The Joshua Tree vs. Achtung Baby debate inspired me to put together a U2 Running Playlist. Each of these albums contributes three songs to the playlist. I didn’t number them because I did not want to imply a rank…
I Will Follow
Beautiful Day
Bullet the Blue Sky
The Unforgettable Fire
Ultraviolet (Light My Way)
Electric Co (Live)
Refugee
City of Blinding Lights
Where the Streets Have No Name
Gloria
Vertigo
A Day Without Me
Walk On
Pride (In the Name of Love)
The Fly
Discotheque
New Year’s Day
Desire
Wire
One Tree Hill
Even Better than the Real Thing
Get On Your Boots
Elevation
A Sort of Homecoming
Sunday Bloody Sunday (Live)
Two Hearts Beat as One
This list will be debated, and that is great. Lists were meant to be debated. My response is always this: Sometimes a great song is not a great running song, and sometimes a lesser song is a better running song.
For example, “Bad” is a great song, but it JUST missed my Top 26. On the other hand, Discotheque is not U2’s proudest moment, but it’s very run-worthy.
Notes: During the Joshua Tree vs. Achtung Baby debate, someone mentioned “Running to Stand Still” as a great recovery running song. I agree with this, and that is the magic of music: A song about drug addiction can be healing and great for recovery.
