"One"

U2
(Island, 1991)

At the height of his popularity, bruised romantic Axl Rose proclaimed this his favorite song, and it's easy to see why: not since GNR's "Patience" had a stadium-rock icon come up with something so gorgeously despairing. Bono works up his deepest howl and concocts a hilariously unimaginable pronunciation for the word "carry" while the Edge keeps the chime to a minimum in favor of muted, R&B-style chording. There's the usual nonsense about sisters and brothers at the end, but it hardly leaves a mark -- this is a love song so dark even U2 can't politicize it.

-- Sean Richardson