I love this.

I'd go for Ziggy Stardust, Hunky Dory and Alladin Sane if you want to dip your toes into what I think are his prime years. Heroes and Low are genius but definitely a more experimental vibe.

A true rock star, starman, hunky dory, a lad insane, heroe, space oddity, heathen, spaceboy, world stealer, martian, lodger, scary monster, diamond dog, thin white duke, fallen to earth type of guy. What's the deal?

I will miss him dearly. RIP.

The only musician's death that has come close to affecting me this much was Freddie Mercury's...and the only one that I can think of that may be worse will be Joni Mitchell's.

Of all of his videos, this is the one that moves me the most. It's not my favorite song of his (although I like it a lot), but the video's images have haunted me since the first time that I saw it:

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8S227FFNwl8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Not singling you out, but I am fascinated by how people are more inclined to want to check out an artist's music right after they die. Look at Ace of Spades re-entering the charts.

I have much respect for Bowie and everything he's done to influence music, but I don't own anything by him and today's bad news won't change that for me.

Same goes for Motorhead. Lemmy seemed like a cool guy but I never could stand Motorhead. I'm not suddenly going to be able to tolerate his vocals now that he's unfortunately passed on.

About a month ago

Wow shocking.

RIP! A legend!

I'd recommend those three as well if you've never heard Bowie before and have mainstream music tastes. Bowie was a musical chameleon that kept changing his style with each album. His catalog is so diverse that it's very tough pointing out which album a person may prefer without knowing their tastes.

Growing up, my mom was a big fan of Bowie and I've been a fan of his since I was a kid. I remember the Let's Dance album is what introduced me to one of my all time favorite guitarists, Stevie Ray Vaughan. What a great musician that gave us such great songs, he will truly be missed.

Yeah, I love almost everything the guy did, but those three are good choices. If you like heavier rock music, you might want to try his album, The Man Who Sold the World, which has a riff-heavy, almost metal sound to it.

Has there ever been a video release of the Serious Moonlight concert they showed eons ago on HBO? I remember being blown away by that show.

Yup. It was released on DVD in 2006 - looks like it's out of print now, but can still be found for okay prices online. Plus, it has the "Richochet" doc about the Asia leg of that tour.

I definitely resemble that remark (liking heavier rock music).

So I'm sampling The Man Who Sold the World right now. Up to Black Country Rock now. Pretty impressive. Not 100% my cup of tea, but I'm enjoying it anyway.

Like I said before, I've always had a TON of respect for Bowie and admiration for the fact that he was a true artist (painting with music, so to speak). I don't know if I'll find any albums that I'd want to buy, but then again, maybe I will. I'm definitely giving him a listen today.

I'm not really a Bowie fan (don't own any of his albums), but I'm very familiar with many of his hits and his work. Let's Dance was a cool little 80's tune. I know he was extremely influential to 70's and 80's pop music. RIP Sucks that cancer takes another one away before their time.

I see someone's been inverting Noel Gallagher quotes.

Likewise. Very sad today, but he'll live on in the great body of work he produced.

What a beautiful and brave way to go out.

I've been a serious fan of music since I was 8 or 9 years old, starting with film scores and classical music. When I finally bothered to start listening to the radio and following some of the new artists of the time, I had a friend in 7th grade that introduced me to Bowie. From that point on, Bowie was always present. I respected him as an artist and got to know the radio hits of the time, but never got into collecting the albums. Then, in college, Rykodisc announced their campaign to reissue the whole Bowie catalog. I bought every title and became immersed. I remember with each batch of releases wondering "What in the hell was I doing when this came out? How did I miss this?" Then, the trilogy landed. Think back to when you heard "Station to Station", "Low" and "Heroes" for the first time. It was an epiphany. I had no idea music could do that. How it could transport you to those distant places and create moods and sensations like that for the listener. While today's news was heartbreaking, I stop and remember this amazing body of work that he has left for us all. Not just music, but fashion, art, ideas, truth. We will not see the likes of an artist like David Bowie again. RIP, Starman.

That last part makes me tear up again. It just seems like he handled the whole thing so gracefully.

I think this is probably the most significant musical death in my lifetime so far. I was born in 1970, so I was too young for Elvis and Lennon to register that much. By the time Michael Jackson died, he was a punchline that was more pitied than remembered as a legend.

off the top of my head, the only living musicians whose deaths seem like they will be as big a deal as Bowie's are Jagger, McCartney and Dylan.

I'm just a little bit younger than you and I agree. George Harrison was up there for me, but I recognize that, as brilliant and talented and wonderful as George was, he didn't have the impact that Bowie did.

Springsteen's death will probably hit me hard too. Hope it's not for many years to come.

Question :who should perform at the Grammys next month for the inevitable Bowie tribute? I figure they'll probably use somebody young who was inspired by Bowie like Sam Smith and pair him with a contemporary friend of Bowie. Maybe Elton John?

They'll probably get multiple big names. Just like with Joe Stummer.

Please keep Sam Smith far away from anything related to Bowie.

My Dave Grohl-sense is tingling.

Fine by me, but you just know they'll feel they have to put someone young up there to let the viewers know he inspired artists they listen to, rather than just have the rock icons who knew him pay tribute, Maybe there's a big-name modern artist who would be a better choice. I don't know.