David Bowie | Space Oddity | The Man Who Sold the World | Hunky Dory
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars | Aladdin Sane | Pin Ups | Diamond Dogs | Young Americans
Station to Station | Low | "Heroes" | Lodger | Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) | Let's Dance | Tonight | Never Let Me Down
Tin Machine | Black Tie White Noise | The Buddha of Suburbia | Outside | Earthling | 'hours...' | The Next Day | ★
Changesonebowie
- Contested Sequel: The album was initially regarded as this among critics compared to Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps). Both presented a more commercially accessible take on Bowie's signature brand of late 70's art rock, but while Scary Monsters went for a more rockist angle rooted in Post-Punk, Let's Dance was a more overtly mainstream work rooted in post-disco. As a result, critics couldn't come to a consensus as to how well it lived up to its direct predecessor, leading Scary Monsters, not Let's Dance, to become the measuring stick against which all of Bowie's later works would be compared. Fans though tend to take a more unanimously positive view towards the record.
- Covered Up: Bowie's cover of "Criminal World" frequently eclipses the original version by Metro in terms of public presence and awareness. A somewhat more self-focused example is present with "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)"; the re-recording on Let's Dance is much better-known than Bowie's earlier version, written and recorded for the remake of Cat People the previous year. Bowie's cover of Iggy Pop's "China Girl" is also much better known the the original.
- Franchise Original Sin: This album is widely credited with starting the oft-contested pop period of Bowie's career with its blend of art rock and post-disco. However, unlike later releases of that era, this one maintained a strong level of creative control and enthusiasm from Bowie that led to the final product being generally well-regarded by fans (albeit a Contested Sequel among critics). Its two follow-ups meanwhile lacked both of those factors, the former being rushed out after an exhausting world tour and the latter being hampered by Executive Meddling, leading them to fall short of expectations.
- Gateway Series: This album and persona was an era of very accessible commercial pop that can be enjoyed by anyone who enjoys 80's hits, serving as a gateway to Bowie's weirder back catalog like The Thin White Duke, his experimental Berlin Trilogy, and the time he was pretending to be an alien.
- Vindicated by History: The album was met with relatively mixed reception from critics when it came out, largely owing to its uncharacteristically mainstream-friendly sound. Additionally, its success instigating an Audience-Alienating Era for Bowie left a black mark on retrospective analyses of the album. However, it was well-received by fans despite all this, and today is regarded as being an essential album in his back-catalog, especially after Bowie's death in 2016.
