Are these the best Bruce Springsteen songs ranked from worst to best?

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band | photo by Joe Del Tufo for WXPN | deltufophotography.com
Here in Philly, we take Bruce Springsteen very seriously. So we flocked very quickly to an article on Vulture, written by Caryn Rose, who took on a risky, daunting rock and roll task: ranking 314 Bruce Springsteen songs from worst to best.

Mr. Springsteen, who just played two of his longest North American shows in Philly, has amassed quite the body of work. Even the most ardent fan (me!) would cop to the very subjective comments that his albums have included some not-so-great songs (“Queen of The Supermarket,” “Roll Of The Dice,”) despite the fact that for a stretch of eight consecutive albums, from Greetings through Tunnel Of Love, then again on The Rising and The Seger Sessions, the man has had irrefutable impact on rock’s vast history.

If you’re a Springsteen completest you’ll know he’s got more than 314 songs. So, how did the folks at Vulture decide what to include? Here’s their criteria:

Wrestling the entirety of his catalogue into an ordered list, then, was a monumental task — this is a man who readily admits he has sometimes worked hardest on songs that didn’t make his records. With that in mind, all of the commercially available material was given equal consideration, whether catalogue classic, outtake, or recently released composition. The ground rules: This list consists of all original, officially released Bruce Springsteen compositions, whether an official album track or an outtake. That includes Tracks, The Promise, and The Ties That Bind box sets, but excludes all covers (even those strongly associated with Springsteen, as well as The Seeger Sessions.) Where multiple versions of a song exist, they’re addressed within the same listing. The five early tracks coming out later this month on Chapter & Verse, the CD accompanying Springsteen’s biography Born to Run, are excluded simply because of timing. This leaves us with 314 songs to discuss.

Some folks have already weighed in on this conversation:

“This list totally overrates “Queen Of the Supermarket,” and “57 Channels,” ahead of “Factory”? Pshaw!!!”- Dan D.

“This kills me that “Mary Queen of Arkansas” is so far back.” – Dave E.

“I have to say that the idea that anything on Human Touch or Born in the USA would beat any song on the first four albums is very strange.” – Marc M.

“I’m just hoping “Outlaw Pete” is given its due.” – Dan R.

“Well, the all-time worst Bruce tune is “Real Man.” IMO.” – Tim K.

“Not sure how “The Rising” ranks higher than “Candy’s Room,” but I’m happy about a higher than expected showing for “Spare Parts” at 100.” – Barry J.

“”Radio Nowhere” ahead of “I’m on Fire?!” “I’m Going Down” ahead of “Meeting Across the River??!!”” – Patrick B.

“I think that “Thunder Road” is his ‘best’ song, I also think that “Born To Run” is his ‘greatest’ song. So, I’d flip flop them.” – Tom C.

You can click here to read the article and see the complete list. Let us know what you think. And if you had any doubts as to what the number one greatest Bruce Springsteen song was, here you go.