When Bruce Springsteen issued ‘The River’ in October of 1980, I didn’t like it very much. Time has changed that – and here’s why.

Kiss’ ‘Sonic Boom,’ released on Oct. 6, 2009, was packed with hooks, anthemic choruses, and a lifetime supply of innuendo. What’s not to like?

Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born to Run,’ released on Aug. 25, 1975, is dotted with career-making, warhorse tracks. But what of its lesser-heard songs?

Over the years since Lou Reed released ‘Metal Machine Music’ in July 1975, many others have followed him into noise, distortion and atonality.

“Pachuco Cadaver,” which arrived this week in 1969 as part of Captain Beefheart’s ‘Trout Mask Replica,’ is some pretty bizarre stuff. But I love it.

When Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays’ ‘As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls’ arrived in May 1981, it sounded like nothing else in my record collection.

‘Living with War,’ released on May 8, 2006, once more found Neil Young sandblasting away at the problems he saw with America.

Mark Saleski returns to a handful of resonant moments from Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Devils and Dust,’ released on April 26, 2005.

With ‘Working On a Dream,’ Bruce Springsteen continued an intriguing journey back to the music of his formative years.

They were as ubiquitous, at one point, as songs about girls.