During his lifetime, the English singer-songwriter David Bowie (1947–2016) released 26 studio albums, nine live albums, two soundtrack albums, 26 compilation albums, eight extended plays, 128 singles and six box sets. Since his death, one further studio album, 13 live albums, one soundtrack album, one compilation album, four extended plays and six box sets have been released. Bowie also released 28 video albums and 72 music videos. Throughout his lifetime, Bowie sold at least 100 million records worldwide. In 2012, Bowie was ranked the ninth-best-selling singles artist in the United Kingdom, with 10.6 million singles sold. As of January 2016, 12.09 million Bowie singles had been sold in Britain. In a period of 24 months since his death, five million records were sold in the UK, 3.1 million singles and two million albums.
Bowie's debut release was the 1964 single "Liza Jane" by Davie Jones & the King Bees. He released two more singles in 1965 under the names of the Manish Boys and Davy Jones, respectively. His first release using the name David Bowie was the 1966 single "Can't Help Thinking About Me", which was released with the Lower Third. His next single, "Do Anything You Say", also released in 1966, was the first release credited simply to "David Bowie". He released four more singles and his debut album, David Bowie, but the first success in the United Kingdom was with the 1969 single "Space Oddity". The single reached number five on the UK Singles Chart after it was released five days before the Apollo 11 Moon mission. The single was re-released in 1975 and became Bowie's first UK number-one single. Bowie released three more albums – David Bowie (1969), The Man Who Sold the World (1970), and Hunky Dory (1971) – before he eventually entered the UK Albums Chart with The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972), which peaked at number five. Its success saw sales of Hunky Dory improve, and that album eventually peaked at number three in the UK in 1973. RCA re-released the 1969 David Bowie (under the title Space Oddity) and The Man Who Sold the World, which respectively reached numbers 17 and 26 in the UK.
Bowie released nine more studio albums with RCA, all of which reached the top five of the UK Albums Chart; Aladdin Sane, Pin Ups (both 1973), Diamond Dogs (1974) and Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) (1980) all reached number one. Young Americans included his first US number-one single "Fame". He then released three solo studio albums with EMI – Let's Dance (1983), whose title track became his first single to reach number one in both the UK and US, Tonight (1984) and Never Let Me Down (1987). Let's Dance and Tonight reached number one in the UK, while Never Let Me Down reached number six. The success of Let's Dance revitalised Bowie's back catalogue: throughout the summer of 1983, he had multiple albums on the UK Albums Chart. This peaked on 16 July that year, with ten entries – a figure bettered only by Elvis Presley.
From 1988 to 1992, Bowie performed as a member of the rock band Tin Machine, who released two studio albums before disbanding. Continuing as a solo artist, Black Tie White Noise (1993) reached number one on the UK Albums Chart. Despite numerous label changes throughout the decade, Bowie had further UK top ten success into the 2000s, from Outside (1995) to Reality (2003). After a ten-year hiatus, Bowie returned with The Next Day (2013), his first UK number one since Black Tie White Noise. His final album, Blackstar, was released on 8 January 2016, his 69th birthday and two days before his death on 10 January. The album debuted at number one in the UK and became his first album to reach number one on the Billboard 200 in the US. Since 2015, Parlophone has remastered Bowie's back catalogue through the "Era" box set series, starting with Five Years (1969–1973).
Studio albums Primary studio albums + List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and certifications Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales Certifications UK AUSAustralian chart peaks: Top 100 (Kent Music Report) chart peaks to 19 June 1988: N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between 1983 and 19 June 1988. Top 50 (ARIA Chart) peaks from 26 June 1988: Top 100 (ARIA Chart) peaks from January 1990 to December 2010: "Where Are We Now?" (ARIA Chart) peak: "Changes" and "Lazarus": Sound + Vision: AUT"Discographie David Bowie ". Austriancharts.at (in German). Retrieved on 14 October 2008. GER NL"Discografie David Bowie ". Dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved on 19 September 2025. NOR"Discography David Bowie ". Norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved on 14 October 2008."Discography Tin Machine ". Norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved on 20 October 2008. NZ"Discography David Bowie ". Charts.org.nz. Retrieved on 14 October 2008. SWE"Discography David Bowie ". Swedishcharts.com. Retrieved on 14 October 2008. SWI"Discography David Bowie ". Swisscharts.com. Retrieved on 14 October 2008. US David Bowie Released: 1 June 1967 Label: Deram Formats: LP 125 — — — — — — — — — David Bowie Released: 14 November 1969 Label: Philips, Mercury Formats: LP 17 21 — — — — — — 66 16 BPI: Gold The Man Who Sold the World Released: 4 November 1970 Label: Mercury Formats: LP, MC, 8-track 24 44 — — 48 — — — — 105 BPI: Gold Hunky Dory Released: 17 December 1971 Label: RCA Formats: LP, MC, 8-track 3 39 52 53 — 23 30 16 32 57 BPI: Platinum RMNZ: Gold The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars Released: 16 June 1972 Label: RCA Formats: LP, MC, 8-track 5 11 34 12 61 17 20 19 21 21 UK: 1,500,000 BPI: 2× Platinum RIAA: Gold RMNZ: Platinum Aladdin Sane Released: 19 April 1973 Label: RCA Formats: LP, MC, 8-track 1 7 — 65 4 11 — 9 — 17 BPI: Platinum RIAA: Gold Pin Ups Released: 19 October 1973 Label: RCA Formats: LP, MC, 8-track 1 4 — — 6 8 — 1 — 23 BPI: Gold AUS: Gold Diamond Dogs Released: 24 May 1974 Label: RCA Formats: LP, MC, 8-track 1 3 — 40 — 8 — 4 — 5 BPI: Gold GLF: Gold RIAA: Gold Young Americans Released: 7 March 1975 Label: RCA Formats: LP, MC, 8-track 2 9 — — — 13 3 6 92 9 BPI: Gold MC: Gold RIAA: Gold Station to Station Released: 23 January 1976 Label: RCA Formats: LP, MC, 8-track 5 8 47 91 3 8 9 11 65 3 BPI: Gold MC: Gold RIAA: Gold Low Released: 14 January 1977 Label: RCA Formats: LP, MC, 8-track 2 10 16 84 6 10 12 12 40 11 BPI: Gold MC: Gold "Heroes" Released: 14 October 1977 Label: RCA Formats: LP, MC, 8-track 3 6 19 44 3 13 15 13 34 35 BPI: Gold MC: Gold RMNZ: Gold Lodger Released: 18 May 1979 Label: RCA Formats: LP, MC, 8-track 4 11 13 — 5 11 3 9 — 20 BPI: Gold NVPI: Gold"Goud & Platina ". Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld-en geluidsdragers (in Dutch). Retrieved on 20 October 2008. Note: User needs to enter "David Bowie" in "Artiest" and click "Zoek". Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) Released: 12 September 1980 Label: RCA Formats: LP, MC, 8-track 1 1 20 8 3 3 1 4 75 12 GER: 70,000 BPI: Platinum AUS: Platinum MC: Platinum Let's Dance Released: 14 April 1983 Label: EMI Formats: LP, MC, 8-track, CD 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 17 4 BPI: Platinum MC: 5× Platinum NVPI: Platinum RIAA: Platinum Tonight Released: 24 September 1984 Label: EMI America Formats: LP, MC, 8-track, CD 1 4 8 8 1 3 4 4 8 11 BPI: Gold MC: 2× Platinum RIAA: Platinum Never Let Me Down Released: 21 April 1987 Label: EMI America Formats: LP, MC, CD 6 19 3 11 9 3 14 2 18 34 BPI: Gold MC: Platinum RIAA: Gold Black Tie White Noise Released: 5 April 1993 Label: Savage, Arista Formats: LP, MC, CD 1 12 18 15 8 8 8 18 18 39 BPI: Gold MC: Gold The Buddha of Suburbia Released: 8 November 1993 (UK) Label: Arista Formats: LP, MC, CD TV serial: The Buddha of Suburbia (broadcast in 1993) 87 — — — — — — — — — Outside Released: 26 September 1995 Label: Arista Formats: LP, MC, CD 8 55 22 33 38 15 37 13 22 21 UK: 200,000 BPI: Silver Earthling Released: 3 February 1997 Label: Arista Formats: LP, MC, CD 6 45 15 11 19 13 15 5 20 39 BPI: Silver Hours Released: 4 October 1999 Label: Virgin Formats: LP, MC, CD, 2×CD, DD 5 33 2 4 31 4 21 2 18 47 BPI: Gold Heathen Released: 10 June 2002 Label: ISO/Columbia Formats: LP, MC, CD, 2×CD, SACD, DD 5 9 4 4 19 2 22 6 7 14 UK: 217,000 US: 180,000 BPI: Gold Reality Released: 15 September 2003 Label: ISO/Columbia Formats: LP, MC, CD, 2×CD, DualDisc, DD 3 13 3 3 14 2 14 5 5 29 US: 151,000 BPI: Gold RMNZ: Gold The Next Day Released: 8 March 2013 Label: ISO/Columbia Formats: LP, CD, DD 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 US: 208,000 BPI: Platinum ARIA: Gold BVMI: Gold IFPI AUT: Gold IFPI SWI: Gold GLF: Gold MC: Gold RMNZ: Gold Blackstar Released: 8 January 2016 Label: ISO/Columbia Formats: LP, CD, DD 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 US: 450,000 UK: 410,000 BPI: Platinum ARIA: Platinum BVMI: Gold IFPI AUT: Platinum IFPI SWI: Platinum GLF: Gold MC: Platinum RIAA: Gold RMNZ: PlatinumPosthumous Toy Released: 26 November 2021 Label: ISO, Parlophone Formats: CD, LP, DD5—43417—287— "—" denotes releases that did not chart.
Re-recorded studio albums + List of re-produced studio albums, with details and notes Title Album details Never Let Me Down 2018 Released as part of the box set Loving the Alien (1983–1988) on 12 October 2018, and separately on 15 February 2019.
Studio albums as a member of Tin Machine + List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and certifications Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications UK AUS AUT GER NL NOR NZ SWE SWI US Tin Machine Released: 22 May 1989 Label: EMI USA Formats: LP, MC, CD 3 42 19 13 24 9 14 9 — 28 BPI: Gold Tin Machine II Released: 2 September 1991 Label: London Formats: LP, MC, CD 23 — 25 56 33 14 — 19 — 126 "—" denotes releases that did not chart.
Live albums + List of live albums, with selected chart positions and certifications Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales Certifications UK AUS ITA GER NL NOR NZ SWE SWI USDavid Live Released: 29 October 1974 Label: RCA Formats: 2×LP, 2xMC, 8-track 2 9 99 — 89 12 — 10 — 8RIAA: GoldStage Released: 29 September 1978 Label: RCA Formats: 2×LP, 2xMC, 8-track 5 11 — — 2 18 1 29 — 44BPI: GoldZiggy Stardust: The Motion Picture (all reissues since 2003 titled Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars: The Motion Picture) Released: October 1983 Label: RCA Formats: 2×LP, 2xMC Film: Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars: The Motion Picture (released on VHS in 1984 and DVD in 2003) 10 67 — — — — 39 42 34 89liveandwell.com Released: 13 September 2000 Label: Risky Folio Formats: CD x x x x x x x x x x Bowie at the Beeb Released: 26 September 2000 Label: EMI Formats: 2×CD 7 — — 69 56 22 — 37 88 181 BPI: GoldGlass Spider Released: June 2007 Label: Immortal Formats: CD, DD Film: Glass Spider (released on VHS in 1988 and DVD in 2007) — — — — — — — — — —Live Santa Monica '72 Radio broadcast: 20 October 1972 Released: 30 June 2008 Label: EMI Formats: LP, CD, DD 61 — — — 81 — — 40 — — US: 10,000 VH1 Storytellers Released: 6 July 2009 Label: EMI Formats: CD, CD+DVD, DD 114"Official Album Chart". ChartsPlus. UKChartsPlus (412). p. 7. 18 July 2009. — — — — — — — — —A Reality Tour Released: 25 January 2010 Label: ISO/Columbia/Legacy Formats: LP, CD, DD Film: A Reality Tour (released on DVD in 2004) 53 91 — — 57 — — 56 39 — Posthumous Live Nassau Coliseum '76 Radio broadcast: 23 March 1976 Released: 10 February 2017 Label: Parlophone Formats: CD, LP, DD — — — — — — — — — —Cracked Actor (Live Los Angeles '74) Released: 16 June 2017 Label: Rhino/Parlophone Formats: CD, LP, DD 20 — — — — — — — — —Live in Berlin (1978) Released: 2 March 2018 Label: Parlophone Formats: LP x x x x x x x x x xWelcome to the Blackout (Live London '78) Released: 21 April 2018 Label: Rhino/Parlophone Formats: LP, CD, DD Film: Untitled (Unreleased) 16 — — — — — — — 75 —Serious Moonlight (Live '83) Released: 12 October 2018 Label: Parlophone Formats: CD, LP, DD