The legendary albums David Bowie called his “best work”
From glam-rock martians to gut-wrenching existentialism, the discography of David Bowie never stuck to one particular sound, mood, or theme. One of the greatest songwriters to ever grace the airwaves, Bowie was always adept at reinvention, creating a wealth of different characters and personas over the course of his extensive career, each with their own distinctive sound and qualities.
With 26 studio albums and legions of adoring supporters around the world, picking your favourite Bowie album is akin to selecting a favourite child for many music obsessives.
It was in 1967 that Bowie unleashed his debut LP, complete with one of the worst haircuts the world has ever seen. However, it wasn’t until a few years later that mainstream audiences began to take note of the Brixton-born songwriter; early hits like ‘Space Oddity’ put him on the map, but it was the groundbreaking sounds of his glam rock period which established him as a bona fide rock star. Records like The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars and Aladdin Sane completely broke the mould of British rock at that time, opening up audiences and artists alike to an entirely new world of inspiration and expression.
Rather than revelling in this universal acclaim, Bowie killed off his Ziggy Stardust character in dramatic fashion at a show in Hammersmith in 1973. He never wanted to be tied down to one particular sound, and his subsequent material saw him explore vastly different worlds of inspiration, culminating in a wealth of utterly incredible albums, from Low to Scary Monsters, and even the disco leanings of Let’s Dance.
Although Bowie’s work took a bit of a downturn during the 1980s, with albums like Tonight soiling his otherwise largely spotless discography, he returned triumphantly in later years, continuing on his journey of experimentation and songwriting excellence right up until his tragic passing in 2016, mere days after the release of Blackstar.
Even before the songwriter’s death, the discussion over his greatest works became a regular conversational prompt for music fans across the globe. Ultimately, everybody has their own views on the highs and lows of Bowie’s career, given his generation-spanning brilliance. However, few people are as qualified to give their account of the greatest Bowie records as David Bowie himself, who never shied away from discussing or, in many cases, criticising his own work.
Back in 1997, the songwriter was asked by Entertainment Weekly for his own favourite Bowie albums, to which he promptly responded, “Station to Station and Low. Some of my best work was in those two albums.”
As far as fan-favourites go, he added, “I understand Hunky Dory and Ziggy; they are indeed a lot more hummable.”
Both of those records surfaced during the 1970s – 1976 and 1977, respectively – during a particularly transformative period for Bowie as a songwriter. On Station to Station, Bowie fully embraced the Thin White Duke character he had created, while Low signified the beginning of his Berlin period, characterised by sporadic behaviour and heavy drug use alongside his comrade Iggy Pop.
Nevertheless, these tumultuous surroundings culminated in some of his most profound, inventive, and enduring efforts, which, despite the difficulty of that period, never lost their sheen for Bowie himself.
