THE YEAR’S 10 BEST POP ALBUMS (NY Times)

From the NY Times:

!1. U2, ‘How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb’ (Interscope) Sure, it’s an old-fashioned idea: an album that’s ready to take on the world, with big tunes and benevolent thoughts that add up to unironic anthems. Yet that ambition is fulfilled, triumphantly, by songs with durable melodies and genuine dramatic sweep, by the Edge’s most aggressive and layered guitars, and by lyrics and vocals from Bono that never get so high-minded they forget to be human.

Rest here.