Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | (79/100) |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | |
| Blender | |
| Chicago Sun-Times | |
| Entertainment Weekly | (B) |
| The Guardian | |
| Hot Press | (8.5/10) |
| Los Angeles Times | |
| NME | (9/10) |
| Pitchfork Media | (6.9/10) |
| Q | |
| Robert Christgau | |
| Rolling Stone | |
Much like its predecessor, this album was generally well received by critics like Rolling Stone (who described it as "grandiose music from grandiose men"), Q, NME, the Los Angeles Times, and The Boston Globe, among others quite vocal in its praise. Following the 22 November 2004 release, the album debuted at #1 in 34 countries, including the US Billboard 200 (with sales of 840,000), the UK album chart, and the Aria charts. The album has gone on to sell 9 million copies worldwide. This album is often described as the album which has firmly entrenched U2 at the top after the commercial and critical let down of 1997's Pop. The album received an average critic score of 79%, according to Metacritic.
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