Editing Born to Run (section)

===Retrospective reviews===
{{Album ratings
| subtitle = Retrospective reviews
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="Ruhlmann">{{cite web |last=Ruhlmann |first=William |title=''Born to Run'' – Bruce Springsteen |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/born-to-run-mw0000650803 |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=August 10, 2023 |archive-date=October 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231001143332/https://www.allmusic.com/album/born-to-run-mw0000650803 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''
| rev2Score = {{Rating|3.5|4}}<ref name="Kot">{{cite news |last=Kot |first=Greg |author-link=Greg Kot |date=August 23, 1992 |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1992/08/23/the-recorded-history-of-springsteen/ |title=The Recorded History of Springsteen |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |access-date=July 8, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203014214/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1992-08-23/entertainment/9203170100_1_star-lucky-town-springsteen |archive-date=December 3, 2013 }}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|Christgau's Record Guide]]''
| rev3Score=A<ref name="CG">{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]|location=Boston|publisher=[[Ticknor & Fields]]|isbn=0-89919-026-X|chapter=Consumer Guide '70s: S|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=S&bk=70|access-date=March 13, 2019|via=robertchristgau.com|archive-date=April 13, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190413002147/https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=S&bk=70|url-status=live}}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[The Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]''
| rev4Score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{sfn|Larkin|2011|p=1,957}}
| rev5 = ''[[MusicHound|MusicHound Rock]]''
| rev5Score = {{rating|5|5}}{{sfn|Graff|1996|pp=638–639}}
| rev6 = ''[[New Musical Express]]''
| rev6score = 9/10<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Ace of boss |last1=Bailie |first1=Stuart |last2=Staunton |first2=Terry |date=March 11, 1995 |magazine=[[New Musical Express]] |pages=54–55}}</ref>
| rev7 = ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]''
| rev7Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Williams|first=Richard|title=All or Nothing: The Springsteen back catalogue|date=December 1989|magazine=[[Q (magazine)|Q]]|issue=39|page=149|url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/bruce-springsteen-all-or-nothing|access-date=February 12, 2024|via=Rock's Backpages|url-access=subscription|archive-date=February 12, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240212213335/https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/bruce-springsteen-all-or-nothing|url-status=live}}</ref>
| rev8 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
| rev8Score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{sfn|Sheffield|2004|pp=771–773}}
| rev9 = Sputnikmusic
| rev9Score = 5/5<ref>{{cite web |last=Freeman |first=Channing |title=Bruce Springsteen ''Born To Run'' > Staff Review |url=https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/44142/Bruce-Springsteen-Born-To-Run/ |publisher=Sputnikmusic |date=June 22, 2011 |access-date=June 29, 2011 |archive-date=October 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231001143333/https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/44142/Bruce-Springsteen-Born-To-Run/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
| rev10 = ''[[Tom Hull (critic)|Tom Hull – on the Web]]''
| rev10Score = B+<ref>{{cite web|last=Hull|first=Tom|author-link=Tom Hull (critic)|date=October 29, 2016|url=http://www.tomhull.com/ocston/blog/archives/2444-Streamnotes-October-2016.html|title=Streamnotes (October 2016)|website=Tom Hull – on the Web|access-date=July 2, 2020|archive-date=July 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200704021921/http://www.tomhull.com/ocston/blog/archives/2444-Streamnotes-October-2016.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}
Retrospective reviewers consider ''Born to Run'' a masterpiece{{efn|Attributed to multiple references:<ref name="week" /><ref name="Ruhlmann" /><ref name="BBGuide" /><ref name="FarOut" />{{sfn|Kirkpatrick|2007|p=45}}<ref name="Observer">{{cite web |last=Gertsenzang |first=Peter |title=How Bruce Springsteen Made 'Born To Run' an American Masterpiece |url=https://observer.com/2015/08/how-bruce-springsteen-made-born-to-run-an-american-masterpiece/ |website=[[observer.com|The Observer]] |access-date=August 10, 2023 |date=August 25, 2015 |archive-date=July 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704091905/https://observer.com/2015/08/how-bruce-springsteen-made-born-to-run-an-american-masterpiece/ |url-status=live }}</ref>}} and one of Springsteen's best works.{{efn|Attributed to multiple references:<ref name="NMEBest" /><ref name="UpRBest">{{cite web |last=Hyden |first=Steven |title=Every Bruce Springsteen Studio Album, Ranked |url=https://uproxx.com/indie/every-bruce-springsteen-studio-album-ranked/ |website=[[Uproxx]] |access-date=January 31, 2023 |date=November 11, 2022 |archive-date=February 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204163544/https://uproxx.com/indie/every-bruce-springsteen-studio-album-ranked/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="UCRBest" /><ref name="GuardBest" /><ref name="SpinBest">{{cite web |last=Shipley |first=Al |title=Every Bruce Springsteen Album, Ranked |url=https://www.spin.com/2022/11/best-bruce-springsteen-albums/ |website=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]] |access-date=January 31, 2023 |date=November 11, 2022 |archive-date=February 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204163048/https://www.spin.com/2022/11/best-bruce-springsteen-albums/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="TelegraphBest">{{Cite web |last=McCormick |first=Neil |author-link=Neil McCormick |date=24 October 2020 |title=Bruce Springsteen: all his albums ranked, from worst to best |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/what-to-listen-to/bruce-springsteen-albums-ranked-worst-best/ |website=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230823165306/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/what-to-listen-to/bruce-springsteen-albums-ranked-worst-best/ |archive-date=August 23, 2023 |access-date=14 November 2022 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Male |first=Andrew |title=Bruce Springsteen's Best Albums Ranked |url=https://www.mojo4music.com/articles/the-mojo-list/bruce-springsteens-best-albums-ranks/ |magazine=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]] |access-date=January 8, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241207212454/https://www.mojo4music.com/articles/the-mojo-list/bruce-springsteens-best-albums-ranks/ |archive-date=December 7, 2024 |date=January 3, 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref>}} It has been described as a timeless record<ref name="Slate">{{cite web |last=Masur |first=Louis |title=Born to Run: The groundbreaking Springsteen album almost didn't get released |url=https://slate.com/culture/2009/09/born-to-run-the-groundbreaking-springsteen-album-almost-didnt-get-released.html |website=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |access-date=August 10, 2023 |date=September 22, 2009 |archive-date=August 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230810232428/https://slate.com/culture/2009/09/born-to-run-the-groundbreaking-springsteen-album-almost-didnt-get-released.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="CoS45Reasons">{{cite web |last=Blum |first=Jordan |title=45 Reasons We Still Love Bruce Springsteen's ''Born to Run'' |url=https://consequence.net/2020/08/gimme-a-reason-bruce-springsteen-born-to-run/ |website=Consequence |access-date=January 19, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325231912/https://consequence.net/2020/08/gimme-a-reason-bruce-springsteen-born-to-run/ |archive-date=March 25, 2023 |date=August 25, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> that set the stage for a career marked by a signature, distinctive sound and lyrics detailing aspirations towards the American dream.<ref name="BBGuide" /><ref name="UCRRockAlbums">{{cite web |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/70s-rock-albums/ |title=Top 100 '70s Rock Albums |date=October 26, 2022 |work=Ultimate Classic Rock |access-date=August 25, 2023 |archive-date=January 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116164140/https://ultimateclassicrock.com/70s-rock-albums/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Further praise was given to the instrumentation between Springsteen and the E Street Band,<ref name="Paste70s" /> and for its improvements over its predecessor, ''Wild''.<ref name="Ruhlmann" /><ref name="CoS45Reasons" /> Lou Thomas of [[BBC Music]] described the album as "a classic, honest musical expression of hope, dreams and survival".<ref name="bbcrev">{{cite web |last=Thomas |first=Lou |title=Review of Bruce Springsteen – ''Born to Run'' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/gmjw/ |work=[[BBC Music]] |year=2007 |access-date=November 8, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161019004544/http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/gmjw/ |archive-date=October 19, 2016 }}</ref> Another writer from ''[[The Guardian]]'', Michael Hann, said ''Born to Run'' was "the album where Springsteen starts to make the transition from a musician to an idea, a representation of a set of personal and musical values".<ref name="GuardBest">{{cite web |last=Hann |first=Michael |title=Bruce Springsteen's albums – ranked! |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/may/30/bruce-springsteen-albums-ranked/ |website=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=January 31, 2023 |date=May 30, 2019 |archive-date=January 31, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230131004605/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/may/30/bruce-springsteen-albums-ranked |url-status=live}}</ref>

Despite its acclaim, ''Born to Run'' has attracted negative attention from writers who feel the production is "too overblown",<ref name="PMK&M">{{cite web |last1=Klinger |first1=Eric |last2=Mendelsohn |first2=Jason |title=Counterbalance 18: Bruce Springsteen – ''Born to Run'' |url=https://www.popmatters.com/bruce-springsteen-born-run-counterbalance-2496086782.html |website=PopMatters |access-date=January 19, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230813200138/https://www.popmatters.com/bruce-springsteen-born-run-counterbalance-2496086782.html |archive-date=August 13, 2023 |date=June 8, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> and presents Springsteen as "more of a synthesist than an innovator".<ref name="Kot" /> [[AllMusic]]'s William Ruhlmann conversely argues that "to call [the album] overblown is to miss the point", as doing so was Springsteen's intention, concluding that "it declared its own greatness with songs and a sound that lived up to Springsteen's promise".<ref name="Ruhlmann" /> In a later piece for ''[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]]'' magazine, Christgau wrote that the record's major flaw was its pompous declaration of greatness, typified by elements such as the "wall-of-sound, [[white soul|white-soul]]-at-the-opera-house" aesthetic and an "unresolved quest narrative". Nonetheless, he maintained ''Born to Run'' was important for how "its class-conscious songcraft provided a relief from the emptier pretensions of late-hippie [[arena rock|arena-rock]]".<ref name="Blender"/> ''[[PopMatters]]'' writer Christopher John Stephens argued the album's strengths can be viewed as its weaknesses.<ref name="PopMatters">{{cite web |last=Stephens |first=Christopher John |title=Bruce Springsteen's 'Born to Run' Brought Elegiac Depth and Youthful Romanticism to Heartland Rock |url=https://www.popmatters.com/bruce-springsteen-born-run-atr-2646801566.html |website=[[PopMatters]] |access-date=August 10, 2023 |date=August 25, 2020 |archive-date=August 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230813200135/https://www.popmatters.com/bruce-springsteen-born-run-atr-2646801566.html |url-status=live }}</ref>