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“U2 is an original species,” frontman Bono once declared. “There are colors and feelings and emotional terrain that we occupy that is ours and ours alone.”

Indeed, while Coldplay, Imagine Dragons and every other stadium rock band with a messianic figure have tried to muscle in on their territory, the world-conquering, world-saving quartet remain kings of their own frontier.

It was bassist Adam Clayton who set the wheels in motion for their remarkable rock ‘n’ roll journey, posting a bulletin board callout for like-minded musicians at his Dublin high school in 1976. Drummer Larry Mullen Jr., guitarist Dave “The Edge” Evans, and singer Paul “Bono” Hewson all successfully auditioned for what was initially a Rolling Stones/Beatles cover band, and after several changes in names, lineups and musical directions, the quartet eventually settled on pursuing a post-punk sound under the guise of U2.

Boasting a revolutionary spirit, unwavering self-belief, and near-universal ability to connect on an intimate level — even when holding court in front of packed-out stadiums — the group soon outgrew their humble beginnings. In fact, by the mid-’80s, spearheaded by the double whammy of a triumphant Live Aid set and chart-topping blockbuster The Joshua Tree, they’d established themselves as the biggest band in the world.

But U2 never rested on their laurels. Throughout the ’90s, they continually pushed themselves and their loyal fans outside their comfort zones, embracing everything from alt-rock to electronica (and usually with a knowing wink, too) while also changing the game as a live act with numerous multimedia spectacles.

A celebrated return to the echo-laden, chest-beating antics of their ’80s imperial phase on 2000’s All That You Can’t Leave Behind, meanwhile, reminded everyone of their uniting powers and introduced their signature sound to a whole new generation. Their 2004 set, How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb — and its string of hit singles — ensured they maintained their cultural relevance well into the 21st century, too.

For the 20th anniversary of the latter, U2 released How to Re-Assemble an Atomic Bomb, an outtakes collection self-described as a “shadow album” of “unreleased gems” from that era. On the heels of the release, take a deep dive into the 22-time GRAMMY winners’ massive career by decade.

After a handful of Ireland-only releases in the late 1970s, U2 announced themselves on the world stage in 1980 with their debut album, Boy, a typically confident coming-of-age whose literary references (“Shadows and Tall Trees” is named in honor of Lord of the Flies) and nods to concrete musique (“I Will Follow” is adorned with the sounds of bicycle spokes, bottle smashing and cutlery) instantly set the quartet apart from their post-punk peers.

A last-minute replacement for Joy Division producer Martin Hannett, Steve Lillywhite also steered 1981 follow-up October, a heavily improvised record that leaned much further into their spiritual beliefs. Their first MTV hit, “Gloria,” for example, borrows the Latin chorus from Christian hymn “Gloria in Excelsis Deo,” while “Tomorrow” is a heartbreaking prayer to God begging for the return of Bono’s late mother.

But it wasn’t until 1983’s highly political War that the future world-conquerors began hitting the charts; it even knocked Michael Jackson‘s Thriller off the UK top spot. Surely the only Billboard Hot 100 hit inspired by the Polish Solidarity movement, “New Year’s Day” has since become part of the U2 canon, as has “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” a fervent protest song based on the Troubles of Northern Ireland (“The trenches dug within our hearts/ And mothers, children, brothers, sisters torn apart”).

Bittersweet love song “Two Hearts Beat As One” also helped the timely named record (“War seemed to be the motif for ’82,” Bono later remarked) shift an eventual total of 11 million copies, while a triumphant performance at Red Rocks Amphitheatre captured on classic live album Under a Blood Red Sky capped off their Lillywhite era in 1983.

The band kickstarted their second phase in 1984 by teaming up with Daniel Lanois, and much to their label’s despair, avant-garde maestro Brian Eno. Island Records needn’t have worried, however. Although undoubtedly more experimental and atmospheric than their early oeuvre — see the ambient instrumental “4th of July” — The Unforgettable Fire equaled its predecessor’s chart positions on both sides of the Atlantic and spawned their first U.S. Top 40 hit, the Martin Luther King Jr. tribute “Pride (In the Name of Love).” In fact, thanks to a triumphant set at Live Aid matched only by Queen‘s, U2 ended the album’s campaign bigger than ever.

U2 built on its momentum by reuniting with the same producers for what would prove to be their first genuine blockbuster. Inspired by both the physical and cultural deserts of America, 1987’s The Joshua Tree produced two Hot 100 number ones (“With or Without You,” “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”), sold an astonishing 25 million copies worldwide, and enabled the Dubliners to embark on their first of many sold-out stadium tours. It also won two golden gramophones, including the coveted Album Of The Year in 1988; it has since been inducted into the GRAMMYs Hall of Fame and selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the U.S. Library of Congress (in 2014 and 2013, respectively).

Read More: GRAMMY Rewind: U2 Win Their First-Ever GRAMMY For ‘The Joshua Tree’ In 1988

The Joshua Tree‘s widescreen blend of gospel, folk and blues also solidified both Bono as one of his generation’s most accomplished songwriters and, thanks to his pioneering echo-laden technique, The Edge as a bona fide guitar hero. Just seven years after emerging from their small-time hometown scene, U2 had evolved into the biggest rock band in the universe.

Keen to strike while the iron was hot, U2 documented their experiences as new superstars on a rockumentary and half-live/half-studio effort both named Rattle and Hum in 1988. While the former was dismissed as pretentious and self-congratulatory by movie critics, the latter maintained their day job’s status quo, producing their first UK No.1, “Desire.” Collaborations with legends Bob Dylan and B.B. King, meanwhile, also helped boost the band’s credibility. Nevertheless, they appeared burned by the mixed response and at their final show of the decade, Bono hinted at a reset by announcing, “We have to go away and… dream it all up again.”

U2 did indeed return both sonically and visually unrecognizable with 1991’s Achtung Baby, its title perhaps a literal warning to diehard fans expecting more of the same. Embracing The Edge’s newfound love of industrial, electronica and alt-rock and — even more surprisingly for a band previously considered humorless — a streak of semi-irony, its 10 tracks proved the Dubliners could move with the times.

“Mysterious Ways” and “Even Better Than The Real Thing” both tapped into the “baggy” sound that had made Manchester rock’s new epicenter. While unlikely lead single “The Fly” — on which Bono adopted a wrap-around sunglasses-clad, skin-tight leather-donning, hell-residing alter-ego — appeared to take its cues from Nine Inch Nails.

“One,” an alternative hymn even their biggest detractors had to concede was truly magical, showed that U2 could still play it straight. But it was the album’s playfulness, further heightened by the multimedia experience of its accompanying Zoo TV Tour, that helped propel Achtung Baby to sales of 18 million, another No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and a fifth career GRAMMY.

Capitalizing on their momentum, U2 headed straight back into the studio for a similarly experimental follow-up inspired by the sensory overload of their recent arena shows. Co-produced by Eno, Flood and The Edge (who also takes a rare lead vocal on “Numb”), Zooropa is possibly the unsung hero of U2’s imperial phase. It was their first album in nearly a decade that didn’t provide any U.S. Top 40 hits. And yet, it contains some of their most audacious work; biblical closer “The Wanderer” pairs pulsing synths with the world-weary vocals of country legend Johnny Cash, while Bono — who frequently showcases the falsetto he nicknamed Fat Lady — has hailed “Stay (Faraway, So Close)” as a career best.

“We shall continue to abuse our position and f— up the mainstream,” Bono claimed upon accepting the Best Alternative Music Performance GRAMMY in 1994. And they continued to subvert expectations, duetting with Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti on “Miss Sarajevo” (the highlight of their 1995 album Original Soundtracks 1 recorded with Eno under the guise of Passengers), and unleashing what Bono described as “the most expensive demo session in the history of music” with 1997’s Pop.

Rush-recorded to meet a deadline for a tour plagued by technical problems (remember the Spinal Tap-esque moment the band got stuck in a giant mechanical lemon?) Pop has been repeatedly tinkered with since its release. But the propulsive electro-rock of lead single “Discothèque,” Underworld-inspired techno of “Mofo,” and chiming psychedelia of “Staring at the Sun” were already engaging in their original form.

U2 capped off their roller coaster 1990s with their first official “Best Of” compilation, albeit one that only spanned the previous decade; its re-recording of B-side “The Sweetest Thing” deservedly became a belated hit. But not for the first time, the foursome approached a new decade with a sense of uncertainty about their place in the pop landscape.

Once again, though, U2 proved that you should write them off at your peril by releasing a record that played to their greatest strengths. After a decade of experimentation, 2000’s All That You Can’t Leave Behind took an unapologetically back-to-basics approach no doubt spearheaded by the return of their three-time dream team Lanois and Eno.

Anthemic lead single “Beautiful Day” immediately set the throwback tone, not least for the fact it threatened to burst into A-ha‘s ’80s classic “The Sun Always Shines on TV.” And Tomb Raider soundtrack cut “Elevation” as well as “Walk On” each possessed a similar fist-pumping stadium rock quality, too. But their greatest display of songcraft over studio trickery appeared courtesy of its quietest moment, “Stuck In a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of,” a poignant tribute to Bono’s late friend Michael Hutchence.

The GRAMMYs were certainly taking note, showering the four-piece with seven awards between 2001 and 2002; the album also helped U2 win Record Of The Year two years in a row (“Beautiful Day” in ’01 and “Walk On” in ’02). On the promotional trail, Bono had talked of “reapplying for the job of the best band in the world.” With such an adulatory critical response, not to mention 12 million sales, no recruiter could turn them down.

Remarkably, U2 bettered their GRAMMY tally with 2004’s How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, winning all eight of its nominated categories between 2005 and 2006, including Album Of The Year and Song Of The Year for “Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own,” a gorgeously meditative ballad about the death of Bono’s father. Consecutive Best Rock Song winners “Vertigo” and “City of Blinding Lights,” however, were more indicative of what was self-described as “our first rock album.”

Read More: GRAMMY Rewind: Watch U2 Win Album Of The Year At The 2006 GRAMMY Awards

The band continued to keep their finger on the pulse, lending its lead single, “Vertigo,” to help market the iPod and teaming up with American Idiot-era Green Day on a cover of The Skids’ “The Saints Are Coming.” An induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame upon their first nomination, meanwhile, appeared to perfectly place them between the old and the new.

But the five-year wait for No Line on the Horizon — the longest between albums in U2’s career — then left them playing catch-up. Nevertheless, the record still topped the charts in 30 countries and spawned the highest-grossing tour ever at the time where songs such as “I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight” and “Magnificent” appeared to connect with fans far more effectively.

After providing the songs for troubled Broadway musical “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” Bono and The Edge got back to the day job, firstly winning a Golden Globe for U2’s contribution to Mandela: Long Road to Freedom (the uplifting “Ordinary Love”). The band then paid tribute to their musical heroes on 2014’s Songs of Innocence alongside a who’s who of modern hitmakers (Danger Mouse, Ryan Tedder, Paul Epworth). “This Is Where Can You Reach Me Now,” for example, was inspired by seeing The Clash in concert as teens, while opener “The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)” celebrated the formative influence of the titular punk rocker.

Unfortunately, the album’s unorthodox release strategy completely overshadowed its content. Its automatic download to every iTunes account sparked the biggest backlash of U2’s career: their fellow musicians, and the industry as a whole, argued that the stunt had devalued music. And in an age where the phone is the ultimate prized possession, most customers were frustrated that their personal libraries had been modified without their consent.

U2 wisely returned to more conventional distribution methods for 2017’s Songs of Experience, a semi-conceptual album for which Bono penned musical letters to the most important people in his life. These included wife, Ali (“You’re the Best Thing About Me”), daughters Jordan and Eve (“Get Out of Your Own Way”) and the band’s loyal fans (“The Showman (Little More Better)”), while “Lights of Home” directly addressed God in the wake of the singer’s life-saving heart surgery.

Proving they still had their fingers on the pulse, U2 also sought assistance from Lady Gaga,Haim andKendrick Lamar, the latter returning the favor after the group guested on DAMN. track “XXX” earlier in the year. And commercial order was restored when Songs of Experience topped the Billboard 200, making them the first act to achieve such a feat every decade from the 1980s onward.

U2 have largely spent the 2020s looking backward. In 2022, Bono reflected on his remarkable life story with his long-awaited memoir, Surrender, heading out on a national book tour to promote it.

On 2023’s Songs of Surrender, the band gave 40 tracks from their vast back catalog — from the ubiquitous (“With or Without You,” “Beautiful Day”) to the deep cuts (“Stories for Boys,” “Cedarwood Road”) — the “MTV Unplugged”-esque treatment. They also changed the occasional odd lyric to reflect modern times; “Walk On” was repurposed as a tribute to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. That same year, they also appeared in Kiss The Future, Nenad Cicin-Sain’s acclaimed documentary that charted their historic 1997 show in war-torn Bosnia.

U2 also revisited their eight-time GRAMMY winning LP with How to Re-Assemble an Atomic Bomb, adding 10 previously unreleased tracks to the 2004 original including classicist “Country Mile.” But their most awe-inspiring throwback appeared courtesy of their Achtung Baby-focused residency at Las Vegas’ The Sphere. Documented on V-U2 An Immersive Concert Film, the show’s highly immersive, pioneering production proved that, nearly 50 years since their formation, U2 still possesses the power to transfix.