Well, the best days of just about any great band are the early days, when they broke through the prevailing trends to stand out. I was a huge fan of U2 when they first got airplay here in the States, but not so much now. They're decent, but back in the early eighties, they were a breath of fresh air. The megaselling, world famous, politically powerful group now could never create anything with the raw energy and excitement of "Out of Control," "Rejoice," or "Two Hearts Beat As One."
I recently purchased my first mp3 player, a 128 MB $30 closeout that nearly cracked open with the first 48 hours of use. But it still works, warts and all, and now have to decide what songs to stuff in it. Currently, I have Sponge, Meco (yes, THAT Meco), Weird Al Yankovic (when I really need some laughs at work), Adam Ant, Oscar-winning composer Bill Conti's Rocky soundtrack, and my current favorite band, Puffy AmiYumi.
I then saw them on the Joshua Tree/Rattle & Hum tour five years later. What a disappointment. Bono yapped half the time about Nelson Mandela and famines in Africa. The band robotically went through the motions, playing through a set list of songs and then everybody went home.
I understand the band revamped their stage show during the 1990s and got less pretentious but I never went back to see them. In general, I do like their music however.
No wonder you use a pseudonym.