''The Essential Bruce Springsteen'' is a

compilation album A compilation album comprises tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for rel ...

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originato ...

, released on November 11, 2003. The collection is part of a series of ''Essential'' sets released by

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyou ...

(previously

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...

). It includes songs from various Springsteen albums and concerts up to the year 2003. A limited-edition third disc includes previously unreleased cuts, B-sides, contributions to soundtracks and benefit albums, covers, and an alternate, "country-blues" acoustic version of "Countin' on a Miracle" from '' The Rising''. The album debuted on the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart on November 29, 2003, at No. 14, with sales of 90,000 copies. The album was awarded gold and platinum records on December 16, 2003, by the RIAA. As of August 2013, the album has sold over 1,079,000 copies in the United States. It reached No. 15 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

in 2013. The album was re-released with an updated track listing in October 2015.

Critical reception

The album received general acclaim from music critics, who appreciated its inclusion of Springsteen's most recognizable hits throughout his career. AllMusic calls it a better compilation album than 1995's "misguided, haphazardly selected" '' Greatest Hits''.

Track listings

2003 bonus disc

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

Album contents

{{DEFAULTSORT:Essential Bruce Springsteen, The 2003 compilation albums Bruce Springsteen compilation albums Columbia Records compilation albums 2003 greatest hits albums