'' No Line on the Horizon '' received generally favourable reviews . At Metacritic , which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics , the album received an average score of 72 , based on 30 reviews . David Fricke of '' Rolling Stone '' gave it a five-star score and called it " U2 's best , in its textural exploration and tenacious melodic grip , since 1991 's '' Achtung Baby '' . " In his review for '' Blender '' , Rob Sheffield stated " The days are gone when U2 were trying to keep it simple — at this point , the lads have realized that over-the-top romantic grandiosity is the style that suits them , so they come on like the cosmic guitar supplicants they were born to be . " '' Uncut '' magazine 's Andrew Mueller commented , " It 's U2 's least immediate album — but there 's something about it that suggests it may be one of their most enduring . " Jeff Jensen of '' Entertainment Weekly '' graded it an " A − " and called the album " an eclectic and electrifying winner , one that speaks to the zeitgeist the way only U2 can and dare to do . " BBC Music reviewer Chris Jones said , " There 's plenty to rejoice about here " while noting that the " symbiotic relationship with Brian Eno ( and Daniel Lanois ) seems to have reached the point of imperceptibility . " '' NME '' contributor Ben Patashnik called the album " a grand , sweeping , brave record that , while not quite the reinvention they pegged it as , suggests they 've got the chops to retain their relevance well into their fourth decade as a band . " In a less enthusiastic review , '' Time Out Sydney '' felt that the album is unfortunately Brian Eno 's new album rather than U2 's : " for all that 's new , there 's no way that you 'll mistake it for another band . " Pitchfork Media reviewer Ryan Dombal gave a score of 4.2 out of 10 , stating , " the album 's ballyhooed experimentation is either terribly misguided or hidden underneath a wash of shameless U2-isms . " Kaj Roth of '' Melodic '' magazine described it as " more electronic and less rock " and stating that part of the album " reminds just too much of their early 90 's records " . Cameron Adams of the '' Herald Sun '' gave a rating of three and a half stars , comparing it to the 1990s albums '' Zooropa '' , '' Pop '' , and '' Original Soundtracks 1 '' while stating " This is no blockbuster ... It 's the least immediate U2 album in years , but one that diehard fans will enjoy living with " . Madeleine Chong of MTV Asia wrote that , " Although U2 should be lauded for their efforts at constant reinvention and pushing the envelope in the rock genre , '' No Line on the Horizon '' possesses neither the iconic qualities of '' The Joshua Tree '' or the radical yet relevant magnetism of '' Achtung Baby '' . " '' Toronto Star '' music critic Ben Rayner called the songs boring , adding that the ambience introduced by Eno and Lanois was " often all these vague , hook-deficient songs have going for them . " Rob Harvilla of '' The Village Voice '' gave the album a mixed review and wrote that its songs " will remind you of other , much better songs , but in a way that only makes you want to go and listen to those other songs instead . " '' Time '' magazine also gave it an unfavourable review , calling the effort " unsatisfied " and " mostly restless , tentative and confused . " '' No Line on the Horizon '' was nominated in the Best Rock Album category at the 52nd Grammy Awards in 2010 . The song " I 'll Go Crazy If I Do n't Go Crazy Tonight " was nominated for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals and Best Rock Song . The cut song " Winter " was nominated for Best Original Song at the 67th Golden Globe Awards for its role in the film '' Brothers '' . '' Rolling Stone '' ranked '' No Line on the Horizon '' the best album of the year and the 36th-best album of the decade , and " Moment of Surrender " as the best song of the year and the 36th-best song of the decade . The '' Irish Independent '' placed it fourth on their list of the year 's top Irish albums , while '' Time '' listed the song " No Line on the Horizon " as the third-best of 2009
67th Golden Globe Awards
67th Golden Globe Awards
No Line on the Horizon