David Bowie: His 40 Greatest Songs
It was nearly impossible to narrow it down to 40.
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David Bowie's passing is a few years behind us, and it still somehow feels shocking. His catalog, though, remains as relevant and influential as ever, so choosing his greatest songs was difficult.
We opened the parameters a bit, including songs that he wrote for other artists (Iggy Pop and Mott the Hoople); Tin Machine was fair game, as were remixes of his songs and so were collaborations. And as always, it was difficult to cut the list off at 40, so some of our favorites just missed the cut.
40 “It Ain’t Easy” - ‘The Rise And Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars’ (1972)
Rhino39. “The Heart’s Filthy Lesson (Trent Reznor Alternative Mix)” - ‘1.Outside’ (1995)
Virgin38 “Modern Love” - ‘Let’s Dance’ (1983)
Rhino37 “Young Americans” - ‘Young Americans’ (1975)
Rhino36 “Rebel Rebel” - ‘Diamond Dogs’ (1974)
Rhino35. Tin Machine - “Under The God” - ‘Tin Machine’ (1989)
Virgin34. “Cactus” - ‘Heathen’ (2002)
Columbia33 “The Jean Genie” - ‘Aladdin Sane’ (1973)
Rhino32 Iggy Pop - “Funtime” - ‘The Idiot’ (1977)
Virgin31 Queen + David Bowie - “Under Pressure” - single (1981, later included on Queen’s ‘Hot Space’ in 1982)
Hollywood Records30. “Sound And Vision” - ‘Low’ (1977)
Rhino29. “The Width Of A Circle” - ‘The Man Who Sold The World’ (1970
Rhino28 “Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)” - ‘Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)’ (1980
Rhino27 “Cracked Actor” - ‘Aladdin Sane’ (1973)
Rhino26 “I’m Afraid Of Americans (Nine Inch Nails V1 Mix)” - ‘Earthling’ (1997)
Virgin25 “Hang On To Yourself” - ‘The Rise And Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars’ (1972)
24 “Rock ‘N’ Roll Suicide (live)” - ‘Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars (The Motion Picture Soundtrack)’ (1983)
Rhino23 “Starman” - ‘The Rise And Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars’ (1972)
Rhino22 “Panic In Detroit” - ‘Aladdin Sane’ (1973)
Rhino21 “White Light/White Heat (live)” - ‘Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars (The Motion Picture Soundtrack)’ (recorded in 1973, released in 1983)
Rhino20 “Drive-In Saturday” - ‘Aladdin Sane’ (1973)
Rhino19 “Blackstar” - ‘Blackstar’ (2016)
Columbia18 “Life On Mars” - ‘Hunky Dory’ (1971)
Rhino17 “Five Years” - ‘The Rise And Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars’ (1972)
Rhino16 “Let’s Dance” - ‘Let’s Dance’ (1983)
Rhino15 “Thursday’s Child” - ‘Hours…’ (1999)
Virgin14 “Lazarus” - ‘Blackstar’ (2016)
Columbia13 Iggy Pop - “Lust For Life” - ‘Lust For Life’ (1977)
Virgin12 “Station To Station” - ‘Station To Station’ (1976)
Rhino11 “Watch That Man” - ‘Aladdin Sane’ (1973)
Rhino10 “Moonage Daydream” - ‘The Rise And Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars’ (1972)
Rhino9 “Suffragette City” - ‘The Rise And Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars’ (1972)
Rhino8 Mott The Hoople - “All The Young Dudes” - ‘All The Young Dudes’ (1972)
Sony Legacy7 “Changes” - ‘Hunky Dory’ (1971)
Rhino6 “Fame” - ‘Young Americans’ (1975)
Rhino5 “The Man Who Sold The World” - ‘The Man Who Sold The World’ (1970)
Rhino4 “Space Oddity” - ‘Space Oddity’ (1969)
Rhino3 “Ziggy Stardust” - ‘The Rise And Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars’ (1972)
Rhino2 “Ashes To Ashes” - ‘Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)’ (1980)
Rhino1 “ “Heroes” ” - ‘Heroes’ (1977)
RhinoBrian has been working in pop culture and media for about three decades: he’s worked at MTV, VH1, SiriusXM, CBS and Loudwire. Besides working as a writer and an editor-in-chief, he’s also appeared on air as a pundit, guested on radio shows and hosted podcasts. Over the years, he’s interviewed the surviving members of Led Zeppelin, the members of U2, Beyonce, Pink, Usher, Stevie Nicks, Lorde… and is grateful to have had the chance to interview Joe Strummer of the Clash and Tom Petty.
