this is interesting. the last time i responded to this, it appears i hadn't quite had my major springsteen fan conversion (that just happened last summer).
i hadn't heard nebraska in its entirety (and i sure as hell hadn't heard ghost of tom joad), and it's currently my favorite springsteen album. as a whole, i can't say i like every song on it more than every song on any other album. if i were going on songs alone, i'd say 'darkness on the edge of town' is my favorite. but albumwise, how it fits together as one collective piece of art...then nebraska all the fuckin' way.
oh, and speaking of covers (RATM's was mentioned), the hudson falcons do a pretty cool cover of "open all night" on their 'for those whose hearts and souls are free' album, an album which is just a fantastic example of kickass working class street rock n roll (yes i'm aware of how cliche a term that is, but i'm throwing it out there anyway cos those guys embody they music genre).