Blackstar

A haunting and beautiful album, Blackstar offers a powerful retrospective on one of the most legendary lives and careers we have ever seen. David Bowie released his last album on his 69th birthday, and he would lose his battle with Liver cancer just a few days later. Blackstar, perhaps Bowie's most musically adventurous album, seamlessly blends jazz, rock, and even hip-hop influences (notably Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly) into a tight, 40-minute package, packed with life and introspection. The fact that Bowie was still innovating and creating groundbreaking art this late into his career is remarkable. This should absolutely be considered among the best albums of Bowie's career and the 2010s. Dollar Days, to me, is the best song on the album, but Lazarus and the title track are also amazing. The music videos for "Blackstar" and "Lazarus" are incredibly moving; the connections to Major Tom offer a heartbreaking bookend to Bowie's career. If you haven't yet, please reserve the next 15 minutes of your life for watching these two music videos. Instead of fearing death, Bowie looked death right in the eyes and used it as an inspiration for one of the best collections of art ever created.