The River (studio album) by Bruce Springsteen

The River by Bruce Springsteen
Year: 1980
Overall rank: 442nd   Overall chart historyOverall chart history
Average Rating: 
79/100 (from 834 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution   Average rating historyAverage rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 10 albums of 1980 (7th)
Award Top 100 albums of the 1980s (61st)
Award Top 500 albums of all time (442nd)
Product Details
Availability

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Bruce Springsteen The River Columbia 36856 Record Album Vinyl LP
Condition: Used


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Bruce Springsteen-The River 1980 Columbia Records PC2-36854 Double Vinyl LP
Condition: Used


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Bruce Springsteen The River Vinyl Record Album 2014 Pressing 180 Gram Wt Sealed
Condition: New


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Bruce Springsteen bestography

The River is ranked 5th best out of 148 albums by Bruce Springsteen on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Bruce Springsteen is Born To Run which is ranked number 70 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 17,415.

Bruce Springsteen album bestography « Higher ranked (322nd) This album (442nd) Lower ranked (578th) »
NebraskaThe RiverThe Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle

Upcoming concerts

Mar
19
Tue
19:30
Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band 2024 Tour
Footprint Center, Phoenix, United States. United States
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Mar
22
Fri
19:30
Bruce Springsteen
T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, United States. United States
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Mar
25
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19:30
Bruce Springsteen
Pechanga Arena San Diego, San Diego, United States. United States
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The River track list

  Track ratingsTrack ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 79 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Track
Rating/Comments
2.
Rating: 80 (154 votes)Comments: 2
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3.
Rating: 79 (145 votes)Comments: 2
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4.
Rating: 80 (151 votes)Comments: 2
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6.
Track pick
Rating: 86 (238 votes)Comments: 6
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8.
Rating: 74 (138 votes)Comments: 2
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11.
Track pick
Rating: 90 (328 votes)Comments: 2
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12.
Rating: 83 (152 votes)Comments: 3
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13.
Rating: 78 (139 votes)Comments: 2
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14.
Rating: 73 (128 votes)Comments: 1
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15.
Rating: 77 (127 votes)Comments: 1
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16.
Rating: 80 (136 votes)Comments: 1
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17.
Rating: 76 (129 votes)Comments: 1
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19.
Rating: 80 (133 votes)Comments: 2
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Track pick Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

The River rankings

The River collection

The River ratings

Average Rating: 
79/100 (from 834 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 834 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
90/100
 Report rating
34 hours ago Cardboardfolder  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 2,92686/100
 
65/100
 Report rating
02/28/2024 19:08 Gavin Cook  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 24965/100
 
95/100
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02/07/2024 18:24 platus  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 5,53773/100
 
75/100
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02/04/2024 22:20 JoeyJ  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 16089/100
 
70/100
 Report rating
02/04/2024 16:49 asimpkins  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 1,98668/100

Rating metrics: Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)

This album is rated in the top 2% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 78.8/100, a mean average of 77.4/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 78.8/100. The standard deviation for this album is 16.6.

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The River comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 47 comments |
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Rating:  
85/100
From 01/08/2024 14:50
Classic Boss, but some songs are definitely filler tracks but listenable
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
60/100
From 08/22/2023 08:07
Originally signed off and submitted as a single album, Bruce on his manger’s suggestion would at the last minute scrap this version and go back to the drawing board with the more than 50 tracks the sessions had produced. Should he have stuck with the original single album? General consensus is yes, however Bruce felt he had more to say that could only be expressed across 4 sides. Personally I’ve always believed there was plenty of fat that could have been trimmed namely “Crush on You (o-o-o)”, “I Wanna Marry You”, “I’m a Rocker”, “Ramrod”, “Sherry Darling” (with its cheesy 80’s sax solo) and “Wreck on the Highway” (what a downer to end the album) just off the top of my head
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Rating:  
85/100
From 05/25/2023 17:12
Kinda wish it was its best tracks, but still a fantastic display of rock and roll history, not to mention some of Bruce's sharpest songwriting and production up to this point.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 09/07/2022 01:10
Great record
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 08/12/2022 10:23
Another solid album from Bruce, but not as consistent as previous two, especially on the second half. But great tracks are really great, I would like to highlight The River (of course), Independence Day, Hungry Heart, Point Blank, Sherry Darling, Two Hearts and I also think that Wreck On The Highway is great closer which is the most underrated song here. There is a big amount of filler on this album, but most of it is fun (I really like Cadillac Ranch). The only track I really don't enjoy is Crush On You because of annoying chorus repeated too many times. Overall this album creates great experience, but it's not as cohesive as Born To Run or Darkness On The Edge Of Town.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 07/18/2022 04:42
First 12 tracks are a decent 80-90, the complement tracks are for me filler, better thank nebraska though
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 01/02/2022 12:02
En mi opinión, este es el mejor álbum de Springsteen, una colección de canciones comparable al mejor recopilatorio.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
65/100
From 12/10/2021 10:56
This album is just unnecessarily long and really needed to be cut down. The whole of side 2 is filler and could be taken off the record and it would be improved drastically. Even without that side it still isn't up to the same level as his other work even though a few of the tracks on the first side are some of my favourite Springsteen songs. There is definitely an improvement in song writing on this record so if you are into the more lyrical side of Springsteen you might enjoy this one more than most. Furthermore, no song is sonically bad and there is still very enjoyable moments, such as the trumpets when they appear and the drum work. However, my attention kept wavering while listening and by the middle of the second half I end up just waiting for it to end. Overall, this is a huge dip in quality for me and is an over rated album that desperately needs to be trimmed down and is far off the mark from his masterpieces.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
60/100
From 11/14/2021 04:45
I usually frown on double albums, but there is a decent set of songs here. The River is mostly an upbeat album, with hints of rockabilly and a few ballads to mix things up. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band would record Cadillac Ranch and an outtake from this session called From Small Things.

Recommended.

A Side: Cadillac Ranch
B Side: Drive All Night
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 10/05/2021 16:12
I went into The River thinking it would expose a lot of Springsteen's flaws due to the length of it, but it's a lot more consistent than, say, Darkness On the Edge of Town or Born in the U.S.A.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

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Best Albums of 1980
1. Remain In Light by Talking Heads
2. Closer by Joy Division
3. Back In Black by AC/DC
4. Scary Monsters... And Super Creeps by David Bowie
5. Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables by Dead Kennedys
6. Peter Gabriel III by Peter Gabriel
7. The River by Bruce Springsteen
8. Permanent Waves by Rush
9. Pretenders by Pretenders
10. Making Movies by Dire Straits
11. Seventeen Seconds by The Cure
12. Crazy Rhythms by The Feelies
13. Sandinista! by The Clash
14. Ace Of Spades by Motörhead
15. Heaven And Hell by Black Sabbath
16. Boy by U2
17. Gaucho by Steely Dan
18. Get Happy!! by Elvis Costello And The Attractions
19. Duke by Genesis
20. Sound Affects by The Jam
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