David Bowie Albums Ranked From Worst to Best
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- Опубліковано 7 лют 2022
- It's Bowie week baby! Today we're ranking all 27 David Bowie studio albums, and boy do we have some things to say. This is our longest video to date, so buckle up.
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David Robert Jones OAL (8 January 1947 - 10 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie, was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, Bowie is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. He was acclaimed by critics and musicians, particularly for his innovative work during the 1970s. His career was marked by reinvention and visual presentation, and his music and stagecraft had a significant impact on popular music.
Bowie developed an interest in music as a child. He studied art, music and design before embarking on a professional career as a musician in 1963. "Space Oddity", released in 1969, was his first top-five entry on the UK Singles Chart. After a period of experimentation, he re-emerged in 1972 during the glam rock era with his flamboyant and androgynous alter ego Ziggy Stardust. The character was spearheaded by the success of Bowie's single "Starman" and album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, which won him widespread popularity. In 1975, Bowie's style shifted towards a sound he characterized as "plastic soul", initially alienating many of his UK fans but garnering him his first major US crossover success with the number-one single "Fame" and the album Young Americans. In 1976, Bowie starred in the cult film The Man Who Fell to Earth and released Station to Station. In 1977, he again changed direction with the electronic-inflected album Low, the first of three collaborations with Brian Eno that came to be known as the "Berlin Trilogy". "Heroes" (1977) and Lodger (1979) followed; each album reached the UK top five and received lasting critical praise.
After uneven commercial success in the late 1970s, Bowie had three number-one hits: the 1980 single "Ashes to Ashes", its album Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps), and "Under Pressure" (a 1981 collaboration with Queen). He reached his peak commercial success in 1983 with Let's Dance: its title track topped both the UK and US charts. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Bowie continued to experiment with musical styles, including industrial and jungle. He also continued acting: his roles included Major Jack Celliers in Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983), Jareth the Goblin King in Labyrinth (1986), Pontius Pilate in The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), and Nikola Tesla in The Prestige (2006), among other film and television appearances and cameos. He stopped touring after 2004 and his last live performance was at a charity event in 2006. In 2013, Bowie returned from a decade-long recording hiatus with The Next Day. He remained musically active until his death from liver cancer at his home in New York City. He died two days after both his 69th birthday and the release of his final album, Blackstar (2016).
During his lifetime, his record sales, estimated at over 100 million records worldwide, made him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. In the UK, he was awarded ten platinum, eleven gold and eight silver album certifications, and released 11 number-one albums. In the US, he received five platinum and nine gold certifications. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. Rolling Stone named him among the greatest artists in history and-after his death-the "greatest rock star ever".
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Thanks for watching! Let us know what you think of our lists and how you rank Bowie's records by leaving a comment below.
Next week: Roxy Music
After That: Tom Waits, Tears for Fears, Thin Lizzy
#DavidBowie #AlbumsRanked #WorsttoBest
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Enjoyed the video! Ranking the Bowie album rankers: #1 Kramzer #2 Joe #3 Jason for putting Blackstar at #20. 🤪
High quality entertainment!
@@mrlalalaelmo7454 Thank you!
Jason put Blackstar 20th?????🤯🤯🤯🤯. I might not watch now 🤷♂️ 🙅 have you posted your list Larry??
@@threestringsomg Partial list in another comment. (I ranked and reviewed all of his albums last year in individual videos on my channel.)
@@canadianstudmuffin I may have watched it in fact....I def watched your sparks list a while back. Ok cool
My top 5:
5. Low
4. The Man Who Sold The World
3. Young Americans
2. Station To Station
1. Aladdin Sane
Amazing discography!
In 1969 I was almost ten years old and Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon, live in black and white in our living room. David Bowie released Space Oddity and I had seen Kubrick's movie and read Arthur C. Clarke.
For me, Bowie is one of those artists whom I followed throughout their career (yes, I missed - or maybe not - his debut) and what a trip it has been! When we talk about influential musicians we mostly mean their influence on other musicians - but there is also the influence on the listeners and for me he was one of the artists who opened many new doors. Whenever Bowie explored new terrain, it was worth looking there as well. Of course there were failures, but no risk - no fun.
Bowie is one of those artists whom I call companions. He changed when I changed, the young teen dreamed with him of Mars and a Free Festival - he turned into the Thin White Duke when I became a woman - and at one point he put the certainty of our mortality before me.
You can overrate some Bowie records (and later generations tend to do so) but for me you cannot overrate Bowie.
(see ranking in replies below:)
Anyway, we are here to rank the albums...(For those that made my AOTY lists I mention this as well.) There is NO SURPRISE in my ranking though.
25. David Bowie 1967 2,5 (The only Bowie album I did not get on release but so what. Like the Dylan debut it exists and that is all there is about it. He had a record contract and could get started.)
24. Never Let Me Down 2,5 (The guitars - Carlos Alomar + Peter Frampton - are good but cannot rescue these leftovers.)
23. Earthling 2,5 (I learned to like it a bit more over the years but really just a bit.)
22. Tonight 2,5 (As much as Bowie had influenced the 80s mainstream with his previous albums, he seemed to turn his back and instead focus on his career as an actor. This sounds like outtakes from his dance album.)
21. Pin Ups 3,0 (Back in 1973 this made me aware of some sources I had not known before. Later, it was just a not-bad cover album.)
20. Heathen 3,5 (Lodger for the new millennium, in the sense that it sums um where/who he was by then.)
19. 1. Outside 3,5 (Half of the album is not bad but what is more important is that Bowie and Eno again opened some doors for me, e.g. how industrial and progressive artists had developed over the preceding decade. Strangers When We Meet makes my SOTY list in 1995.)
18. Hours 3,5 (Bowie plays Bowie, this is all new stuff and it is not recalling any previous incarnation and still it feels like typical Bowie - we all know there is no adult contemporary Bowie but this may come close.)
17. Black Tie White Noise 3,5 (For children of the 60s, 70s, 80s we were now in an era of massive change, just try to imagine your first 30 years of life without computers, smart phones or internet, young enough to adapt to it all but old enough to know the value of experience. Bowie created the soundtrack, his first album since a decade to help us into the new music, looking back and forward - a transitional album for a time of transitions.)
16. Young Americans 3,5 (Bookended by two of his best vocal performances, the remaining songs just drag on too long, despite some excellent playing here and there, e.g. on Fascination. Still, the white boy is better than most in that genre were at the time - especially de-classing his vocal arranger's own attempts.)
15. Let's Dance 3,5 (Bowie the pop entertainer and he is brilliant at it. Each song is big fun as long as it runs, you forget it a minute later and enjoy it again the next time you decide to put on your red shoes.)
14. Diamond Dogs 3,5 (The highs are high but there is a lot of filler to make it appear like a concept album - of whatever concept, Orwell maybe. Even when he failed, he failed at a high level.)
13. Space Oddity 3,5 (I am biased with this one for sure but it was my entrance into Bowie's world, I still like it 50+ years later and sing along to it and what more can you ask for. Maybe it is not possible to understand how these tunes worked back in 1969, especially the long ones, unless you had the experience yourself.)
12. Reality 4,0 (The most Bowie-esque of his albums as it neither sets nor follows any trend, just great songs and interesting performance of a man who has found himself. #14 in 2003)
11. Hunky Dory 4,0 (I never liked the cabaret style of Bewlay Brothers or Fill Your Heart just like I dislike some moments on Lou Reed's Transformer. The rest of the album sounds as contemporary 50 years after release as it did at any time in between. Thus, a flawed masterpiece but a critic's darling. #79 in 1971)
10. Scary Monsters 4,0 (An epilogue of the 70s to sum up his journey so far in form of digestible rock songs, most of them work on their own but not all e.g. Teenage Wildlife is really Heroes v2. After this, the innovator became the performer. #50 in 1980)
9. Ziggy Stardust 4,0 (The Rise and Fall...This is as good as glam rock ever got, the limits are implicit in the concept itself. Bowie himself recognised the dead-end, gave a song to Mott The Hoople, produced Lou Reed and moved on. #55 in 1972)
8. The Next Day 4,0 (Yes, he had done all of this before in some way. But he still did it perfectly. #11 in 2013)
7. Lodger 4,0 (Bowie and Eno sum up the Berlin phase with incorporating their experimentations into rock-pop songs, not as phenomenal as Eno's own attempts on his early solo records but still pretty good and fun listening. The quality of these tracks is proven by how timeless this still sounds today. #55 in 1979.)
6. Heroes 4,0 (The title song...not to forget that Iggy's Lust For Life and The Idiot come from the same hyper productive period. #43 in 1977)
5. The Man Who Sold the World 4,5 (The dress-rehearsal for Ziggy Stardust and sometimes the unpolished energy and original vision are more compelling than perfection. #8 in 1970)
4. Blackstar 4,5 (Lazarus returns to life when we play his records. #4 in 2016)
3. Alladin Sane 4,5 (The destruction of the Ziggy fake. He removes the mask and exposes the music industry - he goes back to rock's roots - this came out at the same time as the New York Dolls' debut which is hailed as proto-punk and sounds not too different. Further proof for his proto-punk activities is his production of Raw Power for Iggy & Stooges at this time. #31 in 1973)
2. Low 5,0 (If Bowie and Eno had never made any other albums in both their careers, they would still be music history with this one alone. One of those albums that defined music for decades to come - both for musicians and listeners. #5 in 1977)
1. Station To Station 5,0 (Some say that this album is all over the place and not consistent. But is not that exactly what Bowie was all about? Six masterpieces, passionate, deep, each one a jewel of its genre with enough room to leave their mark. The thin white duke ruled them all. The title track is just too short - could have been as long as Sister Ray. My AOTY 1976)
He did the same thing to me three decades later, that's why we love him
Solid ranking, similar to mine
@@roxannewalsh I stand in full agreement on 1&2 !
Station to Station really is incredible. I took many years off of listening to bowie and that gave me so much perspective as to how many amazing artists exist and he is no doubt the most incredible artist to ever live.
Station is by far myu favorite Bowie album
Glad to see some Scary Monsters love. A underated gem in Bowie's discography
Not really overlooked or under rated...in the wider world it's deeply respected and well known..
I think that’s where Fripp got some of the inspiration for the Discipline era stuff.
You have to listen to it a few times for it to grow on you.
At first listen I just heard a couple of singles and filler.
It's not under-rated, it's always been included in his top 10 if not top 5 albums.
Fantastic album
Fantastic work . Best and most entertaining review of Bowie’s catalogue I’ve seen on UA-cam . The 2 plus hours just flew by. 5 stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Rec'd for accuracy... and the Arsenal logo.
Pretty much the only time I'm going to agree with a gooner, but yes, great review.
One of my best friends from high school died of brain cancer. He was obsessed with David Bowie. I thought he was crazy. Now that he’s gone. I always play The Fame album and think of memories. Can’t wait to hear this review. Ray Carter. From the ones that I know, I enjoyed Space Odessey, Tonight from 1984,and Fame.
What's the "Fame" album, Young Americans?
I believe that, over time, Blackstar will be known as one of his very best albums. Top three. It gets better every time I listen to it.
I believe it will be too, and that’s a damn shame. -Jason
@@TastesLikeMusic Jason, you and I have very different Bowie ears Jason. Hunky Dory number one. Blackstar at least top 5. Outside is SO good. But that's the brilliance of Bowie - with such a spectacular discography, you can come from any angle and still be correct.
I hope you're right, because right now it does nothing for me whatsoever like everything post-1980.
@@siltom1962 I think with Blackstar it’s pretty much impossible to look at the album alone and separate it the context of his impending death (because it inspired it), but at the same time, if he wouldn’t have died right after its release, you wouldn’t have the context necessary for it to make sense or be that good. In other words, imo it’s only as good as it is because of the context and inspiration behind it, not the album on its own merit.
@@terminallumbago6465 I think with any album it's like with any movie. You can't know if it's great until about 10 years have past, to strip it of its context. I'll go back and listen to Blackstar in about 5 years and we'll see how it holds up.
Watching this channel regularly has shown me how Americans view albums different from Brits. Neither is wrong, just how we have grown up with music. To clarify We regard albums as separate entities than singles, they are unique pictures of groups at the time of their creation and don’t require singles to improve them so albums without singles are deliberate not an error of good singles available at the time. In fact since singles get played to death on radio by the time they appear on an album they are not as fresh as the other tracks and can distract from said tracks. Listening to an album for the first time should be for completely new songs that don’t automatically need to be commercial to work, although they can be. An album should not be poorer because of a lack of singles but richer and a a new experience for the listener. I believe this anyway.
It’s amazing how many times Robert Fripp got a mention and his work on Scary Monsters is what makes it scary! Ever heard the amazing album he did with David Sylvian, The First Day?
First Day is an excellent album despite its very long tracks. Fripp had wanted the former Japan frontman to join King Crimson in 1990. Obviously this did not happen but we have this amazing collaboration instead. Maybe Sylvian's best after Brilliant Trees.
@@roxannewalsh They also took it on a tour which I was lucky enough to see - the Damage live album captures it really well. Love Brilliant Trees!
I'm a Sylvian fan but I didn't like this one. It's been ages since I gave it a spin though so maybe I should try again.
Fripp featured on Gone to Earth as well which is way better than First Day.
@@ianp9086 last week I went to the street market in my town.. I was told about a shop with with a large box of cds at 1 Euro. All garbage but the cover of a digipak cd still sealed took my attention...it was The brilliance trees album...for any strange reason was there! I went into google to find out who David Sylvian is...Never heard of Japan, but I like 80s synthpop...I just bought it...
27-14. All the ones I don't care about
13. Space Oddity
12. The Man Who Sold the World
11. Hunky Dory
10. Diamond Dogs
9. Young Americans
8. Ziggy Stardust
7. Aladin Sane
6. Station to Staion
5. Blackstar
4. Lodger
3. Scary Monsters
2. "Heroes"
1. Low
Wow you are missing out on some brilliant albums
@@DerekDerekDerekDerekDerekDerek Your priorities are not mine, good sir.
A delight of discography. So much here...... I haven't settled on a view on Toy yet but it would probably land in the middle for now. I don't have David Bowie (debut) or Buddha of Surburbia so I haven't ranked those. The first 14 on my list I listen to frequently. Heathen has grown on me over the years. Top 7 are 5 stars.
1 - Ziggy
2 - Hunky Dory
3 - Low
4 - Aladdin Sane
5 - Scary Monsters
6 - Station to Station
7 - "Heroes"
8 - Blackstar.... I like "Sue"
9 - The Next Day - "So 2013" LOL! Excellent album It's a straight up Bowie rock record. A welcome return. I love this album.
10 - Lodger
11 - Young Americans....
12 - Diamond Dogs
13 - Lets Dance
14 - The Man Who Sold The World
15 - Heathen
16 - Reality
17 - David Bowie/Space Oddity
18 - Pin Ups
19 - Hours
20 - Earthling
21 - Outside
22 - Black Tie White Noise
23 - Tonight
24 - Never Let Me Down
I really want to say what Bowie means to me but I don't feel eloquent enough, and even if I did I'm not sure I want to here, thank you guys for doing this, haven't been this excited for a long time.
Just let out. We're all friends here. Let me tell you, I cried for a week when he died. I teared up the other day watching Iman give a tour of their home.
The twists and turns from Hunky Dory through Monsters is jaw dropping.
He surrounded himself with top notch musicians and producers and changed musical directions constantly.
1. Low
2. Station To Station
3. Heroes
4. Scary Monsters
5. Lodger
6. Hunky Dory
7. Ziggy
8. Diamond Dogs
9. Aladdin Sane
10. Black Star
TDC, I'm very much with you, but I would put Diamond Dogs a bit higher. Great music and some of his most profetic lyrics.,
Bowie was the soundtrack of my teens in the 70ies. My ranking:
1 Diamond Dogs
2 Young Americans
3 Station to Station
4 Hunky Dory
5 Low
The album Diamond dogs is a great listen, highly recomended.
I was never to enthralled by When You Rock and Roll With Me, but I have learned to love it too.
Lodger to me is his most consistently under rated album and my favorite of his Berlin trilogy.
I find it one of his worst records
Yeah, I agree. It's world music, it's art rock, it's so Bowie, it's got Eno and when you look at the albums that were released its wake (Remain In Light, Peter Gabriel III, among others) it was massively influential. I was 13 when it came out and I pretty much flipped out on it.
Lodger is quite a wild ride. Definitely a grower.
This was one of your best videos yet. I watched for 2 1/2 hours straight and was never bored. I enjoyed all of your commentary. David Bowie forever!
Congratulations gentlemen: what a detailed exploration of one of the truly great rock artists, one of my 2 or 3 favourites of all time. Bought “Diamond Dogs” when in ca,eout in 1974
What a wild ride this one was. Easily a top 5 artist all-time, so it's far from a chore going through his discography.
1. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars 5/5
2. Hunky Dory 5/5
3. Aladdin Sane 5/5
4. Station to Station 5/5
5. Let's Dance 4.5/5
6. Diamond Dogs 4.5/5
7. Low 4.5/5
8. "Heroes" 4.5/5
9. Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) 4.5/5
10. Blackstar 4/5
11. The Man Who Sold the World 4/5
12. Lodger 4/5
13. Space Oddity 4/5
14. Young Americans 4/5
15. Pin Ups 3.5/5
16. Heathen 3.5/5
17. The Next Day 3.5/5
18. 1.Outside 3/5
19. Reality 3/5
20. Tonight 3/5
21. Toy 3/5
22. David Bowie 3/5
23. Never Let Me Down 2.5/5
24. 'Hours...' 2.5/5
25. Earthling 2.5/5
26. The Buddha of Suburbia 2.5/5
27. Black Tie White Noise 2.5/5
Shoot! I need to get some Bowie vinyl! I used to own tonight and fame lol!
Our top 4 is identical, the most reasonable view in my opinion.
The Buddha of suburbia, black tie white noise and *especially* earthling being this low is weird to see
The top 4 is a similar choice to mine. Amazed that Let's Dance comes in at 5. Apart from the great hit singles, the rest of the album was nowhere near Bowie's best. I think the Hours album is brilliant, amazed it came so low down .As I always say, each to their own.
@@brianconway100 I suppose I love a fun, sub-40 minute pop record. And with the hits making up 4 or 5 of 8 tracks, all the other three had to do was not disappoint me too much. I recognize that's a high placement for it though. I could easily rearrange the top 9.
Gotta hand it to Kramzer for being hip to Low which is such an amazing album. I love all the soundscapes and a top 10 album of all time for me. Great show in all. Nice to not see Hours being appreciated by Jason as it is quite underrated.
Fun fact is that Mike Garson has played on two of my own records.
This is an awesome ranking. You guys put your heart into this one and it is one of your best!!
Just finished watching . One of your very best reviews ( some good variance in opinions / lists and excellent analysis especially the top 10 albums ) . Love your work 👊🏻👍
Great video guys. Thank you. Loved the whole thing. Will check out your others next.
This is great stuff. Some really interesting points raised. The beauty of his back catalogue is that is creates so much fantastic discussion which we find here.
Thanks very much for making this video.
5 star reviews this week boys. Huge catalog, great analysis, really enjoyed it.
Amazing review of my idol lads, thank you for putting in the time. Your individual thoughts and description of albums was amazing to listen to. Top stuff ⚡️👍⚡️
Probably your best video yet. Your passion for Bowie was undeniable! Good Job.
Nice work guys. I don't have the time to keep up with your listening schedule, so my general strategy is to listen to a couple of my favorite albums from each artist before your ranking video. Then after watching the video, I go down your averaged list and listen to the highest-ranking albums that I am the least familiar with. This has almost always led to me efficiently discovering new albums that I love... and I am looking forward to checking out Scary Monsters this morning.
Whenever I comment following a large discography, I feel compelled to acknowledge the amount of work that must go into these and say thanks. I have no idea how you guys do all this, plus keep up with other things like jobs/family/etc.
Thank you TLM. You guys killed it on this Bowie ranking. Kram actually got me to reconsider Outside.
I’ve been waiting for you guys to do this for so long, great to finally see it!
You guys hit it out of the park with this one with this Goliath of a review…continue with the excellent work
Been sick off work today and binged on a bunch of your videos! I love how eclectic your tastes are. I also have a varying taste in music and I'm trying to increase it further.
My dad was a massive Bowie fan and I've always wanted to get into him, but just never got the time. I had few complication albums and loved them, so I hope to start listening to the full albums, as I'm not usually a singles kind of guy.
You're videos just fly by. Fantastic channel!
What a great ranking show! The love of the artist is obvious in the care that each of you took in describing your choices. I was surprised that there was no "trifecta" so there was a little drama to keep me at the edge of my seat. I wouldn't argue with too much of what each of you said but, this time, would agree most with Jason.
I basically stopped my Bowie albums with LET'S DANCE. (Saw him on the "Glass Spider" Tour and was pretty underwhelmed.) Your descriptions of those later albums are intriguing. Jason's description of TOY convinced me to sample it; I loved all three iterations so much, I'll probably buy TOY:BOX as my next Bowie acquisition.
Thanks for putting in the time and work to honour the art of David Bowie!
I like the classic David Bowie songs and albums that we know and love (which have been classic rock radio staples over the past few decades). However, I also have a soft spot for the Outside and Earthling albums, because of Nine Inch Nails.I am a fan of NIN and I enjoy what Trent Reznor did on I'm Afraid Of Americans, along with his remix of The Hearts Filthy Lesson.
Awesome work guys. 👏👏 Was long but didn’t feel long at all. As I mentioned never got into Bowie but I definitely have some albums to check out now and feel I will NOT be disappointed.
Guys "Low" 's second side is a cinematic MASTERPIECE. It takes some maturity and many-many run throughs, but after all these years of studying Bowie, "Low" is undeniably his number ONE masterpiece, affecting the ENTIRE 80's European scene, matter of fact creating it. I am a bit older than you and I get this record's message now thoroughly and clearly. From when I became 40. it de-throned "Ziggy" and "Hunky Dory" in my personal Bowie rankings and list at the very top and it sits very comfortably there since. We are talking about a cultural achievement, ESPECIALLY the second side. Listen CAREFULLY to Warszawa and the industrial nihilistic dark lands it constructs and evokes, and you will be in for a BIG trip. Good job though! Enjoyed your video. Congrats.
Well, I’m 2 years away from 40 and don’t see that happening for me. I don’t care at all about cultural achievement. It certainly is that but that’s not what makes me enjoy music. The 2 sides act too much as separate entities for me to consider it his best album regardless of how good either side is. -Jason
@@TastesLikeMusic ok, understood. I disagree but I respect your opinion. You seem to have a very good understanding and 'channeling' of music but sometime it may occur to you that music is much more than "what we enjoy". It may be the sounds that create a certain "posterity" and form culture- fully personal opinion. In thzt sense, Low is an ACHIEVEMENT, both sides. You are right about the lack of balance though. It just does not need to be balanced, it was intended like that As a musical instructor and a professional musician, I am still learning and searching for 'the secret' and of course I enjoy the process too! Quite a lot in fact. Anyway, your video was of of a very high quality and congrats to all 3 of you. I am 47.
Music is many things. Of course it plays a huge roll in culture and history and has a history of its own. And I do think about these things, and try to learn as much as I can. But at the end of the day even the history is built upon subjective opinions. If being on UA-cam has taught me anything it’s that for every opinion that there is to have, there’s someone who has it. And every single one of us is right.
@@TastesLikeMusic ageed. I will keep on watching your videos Good luck.
@@TastesLikeMusic I just have a sensitivity for "Low" - it obviously shows. I treasure it. Alongside 'The White Album" by The Beatles and "Meddle" by The Floyd. My Holy Trinity.
Wow, fantastic guys! Longer than most movies but twice as much fun; entertaining and educational too. Agree with the general conclusion that DB was a hugely talented, significant and influential artist. Top 5 for me. Once again thank you for all your efforts, been waiting for this one for a while. Looking forward to Roxy Music next week. Oh Top Bowie songs tomorrow, more tough choices ahead!
Great video guys! Haven’t gotten through Bowie yet, but hopefully by the weekend I’ll be able to post my ranking
David Bowie has been my favorite artist for nearly five decades. Not always number 1, but always in the top 5. I have listened to nearly all of his albums over 100 times, and there is never a week where I don't listen to at least one album or one of my numerous playlists. It did not take long to compile my rankings; the top 10 are almost unchanged from the last time I did them, but there was some movement between 24 and 11. Nearly every time I played an album I wanted to move it up, but then the next one pushed it back down.
Five Stars
1 Scary Monsters and Super Creeps - My favorite Bowie album since the first time I heard it in 1980. Avant-garde masterpiece. One of my top 5 all-time albums.
2 Station to Station - I have always felt that this collection of songs lacks cohesion. But the composition and performances are perfect. The songs are so good they overcome the disparate thematic approach.
3 The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars - Recorded at age 25, Bowie’s 5th studio album is his tightest and most famous composition. The talent and creativity displayed scattershot in his previous albums is finally focused and fully realized. An all-time classic.
4 Blackstar - Bowie’s final statement is also his most heartfelt. Confronting his mortality, he forces us to do the same. His boldest album in a career defined by bold and unforeseeable turns, it is a final gift to the fans who have been with him through every bend in the road.
5 Aladdin Sane - Sort of Ziggy on meth. Glammier, harder rocking, and more avant-garde, but not as tightly focused. Touches more bases, but lacks a cohesive storyline.
6 “Heroes” - For me, the best of the Berlin trilogy. While in the studio, Bowie and Eno famously telephoned Robert Fripp and asked him to come out of retirement and play some “hairy rock and roll guitar.” Fripp was on the next plane to Berlin. The best rocking album of the Berlin era. Also, the first Bowie album I ever purchased in 1977.
7 Diamond Dogs - A year ago this was not in my top 10. Partially because I hate the cover, I suppose, but it has been a huge riser for me over the last 12 months.
8 The Next Day - Bowie rocks at 66 like he invented (or reinvented) the art form. The title track is his best song in over 30 years.
9 Reality - Bowie sounds energized on this album. Great rockers, timely political commentary, and the haunting “Bring Me the Disco King.”
10 Low - “Warszawa” alone is enough to propel this album into the top 10. The atmospheric pieces here are better than on Heroes, but the rockers feel incomplete.
Four and a half stars
11 Heathen
12 Young Americans
13 Lodger
14 Buddha of Suburbia
Four stars
15 Tin Machine
16 The Man Who Sold the World
17 Black Tie, White Noise
18 Toy
Three and a half stars
19 Hunky Dory
20 Let’s Dance
21 Hours
22 Earthling
23 1. Outside
Three stars
24 Never Let Me Down
25 Pin Ups
26 Space oddity
Two and half stars
27 Tin Machine II
Two stars
28 Tonight
29 David Bowie
This has been a great two weeks revisiting my favorite artist. I don't need an excuse to listen to Bowie's catalog, but having one made it more fun than prior weeks.
Scary Monsters definitely a cool choice for #1. I really had a tough time ranking the top 4, and Ziggy, Scary Monsters, Lodger, and Aladdin Sane all flirted with that spot. Also, it's super nice to see someone else with The Next Day ranked highly (I had it at 10). I think that's his best post-Let's Dance album.
Well said. _Diamond Dogs_ is an odd duck. Less a Rock LP and more the soundtrack to an imaginary Broadway show, I've always been cold on it. But it's a grower & I find myself coming back to it often. It's an under-heralded masterpiece.
@@edgustafson Scary Monsters blew me away the first time I heard it. It was so different from anything else at the time. It had a huge impact on my tastes and expectations going forward. There have been many times in my life when Aladdin Sane was number 2. It's a tremendous album as well. It took several years for Lodger to grow on me. At first I only liked the songs in the middle, but over time the beginning and the end grew on me. Fantastic Voyage is a contender for my songs list.
@@HMcQ7891 I agree. For years I only liked the two hits - Diamond Dogs and Rebel Rebel - but over the years the rest of the album grew on me, one track at a time. Last year it was around 12 or 13 in my rankings, but this time it leaped into the top 10. Next year it could be even higher.
Good list too sir. My surprise with yours is low rankings for Outside and the astonishing Let's Dance!! But our top and bottom choices are actually mostly similar...👍👍👍 Nice one
Bowie’s fluctuating mental state in the 1970’s may explain the odd two different sides of Low and Heroes. I used to think just put all the odd ambiant Krautrock stuff on one records songs in the other, but the two song sides would not imho have made a good record- different feels
"TVC Fifteen" and "Hero's Filthy Lesson" (sic) feels like a trap! I'm also a 1. Outside fan, it's phenomenal and in my top three. I love the different angles on literally everything. This video from you is another reason to ditch my streaming subscriptions, this channel is way more entertaining
WHAM BAM Thank you Kram!
👍
T shirt coming soon
Haven’t seen you guys for a while. Good to see you back. Looking forward to the ranking.
Thanks, Jay. - Joe
Ok, so David Bowie week 😃 nice. I have 10 favourite albums from Bowie. The top 2 are essentially interchangeable, so joint top i guess:
1) Ziggy Stardust
1) Aladdin Sane
3) Scary Monsters
4) Hunky Dory
5) Young Americans
6) Let’s Dance
7) Low
8) Diamond Dogs
9) Station to Station
10) Heroes
As you can probably fathom, I’m more of a 70s Bowie kinda gal 😆
Cheers! 🇬🇧🇺🇸
Possibly my favourite artist of all time; certainly Top 5. So many great albums. Here is my Top 10.
1. Ziggy Stardust
2. Aladdin Sane
3. Low
4. Station to Station
5. Blackstar
6. Diamond Dogs
7. Heroes
8. Hunky Dory
9. Scary Monsters
10.Lodger
Great video y'all! My top 10 Bowie LPs:
10. Let's Dance
9. Heroes
8. The Man Who Sold the World
7. Aladdin Sane
6. Low
5. Diamond Dogs
4. Ziggy Stardust...
3. Young Americans
2. Hunky Dory
1. Station to Station (mainly for the title track, Word on a Wing and Stay being sooooo incredible)
Hey guys; based on this video I made my own Bowie playlist on Spotify, and then my son bought me "Ziggy stardust" on vinyl for my birthday - so well done for your video.
I wasn't sure you guys were going to be able to surpass the fantastic Mott the Hoople episode (my hands-down favorite) but you just may have pulled it off. Very well done, the two hours went by quickly.
These are the only ones I own ;
1.Low
2.Hunky Dory
3.Aladdin Sane
4.BlackStar
5.Station to Station
6.Scary Monsters
7.Diamond Dogs
8 Ziggy Stardust and the spider's from Mars
9.Heroes
10.Lodger
11.Lets dance
12.Pin ups
13.The man who sold the world
I never get tired of listening to these his strongest period the 1970s..Blackstar what a powerful goodbye...
This is exactly what I want from great, passionate reviews: They make me want to give certain albums another chance. Thanks, guys.
*db* Ranked
10. _Earthling_ - an underwhelming album that has aged *exceedingly* well & better than some of the albums that inspired it. I can't say with certainty that it's either a favorite or one of Bowie's best - I just listen to it _alot._
9. _Lodger_ - recognized as the third Berlin triptych entry (counterpoint: Iggy's Berlin albums round out the quadrilogy) & recorded in Switzerland, _Lodger_ is a dual travelogue: side one is Bowie's French-Moroccan album & side two is his NYC album: a snapshot of the high rise glam & street life seediness of late '70s New York.
8. _Young Americans_ - Everyone knows "Fame" & the title track, few know how amazing the rest of the album is: "Win", "Right", "Somebody Up There Likes Me" - some of the best [Plastic] Soul tracks of the '70s
7. _Diamond Dogs_ - Bowie goes Prog, makes a Broadway show of it. An LP with few Rock singles, it took me a while to appreciate. Then it clicked - it's a masterpiece. _Diamond Dogs_ alone would have been enough to make Bowie a legend.
6. _Ziggy Stardust_ - Bowie's _Tommy._ Endlessly listenable.
5. _Blackstar_ - the moving, brilliant funeral parade. Made with love.
4. _The Man Who Sold The World_ - Bowie & Ronson come alive and sear the heavens.
3. _"Heroes"_ - the _"Empire Strikes Back"_ to _Low_
2. _Let's Dance_ - Never gets old. Perfection.
1. _Low_ - The universe shaping, life-altering masterpiece.
*One good track:* There are no bad Bowie albums - only better ones. These are the underwhelming LPs with at least one gold standard track:
5. _The Next Day_ - a middling exercise, overall, Bowie's Rocker "The Next Day" was a striking return to _Scary Monsters_ form and "Where Are We Now?" is the most emotional, moving, & elegaic piece of music he ever wrote.
4. _Tin Machine II_ standout tracks: "You Belong In Rock N Roll" - the hit that wasn't. One of Bowie's best '90s tracks.
3. _Hours_ standout track: "What's Really Happening?" - sharp Glam Brit-Rock, a brief return to form
2. _Never Let Me Down_ standout track: "Never Let Me Down" - elegant, romantic '80s radio Pop
1. _Tonight_ standout tracks: "Loving The Alien", "Don't Look Down" - superior Pop, bad album that featured two of Bowie's best '80s tracks.
I have listened to EART HL I NG a lot myself. Love the energy!
Love that Kramzer rated “ The Next Day “ at 12 ( same as my list ). Love that album .” Where are we now?” off that record is one of his most moving songs in my opinion . Roxanne Walsh one of the regular commenters has it in her top 10 on her brilliant list , which was fantastic to see. I wanted to put it in my top 10 but lost my nerve 😔…. Lesson learnt .Will follow my heart when I do my “ remaster”.
Trust your gut. I agree The Next Day is phenomenal album.
I haven’t really listened to the next day, but the cover is an extreme deterrent to that.
My most anticipated video of the year
I’m really excited for next week’s Tom Waits’ episode. Thank you for covering him!
This is your masterpiece review guys 👏 it's fun hanging out with yas
I'm trying to think what artist will end up being longer to discuss than 2 and a half hours. Probably Elton John or Prince?
My Top 5:
1. Ziggy Stardust (AotY for 1972)
2. Low
3. Heroes
4. Hunky Dory
5. Diamond Dogs
Great work guys! 😎👍
Love these videos. Keep them coming.
Love the rankings where I know all the albums. I feel the 90s-00s albums are underrated, exciting to see where they rank!
Brilliant lists from each of you guys, and while nobody is right or wrong, you’ve managed to put your cases across for each winning pick admirably well, and proved how bloomin’ great Bowie was. His songs, his ideas, his legacy. The man was so inspired and inspirational and truly a musical genius
As always, I love your work in your videos. You guys are so cool.
My own pick as fave (and perhaps ‘best’) Bowie album? I think right now it’s a top 3 of 3) The Man Who Sold The World 2) Diamond Dogs and 1) Ziggy Stardust. (With, for whatever it’s worth mentioning, the mindblowing anthemic majestic piece of pure brilliance that is ‘Heroes’ and the sad and so perfectly formed ‘Ashes To Ashes’ being his best songs).
British Bowie fan to Ground Control, over!
30) David Bowie (1967) (2 stars)
29) Never Let Me Down (2 stars)
28) Heathen (2.25 stars)
27) Tin Machine II (3.25 stars)
26) Tonight (3.25 stars)
25) David Bowie (1969) (3.5 stars)
24) Lodger (3.5 stars)
23) Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) (3.5 stars)
22) Black Tie White Noise (3.5 stars)
21) Pin Ups (3.75 stars)
20) Tin Machine (3.75 stars)
19) The Next Day (3.75 stars)
18) Labyrinth (4 stars)
17) EART HL I NG (4 stars)
16) 1. Outside (4 stars)
15) "Heroes" (4.25 stars)
14) Young Americans (4.25 stars)
13) Let's Dance (4.25 stars)
12) Toy (4.5 stars)
11) The Buddha of Suburbia (4.5 stars)
10) Low (4.5 stars)
09) Reality (4.5 stars)
08) The Man Who Sold the World (4.5 stars)
07) Diamond Dogs (5 stars)
06) 'hours...' (5 stars)
05) Blackstar (5 stars)
04) Station to Station (5 stars)
03) Aladdin Sane (5 stars)
02) Hunky Dory (5 stars)
01) The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (5 stars)
0 stars - irredeemably terrible/insultingly bad/the worst
.5 stars - terrible
1 star - bad
1.5 stars - between bad and fair
2 stars - fair
2.5 stars - meh
2.75 stars - "It's not bad, but quit playing it."
3 stars - OK
3.25 stars - pretty good
3.5 stars - good
4 stars - very good
4.5 stars - excellent
5 stars - the Golden Dawn
notes:
* Bowie is one of my favorite artists, an amazing talent with a distinctive, incredible voice. I knew all these albums going into this except Labyrinth and Toy, most of them quite well. Actually, I saw the Labyrinth movie in theaters when I was a teen and I heard a version of Toy before it was officially released, so I've kinda heard those as well.
* My favorite, most listened to Bowie album is probably Hunky Dory, but I had to give the top spot to Ziggy Stardust. Every single track on Ziggy is a phenomenal 5-star song. It's a perfect album.
* I included the Tin Machine albums and the Labyrinth soundtrack. Why not be thorough? Tin Machine was a band but it was Bowie's baby and Bowie sings on fully half of Labyrinth (plus, his songs are great and the rest of it is good too).
* The light, dorky "music hall" of the debut is too twee for my tastes. Bowie's voice sounds good but his delivery is stiff. Most of these songs I rate quite low, but "When I Live My Dream" has good vocals and instrumentation, and there's some good guitar on "Come and Buy My Toys."
* The Man Who Sold the World is fantastic, highly creative rock n' roll. The only thing that turns me off is the "George of the Jungle" drums on "The Supermen," but that may just be a personal hang up.
* I was surprised to find I now consider Diamond Dogs to be a 5-star album. He's no Mick Ronson, but it's impressive that Bowie did all the guitar parts.
* Lodger is quite interesting with some intriguing bits of "ethnological forgery" as Can would put it. "Move On" has drums that sound like they were lifted from Buddy Holly's "Peggy Sue." Adrian Belew makes his mark on "Red Sails," while "Repetition" has an interesting artistic intent but it's not a great song.
* Scary Monsters has "Ashes to Ashes," one of Bowie's best songs. "Fashion" and "Teenage Wildlife" are great too, but I'm not keen on fully half of this album. Some of Bowie's worst vocals are found here, especially on the opening track. He tries to do something else besides singing in places and the results are rather awful. But Robert Fripp's guitar is killer and there's some interesting experimentation, like the cool high-pitched keyboards on "Because You're Young."
* My biggest opinion shift came with Let's Dance and Tonight. For years and years, I considered the fantastic, towering first three tracks on Let's Dance and to a lesser extent "Blue Jean" to be the only worthwhile songs on these albums. I now see there's a lot to love about the rest of these tracks. I have a newfound appreciation for Stevie Ray's contributions to Let's Dance, especially the solo on "Criminal World." And I used to think "Shake It" was just filler; now I find it catchy and fun. On Tonight, "Loving the Alien" has some Psychedelic Furs vibes and I dig the reggae influence on a few of these songs. Bowie and Tina Turner sound great together on the title track. And Bowie really croons on "God Only Knows" which I like better than the original.
* Labyrinth turned out to be a delight. The soundtrack to a wonderful PG film starring Bowie, it's meant to appeal to children. The sound is pure 80's pop, so it's a bit cheesy. Good cheesy. It actually sounds like Bowie is backed by Madonna's band from her classic early years, especially that synth bass.
* The first three tracks on Never Let Me Down are good, but it's all downhill from there. While a good song, "Beat of Your Drum" has verses and choruses that sound mismatched. Bowie disliked the track "Too Dizzy" so much he had it removed from subsequent editions of the album. Sorry Bowie, that song was on the original release so it has to count. "Bang Bang" rocks, but the lyrics are just too annoying, especially when he sings, "I got mine!"
* Bowie rocks out on the first Tin Machine album (thanks especially to guitarist Reeves Gabrels) which is a bit too long and would have been much improved with the removal of "Bus Stop," "Video Crime" and especially the dismal, forgettable "Run," which gets my vote for worst Bowie song ever.
* Tin Machine II has some good songs but a weak first side, except for Roxy Music's "If There Is Something" which gets rocked up with big drums. Surprisingly, drummer Hunt Sales turns in a few good vocals - especially good is "Stateside," a bluesy chugger with blistering middle sections.
* I adore the work of pianist Mike Garson who played so many outstanding parts on so many of these albums. He makes some great turns on Buddha of Suburbia, especially the jazz-meets-techno/hip hop of "South Horizon," one of my favorite Bowie tracks.
* Many find 1. Outside to be muddled but I'm in love with its adventurous experimentalism. Most of these tracks sprang from spontaneous band creations and creativity was at a peak. Bowie sings like Sinatra (as he occasionally does) on "A Small Plot of Land," a jazz number with stunning keys from Garson. The musicianship is amazing on "The Voyeur of Utter Destruction (As Beauty)." My main complaint is that "Strangers When We Meet" doesn't fit the feel of the album. It sounds much more at home on Buddha of Suburbia (which has a few other songs that also sound like Roxy Music).
* I love the direction Bowie took with EART HL I NG, heading full on into electronica/drum & bass/jungle/whatever you want to call it. It has one of my favorite Bowie songs - "Dead Man Walking." I always feel rejuvenated after hearing that one.
* The high placement of 'hours...' and the low placement of Heathen might be the biggest surprises on my list. I think 'hours...' is gorgeous. I do like "What's Really Happening?" which Bowie did with a fan, but it drives me crazy because the verses nick the melody of another song which is stuck in the back of my brain and I can't identify it. I think it's an old Supremes song or some other girl group from the 60s. 'hours...' is largely a subdued album and it took a while for me to fully appreciate its mood. At the time, I was more into "rocking Bowie" which I found on the shit-hot Ziggy-era tracks off of disk 2 of Bowie at the Beeb released a year later.
* Heathen, for the most part, turns me off. Some of the loops and effects sound like phone sounds which I find irritating. There's an annoying whooshing noise keeping strange time on "I Would Be Your Slave," while "5:15 The Angels Have Gone" is another irritating track with awkward transitions. "A Better Future" is so monotonous and dorky it gets a 1-star rating. The Pixies cover can't hold a candle to the original and the strings can't save this disappointing album. However, I will say I like the part where Bowie sings, "Slow Burn" (even though I don't like much else about the song, aside from some admittedly great guitar work), the oscillator on the rocking "Afraid" is cool and "I've Been Waiting for You" is kinda sexy.
* For some reason I don't connect with The Next Day very much. It feels more like a collection of songs than a cohesive album to me. There's lots of chanting (picking a single note and rolling with it repeatedly). It's a good album though. I especially love "(You Will) Set the World on Fire." "Valentine's Day" sounds like easy-going, happy pop which doesn't fit the dark subject matter, but obviously the juxtaposition was intentional.
* Blackstar is one of Bowie's most experimental albums and a helluva parting gift to his fans. The jazz elements in particular keep things interesting.
* Toy turned out to be a delight as well.
* Cheers mates!!!!!!!!!!
Great list. - Joe
Have "Hours" change places with "Scary Monsters" and you're onto something.
WOW! Lovely ranking!
@@TastesLikeMusic Thanks man! I love your list but I just can't get there with you on Scary Monsters. But tons of people love it all the way through so you're in good company.
@@179rich You're definitely sleeping on Scary Monsters and Lodger, especially given a lot of the music you like.
1967-1987 albums (Except Pin Ups)
16 Diamond Dogs
15 Heroes
14 Young Americans
13 Space Oddity
12 Hunky Dory
11 Let's Dance
10 Lodger
9 David Bowie
8 Scary Monsters
7 Low
6 Tonight
5 Station To Station
4 Never Let Me Down
3 Aladdin Sane
2 Man Who Sold The World
1 The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars(An Absolute Masterpiece)
I'll keep it to 10 - # 1 Station To Station # 2 Low # 3 Scary Monsters # 4 Aladdin Sane # 5 Young Americans # 6 Heroes # 7 Hunky Dory # 8 Ziggy Stardust # 9 Diamond Dogs & # 10 Lets Dance. Station To Station is my overwhelming favorite - Flawless !
There were years where I would say Aladdin Sane was my favorite because I felt he almost took the best aspects of Hunky Dory and Ziggy and used them to his advantage. Knowing this ranking was coming up I listened to a number of the albums, and I had almost the same experience as Jason did with Ziggy Stardust.
I'm locked into my Top Three & have been for years. I give Nile much credit for Let's Dance & can't help but appreciate the quality pop songs on it & EMI must have been thrilled with it - what came after .. not so much !
Leading up to this week has been a really fun experience. I managed to listen to every album at least once and it was so much fun to discuss them with everyone in the Discord server as I went. There are so many different ways to interpret and enjoy his discography and that just makes it so cool. Before this, I actually wasn't as well versed in Bowie as I probably should have been - I knew all the big songs, and a couple albums (Ziggy Stardust & Station to Station) but I had never done a deep dive. I enjoyed this tremendously. I have not ranked the albums but I have rated them in tiers. I will say that especially in the 4.5 tier that many of those have room to grow. My biggest discovery from this listen through as I have said before was Low. I absolutely love it and I went back to it the most. There is something about it that just spoke to me - I love the way it sounds and I have found something new I like about it every listen so far. I expect I will have that experience with some of the other higher rated albums as well. Maybe after a small Bowie break though. This has been a lot of Bowie in a short time after all.
But once again I glad I did this.
5 Stars:
-The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders From Mars
- Station to Station
- Low
4.5 Stars:
- Hunky Dory
- Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)
- Aladdin Sane
- Young Americans
- "Heroes"
- Lodger
- Let's Dance
4 Stars:
- Blackstar
- The Man Who Sold the World
- Space Oddity
3.5 Stars:
- Pin-Ups
- Diamond Dogs
- Heathen
- Reality
- Outside
- The Buddha of Suburbia
- Debut
- Never Let Me Down
- Tonight
3 Stars:
- Black Tie White Noise
- The Next Day
- Hours
- Earthling
Outside >:c
Fantastic Bowie voyage lads!!! your best show thus far!!!
David Bowie is a surefire top 5 artist for me,so I will rate his studio albums(no live,compilations or Tin Machine);
25.David Bowie('67)
24.Pin Ups('73)
23.Black Tie,White Noise('93)
22.Never Let Me Down('87)
21.Buddha of Suburbia('93)
20.1.Outside('95)
19.Earthling('97)
18.Tonight('84)
17.Reality('03)
16.The Next Day('13)
15.Let's Dance('83)
14.Young Americans('75)
13.Space Oddity('69)
12.Heathen('02)
11.Diamond Dogs('74)
10.BlackStar('16)
09."Heroes"('77)
08.The Man Who Sold the World('70)
07.Scary Monsters('80)
06.Low('77)
05.Lodger('79)
04.Ziggy('72)
03.Hunky Dory('71)
02.Alladin Sane('73)
01.Station to Station('76)
Great list!
Two and a half hours??? I'm in! 😀 Before I watch, I ranked all of his albums in individual videos over a year ago and the top 5 were Black Star, Ziggy Stardust, Scary Monsters, Lodger and Heathen. Bottom 5 were Never Let Me Down, Tonight, Let's Dance, Pinups and his debut (1967) album. One album that has grown in stature for me (newly remastered) is 'hours...
Heathen top 5 and Let’s Dance bottom 5 are some hot takes! -Jason
@@TastesLikeMusic I still really like Let's Dance quite a bit. 🙂
THIS video finds the three of you at your very best. Quite the accomplishment to be very proud of, guys! Here’s where my rankings stand at the moment (sorry I don’t have them all):
14. Station to Station
13. Earthling
12. Never Let Me Down
11. Outside
10. Young Americans
9. Tonight
8. Heroes
7. The Next Day
6. Let’s Dance
5. Reality
4. Heathen
3. Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust
2. Lodger (I love the world music vibe, actually)
1. ALADDIN SANE!!!
As always, or usual, Kramser wins out (despite a few wtf choices imo). Anyway can't wait for the songs pick. My ranking:
Young americans
Heroes
Low
Station to Station
Hunky Dory
Blackstar
Ziggy Stardust
Heathen
The Next Day
Scary monsters
Buddha of Suburbia
Outside
Lodger
Aladdin Sane
DB/Space Oddity
Diamond Dogs
Hours
The Man Who Sold the World
Let's dance
Pin Ups
Reality
Earthling
BTWN
David Bowie 67
NLMD
Tonight
I don’t think your placement of Aladdin Sane jibes very well with his. - Joe
@@TastesLikeMusic That was one of the wtf choices lol. AI as an album is NOT my favorite though the title song is probably in my top 5 Bowie songs. But he ranked Blackstar and BoS pretty well so all is forgiven lol
And don't worry, you were pretty close too Joe : )
Enjoyed this review very much. Thanks for giving my favorite the love he deserves. Kramzer, you're wrong about Lodger by the way🙂
Great video. For me 1. ALADDIN SANE. 2. HEROES. 3. HUNKY DORY. LIFE ON MARS is probably the most beautiful song ever.
1. Outside does have its obsessive fans. A good friend who I've long since lost touch with was absolutely obsessed with that album. He thought it was Bowie's masterpiece. He was extremely disappointed by the fact that Earthling did not continue the story as Outside part 2 as Bowie intended to do at one point.
It was certainly an excellent window into Bowie in the 90s for many....at one point it was my fave too....but then again so are half of rhem
Great job, guys! Jason and Joe are obviously rockers and tend to undervalue the more experimental Eno/Bowie material like Outside and sides two of Low and Heroes, but that's simply a matter of taste. Blackstar is my number one and the most disturbing album ever. When Kramzer comments that Bowie could have been a painter or filmmaker, he overlooks that he was actually an exceptional painter and filmmaker since he storyboarded some of the most amazing videos ever created from Ashes to Ashes to Blackstar. These guys have good delivery and an astute knowlege of musical composition, with a little less attention to lyrical content but to cover all of this would take ten hours. Very enjoyable.
Loved Joe’s reaction to Kram’s ranking of Lodger as well as Jason’s reaction to Kram’s take on Nirvana’s “the man who sold the world” …lots of possessive nouns up in that blurb
It's David Bowie what more can you say?
Very few bands/artists have 10 great albums, Bowie is one of them and defo on my Mount Rushmore
Great episode. Having known the classic singles for most of my life, Station To Station was the album that drew me into a new level of appreciation about ten years ago. It’s such a weird, intense burst of creativity that I find absolutely intoxicating. My no.2 is the much overlooked Lodger. Come on Kramzer, that record has you written all over it! I hope one day it will reveal itself for ya. Beyond that it’s interchangeable for me between the other two Berlins, Scary Monsters, Ziggy and Blackstar. Reality would actually make my top ten too. Jason’s right; horrible cover, great music. Diamond Dogs honorary mention too. And Let’s Dance. Jesus, rating Bowie is basically impossible
Great work, guys!! I *really* enjoyed this video. Bowie is one of my all-time heroes. I sat in a chair and cried when the news of his passing broke. I could feel the world was diminished knowing he was not in it anymore. It took nearly two years for my eyes not to tear up when I thought of his absence. So for me - an immense Bowie fan - I thought your appraisal of his back catalogue was incredibly well argued and presented.
For most of my life, I was a teacher - English, Lit, and History. I was teaching a class one time and I mentioned Bowie and a student put up his hand and said:
Student: Who is David Bowie?
Me: David Bowie is the man who invented the 1970s
Class: _bursts out laughing_
My Top 5: 1. Ziggy Stardust 2. Hunky Dory 3. Scary Monsters 4. Let's Dance 5. The Man Who Sold the World or Aladdin Sane (as long as it is understood that there is no distance between the greatness of these six albums, and that on any given day I will listen to any of his albums from the 1970s and think it also needs to be in my top five).
Thank you gentleman, another top segment. My no.1 - Ziggy. no.27 - Low. On to the Stones. Take care to all, greetings from Sydney.
27) David Bowie (1967) 3½
26) Never Let Me Down 3½
25) The Buddha of Suburbia 3½
24) Toy 3½
23) Reality 3½
22) Black Tie White Noise 3½
21) 'hours...' 3½
20) Tonight 3½
19) Pin Ups 3½
18) The Next Day 3½
17) Labyrinth 3½
16) EART HL I NG 3½
15) 1. Outside 3½
14) Blackstar 4
13) Lodger 4
12) David Bowie (1969) 4
11) Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) 4
10) Heroes 4
09) Young Americans 4
08) The Man Who Sold the World 4
07) Station to Station 4.5
06) Let's Dance 4.5
05) Diamond Dogs 4.5
04) Aladdin Sane 4.5
03) Hunky Dory 5
02) Low - seriously underrated, Kramzer nailed it. Hearing this when it came out, it was indeed WAY ahead of its time. 5
01) The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars - Jason perfectly summed it up - in my top ten too. 5
Back when I collected CDs, I was big into the Rykodisk rereleases of Bowie's catalogue which had amazing bonus cuts. Ziggy had "Velvet Goldmine" and "Sweet Head" which are pretty great though not quite great enough to be on the album proper. (NOT Rhino, my mistake)
Do you mean Rhino, or the Rykodisc ones that came out in the early '90's? They were great. Bonus tracks!
And was "Bombers" on Hunky Dory? And "Dodo"?
@@mc3067 I remember Bombers, a good song but as I recall it did break the spell of what came before it, Bewlay Brothers I think. Dodo was on Diamond Dogs.
@@blackpeter70 Yes! Rykodisc. I will edit my post.
@@179rich I only had three of them - Low, "Heroes", and Scary Monsters, but they sounded awesome!
Quality. Got something to watch when I get in later.
1. Low
2. Heroes
3. Station to Station
4. Blackstar
5. Heathen
Underrated: Heathen
Overrated: The Next Day
Wow, what a great 2 hr listen, great discussion of these albums.
Roxy Music will be interesting, I own 3 records.
Really looking forward to Waits and Lizzy. Keep up the great work
1. Low
2. Hunky Dory
3. Ziggy Stardust
4. Station to Station
5. Aladdin Sane
6. Heroes
7. The Man Who Sold the World
8. Blackstar
9. Scary Monsters
10. Diamond Dogs
11. Young Americans
12. Lodger
13. 1.Outside
14. Heathen
15. The Next Day
16. Let's Dance
17. Space Oddity
18. Pin Ups
I really don't know the others well enough to fairly rank them.
Great episode. My favorite Bowie album is Outside 😀. It checks all the boxes for me as far as what I love in music. One of his albums that I’ve done a 180° turn about is “Tonight.” I used to think it was boring and uninteresting, then many years passed and I gave it another listen and it just brought back a lot of sensations and abstract memories of the mid 80s, and I absolutely love it now, to the point that I think it’s a meatier album than Let’s Dance, even if LD admittedly has the better singles. My favorite of the “Berlin” trilogy is Lodger, which probably at this point makes me sound like a contrarian, but I swear I’m not, lol.
Besides the ELO video (my personal favorite band) this is my favorite video you guys have done. I was so excited for this and like the second I finished homework yesterday I started watching. But if I had to do a top 10 ranking of the ones I’ve heard all the way through:
1. Ziggy Stardust 5/5
2. Station to Station 5/5
3. “Heroes” 5/5
4. Aladdin Sane 5/5
5. Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) 5/5
6. Hunky Dory 5/5
7. Young Americans 5/5
8. Let’s Dance 5/5
9. Diamond Dogs 5/5
10. Low 5/5
Bowie is easily a top 5 artist for me lol
That’s a lot of 5/5’s. - Joe
I'm a huge huge bowie fan so pretty excited about this one alot . Your top five will be how I rank i guys excited to watch this
Bowie's oeuvre is one of the most fascinating in all of rock, very thought-provoking. Maybe while I keep coming back to this video. There's so much to chew over, it could provide a Ranking session 3 times as long as this.
God damn, this channel is making full on epics. I wonder if the Elvis Costello episode can hit the 3 hour mark lol
Young Americans is fantastic. Love the documentary of him writing it ....it shows how wonderful a collaborator he was. Collaboration was always his secret sauce...
2 hours 29 minutes? HOLY SHITE! Marathon. Nice work guys.
Really enjoyed this and great to listen to your detailed views!
Can't argue that Ziggy is his best album but also love Hunky Dory and Aladdin Sane from early 70s. Honourable mentions for Scary monsters and Heroes. Also like Low but agree with Joe that it is a bit overrated.
Anyway, great to watch and thanks for the deep dive!
26 Buddha of Suburbia
25 Outside
24 Black Tie White Noise
23 Earthling
22 The Next Day
21 Never Let Me Down
20 Blackstar
19 Hours
18 Pin Ups
17 David Bowie (1967)
16 David Bowie (Space Oddity)
15 Ziggy Stardust
14 Heathen
13 Reality
12 Aladdin sane
11 Tonight (maybe there's something wrong with my ears, but I'm ok with this album)
10 The Man Who Sold The World
09 Let's Dance
08 Low
07 Diamond Dogs
06 Station To Station
05 Hunky Dory
04 Lodger
03 Heroes
02 Young Americans
01 Scary Monsters
great review, as always TLM, thanks
Wow like watching a Marvel movie in length. Great review. One of your combined best. Well done.
1. Station to Station
2. Low
3. Ziggy Stardust
4. Scary Monsters
5. Hunky Dory
Great job...thanks for this...Bowie is in my top 10...the Ziggy era is my favourite...such a cool discography...the relisten must have taken some time...Joe's album list was closest to mine....but the ziggy album is perfection...thanks.again...cheers
Thanks guys!!!! Gonna watch this tomorrow morning when I’m back from my shift. CURIOUS!!!!! 😎
The Berlin Trilogy album you might be looking for, Joe, is the soundtrack for Christiane F. - Wir Kinder Vom Bahnhof Zoo. It was my introduction to many of those songs and it was my favorite of Bowie's albums (with the exception of Hunky Dory) for many years.
Thanks great video - i need to revisit some of these albums - very interesting choices. "Hunky Dory" has always been my favorite, but now that i am older, i realize i have not listen to some of these in over a decade. I am 65 now, so it is time to relearn and listen more closely - thank you for your insights - great channel. I still vote for The Cowboy Junkies, Low, And Loudon Wainwrght III. Thank you for all you do - i can see that some of these are qute a slog. How about Blue Oyster Cult?.
Coming from someone who loves "Did You Ever Have a Dream", my assertion that LOW is the best record can be easily dismissed.😉
But being an older fellow, I'm not too into retrospective reviews. Fortunately some of us are old enough to have been simply bewildered by Bowie's latest album when we bought it. I can't believe I bought the LODGER album at K-Mart.