Wait, people think rate Diamond Dogs highly? Wha? Ziggy Stardust is one of his best. Consistantly great songs with no bad song. But Space Oddity? Wha?
Both Rebel Rebel and Diamond Dogs are pretty much bona fide Rock classics, so I keeop seeing DD as a supposed essential Bowie album. As for Ziggy, apart from Five Years and Starman, it's just plain rock n roll, a considerable step down from everything Bowie'd done before that. Space Oddity contains the title track, Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed, Cygnet Committee, An Occasional Dream and not least The Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud all of which roundly lift it up as one of Bowie's best - especially when compared to all that faux Rock stuff.