I remember crying on my way to work on the grey January morning, when news came on the radio that David Bowie had passed away. They played Space Oddity, which was the first song I had ever heard him sing live, and I was surprised by the deep  sadness I felt, confronted with the reality, that from now on I would have to live in a world without David Bowie in it, and that one of the greatest, most recognizable and unique voices of all time would sing and speak no more.  I heard the news today, oh boy. He is an artist whose work I returned to time and time again over the years, and whose strange metaphors and detached poetry would spur my own imaginaton in many different ways with each new listen. He has created a musical universe of his own, that somehow never became dated or irrelevant, predictable or boring, And he performed his art with an unmatched elegance. I would have hoped he would return for at least one more brilliant farewell tour after some kind of mysterious miracle cure involving alien blood transfusion or some occult ritual. To me he was one of the greatest artists, singers, and performers of all time and I miss him dearly. I very much like your descriptions, but Let's Dance and Outside above Space Oddity? Come on!

I think "Heathen" is incredibly underrated, but good arguments for all.

Blackstar at number 16! WOW. Its a masterpiece!

Each and every Bowie Album is unique in its own right.

The older I get the more I like Bowie's '90s output. I wish he'd made more albums in the vein of "Outside" and "Earthling."

I don't agree with every ranking, but love your descriptions.

The nice thing is. We will all have different favourite David Bowie albums, and at different times too. Am very much 'Station to Station' currently.

Even a less than stellar Bowie album, for me, has a gem. ("Thursday's Child" hits me where I live.)
He was a chameleon, and I thank him for being that.
Also, 'Stay' is the jam of all jams. I still warm up on guitar to that opening riff.
Come back in a  year or two, and I get a feeling your list will change.
He was that clever.
His work will always be reconsidered. That's his genius.

I’m Gonna be honest. I believe that “Blackstar” is his best album.

Awesome ranking!! Here’s my top 10:
10. The Man Who Sold The World
9. Diamond Dogs
8. Ziggy Stardust
7. Aladdin Sane
6. Hunky Dory
5. Scary Monsters
4. Lodger
3. Heroes
2. Station To Station
1. Low

I didn't see "scary monsters" coming as number one, but it's an album that I absolutely love, so no argument.

For me, it's Station to Station

David Bowie - Low, very underrated album in these days, and you put it right

Sometimes one judges an album simply by how long it stays on the turntable or in the disc player. That’s how I determined “The Next Day” to be one of my favorites.

Bowie brings back many memories. At the time I remember Low and Heroes got tepid reviews and ended up in delete bins, were subsequently sold in cheap "valu" editions. It took a LONG time for them to find their rightful place.

I also think Diamond Dogs is a masterpiece - so rich and dystopian and otherworldly

I've always thought Hunky Dory was Bowie's best album and Scary Monsters was my favorite album. One thing Bowie was very shrewd about was hiring exceptional musicians. I won't list them here but often imagine how things went in the mid 70's and early 80's: Bowie records Heroes and Robert Fripp plays a huge part in its success with his unreal guitar work. Bowie hires a then little known guitar player, Adrian Belew for the tour who was tasked to replicate Fripps multi track compositions but live with only one guitar....he pulls it off. Bowie uses Belew on Lodger and gives a new meaning to avant garde guitar playing. Bowie hires Fripp for Scary monsters and Fripp says: "Here, hold my beer..."

Fantastic ranking here, and I love your descriptions. Really glad to see Scary Monsters at 1, and also that you ranked Outside pretty high. Always felt like Outside should one day be recognized alongside the classic run of 70's albums.

The man who sold the world ROCKS.  When Bowie became Bowie.  And he stayed that way for the next 3 albums.

I have so many multiple copies of his albums up to and including Diamond Dogs ( 1974) .
It's the " glam" Bowie for me.