Your the same age as my son. Trust me I've tried everything to get him into Bowie but somehow it just doesn't connect. With no disrespect to you but In a way you had to be there in the moment to appreciate the whole thing. I'm approaching 70 now and to this day i have never ranked his music and never will. It's an impossible task. I see you put heroes top and I get that. The Berlin Trilogy always fascinates me. And around the same period saving iggys career producing 'the Idiot' & 'lust for life' truly remarkable. Enjoy your Bowie 👍
There are no worse albums for me because they all suit different occasions and memories as an advert in a music paper that said " there is old rock there is punk rock and then there is David Bowie "
I've been a fan of Bowie since the late 70s. But earlier in the decade I dismissed him as just another glam pop/rock artist. That changed radically when I listened to Heroes and Low for the first time around 78. I had to reconsider my opinion of his music. Unlike you, for me it's almost impossible to pick a definite favorite album. I believe my first favorite Bowie album was Low, the record that got me hooked. I think after that my favorite became Hunky Dory, when I started listening to his earlier albums, with new ears. During a very difficult period of my life, in the late 90s, Ziggy Stardust came on top. I feel like Ziggy literally saved my life. Lately Station to Station has risen up as a possible candidate to the throne. Almost every album can be described as "transitional" in his catalog. But Station has an interesting blend of what he did on Diamond Dogs and Young Americans, while pointing forward to the more industrial sound of Low and Heroes, mainly on the title track.
@@riffreverence Heroes can easily become my favorite sometime in the future. I agree with you that the two sides of Heroes are more coherent than the two sides on Low. But side 1 of Low is possibly my favorite side of any Bowie album. Side one of Low has more songs than Station to station! Be my wife is one of my favorite Bowie songs. The sound of the drums and bass particularly.
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!!!!!!!!!!
Nice ranking. My top 10: 1. Station to Station 5/5 2. Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) 5/5 3. Young Americans 5/5 4. Let’s Dance 5/5 5. Low 5/5 6. Lodger 4.5/5 7. Aladdin Sane 4.5/5 8. Heroes 4.5/5 9. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars 4.5/5 10. Earthling 4.5/5
@ Dark Side of The Moon by Pink Floyd had been my favorite album all time since I first heard it 9 years ago. I think station to station is better now after listening to a ton of Bowie in 2024
That Best of Bowie compilation is also the first thing I ever owned from him! I got it around the same time too.
Listened to it all the time back then. Also that Reality tour live dvd
Well done my friend! Our lists are radically different, which is the spice of life!
Your the same age as my son. Trust me I've tried everything to get him into Bowie but somehow it just doesn't connect. With no disrespect to you but In a way you had to be there in the moment to appreciate the whole thing. I'm approaching 70 now and to this day i have never ranked his music and never will. It's an impossible task. I see you put heroes top and I get that. The Berlin Trilogy always fascinates me. And around the same period saving iggys career producing 'the Idiot' & 'lust for life' truly remarkable. Enjoy your Bowie 👍
Thank you! I can only imagine how it was in those days
Loved it. Love your top 3. Perfect.
Thank you!
Really nice editing job as well! Loved seeing the album for the entire duration of the time you talked about it.
Thanks a ton!
@@riffreverence Yeah, it really helps. Otherwise, I'm like, "What album were we talking about again?" LOL
5th...Stage....4th...Young Americans...3rd...Heroes...2nd...Station To Station...1st...Low....
What a breath of fresh air! Someone who doesn't have Ziggy Stardust at No. 1. Mine is Low btw
Excellent pick!
There are no worse albums for me because they all suit different occasions and memories as an advert in a music paper that said " there is old rock there is punk rock and then there is David Bowie "
Nicely put!
About to start watching this after I post my list !(I'll just post what I posted under TLM's Bowie ranking video).
I enjoyed this , and I agree with a great deal of the list .
Thanks a lot!
I've been a fan of Bowie since the late 70s. But earlier in the decade I dismissed him as just another glam pop/rock artist. That changed radically when I listened to Heroes and Low for the first time around 78. I had to reconsider my opinion of his music. Unlike you, for me it's almost impossible to pick a definite favorite album. I believe my first favorite Bowie album was Low, the record that got me hooked. I think after that my favorite became Hunky Dory, when I started listening to his earlier albums, with new ears. During a very difficult period of my life, in the late 90s, Ziggy Stardust came on top. I feel like Ziggy literally saved my life. Lately Station to Station has risen up as a possible candidate to the throne. Almost every album can be described as "transitional" in his catalog. But Station has an interesting blend of what he did on Diamond Dogs and Young Americans, while pointing forward to the more industrial sound of Low and Heroes, mainly on the title track.
I can completely understand that!
@@riffreverence Heroes can easily become my favorite sometime in the future. I agree with you that the two sides of Heroes are more coherent than the two sides on Low. But side 1 of Low is possibly my favorite side of any Bowie album. Side one of Low has more songs than Station to station! Be my wife is one of my favorite Bowie songs. The sound of the drums and bass particularly.
I agree that Tonight isn’t the best album but I love Tumble and Twirl, it’s got a great Latin feel.
I do love "John, I'm Only Dancing." Used to hear it a lot when I listened to ChangesOneBowie on vinyl.
I should really re rank Bowie, my list always changes
Heroes is a brilliant album
Most definitely!
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!!!!!!!!!!
Diamond Dogs needs to be muchi higher on list and probably Ziggy or Hunky Dory top, good list though and will provoke much debate.cheers
Thank you!
Nice ranking.
My top 10:
1. Station to Station 5/5
2. Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) 5/5
3. Young Americans 5/5
4. Let’s Dance 5/5
5. Low 5/5
6. Lodger 4.5/5
7. Aladdin Sane 4.5/5
8. Heroes 4.5/5
9. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars 4.5/5
10. Earthling 4.5/5
Thanks! Love to see Station to Station at number 1
@ Dark Side of The Moon by Pink Floyd had been my favorite album all time since I first heard it 9 years ago. I think station to station is better now after listening to a ton of Bowie in 2024
Three stars for Hours stings bb
I'm sorry ❤️
Nothing will top Outside for me, followed by Blackstar.