50 Favorite Albums: 6

David Bowie is probably on my Mount Rushmore of singers. Rounding out that list? Well, subjectively it's probably Jason Mraz, Billy Joel, and Paul McCartney. Objective? I might replace Mraz with Frank Sinatra. But still, it's a good group of five either way. And shouldn't we be making room on Rushmore for JFK or FDR or Nixon or someone? Anyway, Bowie is great. He's a legend. There's no doubt about it. And Hunky Dory is, to me, the best album he ever produced. There's no better way to describe it than music critic Stephen Erlewine's review that read it as, "a kaleidoscopic array of pop styles, tied together only by Bowie's sense of vision: a sweeping, cinematic melange of high and low art, ambiguous sexuality, kitsch, and class." There's never been a more fitting review for an album or for a singer, in general. Hunky Dory boasted Changes, Queen Bitch, and Life on Mars. He considers this album the most important of his career. Bowie's the man.

Hunky Dory: 1971 folk art rock album from David Bowie.