I like him, and some of his early hits are really good ("had to be a big shot", "you might think im crazy", etc), but as time went by he kind of got "meh" to me. I was in HS when he went through his "Downtown girl" phase, which to me, is when he went 100% pop and wasn't really rock anymore. Not that there weren't some good tunes on that album, but it was just different than his earlier stuff.
Fun fact...Downtown Girl was actually originally written for Elle MacPherson, who he dated for a time. Then when he started dating Christie Brinkley he made it about her.
Elle MacPherson...I don't care what anyone says, she is THE model of all time. Period, dot. No one else is even close.