Bruce Springsteenhas been at it for a while, you know. Like, one almost wants to say he’s been around forever, which isn’t technically true,but his earliest albums did come out in the early 1970s, and he’s still playing live as of the 2020s, so it’s been more than half a century. Popular music has obviously shifted and evolved over that time, but something about Springsteen’s sincere, moving, and approachable approach to rock remains eternally stirring.
Interest in the Boss ain’t going away anytime soon, either, considering part of his life’s getting the biopic treatment in 2025, withJeremy Allen Whiteplaying SpringsteeninDeliver Me From Nowhere. But, to focus on his music (and to try and signify how timeless so much of it is), what follows is a rundown of Springsteen’s greatest songs. There are some big omissions, considering how many Greatest Hits-worthy tracks he’s put out, and maybe a few slightly eyebrow-raising selections, but hey, everyone’s personal favorites are going to be different. Some of these songs are energetic, some are inspiring, some are despairing, and some others somehow manage to be all of those things at once.
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen (born August 24, 2025, Freehold, New Jersey, U.S.) is an American singer, songwriter, and bandleader who became the archetypal rock performer of the 1970s and ’80s. With his poetic lyrics describing the lives of everyday Americans, his commercial rock sound, and his high-energy concert performances, Springsteen established himself as one of the leading figures of American music in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. (From https://www.britannica.com/)
10"New York City Serenade"
From ‘The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle’ (1973)
As at the time of writing, “New York City Serenade” is the only song in this ranking that doesn’t have its own dedicated page on Wikipedia, and that might be a sign it’s kind of overlooked. It’s the closing track on Springsteen’s second album,The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle, which is the one where he almost comes into his own, being a bit grander in sound thanGreetings from Asbury Park, N.J., but not as grand as the seminalBorn to Runa couple of years later.
That latter album does have aneven better (and more epic)closing track, but “New York City Serenade” is such a great trial run for that track (it’s Jungleland; sorry to spoil the ranking) that it’s still worth shouting out. It’s almost 10 minutes long, it builds wonderfully throughout, and Springsteen’s storytelling is obscure enough to beBob Dylan-esque (he passionately exclaims “Fish lady, oh, fish lady, fish lady” at one point), but like the best Dylan songs, you still feel the words that you might not entirely understand.
9"Hungry Heart"
From ‘The River’ (1980)
Jumping from one of Bruce Springsteen’s most rambling and mysterious early songs to one of his poppiest, here’s “Hungry Heart,” which is hard to resist, and probably harder to forget. If it’s played live, Springsteen and his E Street Band do the first verse and chorus instrumentally, allowing the audience to sing the start of the song (it lets the Boss rest his vocal cords for a bit, too).
It feels like a throwback togrand and approachable 1960s pop/rock, and it’s also just about love and longing, which are reliable emotions for quick and easy songs to explore for obvious reasons. Still, Springsteen injects a little cynicism into “Hungry Heart,”referencing meeting someone in a “Kingstown bar” at the start of a verse, falling in love and breaking up in the middle of the verse, and then stating “Now here I am down in Kingstown again”as the final line of the same verse. That’s economical storytelling/songwriting, right there.
8"Dancing in the Dark"
From ‘Born in the U.S.A.’ (1984)
Like “Hungry Heart,” “Dancing in the Dark” might be one of those Bruce Springsteen songs people consider overplayed, but its ubiquity kind of makes it underrated, in a way, or at least not fully appreciated. It’s another catchy and immediate song of his, certainly sounding pop and featuring a synthesizer front and center (it was the ‘80s, after all), but the lyrics, when actively listened to, hit hard.
“Dancing in the Dark” feels energetic and passionate musically, and in terms of Springsteen’s vocals, but the words he sings are themselves quite dark.
It’s got that contrast going for it, feeling energetic and passionate musically, and in terms of Springsteen’s vocals, but the words he sings are themselves quite dark. The versescapture a feeling of depression, malaise, and desperate longing, but not without a little hope for some kind of connection. It is indeed the kind of song you may both dance and cry to. At least the music video (directed byBrian De Palmaand featuring a pre-fameCourteney Cox) is fun.
7"Jungleland"
From ‘Born to Run’ (1975)
As alluded to before, “New York City Serenade” walked so “Jungleland” could run; it wasBorn to, you could say. Itconcludes an already very cinematic albumin a fashion that pushes such a feeling forward even more. So much happens in the space of one song, just going by the lyrics,but “Jungleland” also feels cinematic owing to the way it shifts emotionally and in terms of energy when it comes to the instrumentation, too.
It starts quiet, explodes, goes mellow again, slows down to a crawl, and then finishes big. It does so much with its nearly 10-minute duration, with Springsteen working wonders with such a length just about as effectively as another music legend,David Bowie, did withsongs like “Station to Station” and “Blackstar.”Also, you can’t praise “Jungleland” without mentioning the show-stopping saxophone solo byClarence Clemons; probably the best the late E-Street Band member ever played (and that’s saying something).
6"The River"
Speaking of highly dramatic songs thatrival the most powerful movies out therein terms of emotional impact, here’s the title track fromThe River. This is a song that showcases Bruce Springsteen’s storytelling skill at its very best, with all five minutes here being used to tell a heartbreaking story of young love transitioning, without a warning, into a mundane and brutally realistic adulthood.
It’s not preachy, instead feeling sincere and hard-hitting, especially when the song’s narrator ruminates on good memories,mentioning how they haunt him in his current predicament. The line “Is a dream a lie if it don’t come true? Or is it something worse?” is particularly harrowing, and the sort of poeticism that sometimes gets overlooked or missed by people who tend to think of Springsteen as “just” another rock musician who was at his creative peak decades ago.
5"Bobby Jean"
“Bobby Jean” appears on the same album as “Dancing in the Dark”:1984’s impeccableBorn in the U.S.A. The title track of that album is worthy of an honorable mention here, too, especially since calling “Bobby Jean” the best song on the album might be a bit of a hot take. But there’s just something about it; few songs are so effectively bittersweet.
It’s got a perfect blend of happy and sad, being an ode to a friendship (or something potentially more) while alsofeeling like such an impactful – and ultimately conclusive – farewell. “Bobby Jean” is just so achingly sincere and feels deeply personal, even though parts of it are also up to interpretation. It could be about a friendship, or a relationship, or maybe both. The outro, courtesy of Clarence Clemons and his saxophone, is also blistering in its catharsis.
4"Brilliant Disguise"
From ‘Tunnel of Love’ (1987)
You want another hot take? No? Too bad! “Brilliant Disguise” is one of the best and most introspective songs Bruce Springsteen ever recorded, though it does admittedly come from a good-but-not-quite-great album of his. That album isTunnel of Love, which is oftenthought of as Springsteen’s break-up album, coming out right between Springsteen’s first marriage and the divorce that marriage ended in.
There might be bleaker songs; ones that are more despairing that focus on harsher things in life, but “Brilliant Disguise” might well be Springsteen’s saddest song about loveor, more specifically, love ending. It feels like a slightly older, wearier, and somehow more bitter take on “The River.” Though unlikely, one could maybe see things turning around for the narrators of tracks like “Dancing in the Dark” or, to a lesser extent, “The River.”“Brilliant Disguise,” on the other hand, is painfully suggestive that things are done and dusted, solemnly concluding with the line, “God have mercy on the man who doubts what he’s sure of.”
Not to be mixed up withthe 2018 film of the same name(though you should check that one out), “Thunder Road,” the Bruce Springsteen song, kicks offBorn to Runeven better than “Jungleland” concludes it, somehow. This is the track that signified Springsteen was entirely sure of who he was, and what he was capable of, as an artist.This song sets the tone for not only the album it’s featured on, but for a large chunk of Springsteen’s creative output to come.
It’s a mission statement on two fronts. Well, maybe more than two fronts. For the overall album, and for Springsteen emotionally, musically, and lyrically. This has some of his best lyrics, telling a story about breaking free of a small town and smallness in general, and the way each new section of the song builds it all a little higher and grander never gets tiring to listen to. And, once again, Clarence Clemons. Saxophone solo. Outro. What more could one ask for?
2"Atlantic City"
From ‘Nebraska’ (1982)
The only thing that holds tracks like “The River” and (especially) “Brilliant Disguise” back from being contenders for the crown of “Bleakest Springsteen Song” is the existence ofNebraska, and many of the tracks on it. The whole album feels haunted and bleak, with songs thatmine more intense and violent themesthan most of Springsteen’s other downbeat songs; it goes beyond the “usual” working-class blues, to put it a bit recklessly.
It’s an album that naturally stands out in Springsteen’s discography, with the highlight being “Atlantic City,” which can also stand tall as one of the artist’s single greatest songs. Trying to capture or explain what makes this song so striking would be doing it an immense disservice.The atmosphere it conjures up, the coldness of it all, the way it feels removed from time and so eerie… it just has to be listened to, to be believed. The idea of it being from the same guy who made “Born to Run” is hard to wrap one’s head around. Oh, hey, speaking of “Born to Run…”
1"Born to Run"
See,Born to Runis just a perfectly paced album. As mentioned before, you’ve got “Thunder Road” exploding right out of the gate, and “Jungleland” going big and covering just about every emotional base right at the end. Then, in between, song #5 (of 8) is the title track, and yep, it somehow wraps up everything great about the album in just a few minutes (it should also be noted that all the other songs on the album are pretty great, too). It is an easy and perhaps predictable pick for the number one spot here, but it really is that incredible.
“Born to Run” puts the vastmajority of coming-of-age storiesto shame, doing so much and feeling so cathartically youthful and free-spirited, in turn being an effective summation of Springsteen’s appeal, all in under five minutes. If you’ve somehow never heard a song from him before,you may listen to “Born to Run” and instantly tell whether or not his music’s for you. Few artists have signature songs that so entirely encompass what they’re all about, but Bruce Springsteen does, and “Born to Run” is that song.
