Bruce Springsteen Live Albums Ranked

Longtime fans will tell you Bruce Springsteen’s studio records are only half the story; his legendary concert performances are the other, and maybe more essential, part.

From the start of his career with the release of his debut album, Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J., at the beginning of 1973, Springsteen was blessed with record-company promotional muscle; they not only got behind his records, but they also supported his growing live reputation at every opportunity.

In 1974, rock critic Jon Landau (who soon became Springsteen’s manager and a coproducer of his records) proclaimed, ” I saw rock ‘n’ roll future and its name is Bruce Springsteen”; a year later, shortly after the release of Born to Run, Springsteen appeared on the covers of Time and Newsweek the same week, with both publications touting his growing stage reputation and epic-length live performances.

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The below list of Bruce Springsteen Live Albums Ranked includes stops at nearly every stage of his career: from post-Born in the U.S.A. superstardom to the late-’90s E Street Band reunion to a record-setting Broadway show where he looked back at his life with grace, humor and nostalgia. (The ranking does not include the dozens of albums issued in Springsteen’s official live archive series; The Roxy July 7, 1978 release from the series, one of the greatest live records ever, is highly recommended.)

Through it all Springsteen remains one of music’s most popular entertainers. His live albums can’t quite capture the essence of being at one of his concerts, but the best come close.