Bowie Albums – Overrated / Underrated

I haven’t counted, but if I had to guess I’d say Bowie lists are my most common blog post – needless to say, I love the man’s entire discography to bits!

I’ll look through all of his major albums and judge them against the general public’s and Bowie fanbase’s opinion, deciding whether the album in question is overrated, underrated or correctly valued (based on my personal opinion, of course). Let’s get to it!

Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:

David Bowie (1967)

Verdict: OVERRATED

• Overrated Track – Come And Buy My Toys
• Underrated Track – We Are Hungry Men

Nobody considers Bowie’s 1967 debut his best album, but I was surprised to find that some fans rank this quite highly. This album is terrible from start to finish!

It’s a collection of tacky songs with odd songwriting and performances, and even the best song “We Are Hungry Men” suffers from bizarre production choices.

David Bowie (a.k.a Space Oddity)

Verdict: UNDERRATED

• Overrated Track – Letter to Hermione
• Underrated Track – God Knows I’m Good

I consider “Space Oddity” to be Bowie’s true debut album, and it gets nowhere near the recognition it deserves.

Other than the famous title track, the other songs have flown completely under the radar. “Memory of a Free Festival”, “Wild-Eyed Boy From Freecloud” and “God Knows I’m Good” should be considered classics.

The Man Who Sold the World

Verdict: OVERRATED

• Overrated Track – All the Madmen
• Underrated Track – She Shook Me Cold

Some people point to “The Man Who Sold the World” as the moment Bowie truly came into his own, but I’ve always had a lukewarm response to this album.

I just don’t think the hard rock style suits him very well, as it’s only really the title track, “She Shook Me Cold” and “The Width of a Circle” that I keep coming back to.

Hunky Dory

Verdict: PROPERLY RATED

• Overrated Track – Andy Warhol
• Underrated Track – Quicksand

The first universally-acclaimed classic in Bowie’s discography, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.

Everyone knows “Hunky Dory” is awesome, so I’ll skip the specifics – what I can say, though, is that gems like “Quicksand” shine through on even the twentieth listen.

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

Verdict: PROPERLY RATED

• Overrated Track – Starman (sorry)
• Underrated Track – Soul Love

It’s not necessarily my favourite Bowie album, in fact it barely cracks my top 3 these days … but c’mon. It’s “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust”. It’s one of rock’s most iconic albums.

You’d be hard pressed to find a weak track in the bunch, and when the songs hit they hit hard. I find tracks like “Starman” to be a little overplayed these days, but I can’t deny their magic.

Aladdin Sane

Verdict: OVERRATED

• Overrated Track – Time
• Underrated Track – Panic in Detroit

My first truly controversial opinion in this list! I can’t imagine it will be the last …

“Aladdin Sane” answers the question of “What if Ziggy went to America?”, and I can’t say I like the premise. There are lots of great tracks here, like “Lady Grinning Soul” and “Panic in Detroit”, but others fall flat.

PinUps

Verdict: OVERRATED

• Overrated Track – Here Comes the Night
• Underrated Track – Where Have All the Good Times Gone

Nobody has “PinUps” at the top of their list, but I very rarely see it in the bottom few either. It’s an album that deserves nothing but derision.

It’s a soulless cash-grab, full of cover songs that I doubt Bowie even wanted to do in the first place.

Diamond Dogs

Verdict: UNDERRATED

• Overrated Track – 1984
• Underrated Track – Big Brother

When talking about the great Bowie albums from the 70’s, I feel people always overlook this fantastic concept album.

“Diamond Dogs” boasts dystopian ideas and raunchy melodies, and tracks like “Sweet Thing” are among his best work.

Young Americans

Verdict: OVERRATED

• Overrated Track – Fascination
• Underrated Track – Somebody up There Likes Me

I really like “Young Americans”, but there’s a decent chunk of songs in the middle – like “Across the Universe” and “Can You Hear Me?” – that hold it back from the top tier.

Still, when songs like the title track, “Fame” and “Win” come on I’m having a good time.

Station to Station

Verdict: UNDERRATED

• Overrated Track – No. I Refuse.
• Underrated Track – Word on a Wing

If the only flaw with your album is that it’s too short, you’ve probably made a damn good album.

“Station to Station” contains six perfect songs as far as I’m concerned, and I imagine it’ll remain my favourite Bowie album until I die.

Low

Verdict: PROPERLY RATED

• Overrated Track – Speed of Life
• Underrated Track – Subterraneans

The Berlin Trilogy is one of the most respected collections of albums in music history, and “Low” is widely considered to be the crowning achievement of that trilogy.

I love the instrumental tracks just as much as the regular ones, and every time I listen to the album I’m blown away by new details. There quite simply isn’t another album like it.

Heroes

Verdict: OVERRATED

• Overrated Track – Blackout
• Underrated Track – The Secret Life of Arabia

“Heroes” isn’t a bad album by any means, but I think its title track – and its position within one of music’s most iconic album trilogies – has led to an overinflated opinion from the public.

The production is a little rough, and the entire instrumental half feels inferior in almost every way to what Bowie accomplished on “Low” earlier that year. Still, the title track and gems like “The Secret Life of Arabia” do some heavy lifting.

Lodger

Verdict: UNDERRATED

• Overrated Track – African Night Flight
• Underrated Track – Red Money

Since “Low” and “Heroes” garner all of the attention and acclaim from the Berlin Trilogy, “Lodger” feels left by the wayside.

It has a bit of a rough start with “Move On” and “African Night Flight”, but the rest of the album is banger after banger. “Red Money” in particular is one of my favourite Bowie closers – an opinion that no one else on planet earth seems to share.

Scary Monsters (& Super Creeps)

Verdict: PROPERLY RATED

• Overrated Track – Kingdom Come
• Underrated Track – Teenage Wildlife

I used to think “Scary Monsters” was the single most overrated album in Bowie’s discography, but these days I realise how foolish I was.

I can see why many consider this to be his last great album of the era – “Ashes to Ashes” is my second favourite Bowie song, and others like “Teenage Wildlife” continue to grow on me on the hundredth listen.

Let’s Dance

Verdict: PROPERLY RATED

• Overrated Track – Cat People (Putting Out Fire) (album version)
• Underrated Track – Shake It

People like to rag on “Let’s Dance” as the beginning of the end for Bowie’s creative output, but that’s not strictly true … The album isn’t perfect, but it’s good fun if nothing else.

Those opening three tracks do most of the heavy lifting, as otherwise the rest is a bit disappointing – even “Cat People” is starting to grain on me after hearing the far superior single version.

Tonight

Verdict: UNDERRATED

• Overrated Track – Blue Jean
• Underrated Track – Don’t Look Down

“Tonight” is far from a good album, but is it Bowie’s worst? Absolutely not.

The songwriting is a little stale across the board, and this really did signify the start of the end, but I can get behind tracks like “Loving The Alien” and “Don’t Look Down”.

Never Let Me Down

Verdict: PROPERLY RATED

• Overrated Track – Never Let Me Down
• Underrated Track – Shining Star (Makin’ My Love)

If “Bowie 1967” isn’t your least favourite album of his, there’s a good chance “Never Let Me Down” is instead.

Everyone hates the cheesy 80’s production on it, as even the decent songs like “Time Will Crawl” and “Shining Star (Makin’ My Love)” (yes, I know everyone else hates that song …) suffer for it.

Black Tie White Noise

Verdict: UNDERRATED

• Overrated Track – Miracle Goodnight
• Underrated Track – Nite Flights

Bowie had one of the most criminally underrated decades of any artist in the 90’s, starting with “Black Tie White Noise”.

It’s a brilliant wedding-themed album that has some of his grooviest songs. If you can get past the distorted saxophone, there’s a real gem of an album here.

Buddha of Suburbia

Verdict: PROPERLY RATED

• Overrated Track – Sex and the Church
• Underrated Track – Untitled No. 1

“Buddha of Suburbia” is more of a soundtrack than a genuine Bowie album, so I’m not surprised it gets left by the wayside more often than not.

Some tracks like “Untitled No. 1” deserve more love, but otherwise this is a very skippable album in his discography.

1. Outside

Verdict: UNDERRATED

• Overrated Track – A Small Plot of Land
• Underrated Track – Thru’ These Architects Eyes

I’ve seen some backlash of “1.Outside” recently that calls it pretentious and bloated, but I couldn’t disagree more.

The random segues and a few meandering tracks like “A Small Plot of Land” stop it from being an all-timer, but this is Bowie and producer Brian Eno on top form from start to finish.

Earthling

Verdict: UNDERRATED

• Overrated Track – Looking for Satellites
• Underrated Track – Seven Years in Tibet

“Earthling” continues Bowie’s 90’s experimental streak, and I can understand if some think he went too far here – but I still really appreciate what he was going for.

Songs like “Little Wonder”, “I’m Afraid of Americans” and “Seven Years in Tibet” are some of the most batshit insane electronic music you’ll ever hear, and you can tell Bowie is having a blast performing it.

hours …

Verdict: PROPERLY RATED

• Overrated Track – Survive
• Underrated Track – The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell

“hours …” isn’t necessarily a bad album, but it’s leagues away from great. I don’t think anyone has this in their top five, or even ten, Bowie records.

The songwriting and production are pretty bland, but the occasional gem like “Thursday’s Child” or the heavier “The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell” make an impression.

Heathen

Verdict: PROPERLY RATED

• Overrated Track – Everyone Says ‘Hi’
• Underrated Track – I Would Be Your Slave

After the relative disappointment of “hours…”, Bowie needed to bounce back with a bang … or with a painful, sombre album that evokes the darkest emotions imaginable.

It hasn’t gone down as one of his greats for good reason, but I still really love tracks like “I Would Be Your Slave” and “Heathen (The Rays)”.

Reality

Verdict: OVERRATED

• Overrated Track – Never Get Old
• Underrated Track – Looking for Water

Most fans see “Reality” as Bowie’s final great pure-rock record, but I’ve never been one of those fans.

The odd gems like “Looking for Water” and “Bring Me The Disco King” shine through, but a lot of the others are really boring.

The Next Day

Verdict: OVERRATED

• Overrated Track – Love Is Lost
• Underrated Track – Heat

After a ten year hiatus, Bowie came back swinging with “The Next Day”. While I appreciate the energy and vigour, it’s never been an album I revisit all that often.

Some tracks like “Where Are We Now?” and “The Stars (Are Out Tonight)” are late classics, but there’s a long stretch of forgettable tracks as well.

Blackstar

Verdict: PROPERLY RATED

• Overrated Track – Girl Loves Me
• Underrated Track – Dollar Days

In one final triumphant outpouring of undistilled art, Bowie yet again proved to be one of history’s ultimate musical geniuses with “Blackstar”.

I like every track here, and the general nightmare-jazz tone creates a listening experience like no other.

Aaand that’s my list! You can check out some of my latest blog posts below: