20 Most IMPORTANT Classic Rock Albums Ever Made

While MTV was the first time most fans got to see their favorite artists up close and personal, it was far from the first visual aid in rock music. As far back as the late 60's, many artists were using different stage tactics to shock fans, which included everything from macabre makeup to androgynous stage garb. In the middle of the chaos was David Bowie, who rose to the top of the charts and ignited the glam rock flame.

Even though Bowie was at the top of his game artistically, he wanted to go in a bit of a different direction for his next album, which led to him reinventing a completely different stage character known as Ziggy Stardust. Throughout this record, Bowie plays the role of Ziggy, who is an androgynous alien musician who aims to save the world from extinction with the help of his band the Spiders from Mars.

Make no mistake, there can be a lot of camp on this record, but the music has always held up, whether it's the space journey on "Moonage Daydream" or the hard rock swagger of "Suffragette City." David Bowie was already a big name in the music industry, but after Ziggy Stardust entered the conversation, he had opened the door for a new type of rock character.