What's the best or your favourite David Bowie Album?

[Brundlefly 2,385]

Well?

 

My favourite albums are:

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

1. Outside

Blackstar

[Jay 37,340]

Quote

1. What are your favourite Queen albums? Choose three titles!

 

[mstrox 6,651]

Blackstar at the moment, but so many of them are so good!

[Naïve Old Fart 9,513]

19 minutes ago, Brundlefly said:

My favourite albums are:

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

1. Outside

Blackstar

A very interesting choice. I love 1. OUTSIDE.

 

 

Where's LABYRINTH, TIN MACHINE, TIN MACHINE II, THE BUDDHA OF SUBURBIA, and the remixed NEVER LET ME DOWN?

 

[JibberJabberwocky 9]

Labyrinth with Trevor Jones is quite good. Bowie had some good singles off that album like the "As the World Falls Down" single. Actually, Bowie had some great single releases. I love the three single releases he put out for "Everyone Says 'Hi'" off the Heathen album.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everyone_Says_'Hi'

[Thor 7,491]

None, really. I've never really been a big Bowie fan, even though I've enjoyed individual songs. But one of these days, I should probably sit down and explore his discography properly.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Young Americans

 

The entire album is perfect. 

[Deacon Blues 65]

Station to Station for me, its making being heavily influenced by his very bad cocaine addiction, taking a massive toll on his mental and physical health. "Word on a Wing" really feels like a cry for help for God to save him from this life. And "Stay" is tight as hell.

Low comes at a close second, as the second side is just pure beauty. "Subterraneans" is great to fall asleep to.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,513]

Side two of "HEROES" features some of the scariest music that I have ever heard.

 

6 hours ago, Koray Savas said:

Young Americans

YOUNG AMERICANS would be # 3, on my list.

 

7 hours ago, Doctor Faust said:

Labyrinth...Bowie had some good singles off that album...

UNDERGROUND is fantastic!

"It's only forever, not long, at all".

 

I know that it's not classed as "original", but...I like ALL SAINTS.

[A24 4,331]

Bowie is a bit like Queen to me, a hit machine, but I was never into the albums.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,513]

No matter which Bowie album you listen to, there's always something interesting, on it. As with Queen (as with any band), to ignore the albums (although it is one's choice, to do so), is to dismiss a wealth of quality material.

[Brundlefly 2,385]

13 hours ago, Harry Irene said:

Low comes at a close second, as the second side is just pure beauty. "Subterraneans" is great to fall asleep to.

I find the first side very stop-and-go. That's why I prefer "Heroes".

[Thor 7,491]

8 hours ago, Alexcremers said:

Bowie is a bit like Queen to me, a hit machine, but I was never into the albums.

 

I'd argue that Bowie is slightly more sophisticated than Queen, generally speaking, but yeah -- his songs, like Queen's, are mostly known to me through their exposure on radio waves, not through conceptual album experiences.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,513]

"Conceptual album experiences"?

Geez, Thor; it's Bowie, not CLOSE TO THE EDGE 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

I made these lists back in 2015.  My orders might change now, Lodger would move into the top 5 and Blackstar would be in the top 10, but I’m too lazy to edit it

 

Top 10 Bowie Albums

 

1. Hunky Dory

2. Heroes

3. Station to Station

4. Aladdin Sane

5. Ziggy Stardust

6. Lodger

7. Low

8. Diamond Dogs

9. The Man Who Sold the World

10. Let’s Dance

 

Top 30 Bowie Songs

 

1. Life On Mars?

2. Heroes

3. Beauty and the Beast

4. Oh! You Pretty Things

5. Drive-In Saturday

6. Station to Station

7. Five Years

8. Queen Bitch

9. Young Americans

10. A New Career in a New Town

11. DJ

12. Stay

13. TVC 15

14. Starman

15. The Prettiest Star (Aladdin Sane version)

16. Let’s Dance

17. Changes

18. Rebel Rebel

19. Boys Keep Swinging

20. Rock ’n Roll With Me

21. The Jean Genie

22. Moorage Daydream

23. Quicksand

24. Ashes to Ashes

25. Andy Warhol

26. Blackout

27. Absolute Beginners

28. Rock & Roll Suicide

29. Golden Years

30. Fame

[Naïve Old Fart 9,513]

There's a lot of love for ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS.

He does a killer live version of this song, on the 3-cd version of BOWIE AT THE BBC.

[Brundlefly 2,385]

How's Reality, by the way? How does it compare to Heathen?

[mstrox 6,651]

Reality is very good and probably the closest thing to a straight rock and roll album that Bowie put out since before Outside.  It's got some catchy songs and good energy, but it doesn't hold a candle to the excellent, moodier and synth-dreamy Heathen, IMO.

 

I have a real soft spot for the Bowie era from Earthling through Heathen, because while I "discovered" him through Ziggy Stardust, those are the albums he was releasing while I was coming of age.  Besides Ziggy, I probably logged more plays of hours and Heathen than any other Bowie albums in high school.

 

Changed my vote to Tin Machine 2.

 

I wonder how Bowie would have felt about all the new releases.  He was never one to shy away from reissues and box sets (and the archival box set thing started before he died) so I'd imagine he wouldn't have cared too extremely much, but it seems like they're releasing 1-2 live albums a year, when before he died he really only had a handful.  Not complaining - I have them all and like them.  Looks like they just released some sort of rarities compilation too.  I usually keep up by asking for them at Christmas.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,513]

Agreed. For me, HEATHEN, and REALITY, are two sides of the same coin. I like both.

REALITY contains the sublime BRING ME THE DISCO KING.

[Brundlefly 2,385]

At the moment, I'm listening a lot to Scary Monsters which I consider now one of his best albums. One half of it belongs clearly to the Berlin Trilogy and the other half already announces Let's Dance.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

As I implied above

On 3/13/2020 at 6:19 PM, Disco Stu said:

Lodger would move into the top 5

 

Lodger is the Bowie album I keep inexplicably returning to over the years, a truly great pop album.  And so so re-listenable.

 

TBH, Hunky Dory maintains its position at the top of my list out of loyalty and nostalgia.  It was the first Bowie album I fell in love with ca. 2004.

[mstrox 6,651]

I've always loved that mid-80s era of Bowie.  I've actually come around to enjoying the late 80s Bowie era (Tonight and Never Let Me Down), which I know was not his favorite time, but they've got some good beats and pop hooks. 

 

Sub-poll - for those of you who own Never Let Me Down, does your copy have "Too Dizzy?"

 

Mine does, since I bought mine at a used CD store as a teenager, but it is absent from all re-releases at Bowie's request (including the recent comprehensive box set).

[Naïve Old Fart 9,513]

@mstrox

You're right, Mike. Bowie hated TOO DIZZY. Is it on the Ryko releases (or do they not go up that far)?

I know it's not de rigueur to say this, but I really like TONIGHT. Side two is fantastic.

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Disco Stu said:

Lodger is the Bowie album I keep inexplicably returning to over the years, a truly great pop album.  And so so re-listenable.

LODGER is a criminally underrated record. Definitely top-5, for me.

 

 

1 hour ago, Brundlefly said:

At the moment, I'm listening a lot to Scary Monsters which I consider now one of his best albums. One half of it belongs clearly to the Berlin Trilogy and the other half already announces Let's Dance.

To think that SCARY MONSTERS was recorded as a contractual obligation.

it's my second favourite Bowie record.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Anyone else love the Beatles reference in “Young Americans?”

 

 

[Naïve Old Fart 9,513]

You mean "I read the news today, oh boy"?