In the AFC playoffs, it’s Peyton Manning vs. Tom Brady.  Whether you love them or hate them, they are two of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.  And the winner of the game, will go to the Super Bowl, which will take place in New Jersey…the home town of none other than Bruce Springsteen…they greatest of his game.

There are good artists and there are great artists. And then there are legends.  There are artists who define genres and there are artists who make up their own.  This list is from our book, The 111 Best Music Lists of the 2000s.  In the 2000s, Bruce created The Rising, an album that might have even been bigger than him.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Best-Music-Lists-2000s/dp/1491249129/

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There are certain albums in a band’s career that are above comparison.  For me, these include The Cure’s Disintegration, Michael Jackson’s Thriller, and Pearl Jam’s Ten.  Each of these artists put out plenty of great music over their careers but these specific albums are their zeniths of perfection.  Bruce Springsteen’s The Rising also belongs in this category.  That may be surprising considering the monumental albums that the Boss has delivered in his career: Born To Run, Born in the USA, and Darkness on the Edge of Town.  Each great.  But, The Rising was something else.  The Rising was a moment in time.  America was reeling from post-traumatic 9/11 confusion.  We did not know how we felt and we did not know how to feel.  We needed Bruce.  So, Bruce Springsteen put out an album of catharsis that expressed America’s emotional turmoil.  Everything that we had bottled up, he let out.  He did not shy away from hurt, from pain, or from anger.  Musically, it soared.  Lyrically, it was grounded.  There has never been any other rock album that captured a moment in American history so perfectly.  How can you compare his other music to this?  You can’t.  Bruce has made some of the best rock songs of all time.  He has made some of the best rock albums of all time.  The Rising was bigger than all of it.  It was the heart and soul of America set to music.  Because of this, I did not include any songs from the The Rising in this list… if I had, it would not have been fair.

The 11 Best Songs By Bruce Springsteen of the 200s (not including songs from The Rising): 

1. 41 Shots (Live in New York City)
2. The Hitter (Devils + Dust)
3. Eyes on the Prize (We Shall Overcome)
4. Magic (Magic)
5. Outlaw Pete (Working on A Dream)
6. Radio Nowhere (Magic)
7. Devils + Dust (Devils + Dust)
8. Last To Die (Magic)
9. The Wrestler (Working on A Dream)
10. All The Way Home (Devils + Dust)
11. Life Itself (Working on A Dream)

Fun Fact: Initially, Bruce hated being called “The Boss.”

Buy Bruce’s new album  High Hopes…now!