The legendary British singer's decades-long music career spanned so many genres, it's impossible to pin-point his best songs. Everyone rightly has their own opinion, with some fans favoring his earlier experimental work while others gravitate toward the later electro collaborations with Brian Eno.
HuffPost will remember him with an admittedly non-exhaustive run-down of some of the most iconic tracks from his astonishing 25 studio albums:
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Space Oddity (1969)
How can we forget the lyrics, "Ground Control to Major Tom, take your protein pills and put your helmet on." Bowie was just 22 when he wrote this beautiful sci-fi story in a song. Genius.
The Man Who Sold The World (1970)
This haunting track came from Bowie's third album of the same name, and was later covered by Nirvana.
Life On Mars (1971)
This surreal theatrical production, released on the "Hunky Dory" album in 1971 and later as a single in 1973, was once dubbed by the BBC as being like a Salvador Dali painting. Rightly so.
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Starman (1972)
From his fifth studio album "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars," this song essentially introduced us to his fictional rock star alter ego.
Rebel Rebel (1974)
Glam Rock at its finest.
Ashes to Ashes (1980)
Major Tom re-appears for this melancholic masterpiece from the "Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)" album.
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Under Pressure (1981)
Bowie may only feature on this Queen track, and doesn't even appear in the music video because he was busy touring, but this iconic '80s anthem is a worthy inclusion in the list.
Let's Dance (1983)
The title song of his 1983 album has been sampled by multiple artists, including fellow British singer Craig David and hip hop stars Notorious BIG, P Diddy and Ma$e.
China Girl (1983)
Co-written by Iggy Pop, "China Girl" first made an appearance on Iggy's "The Idiot" album in 1977. Bowie then rerecorded it and pushed it out on "Let's Dance" in 1983.
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I'm Afraid of Americans (1997)
Co-written by Brian Eno, the music video for this critique on the U.S.'s growing influence over the world starred Bowie alongside Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor.
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CORRECTION: This article previously misstated the release date of the song "Life on Mars" as 1973, which was the year the single was released.
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