20 Most IMPORTANT Classic Rock Albums Ever Made

As the 70's reached its halfway point, the soul of rock and roll seemed to be slipping away. A lot of the contemporary bands of the day were still thriving, but nothing seemed to hit as hard as the songs that shocked the music world in the 60's. Whereas many bands were just mining the same guitar riffs, a punk kid emerging from New Jersey made the sound of rock and roll feel liberating once again.

The reason why Born to Run sounds so free of inhibitions comes from its troubled development. With little money coming in and being labelled as a copycat of Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen was struggling to hang on to the rock and roll lifestyle. Exhausting his E Street Band night after night at rehearsals, even Springsteen himself was wondering if a future in rock and roll was really in the cards for him.

Instead of giving up, Springsteen put every single ounce of money he had left into making "Born to Run," which became the biggest song of his career. Crafted over the next months, the accompanying album was Springsteen's ode to those on the fringes of society who are told that they won't amount to anything in life. For anyone who ever thinks that their dreams seem out of reach, Springsteen shows that you owe it to yourself to go for broke regardless. You might fall, but at least you tried.