyrics there, and they absolutely suit the nature of the album, but they don't seem that strong to me.

- I love October but, yup, RIP briefcase.

- I'm on record as having an allergy to Bomb. I don't even know the album well enough to intelligently rank its lyrics (I snooze every time I try to listen). Thinking about SYCMIOYO, that song has both awful lyrics (tough, you think you got the stuff? Really?) and real gut punchers (you know the ones). Vertigo is good lyrically, not the best but fun and meaningful with a cool twist. COBL is mediocre lyrically, though I do like the last lines.

AB, POP, UF, Zooropa, JT. After those, all are equal, imo.

I agree, Pop is an absolute peak for me.

Achtung Baby is probably at #2, the Joshua Tree as #3. After that, I don't really care for lyrics that much, I'm afraid, except for the occasional punchline.

1. Pop + Achtung Baby
2. Zooropa
3. The Joshua Tree
4. The rest

I think Bono at his peak is an amazing poet. Every album has highlights for me lyrically. Even songs that are pretty mediocre in their catalogue can have a great lyric like "The DNA lotto may have left you smart, but can you stand up to beauty, dictator of the heart" or "as you enter this life, I pray you depart, with a wrinkled face, and a brand new heart".

Pop
AB
TJT
Zooropa
RAH
ATYCLB
NLOTH
SOI
HTDAAB
SOE
TUF
War
Boy
October

That’s a solid ranking there.

1. Achtung Baby
2. Unforgettable fire
3. Zooropa
4. Pop
5. NLOTH
6. WAR
7. Joshua Tree (sorry folks several songs on JT have mediocre lyrics)
8. R&H
9. Boy
10 October
11. ATYCLB
12. SOE
13. SOI
14. HTDAAB