41 Essential David Bowie Songs Everyone Should Hear

I got really, really into David Bowie when I was 18. Like many of us, I always knew who he was, knew his hits and the highlights of his biography. But once I got hooked, I spent the better part of the next two years listening to very little else. So when I learned two years ago this month that David Bowie had died at age 69, the shock hit me harder than most celebrity deaths. I can't think of a better way to honor his six decades worth of work than to listen to nothing but his music on the anniversary of his death. (Check out these touching Internet tributes, too.)

This roughly chronological playlist includes 41 songs spanning Bowie's career, from 1969's Space Oddity to 2013's The Next Day. I've left off some crowd favorites that aren't really my favorites, like "Changes" from 1971's Hunky Dory, in favor of deeper cuts like "The Bewlay Brothers" from the same album, which is one of my favorite songs of all time. Though I am clearly partial to the '70s records, I included highlights from the '60s, '80s, '90s, and 2000s too.

Click on the playlist below to listen or follow it on Spotify.