The best Bruce Springsteen songs, ranked

Springsteen is considered one of rock's greatest songwriters

Springsteen is considered one of rock's greatest songwritersThe New Jersey native has sold over 150 million albums, won 20 Grammy Awards, and influenced several generations of heart-on-sleeve songsmiths. In 1999, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Watch some of Bruce Springsteen's most memorable live performances

The Boss is as renowned for his songwriting as his live performances, especially those backed by the E Street Band. Check out some of the most significant cuts from his career on the road, including a legendary 1975 set from London's Hammersmith Odeon credited with breaking Springsteen on the world stage.

A research study found that Springsteen's popularity is due to his lyrics' authenticity

The Penn State study compiled lyrics from 18 albums and analyzed the words that "convey genuineness and honesty" and those that suggest cognitive activity. They found that Springsteen's songs are often focused on the present and "tend to express positive emotion," which they believe might explain why his fans are so devoted.

Springsteen's nickname 'the Boss' began as a joke

Springsteen's E Street bandmates originally called him the "Gut Bomb King" because of his affinity for candy. He hated the name and jokingly began calling himself "the Boss" instead. When critics began digging into Springsteen's backstory after the success of "Born to Run," they unearthed the nickname.

Springsteen says 'Born in the USA' is his 'most misunderstood' song

In 1984, Ronald Reagan was running for reelection and referenced Springsteen at a New Jersey event, saying, "America's future rests in the message of hope in the songs of a man so many young Americans admire — New Jersey's own, Bruce Springsteen." Days later, Springsteen would make his opposition to Reagan clear at a Pittsburgh show. Years later, he'd call the song "one of my greatest and most misunderstood pieces of music."

'Nebraska' was a sharp pivot inspired by proto-punk band Suicide

After "Born to Run," Springsteen's songwriting turned darker on subsequent albums "Darkness on the Edge of Town" and "The River," as he began exploring the harsher realities of adulthood and working-class life, but "Nebraska" was his most gothic, featuring haunted songs partially inspired by the abrasive proto-punk duo Suicide.

The album 'Born to Run' sold 9 million copies

Encouraged by the strength of the title track, Columbia allowed Springsteen to record another album. After completing it, he was so unhappy with how it sounded that he threw the record into a swimming pool. Despite his objections, it would sell 9 million copies, saving Springsteen’s career and turning him into a superstar.

80 artists on their favorite Bob Dylan songs

Listen to any rock music from the past century and you’ll likely hear some trace of Dylan’s influence. This massive list, released back on Dylan’s 80th birthday, offers objective data to back that up. Its 80 participants include David Byrne, Michael McDonald, and dozens more. The best part? The article also includes a playlist, so you can listen to the songs while you read about their impact.

Watch Springsteen open a somber 9/11 tribute

“America: A Tribute to Heroes” was a fundraising telethon on Sept. 21, 2001, and simulcast across the four major networks. Springsteen opened the program with “My City of Ruins,” a song originally written about Asbury Park that took on new significance after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

100 of Broadway's best songs

From the pathos of "One Day More" from "Les Misérables," to the soaring "Defying Gravity" from "Wicked," this video showcasing 100 of Broadway's best songs will keep any musical theater lover quite busy. While the list trends toward modern pieces, there are still plenty of selections from classics and Tony Award winners like "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Miss Saigon."

The 100 best Pulitzer-winning books

No ranking is definitive, but this site compiled expert analysis with book sales and other factors to rank the best books to win the Pulitzer. The list is topped by Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” and includes fiction and nonfiction winners, providing a starred fan ranking and endorsements from experts and famous people.

The 100 best hip-hop albums of all time

Although it still sounds youthful, hip-hop reached middle age in 2023, reaching its 50th anniversary. This Pitchfork list of the genre's 100 best albums spans the entire history of the genre. Despite a few controversial picks, it's still worth a read, if only to dig back into some classics.

The best Steven Spielberg movies

Spielberg's impact on Hollywood is massive—so is his filmography. This list from the Guardian ranks every one of his film's from the forgettable, like "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" and "Always," to his essential flicks, including the science-fiction classic "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and the first modern blockbuster, "Jaws."

The best grunge albums of the 1990s

The best way to understand the music is to immerse yourself in it. This list compiles the definitive albums from the subgenre's peak period, featuring records from the big names associated with the scene (such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden) alongside less obvious picks that released grunge-adjacent classics (including Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins, and PJ Harvey).

Every city has a song: Music writers identify one tune that represents their hometown, from Chicago to Buenos Aires

Staffers from SPIN magazine wade into the contentious waters of official anthems, making the case for their chosen track, from Chicago's "Tonight, Tonight" by the Smashing Pumpkins to the Bobby Bare rendition of "The Streets of Baltimore."

Explore a list of the 100 best novels of all time, compiled by some of the world's best living writers, including Salman Rushdie, Stephen King, and Jennifer Egan.

The 10 best US states to retire in, ranked

Out of all 50 states, Delaware was recently deemed the number one state for a happy retirement. That ranking is based on a few factors, including weather, affordability, healthcare, crime, and more. Want to know what other states ranked in the top 10 as of 2024? Click here to find out.

Every ‘SNL’ season, ranked

This list gives an overview of the strengths, weaknesses, and nuances of every one of the 50 seasons of "SNL." Helpfully, it also includes plenty of great sketches, acting as a compilation of the legendary show’s definitive moments.

Ranking the best fast food in America

Grab some ketchup packets, toss on your cardboard crown, and meet us in the drive-thru! Browse through the best of the best from fast food and fast casual restaurant chains in 15 categories, including Best Cheeseburger, Best Spicy Chicken Sandwich, Best Fries, Best Onion Rings, and even Menu Item of the Year.

The best Shakespeare plays, ranked

The Guardian worked through the Bard's plays, from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" to "The Winter's Tale," evaluating what distinguishes the mediocre from the truly excellent.

The best Eurovision winners of all time

The contest has been around since 1956 and has amassed an impressive catalog of winning songs in that time. This list from The Guardian ranks them all, allowing you to time-travel through 70 years of Eurovision.

Billboard’s Hot 100 methodology is notoriously private

The magazine’s singles chart is based on on-demand streams (from platforms like Spotify), digital sales (from stores like iTunes), and radio airplay. Not all of those sources are weighted equally, though—sales are more important than airplay, and airplay is more significant than streams. In 2018, Billboard began weighing streams from premium subscriptions more heavily than free streams (like listening to a song on Pandora).

A century of Billboard issues documenting the evolution of popular music.

Keep track of how many of the '100 best films' you've seen

This list from the AFI, a nonprofit dedicated to the cinematic arts, ranks the 100 best films of the past 100 years. A jury of 1,500 film experts compiled the list and includes movies from nearly every genre. It’s also an interactive checklist, allowing you to keep track of how many of the films you’ve seen.

The most popular American baby names by decade

In 1998, the Social Security Administration began ranking the top 1,000 most common first names for each year dating back to 1880. While that list has since been whittled down, Americans can still gain insight into the trending names of the decade. Whether it’s just for curiosity or to avoid more common choices, check out this list of popular names from the past century.

Ranking ten of the best March Madness buzzer-beaters

There is nothing like the thrill of an NCAA March Madness buzzer-beater–particularly if it's a Cinderella upsetting a top-ranked team. This SI.com article ranks 10 heart-stoppers, going back to 1981. Relive Keith Smart's 1987 dagger, Bryce Drew's prayer in 1998, Kris Jenkins' 2016 title-winner, Lorenzo Charles' 1983 dunk, and, of course, "the Shot" in 1992.

An architect ranks the best bridges in the world

Architext Ezra Groskin builds bridges and argues that the best bridges do more than allow traffic. They should, he believes, encourage human interaction and lingering to ultimately become a destination of their own. Explore ten stunning designs that connect communities, from New York to Switzerland.

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.

The Ramones' 'Pet Sematary,' the theme song for the Stephen King novel of the same name, was written while the band was admiring the writer's collection of horror memorabilia.

View the ten deadliest tornadoes in US history.

Quincy Jones' 'Big Band Bossa Nova' helped introduce bossa nova—a jazz-influenced Brazilian genre—to the US

The animatronic shark from Steven Spielberg's 'Jaws,' the first modern blockbuster, was a complex underwater apparatus called 'Bruce.'

Prince's sexually explicit 1984 track 'Darling Nikki' attracted the ire of the Parents Music Resource Center, an advocacy group that inspired the Parental Advisory sticker, even though the song ends with a Christian message.

The 19th-century painters of the Hudson River School were among the first American romantics, with portraits that displayed the natural beauty of the young country.

The Beatles' US label rejected the band's first two singles, 'Please Please Me' and 'From Me to You,' with one executive calling the band 'dead in the water.'

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

See these 16 pieces of art evoking phobias of snakes, flying, spiders, and more. 

The Nasdaq's 'Magnificent 7' companies are responsible for roughly 40% of the Nasdaq 100 index's gains, while the remaining 93 companies account for the other 60%.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

See how Budweiser's famous Clydesdales spend their days at Warm Springs Ranch, where roughly 70 to 80 of the beer brand's giant horses can be found at any given time.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

The American Society of Civil Engineers' infrastructure report card gave the US a C in 2025, its highest grade since the project launched in 1998.

Mark Twain spent decades feuding with the US Postal Service, convinced its costs and regulations were bureaucratic overreach.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

Warren Buffett's former professor Benjamin Graham is known as the 'father of value investing,' a strategy in which investors seek to buy stocks trading below their intrinsic worth.

In 1984, Operation Smash Hit intentionally crashed a 239-ton train into a nuclear waste canister at 100 miles per hour to prove the canister's safety, which remained completely intact and lost just 0.29 of its 100 pounds of pressure.

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

Brandi Chastain, the star of the 1999 US victory over China in the 1999 Women's World Cup, was a last-second choice to take the penalty kick that sealed the victory.

Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley' is infamous for having some of the highest industrial pollution, toxic air emissions, and cancer risks in the US.

All rainbows are 'raincircles' caused by water droplets separating white sunlight into a spectrum of colors, but Earth's surface blocks the bottom half of the circle from our line of sight.