John Kelly, broadcaster with RTE Radio One, talks about The Joshua Tree:

"I remember the night The Joshua Tree was launched. The Old Grey Whistle Test was being recorded in Belfast and U2 were going to be on it. I was one of those privileged enough to be in this tiny audience. At that time there was a real buzz about U2, and the release of the album was a really big deal. But like all U2 albums, there was more than just hype to the whole thing. They were really on form that night. I remember it distinctly. Sinéad O’Connor performed before them and she wasn’t really known at that stage, not by me anyway. She was amazing. But of course everyone was waiting for U2.
After Sinéad finished her set, I remember leaning to the person on my right and saying, “There’s a lot of fuss about this U2 album isn’t there?” They muttered something back like “Oh yeah”, in a real polite manner. It wasn’t until the band walked up to the stage that I realised it was Adam Clayton I’d been speaking to! He was unrecognisable from previous photos, having undergone a sort of image change.
As to why The Joshua Tree remains U2’s best loved album, there's nothing theoretical about it. It’s not like a Pet Sounds or Sgt. Pepper, where you could write a five hundred page essay. It’s simply an album of stunning songs.
There’s something there for everyone. I mean things like ‘One Tree Hill’, ‘Trip Through Your Wires’ and ‘Bullet The Blue Sky’ are amazing songs, not to mention the big anthems like ‘With Or Without You’ and ‘Where The Streets Have No Name’.
It’s an interesting thing to note that at that time U2 were really un-cool. People were very cynical when it came to Bono and the rest of the band. You’ve got to remember that this was an era where everybody was posing and stood at the back of gigs with arms folded totally unmoved.
U2 were going against the grain at the time and, ironically, that was why it worked. There was something high about it. They caught the spirit of the time by being against the spirit at the time. They created something which just transcended everything else. The songs get you every time.
No one has made an album like The Joshua Tree since. In that respect it’s like Van’s Astral Weeks. It has that immediacy about it. Quality survives, and The Joshua Tree is certainly quality.
So is it their best? I don’t know. It probably is. Put it this way though, if you did a poll on U2 in my house, Achtung Baby would win every time but, hey, that’s just me."

J Lafayet, hotpress.com:
"I believe The Joshua Tree to be the greatest rock album of all time, Irish or otherwise. Its monumental sound, mixed with beautifully crafted poetic imagery, somehow manages to co-exist in perfect harmony with the dark social, political, philosophical, religious and personal themes that pervade the album. It’s not just an album of great songs, but a sweeping, cinematic epic and its sound is timeless, never shackling itself to the era in which it was born."

Deb Christianson, hotpress.com:
"Forget the overblown media frenzy that’s come in The Joshua Tree's wake. The scorching power of the music, the pointed, passionate lyrics, the sheer angst, restlessness and intensity burst out of nearly every song on this album. U2 at their absolute, collective best."