His first three albums seem to me to reflect a post 60's hangover poor youth, with mystic and street knowledge. Straight fuck*ng rock and roll the American way. Not in the chevy truck way, but the dylan/beat/woody guthrie tradition. The first two show the view of him and his peers, the third (Born to Run) romaticizes it. After that he becomes more of a throwback type guy. It is okay, but just not the same. If you can, you owe it to yourself to check out these songs, off Born to Run, The Wild the Innocent and the E-Street Shuffle, and Greetings from Ashbury Park:
blinded By the Light
Lost in the Flood
It's Hard to be a Saint in the City
The E-Street Shuffle
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
Meeting Across the River
Jungleland
Born to Run
If you already have then you can bash on Springsteen all you want. Also, the difference between Springsteen and Mellencamp is pretty huge, at least in my opinion.
Edit: Basically what I am trying ot say is that alot of people in my generation judge Springsteen on the 80's part of his career (the most commonly played on like radio and stuff), but the may like the early part.