The young Springsteen made his entrance as a scruffy acoustic Dylan clone on Greetings. It’s rhythmically sludgy, vocally overwrought, but there’s still a spark in songs like "For You." 

 Bruce scored his first triumph with his second album. The best-known highlight is "Rosalita," a pile-driving eight-minute anthem roaring up from deep in the swamps of Jersey, celebrating the ultimate us-against-the-world teen romance. 

 For his third album, Springsteen got the E Street Band together to stomp all over some jaw-droppingly great songs. The result was his mainstream breakthrough. The title song is all drama and lust and sax and drums and glockenspiels and one of the great "1-2-3-4!" screams in rock history. 

 Darkness is grim, bitter, adult. Springsteen added more bite to the music, and more everyday detail to the lyrics. His working class heroes hang tough in "Prove It All Night," "Candy’s Room," and "The Promised Land." "Racing in the Streets" is perhaps the best Springsteen song ever. 

 An erratic double-vinyl set, divided between long slow ones with plots and short catchy throwaways. The throwaways are the more memorable songs, especially the joyous "Out in the Street" and the morbid "Cadillac Ranch." But the real stunner is the long slow title song. 

 Recorded at home on a four-track tape machine, Nebraska paints a bleak, unforgiving acoustic portrait of the dark side of Reagan’s America. Still regarded by many as the artistic peak of Springsteen's career. 

 Springsteen brought the stripped-down songcraft ofNebraska back to his band and the resulting record gave the artist worldwide fame. Though the synthesizers sounds dated, the songs remain great, especially given Springsteen’s most passionate singing. 

 A five-disc live box set, boasting massive production numbers, "This Land is Your Land," Edwin Starr’s "War," and too many Born in the U.S.A. songs. But the Nebraska tunes were revelatory–especially "Reason to Believe," a country-gospel hoedown that blows the original away.  

 A low-key, mostly acoustic meditation on his marriage, exploring good love, bad love, and the detours in between. Even if the marriage didn’t last, the music does; ballads like "One Step Up" and "Walk Like a Man" are alive with hurt and wit and Catholic angst.  

 A weak live EP, featuring songs taken from theTunnel of Love tour, including an acoustic "Born to Run" and the title Dylan cover. 

 One of two heavily hyped comeback albums released in 1992, Human Touch marked a low point artistically for Springsteen. The songs are for the most part lugubrious and out-of-focus; the title song is one of few exceptions.  

 The better of Bruce's two heavily hyped comeback records, Lucky Town includes only a handful of good songs, including "Better Days," the title song, and "Living Proof." 

 Another nostalgia-soaked live album fails to bring the rebirth the "Unplugged" brand lent some others. 

 Greatest Hits is a fizzy delight–and a good place for the uninitiated to start.  

 The Ghost of Tom Joad was a self-conscious revisit to the solo acoustic Nebraska. Though a few songs work well especially the title track, "Youngstown," and "Across the Border," the songs just weren’t nearly as strong.  

 A generous if belated four-CD box of rare and unreleased tunes, most notably "Shut Out The Light," originally the B-side of the "Born in the U.S.A." single; it’s the same Vietnam vet singing, but the guitars are acoustic and the pain is brand new.  

 A one-disc rip that forced fans to pay twenty bucks for three songs (including a newly recorded version of "The Promise," a still unreleased Darkness outtake), foolishly left off Tracks.  

 Live in New York City documented the E Street Band’s 2000 reunion tour.  

 Rightly hailed as Springsteen’s best since Tunnel of Love, this E Street reunion was inspired by the September 11 terrorist attacks.  

 Another best-of compilation. Like Greatest Hits, this comp includes non-essential material clearly designed to draw serious Bruce fans backs to the check out. 

 A continuation of Springsteen's solo acoustic explorations on Nebraska and The Ghost of Tom Joad. 

 A joyously ragged bag of old folk songs, bashed out with real spirit and verve. 

 The classic Bruce had been building up to since The Rising, going for the tough, grimly detailed style of Darkness. The big themes are marriage and America, as well as the constant repair they demand. Both Springsteen and the E Street Band sound fully up to the challenge.  

 A surprisingly light and upbeat pop album highlighted by the Beatles-style guitar chimes of “My Lucky Day” and the over-the-top cowboy melodrama “Outlaw Pete.”