The Best of 1990-2000

1	Even Better Than the Real Thing 3:41
2	Mysterious Ways 4:03
3	Beautiful Day 4:08
4	Electrical Storm previously unreleased / William Orbit Mix 4:39
5	One 4:35
6	Miss Sarajevo / Luciano Pavarotti 4:32
7	Stay (Faraway, So Close!) 4:59
8	Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of 4:34
9	Gone New Mix 4:34
10	Until the End of the World 4:40
11	The Hands That Built America previously unreleased 4:58
12	Discothèque New Mix 4:42
13	Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me 4:45
14	Staring at the Sun New Mix 4:49
15	Numb New Mix 4:23
16	The First Time 3:44

Barnes & Noble

Intended as a companion piece to the anthem-laden Best of 1980–1990, this new collection of U2 nuggets is considerably duskier around the edges, but perhaps more illuminating in the end. It spans the Irish rockers' biggest and best '90s hits, including "Even Better than the Real Thing," "Beautiful Day," "One," and "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of." But the primary draw for Bono-philes is the two new tunes that round out the compilation, both of which are undeniably up to the band's highest standards. "The Hands That Built America" recaptures a good bit of the grandeur of U2's halcyon banner-waving days with a mix of nostalgia and intensity that seems like a good harbinger for Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York, for which it serves as theme music. (The other previously unreleased gem is "Electrical Storm.") The disc is punctuated with other cinematic offerings, such as the theme from Wim Wenders's Until the End of the World and "Stay," which accompanied the same director's Faraway, So Close. Even in looking back, the band display a pervasive restlessness, offering up remixed -- not radically, but noticeably -- versions of "Discotheque" and "Staring at the Sun," both of which are somewhat more organic sounding than the originals. An indispensable document of U2's inspiring, thought-provoking path to the 21st century, Best of 1990–2000 captures these important rockers at the peak of their creative powers. (Also available: a limited-edition pressing with a bonus disc featuring remixes and B-sides plus a DVD housing videos, director commentary, six bonus tracks, and The Road to Sarajevo, a documentary chronicling the band's 1997 visit to Bosnia.) David Sprague

All Music Guide

The story goes like this: poised on the brink of disappearing in their own earnestness in the wake of the Rattle and Hum, U2 revitalized themselves with Achtung Baby, embracing irony and modern music in a garish celebration of pop culture that effectively distracted attention from the wounded, broken heart at its center. Basking in the acclaim of Achtung Baby, U2 continued to release Euro-experimental music -- equal parts Madchester, Krautrock, and good old-fashioned prog rock, partially courtesy of longtime collaborator Brian Eno -- until their ambition imploded on Pop, leading them to a celebrated return to roots, All That You Can't Leave Behind. Through it all, they turned out singles that equaled their '80s work (and in the case of "One" and "Beautiful Day," surpassed it), providing the basic ingredients for a great hits collection, The Best of 1990-2000. Anytime U2 flirted too closely with either dance or electronica has been replaced by mixes that attempt to give these tunes the sound of neo-classicist U2 à la All That You Can't Leave Behind. So, all the Pop material ("Gone," "Discotheque," "Staring at the Sun") is given new mixes, as is "Numb." There are great songs here -- not just "Mysterious Ways" and "Beautiful Day," but relatively rare items like the Passengers tune "Miss Sarajevo" (sounding more majestic than ever) and the Batman & Robin theme "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" (a glam rock pastiche that was the best thing about the film and remains a highlight), plus the underappreciated "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" (as lovely as anything they've ever cut). Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Rolling Stone

Surprisingly coherent, both familiar and fresh. Anthony DeCurtis

Spin Magazine

[U2 are] still obsessed with transcendence, whether it's the kind you find on a Joshua Tree bluff or a Miami dance floor. And their best songs -- "One," "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)," "Staring at the Sun" -- framed that search in the most intimate of terms. (8) Robert Levine