So I have Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars which I absolutely love, and I have Hunky Dory which is pretty good, but I'm not sure where else to go with Bowie. Suggestions, anyone?

Sure, start with Space Oddity, which is a great album beyond the title track (which is great as well of course, though played to death). It's a bit more folky, and indeed hippie, than anything later, but that's not a bad thing. He was definiltely taking in Dylan as an influence big time on a few tracks, especially "Cygnet Committee", but he clearly filtered it through his own sensibilities.

The Man Who Sold the World is also an excellent record and gets a bit heavier. Again, it's just too bad Kurt Cobain covered the title track without adding a thing to it, and that this was overplayed to the point it's hard to enjoy the original in quite the same way as before. "Width of a Circle", however, is a really cool tune tinged with the metal of the era, and "All the Madmen" is one of my favorite songs he's ever done.

then, after the ones you already have, there's Aladin Sane , which while a bit uneven still contains some of his best era work including "Cracked Actor", "Time", "Drive in Saturday", and "Panic in Detroit". Also the same year he did Pin-Ups, which is all covers (which was a highly unusual thing for a major rock musician to do back in '73) done his style. You probably have to decide you're seriously a bowie fan to want it, but much of it is really great, especially his version of Syd's Floyd's "See Emily Play" which is arguably even weirder than the original.

With Diamond Dogs, he began to fuse disco and soul elements into his sound, but he did it in an album that grew out of a failed soundtrack to 1984. Consequently, the record feels like a soundtrack in a very good way, and manages to be pop music contemporary to the day, and highly experimental at the same time. This record, along with Hunky Dory, and Low are the ones I most often find myself in phases of listening to repeatedly for weeks.

That said, I don't get that excited about his discography again until Low, which is his collaboration with Brian Eno, and fucking genius electo-pop. Gary Numan modelled his whole sound after this album in my opinion (and I'm a big fan of early Numan and Tubeway Army), and sadly Bowie never again returned to those heights for me (though the next three albums certainly have their moments and some great songs).

I've never liked Lets Dance, though it's not awful or anything. After that, most of his stuff is for me, especially that dismal crap he did with Reznor. Actually to be honest, much of his later work is just highly mediocre, but then that's a tragedy given the earlier heights. Kids, don't let your friends lock themselves in closets with unlimited supplies of cocaine for months on end...

Thanks a bunch, but I have one more question: how's Scary Monsters?

Good. It's surely not one of his masterpieces but there's some of my favorite Bowie songs on it (Teenage wildlife and the Tom Verlaine cover Kingdom come especially), and the guitar work is good.

My favorite Bowie records would be (in order of preference):

1. Hunky dory
2. Low
3. Aladdin sane
4. Heroes
5. Ziggy stardust and the spiders from Mars
6. Scary monsters
7. Station to station
8. The man who sold the world

No reason to repeat that, I'm pretty much in agreement. The title track is a good song too.

My faves in rough order:

1) Low
2) Space Oddity
3) Diamond Dogs
4) Hunky Dory
5) Ziggy Stardust
6) Pin-Ups
7) The Man Who Sold the World
8) Aladin Sane
9) Station to Station and Heroes (tie)
10) Scary Monsters

That is to say studio albums. The live album soundtrack to The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars is an absolute must have.

I'd have to say Low, Scary Monsters, and Lodger are my faves. They're so unique and dancy weird. I love em'. Never realized how much i like Lodger, but brought it into my car recently and there are some great tunes on there..

1 Hunky Dory
2 The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
3 Aladdin Sane
4 Bowie at the Beeb vol. 2
5 Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)
6 Heroes
7 The Man Who Sold the World
8 Low
9 Let's Dance
10 Young Americans
11 Bowie 2/Space Oddity
12 Pin Ups
13 Diamond Dogs
14 Bowie at the Beeb vol. 1
15 Lodger
16 Station to Station
17 Stage

all of these are good ones

low is my favorite.

Low is my favorite too!

Has anyone seen CRACKED ACTOR? This is a great lil' doc, focusing on David Bowie at the height of his coke addiction and he's just fucking OUT OF IT the entire time.

I think the best thing he's ever done is that brief scene in Fire Walk with Me. NOW WE'RE NOT GOING TO TALK ABOUT JUDY, NO WE'RE NOT GOING TO TALK ABOUT JUDY AT ALL WE'RE GOING TO LEAVE HER OUT OF IT.

GORDON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WHO DO YOU THINK THIS IS THERE?

It seems like many of you are forgetting one of his very best records, Outside. Surely one of the most underrated albums I can think of, it's fantastic in every way. Dark, industrial and probably the mot experimental album he's ever done.

My top 10 would look something like this:

1. Low
2. Outside
3. Station to Station
4. Hunky Dory
5. Heroes
6. Ziggy Stardust
7. Scary Monsters
8. Aladdin Sane
9. Lodger
10 Diamond Dogs

And that Fire Walk With Me scene is great Adam!

Station To Station > everything else.
Low is decent, but horrendously overrated at the same time. Eno had reproduced the best moments on his own LPs years earlier.

I only like the 3 Eno albums and the Outside album.

Though I hate anything to do with glam rock or classic rock.

cracked actor is definitely worth watching. milk, red peppers, and cocaine... holy fuck.

i think scary monsters is my favorite bowie record. then low and station to station. aladdin sane would be up there, too, if it weren't for that stones cover.

R.I.P. Trevor Bolder, Bassist for David Bowie's Spiders From Mars :(

Sad news indeed!

assuming this is about lester bowie, great player.