The Rising

After the attacks a stranger in a passing car told him, "We need you now." Nothing Man was first completed in 1994, but the album is based largely on his reflections after the September 11 attacks. The title track tells of a firefighter climbing the World Trade Center, and My City of Ruins, originally written about Asbury Park, was performed on the America: A Tribute to Heroes telethon ten days after the attacks. Mary's Place draws on Sam Cooke's Meet Me at Mary's Place, and Worlds Apart features Qawwali singers, Asif Ali Khan and his group.

Brendan O'Brien produced, their first collaboration. It was Springsteen's first Billboard 200 number one since Tunnel of Love and topped the charts in six other countries, including Britain. Metacritic scores it 82 from 21 reviews. Kurt Loder praised its bold thematic concentration in Rolling Stone, and Robert Christgau named Paradise, Nothing Man, The Rising and My City of Ruins as its choice cuts. It won the 2003 Grammy for Best Rock Album, and the title song also won.