Rolling Stone (p.85) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he best moments connect on a physical level -- the glistening bass groove of 'With or Without You' and the Hendrix-worship guitar storm of 'Bullet the Blue Sky.'"

Rolling Stone (11/89) - Ranked #3 in Rolling Stone's "100 Best Albums Of The 80s" survey.

Q (10/01, p.91) - Ranked #12 in Q's "Best 50 Albums of Q's Lifetime" - "...This collection of downbeat rock made U2 superstars..."

Uncut (pp.108-109) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "It still bristles with the bravado of a band shaping up for a shot at the title, daring to believe that they could make their idols their peers."

Magnet - "Burnished and tawny by maturity; taut in its accuracy; bourbon-soaked in the influence of American icons from Huey Newton to Tom Wolfe; the airy, silt-ish tones of the original JOSHUA TREE stand as an anthem to its moment and testament to the collective's sense of melody and atmosphere mixed with intimate personal reflections on the big issues."

CMJ (1/6/03, p.15) - Included in CMJ's list of "Top 25 College Radio Albums of All Time"

CMJ (1/5/04, p.20) - Ranked #1 in CMJ's "Top 20 Most-Played Albums of 1987"

Billboard - Ranked as the #14 hit album of the 80s.

Q (Magazine) (p.115) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "Their reinvention of stadium rock sounds as impassioned as ever....A finely balanced mix of intimacy and power..."