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“Sweetest Thing” by U2

Released 1987

“Sweetest Thing” by U2 appears on 50 radio countdowns from 19 stations between 1987 and 2024. It was first released in 1987. Its best result is #3 on the Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1987. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #20 alternative song of 1987, #595 alternative song of all time and #135 of the '80s.

50countdowns
19stations
#3best position
0#1 finishes
1top 10 finishes
1987–2024years charted

Watch

U2 - Sweetest Thing (Official Music Video)

Video from YouTube (U2VEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Sweetest Thing" led a double life. U2 first tucked it away in 1987 as a B-side on the "Where the Streets Have No Name" single, a throwaway gem from the band's big-sky era, then dusted it off, recut it and sent it out as a single in October 1998 to trail their compilation The Best of 1980-1990.

Bono wrote the words, the whole band shares the music, and it's about as light on its feet as U2 ever got: The Edge's guitar chimes rather than soars, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. keep it bouncing, and Bono sings it with a grin you can hear. Second time around it went all the way to number one in Ireland, Canada and Iceland, and in the US it reached number nine on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1987 18 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1987 107
1987 3 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1987 105
1987 25 WLIR / WDRE Long Island, NY WLIR Top 100 Songs of 1987 99
1998 16 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1998 91
1998 41 The Buzz Burlington, VT / Plattsburgh, NY / Montreal, QC The Buzz Top 99 Songs of 1998 100
1998 83 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) WEQX Top 102.7 of 1998 103
1999 77 WFNX Boston, MA WFNX Top 99 Songs of 1999 99

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1988 255 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1988) 496
1988 76 Live 105 Live 105 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1988) 501
1988 66 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 200 Songs of All-Time (1988) 200
1989 455 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989) 495
1990 255 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1990) 299
1991 113 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1991) 302
1991 595 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) 1002
1992 102 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1992) 299
1994 63 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) 497
1994 308 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 500 (July 1994) 500
1999 265 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 296 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 1938 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 238 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
2000 1940 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 1935 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 1717 WFPK WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time 2000
2001 490 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 500
2001 372 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 1920 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2003 1872 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 1711 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2003 22 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio VR10x10 (April 2003) 100
2004 486 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2004 1872 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 69 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 500
2005 1859 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 628 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2005 342 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 500
2006 349 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2006) 500
2007 330 KROQ KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007) 500
2007 635 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 431 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) 500
2008 694 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 710 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 726 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 747 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 780 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 812 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2021 610 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s 909
2022 541 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s 900
2022 400 X96 X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time 500
2024 974 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years 1049

Also listed as: The Sweetest Thing; The Sweetest Ghing.

Charting alongside it in 1987

Best songs of 1987 →
  1. 1Girlfriend in a ComaThe Smiths
  2. 2With or Without YouU2
  3. 3Dear GodXTC
  4. 4Why Can't I Be You?The Cure
  5. 5StrangeloveDepeche Mode
  6. 6Lips Like SugarEcho and the Bunnymen

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