10 Greatest Rock Albums That Are Totally Acoustic

From the outset, Bruce Springsteen was never all that comfortable with his own fame. Much like Bob Dylan before him, Springsteen always preferred to hang in the back of his own legacy, being the almighty band leader when the time called for it and just an average Joe when on the street. Though he walked it pretty effortlessly for most of his career, Nebraska showed that it certainly wasn't a walk in the park.

While working on demos for what would be the latest album, Nebraska's songs became some of the most haunting of Springsteen's career. From the sounds of Atlantic City to the stories in tracks like Open All Night, each of these songs play out like little character portraits of down on their luck people, much of which tend to share a passing resemblance to Springsteen himself.

Blown away by what they heard, Springsteen's band and label decided to essentially release the album bare, with no added bells and whistles from the E Street Band. As such, the album stands as one of the most intimate in Springsteen's catalog, almost as if you're in the room as Springsteen sits on his couch slowly working his way through each of these tracks. There was definitely some soul searching going on here, but that does eventually lead us to be the people we strive to be.