Bruce Springsteen has always been, in the U.S.A., the great hero of the nation. Everywhere else, he is not a superstar but a man who has loved rock n’ roll more than nearly anyone else. Springsteen’s career, just as well as his recording output, is a case of struggling against the odds.

There are plenty of songs and albums I could discuss. But I want to focus on what really matters. I want to focus on the best. These are the 10 greatest songs by one of the most important rock artists of all time, Bruce “The Boss” Springsteen.

The 10 Greatest Songs by Bruce Springsteen

10. “Blinded by the Light”

People were always going to be desperate to find The New Bob Dylan. And while for most who received it, the title became a kiss of death, Springsteen wore the comparison proudly.

“Blinded by the Light” swings back and forth from one slippery rhyme to another, like a child learning to use a dictionary. It was the first Springsteen & The E Street Band song I really liked. And I prefer it to the Manfred Mann hit that gets the lyrics wrong.

9. “Atlantic City”

Like Tom Petty, Springsteen fought against managers and record labels. He also fought against whoever was going to box him into a style. The “Nebraska” album was a stark, dark, minimalist affair.

“Atlantic City” is the best song on that album. It’s a nightmarish story about falling on hard times and doing favours for bad people in a town in which saints are rarely found.

8. “Waitin’ on a Sunny Day”

Post 9/11, the U.S. needed some hope from its favourite son. On “The Rising,” Springsteen doesn’t sugarcoat the truth. But there are moments when he and the reunited E Street Band are reassuring. “Waitin’ on a Sunny Day” best captures the energy that ol’ Bruce could still bring to a live audience.

7. “Streets of Philadelphia”

It didn’t just come naturally. There was no magical gift involved. Springsteen worked really hard on his songwriting. And the efforts showed. “Streets of Philadelphia” sounded like nothing he had produced before with his famous backing band. It was a sparse electro-gospel number. But the lyrics had an incredible weight to them, and Springsteen sings them beautifully.

6. “Hungry Heart”

The story is that Springsteen loved the Ramones, and he loved them back. That would make perfect sense. But Springsteen tried to cement the friendship by handing the punk-rockers a song of his own. He had given away his compositions before.

That song should’ve been “Hungry Heart.” But when he heard it, Springsteen realized he needed to have the song back. It was a hit for him and the proverbial nail in the coffin of his friendship with the New York band.

5. “Born in the U.S.A.”

People misunderstood the song. Hell, President Ronald Reagan misconstrued “Born in the U.S.A.” It may have been a song about going to war to kill people in the service of the red, white and blue. But it was the rousing chorus and the fact that Springsteen was at the absolute peak of his popularity that made this a colossal hit.

4. “The River”

Springsteen is the hero of the working man because he often wrote about him. He didn’t write in a condescending way, either. He wrote songs like “The River” about the Shakespearean drama of normal life, about the tragedies of everyday families. It’s one of the best songs he has composed, in fact.

3. “Glory Days”

Bruce Springsteen’s music may have been built off the romance of early rock n’ roll. But even he was smart enough to know that all good things must come and go. “Glory Days” is about facing up to the past and finding a way to live up to the future. Many people resonated with the message.

2. “Thunder Road”

Springsteen reinvented the great rock n’ roll melodrama. Sure, he was inspired by Roy Orbison‘s tunes and tales of the boys and girls of New Jersey. Sure, many others, like Meat Loaf, copied the over-the-top sound.

But if the “losers turned into winners” kind of songs that he wrote ever reached their peak, it was on “Thunder Road.” I know, you’ve heard a million times before. But don’t you root for the couple making their escape each time still? I do.

1. “Born to Run”

Springsteen wanted to be all that was good about rock n’ roll. And he worked his way to the top. From there, he saw the world as it really was and wrote “Born to Run.”

It’s a song of hope for people who know they’ll never get to finish the journey. It’s Springsteen finding the words to finally express all he wanted throughout his early career. And it’s The E Street Band blowing up a storm. This is one of the greatest rock songs of all time.