10 Classic Rock Albums That Changed Music Forever
8. Ziggy Stardust - David Bowie
Throughout his life, David Bowie made an entire career out of pushing the boundaries of rock songs. From his early psychedelic musings to his more avant garde Berlin period, the man was a rock and roll chameleon in every sense of the word. Though each new sound has been intriguing, no musical character has resonated more with rock fans quite like Ziggy Stardust.
The origins of Ziggy started on the song "Life on Mars?," where Bowie reflects on the beings beyond our menial existence on Earth. Once Ziggy Stardust dropped, we found out just who those beings were, with a martian humanoid who has come to save the world through the power of his music. This record was Bowie at the height of his glam period, with Mick Ronson providing some of his greatest riffs on the title track and "Suffragette City."
The album has gone on to not only be a staple of glam rock, but also a precursor to the more theatrical acts that came afterward, whose influence can still be heard from artists as diverse as Green Day and Marilyn Manson. Ziggy Stardust was a persona that could have been career-defining for any other artist, but for Bowie, it was just one little stop gap in his enormous collection of classics.