Admittedly, I’m a bad fan in that I completely abandoned him after ‘85, and I wasn’t even born till ‘92. Still, I know his first seven albums rather well, they’re all great (well, his debut on the whole is “good”) and I consider him one of my favorite musical acts.
It was tempting to go up to top-20 songs, but perhaps less is more in these rankings so I worked to whittle it to my top-10.
1. Thunder Road
2. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
3. Darkness on the Edge of Town (“Tonight I’ll be on that hill ‘cause I can’t stop/I’ll be on that hill with everything that I got”)
4. Incident on 57th Street
5. Born in the U.S.A.
6. Born to Run
7. Highway Patrolman
8. 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
9. Racing in the Street (“Some guys they just give up living and start dying little by little, piece by piece/Some guys come home from work and wash up and go racing in the street”)
10. Bobby Jean
For albums, probably:
1. The Wild, The Innocent and The E Street Shuffle
2. Born to Run
3. Born in the U.S.A.
4. Darkness on the Edge of Town
5. The River
6. Nebraska
7. Greetings From Asbury Park, New Jersey
Though it feels strange putting The River at #5 as it’s such a good album.
YOUR TURN.
Rank Your However Many Favorite Springsteen Songs
Report Thread
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#1 - The East Street Shuffle
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Any answer other than born to run is wrong
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Only "I'm on Fire" really lived up to what the Boss was hyped to be. The rest was average barroom rock with great PR management.
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Bad Wigins wrote:
Only "I'm on Fire" really lived up to what the Boss was hyped to be. The rest was average barroom rock with great PR management.
Of course you would like that song. You do realize it is about a pedophile. -
Born to Run
For You
The Promised Land
No Surrender
Incident on 57th Street
The Rising
Last Man Standing
The River
Jungleland
Blinded By the Light
I could go on forever, but I am leaving it at 10 songs from this master songwriter and incredible performer. -
Not the biggest Boss fan but have seen him twice in concert, once in the old Orange Bowl in ‘85 , Born in the USA tour, and once in the Dean Dome in Chapel Hill a few years later. The guy can perform - he leaves it all out there.
I’ll throw up “ Blinded by the Light” and “ Hungry Heart” -
So, this is hard to do. My favorites now won't be my favorites tomorrow. There are so many. I'll give it a shot.
1. Backstreets.
2. Thunder Road.
3. Badlands.
4. Prove it all Night.
5. Born to Run.
6. 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy).
7. The Ghost of Tom Joad.
8. Born in the USA.
9. Into the Fire.
10. It's Hard to be a Saint in the City.
11. Youngstown.
12. Spare Parts.
13. Worlds Apart.
14. Further on Up the Road (Live in Dublin version).
15. Sherry Darling.
16. Paradise.
In terms of albums, I've always loved The River and Nebraska; they solidified me as a Springsteen fan, just before the atomic bomb of Born in the USA dropped. But I'm not sure if any artist has ever put out two consecutive albums as strong as Born to Run and Darkness.
And don't write off his post-'85 stuff. Each album he's put out has some really strong stuff on it, and The Rising, Devils and Dust, Magic and Wrecking Ball are worth it from top to bottom.
Finally, his latest album has 3 songs on it that he wrote in the 1970s, so if you're looking for old school Bruce, check it out. -
Thunder Road
Jungle land
Born to Run
4th of July, Asbury Park -
Idk how no one has mentioned Spirit in the Night
I agree Born to Run and Darkness on the Edge of Town are amazing and probably my top 2
The River has some great songs but he also goes more mainstream pop/rock and by Born in the USA he is very mainstream.
So difficult to pick a top 10
But in no particular order
Thunder Road
Born to Run
Spirit in the Night
Atlantic City
4th of July Asbury Park
Racing in the Street
Badlands
Streets of Fire
The River
Glory Days
Tougher than the Rest
Human Touch
The Rising
Long Walk Home
Wrecking Ball
It’s more than 10, and I also tried to include some later ones, but for ranking albums, only including pre 1990
1 Born to Run
2 Darkness on the Edge of Town
3 Greetings from Asbury Park
4 Born in the USA
5 Nebraska
6 The Wild The Innocent The E Street Shuffle
7 The River
8 Tunnel of Love
I’m a young guy (Under 20) but I absolutely love Springsteen and hope to see him in concert one day -
Somehow I forgot Jungleland toss that in
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The River mentions my old home town. That clinches it for me.
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Every song on Born To Run
Thunder Road
Tenth Ave Freeze Out
Night
Backstreets
Born To Run
She's The One
Meeting Across The River
Jungleland
Atlantic City
Spirits In The Night
It's So Hard To Be A Saint In The City
Fever
Tunnel Of Love
When I'm Out In The Street
Darkness On The Edge Of Town (live from Cleveland 1978)
Rosalita (my wife's fav)
Wild Billy's Circus Story
Kitty's Back In Town
Because The Night (though I like Patti Smith's version better)
Cover Me
I'm On Fire
One Step Up, Two Steps Back -
Don't feel like going through a whole list, but Born to Run is definitely my favorite
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Actually scratch that, Born to Run is still probably one, but For What It's Worth is a close second
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I seriously do not see the interest in Springsteen or Billy Joel. I know they are really popular and have passionate fans, but I do not enjoy a single one of the songs.
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1. Born to Run
2. For You
3. Badlands
4. Promised Land
5. Darkness on the Edge of Town
6. Racing in the Street
7. The River
My husband, who generally has similar musical tastes to mine, absolutely detests Springsteen. Go figure. -
Oh Please wrote:
I seriously do not see the interest in Springsteen or Billy Joel. I know they are really popular and have passionate fans, but I do not enjoy a single one of the songs.
Growing up in the NY area in the mid 70s it seemed like half your friends bought into Bruce and the other bought into Joel. They were new and exciting and they sang about our neighborhoods. I was never a big fan of either of them but they have been great in concert. For me now, their music is just nostalgic but isnt that the case with most music? -
Honestly, my favorite is the live performance of Lost in the Flood at the Hammersmith Odeon.
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This may be an inherently impossible task, as one of the defining qualities of his songs are those single lines that cut to core of something burning on your mind or in your soul at the present time, so the favorite songs are constantly flipping through depending on what life’s doing to you (or what you’re doing to life!)
That being said:
Thunder Road
Growing Up
Prove It All Night
Born To Run
Jungleland
Bandlands
The Rising
Into the Fire
Because The Night
Born In The USA
Glory Days
Ive recently fallen back in love with Dancing In The Dark, as it’s a bit of meta-reflection on selling out (gotta have the spark to appease and ignite, otherwise your art never gets heard or your passions never realized). “ You can't start a fire worrying about your little world falling apart/This gun's for hire...” That tension permeates so much of us - how much of our passions do we sacrifice to get off the ground and give them greater life?
Also of exceptional note: his live performance of The Ghost of Tom Joad with Tom Morello (from Rage Against The Machine) at the 2009 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 25th Anniversary concert. I won’t crowd the thread with links, but Google it and take a seat. Better yet, cue it up on a TV at home and watch. There will be no regrets had.
