Bruce Springsteen Albums Ranked From Worst to Best

[@JCStorm76]

Just a further comment to my previous one. I’m shocked Kramzer called tracks like “Working On The Highway” filler and especially No Surrender. Just gave the whole album another spin, that song is fantastic!

[@NaughtyVampireGod]

I agree. Those are among my favorite Springsteen songs.

[@JCStorm76]

NaughtyVampireGod Me too. No Surrender is my all time favourite song from him. Crazy that he called them filler

[@lionelraoul]

I kind of like the deep tracks on Born in USA better than the hits.

[@curly_wyn]

Born in the U.S.A. is a perfect album. For some reason tho it’s become cool to shit on it.

[@JCStorm76]

@@curly_wyn Yep it’s a classic. One of the best albums of the 80s. I can easily make a case to say it’s actually Springsteens absolute best

[@RPS67]

The more I watch your channel the better it gets. That was a really enlightening Bruce conversation and I think that there was some ambivalence about Bruce in the group really helped. Jason's summation of Darkness is pretty spot-on. The production I would describe as claustrophobic and it suits the songs perfectly. Maybe that is my favorite Bruce, the introspective, man with nothing to lose backed into a corner. And Nebraska & Darkness capture that perfectly. To reference some of your conversations, I hadn't pinpointed that the production on some of the recent LPs is an issue but I agree and I think that is what keeps some of them at arm's length. It took Nebraska for me to really get Bruce. I couldn't see past his bombastic approach and stripping the E-Street band away, who seemed like an over-blown bar band, really made his songwriting sit front and center. And with that a lot of his other LPs made sense. Until Nebraska, there seemed something try-hard or second-rate or as one wit declared, referencing Jon landau's hyperbolic promotion, "the only way Brice Springsteen is the future of rock & roll is in a rearview mirror." Unfortunately, my first live experience with him was the Human Touch/Lucky Town tour. The live experience did not improve those LPs at all. 1. Nebraska 2. Darkness On the Edge Of Town 3. Born to Run 4. Western Stars 5. The Ghost of Tom Joad 6. We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions 7. Born In The USA 8. Devils & Dust 9. The River 10. Magic 11. The Rising 12. Working On A Dream 13. Tunnel of Love 14. Wrecking Ball 15. The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle 16. Greetings From Asbury Park 17. Lucky Town 18. High Hopes 19. Human Touch

[@Trifixion22]

Our top 3 are the same

[@expresscp]

Great review guys! Springsteen has been my favorite artist since 1975. I have seen him in concert 3 times, twice in Toronto and once in Buffalo. Here is my rankings.... 1 Born to Run 2 The River 3 Darkness on the Edge of Town 4 Born in the USA 5 Nebraska 6 The Rising 7 Tunnel of Love 8 Magic 9 The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle 10 Greetings From Asbury Park 11 Lucky Town 12 The Ghost of Tom Joad 13 Western Stars 14 Human Touch 15 Devils & Dust 16 Wrecking Ball 17 Working on a Dream 18 High Hopes 19 We Shall Overcome

[@johnpownall7720]

I agree with Jason; Darkness on the Edge of Town is a perfect album. Maybe I've heard the title track on B2R too often, but I prefer Racing in the Street and the title track on this album. Darkness has a punky edge too, which I guess makes sense given when it was produced.

[@glencurtis2761]

I’m fairly stunned by the dissing of Nebraska. Brilliant songs.

[@josephkelly667]

I’ve always thought darkness was Bruce’s best! And one of the greatest albums ever.

[@vinced5741]

I saw him first in 1981 live and until today it's still the best concert I've ever seen. After the Born in The USA album I wasn't able to connect to his music the same way I used to before.

[@atlasking6110]

Saw that tour and it was one of the worst concerts I've ever seen.

[@vincentleroy5661]

Great video. My top 5 at the moment: 1. Tunnel of Love 2. Nebraska 3. Born in the USA 4. Devil's and Dust 5. Darkness on The Edge of Town

[@patrick3926]

Tunnel of love is great

[@ThePhysicalillusion]

My ranking was: 1. Born To Run 2. Darkness On The Edge Of Town 3. The Wild, The Innocent & E-Street Shuffle 4. Born In The U.S.A. 5. The Rising 6. Nebraska 7. The River 8. We Shall Overcome 9. Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ 10. Western Stars 11. Wrecking Ball 12. Devils & Dust 13. Magic 14. High Hopes 15. Tunnel Of Love 16. Lucky Town 17. Working On A Dream 18. Human Touch 19. The Ghost Of Tom Joad Definitely agree with Joe the most here.

[@TastesLikeMusic]

Very similar. Nice. - Joe

[@ThePhysicalillusion]

That said, I’m kinda with Jason that his best stuff is more like A/A- level. I think Born To Run is bordering on my top 200, maybe very high 8.5. Darkness is probably 8.5 too and my 3 to 6 spots may be 8’s. I think probably 7 to 13 are still pretty good for me too, 14 to 16 are okay, and 17 to 19 I don’t really care for.

[@blakeplaster7139]

This is the first time that I liked all three of your lists! I consider Born to Run his best, but Darkness is definitely my favorite!

[@celestelongway7315]

55:33 wow. great comments . Great discussion, gentlemen. from mtw in L.A.

[@jimberdadict7855]

Wild innocent e street shuffle's my favorite all the way. Side b's the best thing he ever did. Especially the stories to those lyrics, I mean they're fucking brilliant.

[@erykjones5170]

Agreed. It’s tied at the top with BtR for me

[@Ricky2374]

1 Darkness 2 Born to run 3 The River 4 Tunnel of Love 5 Magic Or something like that! Big fan from the UK, been lucky enough to see him and E Street live 9 times. Highlight for me was at his 2013 Wembley Stadium show, about 1 hr in he said ‘ we can carry on taking requests’ which he had been and had thrown up some rare classics ‘or we can play darkness on the edge of town top to bottom’. I had argued it was my favourite but as a surprise hearing it complete and in sequence live just elevated it!

[@JoshPCohen]

I know Kramzer is trying to look like Springsteen here, but I am seeing Rosie the Riveter.

[@brentmcwilliams4332]

Darkness is one of the best albums ever. His best.

[@pete3105]

Bruce Springsteen is probably the most imporant artist in my entire life, and that's even if I've only been a fan of music for a couple of years. Five years ago my mom was diagnosed with cancer, and we were told she had at most five years left. This was just before I moved to another city to study, and for a while I thought about staying in my hometown, but mom really thought I shouldn't let the opportunity slip away, so I moved. The summer of 2019 I was studying in my apartment, and for some reason I felt an urge to listen to Bruce Springsteen. I had heard all of his big hits before, of course, but all of a sudden I decided that I needed to look up some of his albums. I have no clue why I got that idea because I hadn't really thought of him as an artist I was likely to enjoy, but I went through some of his albums, and after ten minutes I was hooked. I think it was when I saw a live clip from '78 where Springsteen and the E Street Band were playing Badlands that I realized that this was as good as rock 'n' roll gets, and that entire summer I only listened to Bruce Springsteen. Not just the albums, but outtakes and concerts as well (you know, The Roxy '78, Tempe, Arizona '80, Hammersmith Odeon '75 and Los Angeles '85). I listened to it all the time, wether I was working out or studying or just staying up late at night because I couldn't sleep. That summer was also the last summer my mom was still healthy enough to be able to do and enjoy ordinary things, and I remember how we used to cook dinner together sometimes while listening to her old Born in the U.S.A. tape when I came home over summer to visit her and dad. She loved that album (and the album cover!), and it was really nice to listen to it together with her. For some reason it felt like an even better album when I listened to her tape, even if the sound quality was worse of course. My mom used to listen to Springsteen quite a lot in the 80s before I was born, and now she started to listen to his music again. And my father listened to his old Born to Run and Darkness on the Edge of Town vinyls as well, so Springsteen's music sort of became the soundtrack to my family's last "good" summer together. 2020 my mother got increasingly worse, and sometime around spring I decided to cancel my studies to move home so I would be able to spend more time with her. It was a really terrible year, and besides working out, Bruce Springteen's music was the only thing that could help me escape reality for a few moments. Summer came, and mom got to sick to stay at home, so she moved to the hospital. Even a month or so before she passed away, she still loved life and her family so much that she could be really happy to just be outside for half an hour, eating an ice cream together with me, my dad or sister, even if she often fell asleep very quickly. Then one september day after two horrible weeks, she finally passed away. And while the sorrow was fathomless, it was still a relief that she finally was free of all her pain. I remember that it was a beautiful indian summer's day, and I went outside to call a friend to tell him about it. He had also become a Springsteen fan since I played his music all the time, and we had spent many summer days and nights driving around listening to Badlands, Thunder Road and Born to Run. He didn't really know what to say when I called him, but after a while he said "Do you know whose birthday it is? It's Bruce Springsteen's." I don't know why, but for some reason, it felt meaningful in that moment since Bruce Springsteen had become such a huge part of my life since that summer day in 2019 when I started to listen to his music all of a sudden. And then, three days after my mom's funeral, he relased Letter to You which was a very fitting album at the time since a lot of the lyrics delt with death and losing loved ones. I still listen to his music almost every day, and especially Badlands is a song that really makes me believe in the meaning of life and love. "I believe in the love that you gave me, I believe in the faith that could save me I believe in the hope and I pray that some day It may raise me above these badlands" Sorry for this extremely personal wall of text, but I still feel the need to talk/write about all these things sometimes. (Oh, and it was by searching for rankings of Springsteen albums I found your channel!) 21. Human Touch (1992) ★ 20. High Hopes (2014) ★½ 19. We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions (2006) ★★ 18. The Ghost of Tom Joad (1995) ★★ 17. Devils & Dust (2005) ★★ 16. Wrecking Ball (2012) ★★½ 15. Working on a Dream (2009) ★★½ 14. Only the Strong Survive (2022) ★★★ 13. Lucky Town (1992) ★★★ 12. The Rising (2002) ★★★ 11. Western Stars (2019) ★★★½ 10. Magic (2007) ★★★★ 9. Letter to You (2020) ★★★★ 8. Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. (1973) ★★★★ 7. The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle (1973) ★★★★½ 6. Tunnel of Love (1987) ★★★★½ 5. The River (1980) ★★★★★ 4. Nebraska (1982) ★★★★★ 3. Born in the U.S.A. (1984) ★★★★★ 2. Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978) ★★★★★ 1. Born to Run (1975) ★★★★★ ★★★★★ - Masterpiece ★★★★½ - Really great ★★★★ - Great ★★★½ - Really good ★★★ - Good ★★½ - OK ★★ - Bad ★½ - Really bad ★ - Awful ½ - The worst

[@inkscopez6070]

Hey youre the bloke who didnt even rank one pink floyd album above 5 stars! shame on you

[@lionelraoul]

I enjoyed this discussion more than any. My Top 5 would have been 1) Born to Run, 2) Darkness on the Edge of Town, 3) Nebraska, 4) The River, and 5) Magic. Great stuff. I did think The Rising was way too low on Jason's list.

[@Finding-dori]

I actually love the album Human Touch. It’s one of my favorites. Love Roll of the Dice, Gloria’s Eyes, Cross my Heart. Soul Driver is my fav off the album. My favorite all time Bruce album is Darkness on the Edge of Town followed by Nebraska.

[@jessestewart947]

21: High Hopes (2014) 20: Working On A Dream (2009) 19: Wrecking Ball (2012) 18: Magic (2007) 17: Devils & Dust (2005) 16: We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions (2006) 15: Nebraska (1982) 14: Only the Strong Survive (2022) 13: Tunnel Of Love (1987) 12: The Ghost Of Tom Joad (1995) 11: Lucky Town (1992) 10: The Wild, the Innocent & The E Street Shuffle (1973) 9: Human Touch (1992) 8: Letter To You (2020) 7: The Rising (2002) 6: Western Stars (2019) 5: Darkness On the Edge of Town (1978) 4: Born To Run (1975) 3: The River (1980) 2: Born In The U.S.A. (1984) 1: Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. (1973) The top two are a virtual tie for me as well as the next three for third. I’m not sure what I’m missing on Born To Run

[@yipper1100]

I never owned a Springsteen album, but I've heard all the radio plays, maybe 24 songs...I think "Like a river that don't know where it's flowin' I took a wrong turn and I just kept goin'" is pure artistry... The one that you made me curious about is Magic, which I now go to check out...

[@danielhkhk7283]

Love you guys, very interesting to watch. I am a great fan, but actually I didn't listen much to Bruce Springsteen albums since the nineties, didn't really like them, but then came Western Stars, which I think ist his best album since the seventies. I didn't expect this anymore.

[@TastesLikeMusic]

Western Stars rules. Can’t remember if I did a best of 2019 list. But that was definitely a top 10 contender for me. - Joe

[@BazStrickland]

Seen Broooooce three times. Tunnel of Love tour firstly, then Amnesty International with Tracy Chapman, Peter Gabriel and ?....Then I think the Rising Tour. Darkness was always my dad’s favourite and I think I have to agree with Jason on this one but Born to Run is a close second. Thanks again boys. Keep up the good work

[@davidgreenberg5517]

Jason needs to wear a headband when he listens to Springsteen.

[@rvegas81]

Love these lists, and I checked out everyone's number one picks. My favorite song from his is Human Touch.

[@rickjensen74]

20. Working on a Dream 19. High Hopes 18. We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions 17. Human Touch 16. Wrecking Ball 15. Western Stars 14. The Ghost of Tom Joad 13. Devils n’ Dust 12. Letter to You 11. Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. 10. Lucky Town 9. The Rising 8. Born in the U.S.A. 7. Tunnel of Love 6. The Saint, Incident and the E Street Shuffle 5. Nebraska 4. Magic 3. Darkness on the Edge of Town 2. The River 1. Born to Run Thanks for doing this countdown, guys. Special thanks to Jason for listening to all of his albums and not pulling punches when giving his opinions on each of them. (I, too, am surprised you didn't like Nebraska more ... and bro, The Rising is great) I was pleasantly surprised about the respect all 3 of you had for Magic. I give it much love, as you can see by my countdown. Thanks again.

[@adamhindle9215]

Great summary fellas. I was a little bit surprised The River and Born In The USA were so high, personally. I have both albums but they haven't been listened to for a decade... And there's no way No Surrender is 'filler'..

[@HerrLohmann]

1 Darkness on the Edge of town 2 The River 3 Magic 4 Born in the USA 5 The Rising 6 Tunnel of Love 7 Nebraska 8 Born to run 9 Western Stars 10 Letter to You 11 Lucky Town 12 Devils and Dust 13 Working on a Dream 14 The Wild, the innocent and the E-Street Shuffle 15 The Ghost of Tom Joad 16 Human Touch 17 Greetings from Asbury Park 18 High Hopes 19 Wrecking Ball 20 Seeger Sessions

[@jukeboxcowboy]

It's nice to see Jason bringing the Crips and Bloods together in the name of Bruce Springsteen.

[@MyargonautsJason]

My Top 10 Bruce albums: 10) Greetings from Asbury Park 9) Letter to You 8) Devils & Dust 7) The River 6) Born in the USA 5) Nebraska 4) The Rising 3) Tunnel of Love 2) Born to Run 1) Darkness of the Edge of Town

[@patrick3926]

Tunnel of love nice #3 🔥

[@burmajones803]

Great video, guys! Great discussion and insights, even from the Boss-skeptic, Jason. (see Kramzer, I don't need everyone to love everything 😁) Jason's charge of phoniness seems unfair and uncharitable, but most everything else y'all said was insightful. I especially appreciated the comments on the post-Tunnel of Love albums, since I lost touch with Bruce's music after that album. Now I have a guide for digging into those eras of his career. I'll make a pitch for his first two albums and the lyrical style he was using then. They are wordy, obviously, but I like the storytelling that style allows him to engage in. I also like the added rhythmic quality the wordiness can bring to those songs. They are like fully fleshed out short stories that I think up hold up really well. And on that second album, the E Street Band is on fire. I'm not sure I like the music on any of his other albums as much as I like that funky version of the band. I really like that album a lot. Probably would put it at number 4, with Nebraska 5, The River 3, Darkness 2, and Born to Run 1. Born in the USA 6, Greetings 7, Tunnel 8. Thanks for putting these out into the world. Have enjoyed spending some time with you this year. Better times in 2021. Cheers!

[@hazydavo]

Hi Kramz, the Joad shows were not quiet. It had quiet moments sure but it rocked through out, and way more than I expected. What he was able to get out of that acoustic guitar was amazing.

[@brianjackson5541]

The one I’ve been waiting for...👍👍🤟🎼🤟🎼🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻

[@plank577]

I have 11 Bruce albums, here's how I rank 'em: 1. Darkness on the Edge of Town 2. Born to Run 3. Nebraska 4. The River 5. Greetings from Asbury Park 6. Devils & Dust 7. Tunnel of Love 8. The Wild the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle 9. The Rising 10. The Ghost of Tom Joad 11. Born in the USA

[@JCStorm76]

Born In The USA below albums like Greetings, Tunnel Of Love, Devils and Dust, The Rising and The Ghost Of Tom Joad? What the?

[@plank577]

@@JCStorm76 Heard it WAY too much as a teen. Only recently bought the album and only because in was in the dollar bin.

[@nicolepisa26]

Listen, I don’t react easily, but I audibly gasped in a room by myself when Kram said his number 11 pick...😂 My heart💔

[@paulcarroll7061]

Song after song, album after album Bruce writes catchy tunes that tell stories that have a importance, a gravitas that few other popular musicians even attempt. Wonderful Genius! In a interview He said that more than riches, or fame, He wanted to be great. He is! Dive in deep!

[@kevinmcardle4087]

As a fellow Jersey boy, I took this list to heart.. here goes: 1. Nebraska 2. Born to Run 3. Darkness on the Edge of Town 4. Tunnel of Love 5. The River 6. Born in the USA 7. Magic 8. The Wild the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle 9. Western Stars 10. Greetings from Asbury Park NJ 11. The Rising 12. Devils and Dust 13. Letter to You 14. Ghost of Tom Joad 15. Wrecking Ball 16. Working on a Dream 17. High Hopes 18. We Shall Overcome 19. Lucky Town 20. Human Touch

[@xrandy11]

57 Channels is a killer take on modern ennui. Can't believe people don't get this song. Plus the bass rocks!

[@PhilSmithRHR]

I agree. I always enjoyed it. I don’t get the hate for this track.

[@neub4321]

I was in college when Born to Run came out. I couldn't stand the hype at that time and thought it was overproduced. I learned to like some of his other records, and live in New Jersey now where his fans are almost everywhere.

[@ChrisNorwood3]

Some good laughs from this one! That Tom Joad cover is really hard to look at, haha. I'm currently listening to his entire discography and some of it has been hard to get through, but I'm trying to hear every song ever so I have to power my way through.

[@troubadoursoftexas5703]

Great rankings. Would you rank Nanci Griffith? She just passed in August 2021 and she's the female Springsteen IMO. Also suggest John Prine and Mickey Newbury (Newbury's OOP albums are available on his website)

[@gatsby1000]

I love the channel especially the newer 1s would you ever Consider to the do the replacements ?

[@TastesLikeMusic]

We will definitely do them eventually. Thanks for watching!

[@ThatFaceMelter94]

Hammersmith Odeon ‘75 is easily among the greatest live shows of all time.

[@nicolepisa26]

Facts!!

[@hazydavo]

True that

[@MartinHMyers]

1. Darkness; 2. Tunnel of Love; 3. Born to Run

[@hazydavo]

Hey Joe (& Jason) yeah Nebraska takes some work. A number of listens for sure but when you get “in” it’s worth it. The imagery it evokes it right up there. Eg. My Fathers House

[@larryvuola7903]

My bad, I forgot to put ‘The River’ in my list. I would put it right after Born in the USA.

[@cbciosubs]

1. The River 2. Born to Run 3. Born in the USA 4. Darkness on the Edge of Town 5. The Wild the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle Honorable mention to The Rising and Asbury Park. Saw him on the River tour a couple years ago. A definite must see at least once for any classic rock fan.

[@MomLAU]

Joe at about 24:05: "... these are his stories" *(cue "Law & Order" sound effect in my head)*

[@FatherStack]

It's really weird that I decided to check out this video today. I looked up his discography after watching this and noticed that he just released an album today. Kind of unfamiliar with him, apart from a few of the big hits. He's definitely not as big here in the U.K., but I really want to check him out.

[@notmyname6121]

Yup, since this came out, he’s come out with 2 new albums

[@ttmilbr]

Must say, I don't agree with Kramz that often but he nailed this whole catalog.

[@afermata949]

I've only heard his first 7 albums so I'll rank those 7. Greetings from Asbury Park (I love Spirit in the Night and Lost in the Flood) 6. The River (Egregious example of a double that should have been a single. Very little variation but some classics.) 5. Nebraska 4. Born in the U.S.A 3. Born to Run 2. Darkness on the Edge of Town 1. The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle (For me, his most colorful, vibrant and musically impressive record that I've heard. I adore it. Kramzer and Jason be crazy)

[@oppothumbs1]

There are his best and The wild, innocent is probably his best. I would just not put in Born to Run .. overproduced.

[@willemmoller6736]

I agree with what Jason says about Darkness, my fave Bruce too, with Born to Run second, then The River

[@usmcfutball]

Amongst the three of you, THIS video has to lead the league in head shaking, double takes and 'seriously' type looks. Musical differences of opinion between buddies is why alcohol was invented...I mean, two of my best friends from high school are STILL into disco. Springsteen is cool. My fav will always be 'Born In The USA'. Outstanding album tracks like Darlington County, Workin' On The Highway and Downbound Train (three thru five on Side 1) just 'make' this album. Keep up the good work.

[@mjhbuckeye]

Still working through the backlog and had to comment on the Springsteen video. You guys did a great job and, I felt, were very objective in your rankings and critiques and avoided being total fan boys or obvious haters. I've also read all the comments and replies here and am stunned by the virulent statements (1) against Bruce by haters and (2) against you guys when your opinions didn't square with those of commentators. There is obvious extreme passions on both sides of the Springsteen coin which borders on the excessive and obsessive. I do not think you have to have seen Springsteen live in concert to appreciate and critically evaluate his recorded output and not having done so does not nullify your rankings, else how could you evaluate historical acts, like, oh I don't know, the Beatles? Nor do I believe you have to be an American to appreciate some or all of Springsteen's music. After all Americans have appreciated and loved Ray Davies musing about Waterloo sunsets, village greens, the loss of the Victorian empire and dancing at the local palais, as well as George Harrison grousing about the taxation policies of British PMs Wilson and Heath, all concepts and scenes totally foreign to folks in the United States. My own relationship with Springsteen's music is, well, complex. If one had asked the 21 year old me circa 1980, I would have said the Boss was my all-time favorite artist, and always would be (having temporarily lost reason and forgotten the Beatles). I had fallen in love with Born To Run in high school, bought the previous two albums and was a first day of release purchaser from Darkness On The Edge Of Town on and uniformly loved the music, even Nebraska, which admittedly took me awhile and more than a few spins to get. That was my habit and opinion until the double debacle of Human Touch and Lucky Town. After loving or liking greatly nearly every track on every previous album, even the freshman effort on Greetings, the "filler" on The River and the out of character stuff on Nebraska, there was, with a few, very few, exceptions, nothing on those two albums I wanted to hear ever again. Thereafter I was not a first day buyer. I would wait on the reviews, or word of mouth, or airplay, before I would purchase and since most of that was negative, I never bought another Springsteen studio album (exceptions being the archival outtakes Tracks and The Promise) unlike other favorites of the same era who recorded into the 21st century like Elvis Costello, The Pretenders and Tom Petty (until his death), so much so that I simply didn't notice the release of any of his later albums, or, if I did, just didn't care. At the same time, Springsteen fell from his exalted, but ersatz, top spot in my personal favorites and has slid clear out of my top ten, but probably no further than twenty-fifth or so. That has not prevented me from continuing to love the early period Springsteen and I continue to regularly spin those discs. Maybe some would say I'm missing out on the later stuff, but I don't have the time, money or desire to listen to something that I might like, but according to everything I have heard, including your very cogent and thoughtful reviews, would not love (and probably hate) just because it is Springsteen. So here is my album ranking. Everything after Human Touch/Lucky Town will have to get an incomplete 1. Darkness On the Edge Of Town - from Day 1, after the interminable wait from Born To Run caused by litigation, this has been my favorite and what I consider the quintessential Springsteen putting the grit on the gloss of Born To Run with incredible musicianship on well crafted songs 2. Born To Run - it is close, but something has to come second. Both are close to perfect albums. 3. The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle - while the E Street Band is not yet in in it's final form, the musicianship is outstanding here. Pure Jersey Shore romanticism and I love it. 4. Tunnel Of Love - maybe an upset this high, especially for an album sans the band, but it is beautifully produced and the songwriting is very strong and very personal. 5. The River - sprawling and maybe overlong and underproduced. There is some filler in here which sounds same-ish, but, on the other hand, there are blockbuster rockers (Sherry Darlin' has always been a favorite of mine) and ballads. Got to say I was disappointed at the time after Darkness, but most of the good stuff, which Bruce had been doing in concert in the interim between the two albums was left off of Darkness so it wasn't "new" in the same sense a totally unveiled record might be 6. Born In The USA - chock full of Top 40, danceable singles, this is, by far, the most commercial and radio (AM) friendly album. This was the time when every know-nothing yuppie suddenly became a Springsteen fanatic, having no idea of his previous catalog and gobbled up every ticket for his big venue shows. Maybe I hold that against the record, I don't know. I know I didn't care for the rebranding of Springsteen as an All-American icon with this release. I further didn't like synth pop outweighing the guitar and sax driven stuff which went before. Don't get me wrong, it's a great album, just not as good as the ones I've ranked above. 7. Nebraska - I have mixed feelings about this album and as I said above, It took me awhile to like the package which is acoustic solo. I understand he went this route again later, but it is just not his strong suit. Here, despite the depressed nature of the content and the gross underproduction, the songwriting is very strong and Bruce is in good voice not yet affecting a country singer accent as he would later. Would have been good as a one-off, but, as we know he went to that well again and again. 8. Greetings From Asbury Park - obviously flawed with some silly, but moderately catchy Jersey shore party boy numbers. Bruce is looking for a musical and lyrical identity here which he doesn't find until the next album or perfect until the third. 9, (tie) Lucky Town/Human Touch - I refuse to put one over the other because they both stink and fall so far below the high bar Springsteen had set in equal fashion. The vast majority of the songs are throwaways which are poorly written, poorly produced and poorly performed. Just bad and I stopped being a Springsteen fan, except in a retrospective fashion, afterward

[@bobmcconville1384]

No.1 Born to Run--best rock album of all time.

[@roxannewalsh]

I discovered Bruce Springsteen in 1973 with his first album and nobody except for me seemed to have ever heard of him - it stayed that way for some years. I loved that first album like mad. I was happy for him when he made his Born to Run breakthrough although it never became my favourite. I stayed loyal to him since the beginning but agree that he had many mediocre releases - but every now and them he came up with a gem. 10. The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle 9. Western Stars 8. Born in the USA (remember, I am not victim to American radio, so I listened to his songs when I feel like listening to them...I am not overfed with it) 7. The River 6. Working on a Dream 5. The River 4. Born to Run 3. Greetings From Asbury Park 2. Nebraska 1. Darkness on the Edge of Town I decided to keep it at a top 10 because the remaining albums are just a) too long or b) too patchy or c) (worst of all) boring. There are some highlights here and there but not enough to make the albums substantial and not enough flesh there to rank them. I think there is some hint in the video, Springsteen is not the guy you can digest when he is NOT great. It is his approach as a performer that he needs to make it hit or he misses, lukewarm Springsteen really hurts. PS - Tunnel of Love would be #11 for me, but it felt weird to list a top 11 instead of a top 10...

[@TastesLikeMusic]

Roxanne Walsh I agree with just about everything you said here, but I’m very surprised to see Working on a Dream at #6...interesting. -Jason

[@roxannewalsh]

@@TastesLikeMusic ...keep it in mind for the 2009 list...

[@TastesLikeMusic]

Roxanne Walsh It doesn’t stand a chance for me.

[@inasnowstorm1496]

That's a very long river.

[@bobmcconville1384]

Bruce Springsteen, Auditorium Theatre, September, 1975, best rock concert I ever attended.

[@bobmcconville1384]

Auditorium Theatre, Chicago.

[@RandyforRoyals]

Every Springsteen concert I have attended has been one the best rock concerts ever.

[@Twotontessie]

Great call on “Something In The Night.”

[@kevinmcardle4087]

Bruce's new album just dropped, full E Street Band is back. Band sounds good, songs are good.

[@TaskMaster619]

Was surprised by the criticsm for Wrecking Ball; I think it's one of his best 21st Century albums and one of his most thematically consistent records ever. (Although there's no defending You've Got It-- wtf is that??) Had to comment on Springsteen's "phoniness". Bruce is probably the most authentic song writer going. Yes, there's an affected accent but that often serves the purpose of the song. Mkck Jagger (all the British invasion, for that matter) adopted American accents when they sang and nobody raises an eyebrow. Voice aside, everything Bruce writes is completely true to his experiences. He only writes for himself, not to live up to any version of himself.

[@joncumber2020]

‘River’ is his watershed album containing everything you want to know about him imho. ‘Nebraska’ is a genuinely inspired artistic moment and should rank higher. ‘Run’ and ‘Rising’ are excellent but please revisit ‘Western Stars’ ~ a late-career classic.

[@RandyforRoyals]

1. Born To Run 2. Darkness On The Edge Of Town 3. The River 4. Born In The U.S.A. 5. Nebraska Working On A Dream is hands down his worst album. I personally like Wrecking Ball a lot.

[@IrishFootyVlogs]

Ah Bruce. Defo a top 10 Artist for me. Great video. Guys love channel lads. Will give ya my top 10 later. Guys would you consider doing Neil Young next?

[@TastesLikeMusic]

He's definitely on the to-do list. It's just such a big catalog, so we're kind of waiting for the right time. We'll probably need to give ourselves a few weeks to do all of the work required for that one.

[@IrishFootyVlogs]

@@TastesLikeMusic absolutely. I think he has released too many records in the last 10 years or so.

[@dice1296]

the 6 album run from e st shuffle thru nebraska is pretty untouchable. born in USA is terrific, tunnel of love a step down but still excellent. lucky town has a number of really good songs, the rising is a terrific return to form, after that is hit and miss. got 'magic' on CD, regretted it, and haven't listened to much of his more recent work. i should give western stars a good listen based on the recommendations here though

[@yvngpicodmv4real642]

The Wild, the Innocent & the e street shuffle is a forgotten gem in his career

[@paulayers1111]

I TOTALLY get what Jason means by “I think Bruce Is phoney all the time.” Because to me he has some good 70s stuff but his whole voice/occasional fake accent/subject matter etc feels like it’s supposed to be super deep and transcendent but is really not at all. I don’t mean to “hate” on Bruce because I honestly DONT hate him at all. But what Jason said TOTALLY resonated with me.

[@curly_wyn]

1. Born in the U.S.A. (1984) 2. Born to Run (1975) 3. The River (1980) 4. The Wild, the Innocent, & the E Street Shuffle (1974) 5. Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. (1973) 6. The Rising (2002) 7. Magic (2007) 8. Lucky Town (1992) 9. Western Stars (2019) 10. Nebraska (1982) 11. Tunnel of Love (1987) 12. Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978) 13. The Ghost of Tom Joad (1995) 14. Devils & Dust (2005) 15. Letter to You (2020) 16. Working on a Dream (2009) 17. We Shall Overcome: The Pete Seeger Sessions (2006) 18. High Hopes (2014) 19. Wrecking Ball (2012) 20. Only the Strong Survive (2022) 21. Human Touch (1992)

[@mjhbuckeye]

Darkness 12th? You must be kidding.

[@curly_wyn]

@@mjhbuckeyeI’m not. It’s got some very good and a couple of his best songs on it, but overall I think pretty overwrought and lousy.

[@mjhbuckeye]

@@curly_wyn Interesting take.

[@hansgoodrockintonight1071]

Really like the guitar sound of the album Human Touch, and live with the E street band the songs are great!

[@paulflores601]

To me, Bruce's best work happened prior to Born in the USA. I saw him live first in 1981 and that made all the difference in how I heard his music from then on. I did see him over the years, 8 times, up until The Rising. I felt that he was forever trying to recapture his stage presence from earlier live shows. It has since been very hard to listen to. I still love his song writing at spots on some of the most recent albums, but not enough to make it on the favorite list. I list my favorite albums as: 1. Darkness 2. Born to Run 3. The River 4. Nebraska 5. Born in the USA That's it.

[@johnpownall7720]

I saw him in 81 too; maybe the best time to see him, before he was filling the stadiums.

[@finylvinyl66]

I saw him pre-BORN TO RUN (around '73) and was an instant fan. There's a reason why his live shows are legendary.

[@bryanfahey3144]

I would argue that Tunnel of Love, is up there as his best songwriting. To me, River is further down the list - a collection of good songs, most left over from Darkness. A little long. Darkness, Born to Run, Nebraska, Tunnel top 4.

[@carlitostcb]

As a Springsteen fan, I really enjoyed this video. Although I think the Human Touch album gets a lot of unfair flak. With every wish and Man's job are great songs. As well as the title track.

[@JCStorm76]

This is probably not the cool thing to say but Born In The USA is his best. So many hits and the ones that weren’t released as singles all could have been. One of the best albums of the 80s period. Least favourite is the boring Working On a Dream

[@usmcfutball]

I'm with you on 'Born In The USA'. The hits, the album tracks, the sound and the lyrics. My fav Springsteen album. Cheers!

[@JCStorm76]

usmcfutball It’s a classic. Not a single weak moment

[@Dex619]

The Wild.. is not only Springsteen’s best; it is one of the greatest rock albums of all time.

[@TastesLikeMusic]

Counterpoint: it kinda stinks.

[@bryanfahey3144]

Have you guys heard the alternative version of born in the usa? Really captures the feeling vs album version.

[@andreaalbano8650]

1- Born To Run 2- Darkness On The Edge Of Town 3- Nebraska 4- The River 5- Born In The U.S.A. 6- The Rising 7- The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle 8- Tunnel Of Love 9- Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. 10- Letter To You 11- Wrecking Ball 12- Western Stars 13- Magic 14- The Ghost Of Tom Joad 15- Devils & Dust 16- Lucky Town 17- Working On A Dream 18- Human Touch

[@lachlanneville7138]

I really think Ghost of Tom Joad has some of his best songwriting; the title track, Straight Time, Youngstown, Across the Border, among others. I also love the folk/country feel of the album. It's by no means my favorite but I think it too often goes overlooked. The cover is pretty bad tho...

[@natman43]

The Rising is a great album - surprised to see how low Jason had it...

[@frangarcia7774]

1. Born to Run. 2. Darkness on the Edge of Town. 3. The River. 4. Nebraska. 5. Born in the USA. 6. The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Band Shuffle. 7. The Rising. 8. Tunnel of Love. 9. Greetings from Asbury Park NJ. 10. The Ghost of Tom Joad. 11. Magic. 12. We Shall Overcome. 13. Wrecking Ball. 14. Western Stars. 15. Lucky Town. 16. High Hopes. 17. Devils and Dust. 18. Working on a Dream. 19. Human Touch.

[@stephensuddick2557]

Have you guys considered adding hard liquor to your show?

[@TastesLikeMusic]

I mean sometimes we do.

[@alonzomosley7]

Actually agree with your assessments , some good critical comments about his songs ,esp 57 channels its a shocker

[@johnjackson3735]

Top 11 1. Born to Run 2. Darkness on the Edge of Town 3. The River 4. Born in the USA 5. Tunnel of Love 6. The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle 7. The Rising 8. Letter to You 9. Nebraska 10. Lucky Town 11. Greetings from Asbury Park

[@christopherecatalano]

“Very few albums on this earth that I like more”...yeah. Album made want to make music for life. Darkness on the Edge of Town did have an amazing clarity and ferocity of delivery though, and I adore the first two records for different reasons, but Born to Run it will always have to be.

[@TheCoasterCraze]

I’d be curious where Letter to You would stack up for you guys. I absolutely love that album and would maybe even put it in my top five Bruce albums

[@TastesLikeMusic]

Watch our review of that album. We all say where it would land in our ranking in that video. -Jason

[@TheCoasterCraze]

@@TastesLikeMusic awesome! I’ll check it out

[@anthonylanni9804]

Tunnel of Love is my fave Bruce album

[@stuff3829]

You guys should do worst to best of Ramones Patti Smith Group and Moody Blues

[@kensilverstone1656]

Thanks. I loved this intelligent, diverse commentary. The reason "Born in the USA" was by far his bell selling album was because it was his best rocker--and that's where he is his best. I grew up with Little Richard, Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry.

[@Fatherjohn76]

I have to place The River first. Which seems illogical in a way. It's overlong, there's filler, the mix is thin, and yet... There's something about it's sprawl that I find addictve, and Bruce's voice is on fire. The title track, The Ties That Bind, Jackson Cage, Stolen Car, Two Hearts, Wreck on the Highway... Some of his very best

[@drsmainemusic]

Grew up on Springsteen. Lots of killer stuff. Honestly haven't kept up with much of his later output though. You guys need to rank Warren Zevon records!

[@TastesLikeMusic]

Oh, we will. -Jason

[@tillwesenberg1178]

I agree with Jason actually. My top 3 are 1) Darkness 2) Born 3) River. Everybody who hasn't seen it, check out Bruce's performance of All Along The Watchtower with Neil Young on youtube. Unbelievable.

[@Shah-of-the-Shinebox]

20. High Hope's 19. Human Touch 18. Seeger Sessions 17. Lucky Town 16. Working on a Dream 15. Wrecking Ball 14. Devils and Dust 13. Ghost of Tom Joad 12. Western Stars 11. Letter to You 10. Magic 9. Greetings from Ashbury Park 8. The Wild, The Innocent and the E Street Shuffle 7. Born in the USA 6. Tunnel of Love 5. Born to Run 4. The Rising 3. Nebraska 2. Darkness on the Edge of Town 1. The River

[@alecl9430]

Springsteen is a more important artist for me than he is an absolute favorite. Sometimes he’s the exact sound I want, and he’s the best at “what he does”. He was my first concert over a decade ago and played Born To Run in its entirety. It was a masterful performance and that record has been in my top tier ever since. The second half of Jungleland is one of the greatest few minutes in the history of rock music.

[@danielmcglothlen2215]

Ha! I disagreed with almost everything Jason said until he got to his #1. COMPLETELY agree! :D

[@jacobheaney3836]

19. High Hopes (2014) 18. Wrecking Ball (2012) 17. Working On A Dream (2009) 16. Western Stars (2019) 15. The Promise (2010) 14. Magic (2007) 13. Devils And Dust (2005) 12. The Rising (2002) 11. The Ghost Of Tom Joad (1995) 10. Human Touch (1992) 9. Lucky Town (1992) 8. Tunnel Of Love (1987) 7. Nebraska (1982) 6. Born In The U.S.A (1984) 5. Greetings From Asbury Park N.J (1973) 4. The River (1980) 3. Born To Run (1975) 2. The Wild, Innocent, And The E Street Shuffle (1973) 1. Darkness On The Edge Of Town (1978)

[@larryvuola7903]

I agree with most of the top picks. My top picks would be. 1) Born to run 2) Darkness on the edge town 3) Born in the USA 4) The Rising 5) Tunnel of Love 6) Nebraska However I don’t understand the hate for Human Touch. I always enjoyed that album quite a bit. I would much prefer to listen to Human Touch and Working on a dream over Western Stars. Bruce Springsteen singing country just doesn’t work for me.

[@gavinsmith9016]

My 21 - I've inlcuded the latest album and The Promise. The run of albums from Born to Run through to and including Tunnel of Love stand up against any other artist for a 6 album run in 12 years. That's some streak. I listen to everything up to #16 pretty regularly. His last 2 albums are excellent including his "next album" that we know now is Letter to You - it is not Human Touch 😊 1 : Darkness on The Edge of Town 2: Born to Run 3: Nebraska 4: The River 5: Born in the USA 6: Tunnel of Love 7: The Rising 8: Magic 9: The Wild, The Innocent & E Street Shuffle 10: Greetings From Asbury Park NJ 11: The Promise 12: Letter to You 13: Western Stars 14: Lucky Town... Better Days, Local Hero and If I Should Fall Behind are excellent. Theres a great single album between this and Human Touch. 15: Human Touch ..... I wish I Were Blind is an amazing song 16: The Ghost of Tom Joad 17: Devils & Dust 18: Seeger Sessions 19: Wrecking Ball 20: Working on a Drean 21: High Hopes

[@jimboedmonds]

Born to Run, Darkness, The Rising, Nebraska, and The River. I think Born in the USA and Magic fight out #6. The Boss is about more than the albums though. What he does an a performer is at least as legendary as what he sings. The E Street are special. Like family you love. He sits at the head of the table, but they all have to be there to make it right. When they aren't, you can tell.

[@MomLAU]

My biggest complaint about "Born in the USA" (the song, not the album) is that it's sooooo repetitive. And it did get overplayed (as did many hit songs back then).

[@skuda9]

A very enjoyable listen.....After years for having TOL as my favourite album (possibly ever !) I concede to Darkness.....I'll add The Rising ,Born to Run and quite possibly Western Stars to that list ! How would Letter to you fit in ? Is John Mellencamp on the to do list....?

[@TastesLikeMusic]

We did a video review of Letter to You and each of us place it in our rankings in that video. No immediate plans for Mellencamp, but we want to get to everyone eventually. -Jason

[@david.leikam]

I sort of miss analog media time limits because I find a lot of digital media albums are too long, overall.

[@hazydavo]

Oh and also maybe tell us where this new album would fit in your lists 👍

[@curly_wyn]

Weird fun fact: Bruce Springsteen has always been a massive fan of Suicide; he almost played Dream Baby Dream at the Super Bowl, and the song State Trooper is directly inspired by Frankie Teardrop, which is, perturbingly enough, his favorite song. lol