Bruce Springsteen's Twenty Best

20 "Janey Don't You Lose Heart" (1998)

How did this not make it onto Born in the USA?

19 "Open All Night" (1982)

Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Two-Lane Blacktop. "It's New Jersey in the morning, like a lunar landscape."

18 "For You" (1973)

The rare early love song. And 35+ years later, maybe his best.

17 "Reason To Believe" (1982)

Through it all, we still find a reason to rise each morning.

16 "Incident on 57th Street" (1973)

Spanish Johnny had "bruised arms and broken rhythm and a beat-up old Buick," but was "dressed just like dynamite." Like many of his songs, there's good behind it all.

15 "Spirit in the Night" (1973)

The first signs of Dylan.

14 "This Hard Land" (1985/1998)

Dylan wasn't the only one largely influenced by Woody Guthrie.

13 "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" (1973)

Feels like the beginning of it all.

12 "Atlantic City" (1982)

With The River putting him back on the pop map, Bruce holes up in his basement and records the darknest record of his career.

11 "The River" (1980)

He not only understands those who may be strangers, but those closest to him.

10 "Wild Billy's Circus Story" (1973)

More Dylan creeps into his second record in one year.

9 "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" (1973)

A 24-year-old having a party.

8 "Badlands" (1978)
His first real leap outside of New Jersey and into the heartland.

7 "Darkness on the Edge of Town" (1978)

Recording in the wings of the punk explosion, there's a hostility that brings you to the edge but pulls you back.

6 "The Promise" (1978/2010)

Left off Darkness due to its personal nature, this song seems to encompass the entire Springsteen canon.

5 "Backstreets" (1975)

"One soft-infested summer me and Terry became friends / Trying in vain to breathe the fire we was born in / Catching rides to the outskirts tying faith between our teeth / Sleeping in that old abandoned beach house getting wasted in the heat"

4 "Racing in the Street" (1978)

Bruce has written many-a-song about the downtrodden and the hope that persists despite the odds. This may be his best.

3 "Born To Run" (1975)

If "anthem" hadn't become associated with hair metal, I'd call this the greatest anthem ever recorded. Oh screw it, Ratt and all, this song is classic. "Will you walk with me out on the wild?"

2 "Jungleland" (1975)

Closing out Born To Run, "Jungleland" is early-Scorcese meets the heart and soul of New York City in the 1970s.

1 "Thunder Road" (1975)
Arguably the greatest rock n' roll song ever written. Musically and lyrically, this is the pinnacle of music.

Ten More:

"The Price You Pay" (1980)

"Adam Raised a Cain" (1978)

"The Ties That Bind" (1980)

"I'm on Fire" (1984)
"Kitty's Back" (1973)
"Stolen Car" (1980)

"Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" (1975)

"Something in the Night" (1978)

"Terry's Song" (2007)

"The Wrestler" (2009)